Emily still hadn't heard back from Jeff for hours now and it really worried her. He was bad at texting back normally, but now that the world was apparently ending she really needed him to reply.

Emily looked up at the sky through her windshield. She could see the words hovering over her destination.

She worked as a manager of a non-emergency health clinic one town away from their home. The moment apocalypse-level shenanigans started happening she sent everyone home and did the same for herself.

She always thought the end of the world would have more explosions. This one was just beginning, she was sure, but so far, it was pretty mild.

Words in the sky claiming the planet was connected to some System. That was fine. It didn't really affect her yet. The Pillars that had fallen from the sky were more alarming, but she had already driven past three of them. She was extremely curious about them, but getting back to her family was more important.

The worst part about the apocalypse she decided, was the traffic. The 20-minute drive to her work through a little mountain pass was usually peaceful. Now everyone was rushing back to their homes all at once. Or they were preppers rushing to their secluded cabin in the mountains. Panicked people do not drive nice.

It took her an hour before she finally arrived at home. There were lots of people out on foot walking toward the Pillars. She noticed there weren’t any kids though.

Good, people are at least sensible enough to protect the kids and send one adult for information. She thought. Then she noticed how many couples were holding hands and looking really worried. Some had tears running down their face or looking quite angry. Did they all just leave their kids home alone?

Tears were running down many of the faces she looked at. It hadn’t seemed like a tragedy had struck them just yet, but the effect of whatever happened was clear. It had to have been something terrible.

Extra worried now she rushed to her apartment. The first thing she noticed was the shoes by the door. Jeff's shoes were gone, but the kids were still there. Would Jeff rush them out of the house without shoes? That seemed unlikely. Something was definitely wrong.

"Hello. Anybody home?" She called out, worried she already knew the answer. She rushed about looking frantically for her family, tears starting to run down her face. She had been holding back her fear and panic as best as she could. Now though…

Her family was gone and she had no idea where they went. She was all alone and had no idea what was going on.

Her emotions broke down the damn that contained them and she was consumed in anguish.

She cried there for nearly fifteen minutes when Link sauntered up to her and meowed. He was completely unconcerned about her crying or her kids missing. He clearly just wanted attention.

Emily never really liked cats, they didn't seem to care at all about her and they left hair everywhere. Link rubbed his head against her knee looking for scritches. She picked him up and held him. The simple act of snuggling the cat blossomed hope back into her. She held onto the cat like he was one of her children.

A minute later the grey tabby was finished being held and squirmed out of her arms. He walked over to his food bowl and mewd.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

A small laugh broke her out of her misery. Of course, she thought, it doesn't matter if the sky was falling and aliens were invading, life goes on. Tasks still needed to be completed.

She quickly got Link some food and left the apartment. She would get no answers here. She was sure Jeff was already at one of the Pillars. The only real option was to leave the house and join the crowds moving towards the golden System Pillars.

She exited and took the stairs two at a time. She nearly ran into Janet, their downstairs neighbor, as she rounded the corner of the stairs.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Emily said. "Have you seen Jeff or the kids?"

Janet looked disheveled. Her eyes were sunken in and she gulped as she mentioned kids.

"No," Janet whimpered out. "No, the kids are gone. I just got back from the school. All the kids are gone." She broke into sobs.

Emily wrapped Janet in her arms and they sank to the ground as she shed tears with her.

After a few moments, Emily stated, "I need to go find Jeff. Was he at the school Pillar with you?" As she drove home she recognized a pattern in the pillars. They seemed to land near gathering places. Schools, churches, baseball fields, and courthouses. Places meant for large gatherings of people.

"No, but I did run into him here and I believe he ran off to that pillar there." Janet pointed to the pillar near the church.

Emily started to get up and Janet added. "I'd bring a lawn chair and food if I were you. The high school pillar had a countdown until it would start giving information. Might as well pack a backpack before you go looking for him."

Emily wanted to rush to find Jeff right away, but she accepted her friend's sound advice. Jeff was the one that was slow to anger, but quick to act. She was the one who did things slowly and meticulously. They were a good pair, but she knew Jeff would be at the pillar without any food or supplies.

*********

Thirty minutes later she arrived at the church with two lawn chairs, a backpack filled with snacks, and an ice chest stuffed with water bottles. She was certain Jeff wasn't the only one lacking supplies, so might as well bring enough for others too.

There were two police cars with sirens nearby and caution tape acting as a barrier around the golden glowing System Pillar. There was also a news van and camera crew set up to film the pillar.

There were nearly a hundred people crowded around the pillar and a few more observers sitting in their front yards near the church. One man had even pulled out a full couch on their lawn and looked on while shoving a handful of popcorn in his face.

Pushing through the crowd she finally got her first close-up look at the Pillar and the words that were scrawled across it.

A volunteer has been chosen. Wait and watch. A tutorial for information on the Boschyan System and events to come will be presented.

Time remaining till the Tutorial begins: 2 minutes.

Emily was glad she got here before it started. She would have a chance to meet up with Jeff and find out what the hell was going on and what happened to their kids.

She looked around everywhere and called out his name until the countdown got low enough that people started to shush her. All the adults hanging around the pillar started joining in with the countdown.

"10. 9. 8. 7." They chanted clearly eager to get some answers.

Emily got a sinking feeling in her stomach. Jeff was quick to act, but he wouldn't volunteer, would he? The answer was yes… yes he would.

She joined in with the solemn chant, "3. 2. 1."

The words on the System Pillar changed.

The Boschyan Tutorial Begins. Watch and learn from the chosen.

After a moment the words faded and the cylindrical pillar changed from its golden glow to a visual of a man on a tilted metallic table. It was like a giant rounded screen, except that the depth changed as she moved. From her perspective, she could only partially see the man on the table.

Emily squeezed through the crowd trying to get closer. She noticed as she moved the perspective of the man changed with her. If she moved north it moved toward his face, if she moved south she'd only be able to see the silver table. It was almost like looking through a window, except the room the man was in was far larger than could fit into the already large Pillar.

It seemed they would watch 'the Chosen' as he went through the tutorial like it was a TV show. As she moved north she could finally see the face of the man.

Emily facepalmed. She finally found Jeff… and he was drooling.