Jeremy jolted awake in his car, blood trickling from his forehead. Disoriented from the accident, he looked around, struggling to grasp his surroundings. Slowly, memories flooded back—he remembered why he was there and how he had ended up in this situation. Eyes on the road, dammit! He thought to himself.

  As he was getting up, something felt off. The car was tipping behind him as he moved. He wasn’t exactly sure where he and his car were, but his instincts told him they were near the edge of a cliff. This didn’t make sense to him, as he remembered crashing somewhere in the middle of the road.

  In a life-or-death situation, Jeremy slowly unbuckled his seatbelt. Any movement he makes tips the car a bit towards the edge. He opened the car door slowly and carefully because he knew that any sudden and big movements could cause his car to fall down the cliff along with him. After successfully opening the car door, he let out a sigh of relief. It was cut short as the car completely leaned towards the edge of the cliff. Immediately, he jumped out of the car and rolled, landing on the ground. He saw his car fall completely with his own eyes, realizing that it was not a cliff that his car fell into. After taking a good look at his surroundings, he was in the middle of a road, and looking ahead, a large part of it was destroyed—as if there had been a huge earthquake that caused it to collapse. Jeremy has never seen destruction so big before. He wondered what had happened when he was knocked for this to occur. It was a miracle that his car was hanging on the edge all those times. Speaking of his car, he decided to peek down the large pit crater to see how deep it was. It was pitch black down there, and he could not see anything. Not a single sign of any sort of life or movement from where he’s standing—or even his car.

  Jeremy stepped back as he felt a bit queasy looking at the abyss beyond him. “What the fuck is happening…”

  Instinctively, he pulled out his phone to see if he could call anyone and help him with his predicament, but there were no bars. “Just great… How will I get home?”

  He turned around to see where he was and how far he needed to walk home, and was greeted by a large billboard that said, " Welcome to Sunnyside Valley!

  He let out a sigh of relief. “Looks like I don’t need to walk that far.”

  He took a good look once more at the view behind him, just to confirm that what happened to him and what he saw was all real, and yes, the pit crater is still there—separating the road between the town and the rest. He’s stuck in this town unless he finds another exit. He turned around and looked at the town entrance sign one more time, then ahead. He sees a few houses and a bunch of buildings past the entrance, but as he stares further beyond, things start to become less visible. In a sense, it’s as if he’s staring into a void, not knowing what lies ahead. The mere thought of this sends a chill down his spine. “What the hell is happening…?”

  With not much choice, Jeremy went into town to look for his home.

  When Jeremy got into town, things started to feel different. A fog slowly emerged, and the deeper he went into town, the thicker it got—to the point that everything was less visible and more blurry. Fog is nothing new to this town, but Jeremy has never seen fog this thick before. This felt unreal to him.

  It had gotten to the point that the fog was so thick he was getting lost. Sure, he doesn’t have the layout of his hometown memorized on the back of his head, but he knows his way to his home. Unfortunately, even though he knew his way home, he was still lost due to the unusually thick fog that enveloped the town. It does help that the unnatural occurrences in his town are helping him find his way: roads blocked by tall walls covered in white cloth, cars and trucks parked in the middle of the road, and more pit craters cutting off roads from certain streets. Everything was extremely bizarre.

  He’s been exploring his town for so long that he’s starting to get tired. He stops and catches his breath for a moment. “What the fuck is actually happening here??? Where the hell am I???”

  He looked around, and it looked like he stopped in the middle of an intersection. He checked the street sign next to him: Abigail Street and Mink Street. “Jesus Christ, finally. I’m getting somewhere.”

  He stared towards Abigail Street, and just like earlier, he could only see what was in his peripheral vision, and the more he looked ahead, the less he saw—truly like an abyss. After getting enough rest, he continued to make his way home.

  Standing in front of his house’s front door, he realized that his keys were still in the car ignition when the car fell down the pit crater. He tried to open the door in hopes that it was unlocked, but he wasn’t in luck. He instinctively called for his mother. “Mom! Mom?! Are you home?”

