"Ma'am, please, there's no need to shove," Jake said, holding up his hands as a frantic woman tried to force her way past him into an already overcrowded aisle.

"Shove? I've got three kids at home, and I’m not leaving here without enough food to last!" she snapped, eyes wide with panic.

Jake sighed, glancing over the mess that had once been a neatly stocked Walmart. Carts were piled high with random assortments of goods—everything from camping gear to gallons of water and toilet paper. “Why do people always stock up on toilet paper,” he muttered to himself.

Shelves were stripped bare, and the sound of shouting echoed from the other side of the store.

"Listen, we’re restocking as fast as we can," he said, trying to keep his voice calm even though his own nerves were frayed. "But we’re out of some things right now. You’ve just gotta—"

"I’m not waiting for some drone delivery!" the woman interrupted, her voice growing shrill. "Do you even know what’s happening out there? People are disappearing! Vanishing! You expect me to just stand around and hope it won’t be my family next?"

Jake ran a hand through his hair, trying to ignore the pounding headache building behind his eyes. ‘Nope, didn’t sign up for this when I took this job.‘ "I get it, really, I do. But pushing through won’t help anyone. Just—"

A crash sounded from the back of the store, followed by shouting. Jake turned his head, spotting a group of men arguing near the electronics section. Another employee waved frantically for backup.

"Stay here," he muttered to the woman, though he already knew she’d ignore him. He jogged over, weaving through the crowd. "Hey, what’s going on?"

One of the men was holding an armful of portable chargers, while the other tried yanking them out of his grip. "This guy’s trying to take all of them! There’s none left!"

"First come, first serve," the man with the chargers growled, refusing to let go. "You snooze, you lose."

"Guys, come on!" Jake stepped between them, hands raised. "We’re not hoarding supplies. Let’s all stay calm, okay?"

"Calm?" The second man’s face was red, his voice shaking with anger. "How can you be calm? Do you even know what it’s like out there? I’ve seen people disappear. Just walking their dogs, and poof! Gone! I need these for my family!"

"And I need them for mine!" the first man snapped.

Jake sighed. "Listen, we’re all scared, but if you fight over this stuff, it’s not going to help. We’re getting more supplies in. Just… take a couple each and leave the rest for others, alright?"

Neither man looked particularly convinced, but after a tense moment, they grudgingly agreed, each taking two chargers and stalking off in opposite directions.

Jake wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. "Unbelievable," he muttered. ‘I just wanted to stock shelves, not referee panic fights.‘

As he turned to head back toward the front, he caught sight of a coworker, Sara, clutching a clipboard and looking just as stressed. She gave him a grim look.

"You doing okay?" he asked, walking up to her.

"Am I okay?" she scoffed, glancing around the store. "I’ve had five people scream at me in the last ten minutes. One guy wanted to know if we had any ‘portal-proof’ shelters for sale."

Jake chuckled despite himself. "Portal-proof shelters? Sounds legit."

"I know, right?" she said, rubbing her temples. "I feel like I’m in a disaster movie. People are losing their minds. There’s no logic. Just... panic."

He nodded, scanning the chaos around them. The store looked more like a warzone than a place people came to shop. "How long do you think this is gonna last?"

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Sara shrugged, her eyes distant. "I don’t know. As long as people keep vanishing, I guess. The government can say all they want about staying calm, but no one trusts them. Not really."

Jake sighed. "Yeah, doesn’t matter how much we stock, people will still freak out. They think if they buy enough stuff, they can avoid the portals."

"And us?" she asked, looking at him tiredly. "What about us? We’re the ones stuck in the middle of it all."

He didn’t have an answer. He just shook his head, then added with a smirk, "At least we get an employee discount."

Sara snorted. "Yeah, like that'll help us if we get sucked into the wasteland."

They stood there for a moment, surrounded by the mayhem, both wondering how much longer they could keep things under control.

‘‘‘

The Walmart was a hive of rumor and misinformation, buzzing with the frantic energy of terrified people trying to make sense of the unexplainable. Every corner of the store had groups huddled together, exchanging outlandish theories and wild stories.

“Did you hear?” a woman whispered to the man in front of her in the checkout line. “They say the portals are targeting people with red hair.”

