We were in the observatory, waiting for the clouds to part, for anything really. By that point, we had already spent all day playing board games, drinking hot chocolate, and just being stupid (the quote wall was stocked to the brim). While yes, it was a pretty great day, we were more than ready to get outside and fully take advantage of a clear night sky – if there was one. And since it became clear there wasn't going to be, we sat around, waiting for something to happen.
Unexpectedly, several hours after sunset, we heard a sound from outside. It wasn’t initially suspicious. Maybe a deer cracking on a stick underneath its hoof? Maybe a sharp blow of the wind? We didn’t think much of it at the time. Just continued on with what we were doing – playing, laughing, and wasting the night away.
About an hour later, it happened again. This time the sound was more distinct. A crash right outside one of the windows. We couldn’t see anything through the opaque darkness that blocked our view, and once again, we brushed it off. A storm was brewing, and, in all likelihood, a branch fell. So, we continued as we were, believing security engulfed us. I remember we went outside just to get another glimpse of the sky at one point. Naturally, there was still not a star in sight. As I turned to go back inside, I heard this weird sound coming from behind the building. I stopped in my tracks. They were chirping sounds. But, it wasn’t chirping in the cute, innocent-type way, you see. It was chirping screeches. Like a bird fighting for its life. After retrieving one of my friends to take a listen, they chalked it up to it being a wild animal. Probably a wolf or cougar in the area. Still, a gut feeling I couldn’t explain told me it was more than that. Odder than that.
Close to the middle of the night, the lights went out. No explanation. No real reason. By that point, any chance of a storm had worn away, and it seemed relatively calm outside. We checked our phones plugged into the wall – no charge. The power was completely cut. We had no one to contact. We were the only ones on campus, and we were too remote to get help. On top of that, it was pitch black, and with dead phones that couldn’t give us a flashlight, we weren’t going anywhere. We decided waiting it out was the best option.
So that’s what we did. We stayed up in the darkness, telling ghost stories, and snuggling up in our sleeping bags in an attempt to stay warm. We felt safe, and we managed to fall asleep.
Then, a scream echoed through my head, startling me awake. That same chirping screech but ten times as loud. Like someone blasting a speaker in my ear. I looked around, struggling to adapt my vision to the darkness. Eventually, I could just make out the shapes that surrounded me. I reached out to touch the person who had been sleeping beside me, hoping they could reassure me that everything was going to be okay. But there was no one there. Only an empty sleeping bag. I started feeling all around me, only to find more empty sleeping bags and blankets sprawled across the floor. I yelled, “Is anyone there?” No response. Louder, “Is anyone there?” Nothing. Screaming, I exclaimed, “Where are you? Anybody?” I was alone. Maybe they’re playing a joke. Maybe they’re waiting outside, ready to jump out and scare me.
So I went outside, only to find no one there. I still could barely make out what was around me, but there was definitely no people, no sounds…nothing. I walked behind the building in hopes I could find something. Like a miracle, I could make out a small light peeking through the trees in the far distance. I didn’t know what to do. I shivered from the cold as the wind coursed the back of my neck. It was too much, so I went back to the observatory and decided I would wait for morning to come, for the warmth of the sun.
I sat in a corner of the room from which all of my friends had seemingly disappeared into thin air. I waited. And waited. For hours it seemed like. Time seemed an incomprehensible concept. I decided to go back to bed in hopes the seconds would go by faster. Wishful thinking I guess because I struggled to even close my eyes. And regardless, it made no difference. Hours later I could still barely see a foot outside my window.
I decided it was time to investigate, regardless of how little I could see in the darkness. So I ran. Without thinking. I got out of the door and just sprinted down the hill, in the direction of where the light was. It was gone by that point. I was just running into nothingness, praying I could find something in its depths. I ran until I fell, tripping into a giant crater. A shallow hole about the size of a house. By that point, my eyes had gotten used to the dark, and I could make out small holes encircling the big one. Almost as if they were holding space for something like station platforms waiting for passengers to unload.
I crawled to the middle of the large crater and collapsed into myself. I screamed in terror, hoping someone, anyone would hear me. I was scared. Because I didn’t know what to think. Because I was left with nothing. Because I was alone.
It was possible they went to go for help, but then why would they have left me behind? Why wouldn’t they at least tell me where they were going? What was that bright light in the woods? What are these craters doing in the middle of nowhere? Why is it still dark? Why is nothing making sense? All of these questions were rushing through my mind when the chirping began again. It started quietly from behind me. I turned slowly as tears rolled down my cheeks. It grew louder and louder until I could have sworn it stood right in front of me. Then, an explosion shot a light from about an arm’s length away from me into the sky, a straight line of radiance. At a certain height, the explosion seemed to make contact with the atmosphere, shattering into a million pieces like shooting stars going off in every direction. I just stood there, in disbelief at what I was witnessing. I thought I saw a particular light, standing out from all of them, streamlining straight across the sky – almost as if it was escaping from our world on its way to somewhere else.
Finally, almost instantaneously, it all went dark again. I couldn’t see anything and the silence? It was overwhelming. My senses were at a loss, and I put my head between my knees. After mere seconds, I looked up again. I could see stars more vibrant than I had ever seen before. The sky contained nothing and then everything in an instant.
The stars tell me that was about 9 days ago. They go away and come again every day. Still, I have seen no sun in the sky or people in my path. I mainly stay by the observatory, though I have tried exploring a bit. The surrounding woods have become a familiar home, even in shadow. Someone would have come for me by now, right? Is there even anybody out there anymore? I have no idea. I couldn’t have been the only person to see the sky that night – that big open, vast, beautiful sky that lit up like a million fireworks. The stars are the only things getting me through this right now. They come at the normal time and stay in their normal places – they are my normal, all that’s left.
Comments