  No one answered. He tried to go to the garage and tried both the gate and the door, but neither was budging. Even the door that leads to the backyard doesn’t work. He couldn’t climb up as well since the fence was too tall, which was weird since he hadn’t seen a wooden fence this tall before, let alone the fence that they have. There was nothing there that could help him boost himself up to the fence, so the fence was crossed off the list.

  With no other options left, Jeremy sat on the front porch defeated. He couldn’t think of anything else to do, and it doesn’t help that there’s something weird going on with Sunnyside: thick fog, tall walls, destroyed roads, absence of other living beings—including his parents—and of course, no reception at all. He pulled out his phone to check if there was reception now. Still nothing. Zero bars, no wifi, and an empty notification bar. Jeremy sighed heavily as he lay down on the porch. He might as well sleep there since the house is locked, and he has nowhere to go.

  As all hope was lost, Jeremy’s phone chimed. Jeremy jolted up and checked his phone hastily. One message from Zac.

  Zac: Hey, Jeremy! Where are you? I’m here at the Delighted Bean Cafe waiting for you. Will you be running late? If so, then it's fine. Just let me know if there’s a change of plans. See you!

  He remembered that they were supposed to meet for a coffee before Jeremy did an idiotic attempt to leave town. Jeremy tried to reply, but his message won’t send. It doesn’t even matter if it was sent or not. He was delighted to know that there was still a sign of life in this weird situation he was in. Zac might not be there anymore since their hangout was supposed to be last night, but he’d rather take his chances. Things are already weird as it is, and he felt like the message he received from Zac wasn’t a case of a message that was received late. There wasn’t any signal to begin with, so he shouldn’t have received the notification. He thought that there was a chance he was still there. Without any second

  In the center of the town is Delighted Bean Cafe, a small cafe that has been around since Jeremy was in the 7th grade. This place is a common hangout spot for students and workers, especially if they’re working on a deadline. The cafe is open for 24 hours, so anyone is free to stay there and do whatever they like as long as they’re a paying customer.

  What’s unusual, though, is that the window shutters were closed. They never close them unless the store is closed. The only times that they’re closed are if there’s a holiday, an emergency that the owner needs to handle, or if they’re travelling. And they’d post a notice if it was closed. Everyone knew this, so Jeremy found it odd that it was closed without notice. Then again, everything that’s happening in the town is unexplainable and already weird, so this is the least unusual thing that he has encountered. He moved closer to the large glass pane of the cafe and tried to peek at the holes in the shutter. It was pretty dark, but he could identify some things that were inside—tables, chairs, a counter, a cash register, two espresso machines, other equipment used in the cafe… and a figure of a passed-out man sitting on one of the tables. His gut tells him that this was Zac, so he rushed towards the door of the cafe and tried to open it, but it was locked. He looked around to see if there was anything he could use to open the door. He saw a rusted pipe on the ground. With no other choice, he grabbed it and positioned himself to break the small window on the door, but as he lifted the pipe, something fell from inside it. He looked down and saw that it was a key. He picked it up, and to his luck, it was the key to the cafe.

  After finally unlocking the door, he rushed to the figure, and as he had guessed, it was Zac passed out on the table. He shook the guy vigorously. “Zac? Zac?? Are you okay?”

  Zac groans and moves in his sleep. “Five more minutes.”

  Jeremy sighed in relief. He’s glad that nothing bad has happened to Zac, though he feels like he’s at fault for making him wait all night. “Zac, wake up. It’s me, Jeremy.”

  Zac slowly woke up from his slumber, and his eyes opened. It didn’t register to him that it was Jeremy he was seeing.

  “Jeremy?” Zac rubbed his eyes. It was actually his best friend. “Jeremy!”

  Zac hugged him around the stomach. From Jeremy’s view, he can only see the top of his brown hair. He ruffled it and patted his head. “I’m glad you’re okay, Zac.”

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  Jeremy grabbed the seat in front of Zac and sat across him. “What happened here? And what happened to you?”

