"Do you guys wanna go to the convenience store to get slushies?"

“Wha-”

…

Matt stands up aggressively. He starts looking around the room while wiping his sweat off his forehead.

“Matt, what are you doing?” Charlie asks.

Mason also questions Matt, “Why are you standing up? Is something wrong?”

“What are we doing here? Weren’t we getting slushies?”

“Huh?! I was suggesting it until you interrupted me!”

“You look pale, dude. You gotta take a shit?” Tony asks half-jokingly.

“Tony shut the fuck up! I’m eating.”

“I’m fine… I just… maybe it was deja vu.”

“But I don’t think it was,” Matt whispers.

The mood had changed dramatically. What Matt just done has left everyone perplexed and concerned.

Charlie tries to lighten up the mood by suggesting once again, “So, we getting slushies later?”

“Yeah, sounds good. You wanna come with, Matt? You don’t have to if you’re not feeling well.” Mason asks while trying to comfort Matt.

“No, I have to come!”

…

“I mean, okay. I just thought you weren’t feeling too good.”

Charlie laughs and says, “Damn, you really like slushies, huh,” while patting Matt on his back.

Half an hour has passed and they decide to go to the convenience store together. The retail center is within walking distance from their area. They all agree to walk-

“Actually, I change my mind we can’t go.”

“Yeah, I don’t wanna walk in this heat,” Charlie follows up.

“It’s not far from here. And can you guys stop interrupting the narrator?”

“No, I’m being serious we can’t go. I just… I have a bad feeling, okay?!”

…

“What happened, man? You’ve been acting weird.” Mason asks.

Everyone's gaze is drawn to Matt. They are a bit weirded out by his actions. This is not the first time they have experienced this. Matt is always known as an anxious person. He doubts everything and frequently overthinks things.

“Okay, okay… I’mma tell you guys what happened but you gotta listen to me. I’m not making this shit up.”

Matt is hesitant to tell them what he experienced during lunch. He is breathing heavily, non-stop sweating, and has a terrified look on his face.

They all look at each other, wondering what is so bad about them walking to the convenience store. They all agree to listen to Matt’s story.

“I don’t know what it was. I thought it was deja vu, but, it felt real. We were already heading to the convenience store. Then there was a car-”

…

“Then what?” Mason asks.

…

“I don’t know…”

“Huh? Why can’t I say it? I remember what happened. Why can’t I fucking say it?!”

Matt is straining to say anything while laying his hands on his knees.

“It’s probably just in your head, man. Can we just go? I don’t wanna be in this heat any longer.” Charlie whines.

Mason puts his hand on Matt’s shoulder, “Look, for now, we’ll just go. If anything happens, then we’ll head home.”

“Alright…”

The road is quiet. There are barely any cars passing by as people decide to just stay indoors for the day due to the hot weather. The sound of cicadas can be heard in the distance.

"Can they shut up?! So loud! And hot!" Charlie shouts in exhaustion.

Mason interrupts Charlie, "Quit whining. It's gonna be worth it once we get there."

Matt is walking far behind the group. He murmurs to himself while he tries to catch up.

“I’ve been through this before. It’s the same as,”

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Before?”

…

They start stumbling and walking in the middle of the street. The mood plummets and one by one, they begin to question their decision to go to the retail center.

Charlie starts complaining again, "I'm so tired! How long have we been walking? How far is this store?!"

"Guys, come back to the sidewalk-”

Then, the ground suddenly shakes. A gust of wind blows heavily from behind.

Charlie turns around and shout, “What the fuck?! What’s going on?”

A strange change in atmosphere. The weather change from scorching hot to warm. It all happened in a matter of seconds.

The rumbling stops. There is still wind blowing but not as strong as it initially was.

“Did you guys feel the rumble?” Tony breaks the silence.

“Yeah, the fuck was that?” Mason replies. “Is there a construction site somewhere?”

“But what about the gust we felt?”

Charlie then interjects, “It's probably nothing. Maybe the wind changed directions or whatever.

Matt is getting more uncomfortable by the second. He tries to convince himself that he is overthinking it and that everything is happening by pure coincidence.

Matt then joins in the conversation, “That doesn't make sense…”

“You don't make sense! Can we just go so I can get a slushie?”

As they are walking, Tony checks his phone to see if there are any news about a light earthquake just occurred, but,

“There’s no service here. That’s a bit odd…”

“I’m pretty sure there’s a restaurant with free wifi at the retail center. We’ll check there,” Mason says.

They also have not notice that the weather is slightly cooler. They continue walking without knowing what is happening around them.