The man’s eyes widened. “Red hair? Really? But my cousin’s a ginger—he hasn’t disappeared.”

“Well, maybe he’s next!” she said, leaning closer. “My neighbor’s eighteen year old niece vanished last week, and she had flaming red hair. Coincidence? I don’t think so.”

A few aisles over, two teenage boys were speculating while loading up on snacks.

“I heard the portals only take people who’ve had the flu shot,” one of them said, stuffing bags of chips into his cart.

“No way,” the other replied, shaking his head. “My dad hasn’t had a flu shot in years, and he still disappeared.”

“Well, maybe it’s a new one, like, from this year or something,” the first boy insisted. “All I’m saying is, I’m never getting another shot. Ever.”

Near the frozen foods, an older couple stood with another woman, their voices hushed but panicked.

“I swear, the portals are being controlled by the government,” the man muttered, glancing around as if someone might overhear him. “They’re picking off people who know too much. My cousin’s buddy from work? Gone. And he worked in cybersecurity.”

His wife nodded fervently. “Oh, absolutely. That’s why we’re stocking up. We need to stay off the grid.”

The woman they were talking to shook her head. “I’ve heard something different. They say it’s some kind of alien invasion. The portals are them taking us for experiments. You ever notice how no one who’s disappeared has ever come back? What are they doing to them?”

The couple’s eyes widened in horror. “That… that makes sense. Oh my God. We’re next.”

In the camping section, two young parents were frantically grabbing tents and sleeping bags.

“I heard that if you sleep outside, under the stars, the portals can’t find you,” the dad said, loading his cart. “It’s something about the open sky—it messes with their signal.”

The mom nodded. “Yeah, I saw a video on TikTok about that. Some guy in Arizona said he’s been camping for three weeks, and he hasn’t seen a single portal.”

Further down the aisle, a group of teenage girls were talking with wide-eyed excitement.

“No, no, listen,” one of them said, “if you wear tinfoil on your head, like a helmet, it keeps the portals from locking onto you.”

“Seriously?” another girl asked.

“Totally. My brother’s friend’s uncle is, like, a scientist, and he said they’re using some kind of frequency to track people. The tinfoil blocks it.”

“Girl, we need to find some tinfoil, ‘now‘,” the second girl replied, pulling out her phone to search for the nearest store.

In the back of the store, an older man with a wild look in his eyes was preaching to anyone who would listen.

“The portals are a test from God,” he proclaimed, his voice rising over the din. “Only the righteous will be spared! You think stocking up on food and water will save you? No! Only prayer can protect you from the portals! You’ve got to repent, ‘now‘, before it’s too late!”

A woman near him clutched her rosary tighter, her face pale. “I knew it,” she whispered. “I’ve been telling my husband… this is the end times. We need to get right with the Lord.”

At the customer service desk, an employee was dealing with a woman demanding a refund.

“This flashlight you sold me is defective!” the woman snapped. “It doesn’t have enough batteries. And how am I supposed to fend off a portal with this?”

The employee blinked. “Uh… fend off a portal?”

“Yes!” she shouted. “I read online that bright lights can repel them, but only if the beam is strong enough. This thing’s barely a glow!”

“I… don’t think light stops portals, ma’am.”

She leaned forward, her eyes wild. “How do you know that? Huh? Have you ever ‘seen‘ a portal up close?”

“No…”

“Then you don’t know! I demand a refund!”

Nearby, another group of customers was chatting near the checkout lanes, their carts loaded with bottled water.

“I heard it’s a government experiment gone wrong,” one man was saying. “They were messing around with parallel dimensions, and now they can’t control it.”

His friend shook his head. “Nah, man. It’s the rich people. They’ve found a way to escape Earth, and they’re using the portals to ship out before the planet collapses. We’re just the test subjects.”

“What if it’s both?” a third man chimed in. “Government, rich people, aliens—maybe they’re all in on it together. We’re the pawns, brother.”

The others nodded, contemplating the different possibility.

As the rumors continued to swirl, Jake, the exhausted employee from earlier, stood near the exit, listening to all the chaos unfold. He shook his head. ‘People are gonna lose their minds before the portals even get them.‘

But the rumors spread like wildfire, each one crazier than the last, leaving the truth buried somewhere beneath it all.

‘‘‘