  Zac looked down at his fingers and fiddled with them. “I don’t know, man. All I remember is that I’m sitting here drinking an iced coffee while waiting for you. I think I was playing a game on my phone as well? I don’t really remember. Then everything is blurry from there. I think I fell asleep. And now here I am, woken up by you. Though it’s strange…”

  Zac got up from his seat and looked around the cafe. “Why did the vibe of this place change? Everything looks so… dull and ashy, like it’s abandoned. And where are the customers?”

  It seemed like Zac didn’t know what was happening, so Jeremy explained to him everything that he had gone through and seen before he met up with Zac.

  “WHAT?!” Zac couldn’t believe what he just heard. To him, it all seemed unreal, but the proof is right in front of him: an empty cafe that looks abandoned, and an empty and quiet street, which he saw when he peeked outside the window pane of the cafe. “Are you okay, though? Are you hurt?”

  “I’m good, don’t worry about me,” Jeremy replied. He took a sharp exhale. “Though I’m still confused as to what is happening. Tall walls, destroyed roads, and this thick fog… This all feels like a dream.”

  Jeremy was experiencing another headache. He checked the pockets of his corduroy jacket to see if he still had his medicine, and to his luck, it was still there. He popped out two pills from the bottle and swallowed them. Zac noticed this and asked, “Whatcha got there?”

  “Oh, this?” Jeremy shows his bottle. “It’s medicine for my headache. I’ve been having intense headaches since my 3rd year of college, so I went to the doctor, and she prescribed me these to help with my headaches.”

  “Can I have one?” Zac reaches out with an open palm. “All of this is making my head split open.”

  He nodded and popped one pill for Zac, which he immediately swallowed. The two boys sat there in silence, completely out of ideas on what to do next. There’s no one in town, even Jeremy’s family. Zac said that his parents were out of town for the night because of a business party, so no one will be home as well. Neither of their phones has a signal, so it's useless to try to call the police—or anyone for that matter—so their only option now is to leave town and try to call for help somewhere, but they knew that the road to leave town was destroyed.

  “Unless the northern road of the town is still useable…” Zac looks at Jeremy. “Maybe that road is still intact. What if we take our chances there?”

  It was a nice idea, Jeremy thought, but they’re gambling over here. It will be worth it if the road is still okay, but if not, then they just wasted their time and energy. “We can, but what if it’s the same as the one on the southeast road and it’s destroyed?”

  “I mean, we need to try, at least,” Zac replied. “We really have nowhere to go. We’ll figure out the rest when we get there.”

  Jeremy understood and nodded. There’s no way that they’ll be staying in Sunnyside given the current condition it’s in. The town is empty, and the roads are destroyed. Whatever happened, it seemed that everybody left, so they should do the same.

  “Shall we go?” Jeremy stood from his seat.

  Zac did the same and nodded. As soon as they stepped outside, Zac stopped in his tracks and felt something weird. Jeremy immediately noticed this and turned around to give him attention. “Is everything okay, Zac?”

  Zac was rubbing the back of his neck. It seemed that he was uneasy. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just… Do you feel cold? Like, there’s chills all over you?”

  Jeremy was wearing a double-layered outfit, so he didn’t feel what Zac was feeling. In fact, he was feeling warm because of how much he walked the entire day. Jeremy noticed Zac was wearing a layered outfit, so it was weird that he felt cold.

  “No, not really,” Jeremy replied. “Zac, are you feeling okay? Do you have a fever?”

  Jeremy placed a hand on Zac’s forehead, then to the side of his neck. His temperature seemed normal. He’s not too hot or too cold. “No, you don’t…”

  While Zac’s temperature seemed normal, it was clear that he was cold. His teeth were quivering, and cold steam was basically coming out of his mouth with every breath that he took. All of this took Jeremy aback. “Holy shit, what’s happening…”

  “J-Jeremy…” Zac uttered, mouth quivering from the cold he’s feeling. “I’m s-s-sensing some–someone…”

  “What? What do you mean?”

  “W-w-we’re not… Alone…”

  Jeremy immediately looked around to see if what Zac was saying was true. There was no one, but this sent them into paranoia. “Zac, why don’t we go back inside for now?”