Something is watching them from behind. Sounds of heavy breathing and rustling…

Matt turns around quickly to check what is behind him, “Did you guys hear that?”

“Hear what?” Charlie asks.

“I don't know. It feels like we're being watched…”

“By who? Could it be a stalker stalking me?! That’d be kinda cool… and creepy.”

Mason then interrupts, “Who would wanna stalk you? Probably the old lunch lady.”

“Shut the fuck up! I told you she knows me cus she use to work at my old school.”

“I was probably imagining it. Nevermind..."

They decide to continue walking. What Matt had said earlier echoes through everyone’s heads.

“No, I’m being serious we can’t go. I just… I have a bad feeling, okay?!”

Ten minutes have passed and they finally arrive at the retail center, but it seems different. Nothing seems to be damaged from the rumble. The mood seems ominous.

The area is very quiet…

Charlie drops to the floor, “We made it! Holy shit it’s hot,” while trying to catch his breath.

“I think it’s closed,” Tony says while looking through the glass panel.

“I told you to not say that shit, Tony!”

Tony turns around to look at Charlie. With a confused face, he says, “What? I never said that.”

“Yes, you did! You said it’d be funny if it’s closed for the day when we were walking.”

“Are you good? I didn’t say that. You’re probably hallucinating.”

While turning his back to everyone, Charlie whispers, “Wha- What the hell? I could’ve sworn he said that shit.”

Mason and Matt then cup their hands on the glass panel to see if it is really closed. From the looks of it, there are no workers, and the refrigerators are not emitting light.

Matt then notices a sign in front of the store, “Look, the sign says it’s open.”

Charlie walks towards the doors and starts pushing, “Maybe the workers are just lazy. Let’s just go in.”

Charlie enters the store. The others are hesitant, but they decide to go in as well.

“Hello?! Are you guys closed for the day?”

No answer… The store is pitch black. It is almost as if the electricity got cut off. They all start looking around to see if any of the freezers or machines are running.

“Let’s just leave,” Mason says, breaking the stillness. “It’s definitely closed. I don’t wanna go to jail for this shit.”

“Alright, fine…” Charlie exhales.

Tony is the first person to leave the store. Then, another thought occurs to him.

“That’s weird though… Have you guys noticed we haven't seen anyone since we got here?”

They all snap their heads towards Tony. Even a comment like that might set them off since some of them are already paranoid. What Matt had said earlier still echoes in their heads.

Mason breaks off the silence again, “What do you mean?”

“I noticed that there was no one at the restaurant we passed. And I haven't seen any cars on the road yet...”

Charlie tries to lighten up the mood, “Really?! Nah, you’re imagining it…”

Tony starts getting an idea that something had happened. Since the beginning of the ground shake, there has been no service everywhere, resulting in them not being able to go on the internet to check the news or make phone calls.

“Maybe… We should head back just in case. There’s nothing to do here anyway.”

They all arrive fifteen minutes later in their neighborhood. While walking towards their homes, they begin to check around to see if anyone is nearby.

Not a single soul can be found. As time passes, they start walking faster and faster.

Mason stops, “Listen, here’s what we’ll do,”

Everyone comes to a halt to look at Mason and listen to what he has to say.

“We should all head home first and make sure our parents are there. Meet back at the park in half an hour.”

They all just agree and proceed to run towards their houses. As their footsteps are getting further from each other, the quiet atmosphere can be heard.

“Hello?! Mom? Dad? Are you home?!” Charlie shouts while pushing his front door open.

No one answer. Charlie tries flicking the light switches to see if the power is running. He checks the refrigerator, the air conditioners, even try charging his phone, but none of them seem to work. In the distance, a rustling noise can be heard.

“What the fu- Hello?! Mason? Don’t fuck with me, guys. I’ll start swinging!”

No response…

“Okay, this kind of stuff happens in movies... If I try to investigate whatever that is by myself, I'll die... So my best option right now is to-”

Matt, on the other hand, is circling his house, screaming out to his parents and brother.

“Mom?! Ryan?! Please answer me! Dad?!”

He eventually begins to tear up and breaks down. He looks around his house once more, hoping for someone to respond to him. The living room, the kitchen, upstairs, everywhere is empty and dark.

“Okay, okay, okay... This is fine. We'll figure something out. Everything is fine.”

Then there's something keeping an eye on Matt from afar. Heavy breathing can be heard.

From upstairs? From outside?

“No! I'm not okay... It's not fine. What the fuck?! Where are they?!”

The sound of creaking floorboards emanating from upstairs. Matt eventually comes out of it and begins to take notice of his surroundings.