Two Minutes

He woke up slowly… It was as if he had slept a very long time , but when he checked the bedside clock ,it was just 8.30 AM. He reached for Sophie but she had already got up. He ambled into the kids’ bedroom. No one there. Maybe they had all gone out for an early morning drive and just let him sleep.



Gary had a terrific job , a great wife and two wonderful kids. There was a war going on somewhere but it was still far far away. It was all contentment here , happy families in their suburban paradise.



He walked leisurely into the kitchen and fixed himself a cup of coffee. Mmmm, it tasted wonderful. He flicked on the TV , he never missed the morning news roundup. There was nothing new , they were still covering the war and nothing else… He wondered when it would ever stop , would they ever have peace in their lifetimes ? The thought was depressing - he’d better get dressed and leave for work .



Gary munched on his whole wheat sandwich and sipped his orange juice . Oh , he had not seen today’s newspaper. Usually , Sophie brought it in and he would wake up to find it in bed.



There was a pile of newspapers on the doorstep. That surprised him - there was more than a week’s supply lying there. Panic overwhelmed him – what on earth was going on here !!!! He rushed to the telephone – there was a normal dial tone , nothing out of the ordinary.



Gary frantically dialed Sophie’s mobile number. No response . He went out into the street. Everything was absolutely ordinary , the sun up , the lawns mowed , the road swept – but not a soul could be seen. Nothing moved , not man , not animal nor bird.



Something was really strange… He leant over the fence that separated their yard from the Hardys’ and hollered for Bill at the top of his voice. Bill Hardy, retired dentist, was an avid gardener who was usually tending his flowers at this time of the day. But there was no sign of him anywhere. Gary jumped over the fence and rang the Hardys’ doorbell. No answer. He tried the knob. The door swung open. He went in and called out for Bill again – there was no one in the house. It was as if everybody had just decided to disappear into thin air.



He walked down to the next street – there was a small park there and Sophie usually took the kids there. The park was absolutely deserted and so was the street.



Panicking now , he ran back to the house. He must be either dreaming or dead. He slowly pulled himself together, he must not allow panic to overpower him. . Just then he heard a faint ring of the living room phone. He rushed back inside and picked up the receiver.



“Hello, Hello, Helloooo”, it took all his willpower to stop screaming into the phone. But there was no answering voice and he heard the decisive click of the phone being put down. Gary checked the caller ID. It was his cousin, calling from the East Coast. He called back ,,the phone kept ringing and ringing….. The terrifying thought flashed through his mind - Was he the only one alive on the whole face of the earth ? Gary could feel the bile rising in his throat - fear was overwhelming him.



He told himself he was just being stupid. Sophie would call him any moment now and tell him she had forgotten her cell phone somewhere. She had always been absent minded. There must be a simple explanation for all of this stuff. He was simply imagining things.



Gary checked his watch – it was high time he went to work.



The car started smoothly enough. It no longer surprised him – the electricity was on, the phone was working , so was the TV and everything else. The only problem was every living thing had disappeared from view .



The roads were deserted , not a car could be seen as he drove to work. Surprisingly , all the shops were open. He stopped in front of one and went inside. Everything was in place , but there were no customers and even the salesmen had disappeared. Gary could no longer contain his terror. Where was everyone ?



More through force of habit than anything else , he drove on to his workplace. He was no longer surprised to see that there was not a single car in the lot as he pulled into his usual parking place.



He jogged up the flight of stairs and pushed open the office door. Usually a beehive of activity , the office felt more like a crypt today. There was no one , absolutely no one to be seen. The thought crept unbidden to his mind – he must surely be the only person left alive in this town . He was nearly senseless with horror and fear. Then he told himself there must be someone whom he could reach. He started calling everyone he knew -Sophie repeatedly , all his friends, his parents , in laws , the police , the fire department….. There was an identical response to his calls – the phone kept ringing and ringing,.,,,



No , he must not lose hope……..Gary decided to drive down to his cousin on the East Coast - he knew , somehow , he would find someone alive there – After all , had he not received a call from his cousin that very morning – even though Gary had not been able to speak to him , it was surely an indication that life still thrived there.



The fuel gauge read nearly empty. He pulled into the nearest gas station. Again , not a soul to be seen , though everything else was in perfect order . His finger caught in the door as he slammed it shut to fill the tank. Gary swore. The pain racing through his body was the worst he had ever experienced. It was as if he was on fire .He stared at his hand - just a tiny bruise on his ring finger…. He couldn’t make sense of it – but nothing made sense anymore…..





He had been driving now for over two days. Exhaustion was taking his toll on him. He could barely make out the road ahead , but he kept on , hope pushing him on , driving him on ….

Crash !!!! The air bag hitting him woke him up with a jerk. He looked down . There was blood everywhere….He staggered out of the car – it was a wreck , it would not be going anywhere soon. He started walking down the nearest exit. Then it hit him – he had absolutely no pain…..Too tired now to even be shocked , he just plodded on.



It was then he saw them –a group of teenagers hanging out near the drugstore. Wild with happiness , he ran towards them,. But as he drew near they seemed vague , insubstantial … he passed right through them. When he turned back to look at them , they were still there .Nobody seemed to hear him -it was as if he had become invisible. He could make out other vague shapes too. People on the sidewalk , a child skipping down the other side of the street…But they were all faint as if he was looking at them through a fine mist.



He just kept walking…. He suddenly realized that people were looking solid now. Somebody turned around and saw him , really looked at him. The man started running towards Gary . He could hear him saying , “ Are you ok?” And then Gary

blacked out.



Gary was dead. Sophie let out a sob. She had been holding him in her arms for over an hour now. But for the last two minutes he had been staring wildly at her , as if he could no longer see her. He seemed to be calling for Bill Hardy , their neighbour. Then he kept shouting “ Hello” at the top of his voice. She tried to talk to him , soothe him but he no longer heard her. Then he suddenly screamed as if in great pain. A range of expressions flitted across his face , terror, pain and then finally relief . Then he slumped in her arms. Sophie tried to revive him , but his heart had stopped beating. Her beloved husband was no more. Grief gripped her heart but it was also tinged with relief. Relief that Gary was finally out of his misery . Two years after a stroke had left him completely paralyzed and immobile, Gary was finally free. .