  He complied and walked inside. Jeremy does’t know if there was actually somebody, but things are already weird enough that it’s possible. Plus, he trusts Zac’s guts. It is never wrong. Jeremy keeps his eyes on every corner of the road and steps backward slowly into the cafe. As he was doing so, he stepped on the pipe that he got the key from earlier. He picked it up and went on guard in case someone hostile approached him. Silence fills the air.

  Until it was interrupted by a scream from inside the cafe. “AHHHHHH! HELP ME!”

  “ZAC!” Jeremy ran towards the cafe and saw that Zac was getting attacked.

  Whoever was attacking Zac, it looks human, but its gray complexion makes it look like it’s a monster of some sort. This monster looks incredibly thin—bones visible on its skin—and the only piece of clothing that it wears is a black hoodie that looks like it’s melted and sewn in its skin.

  Jeremy approached the creature and pulled it away from Zac. “HEY YOU!”

  The creature faced Jeremy, and what he saw was something that he’d never seen before in his life. The hoodie was also sewn and melted on the upper half of his face. Only its mouth—with incredibly black and rotten teeth and a decaying tongue—and the holes from its nose are visible. The breath of this thing is also incredibly rancid, as Jeremy felt his stomach churning after inhaling its breath. Jeremy got himself into position to prepare to fight this creature.

  “Zac, stay back!” Jeremy yelled. Zac complied and moved away from the area.

  The creature let out an unintelligible noise—similar to a zombie—and went in to pounce on Jeremy. Before this creature could reach him, he swung the pipe across its face. It was a strong hit, but not enough to knock the creature down. Once more, he swung at the creature, repeatedly this time, until it was knocked down onto the floor. Hearing that it was still making noises, Jeremy kept smashing its head with a pipe—and moved to stomping its head—until it stopped making noises, and eventually, it stopped moving altogether.

  Jeremy stopped for a moment to catch his breath. The creature now looks disfigured after taking a lot of beating. He stared at it for a while. He began to wonder what situation they are in once more. Things got even weirder than before, and more questions surfaced without the previous ones being answered. “What the fuck are you?”

  “Is it dead?” Zac slowly approached the creature.

  “I think so.” Jeremy kept his eyes on the creature. He then snapped back to reality and remembered that this thing attacked Zac. “Zac, are you okay? Did it hurt you?”

  Zac shook his head. “No, I’m fine. In fact, I feel much better. After you killed that thing, I don’t feel cold anymore.”

  Jeremy looked at the creature once more. He was thinking about how all of it was connected. One peculiar thing after another. “You think this creature is somehow connected to you feeling cold?”

  Zac shrugged. “All I’m saying is it might be connected.”

  Jeremy wanted to test out a hypothesis. “Zac, would you step outside for a moment?”

  He complied. Once Zac stepped outside, he felt a bit cold and immediately went inside. Jeremy did the same, but he didn’t feel anything. “You’re right. There may be more of them out there. And you’re the only one who could tell if they’re nearby.”

  “Like a human radar…” Zac sat down, not knowing what to feel about this revelation.

  “I think we should stay here for a while…” Jeremy closed the cafe door and locked it. “It’s too dangerous if they’re still out there.”

  Zac nods. “Man, how are we gonna get out of here now?”’

  Jeremy raised his pipe. “I guess we fight.”

  Zac chuckles. “What a weird situation we’re in right now. Kinda like that horror game that you played when we were in 8th grade.”

  “Silent Hill?” Jeremy chuckles as well. “Now that you say it, yeah, it kinda does. Foggy town, destroyed roads, creatures…”

  “Hope we don’t encounter bigger creatures though…” Zac joked, but he’s also worried that it might be a possibility. They just both laughed at the thought.

  A moment later, Jeremy’s phone rang. He took it from his pocket and saw that an unknown number was calling. Jeremy and Zac looked at each other in confusion as there wasn’t any signal, so why would he be receiving a phone call?

  He answered it. “Hello?”

  “Hello?” A man replied. It was a bit static. “Is this Jeremy Santiago?”

  “Yes, this is him. How may I help you?” Jeremy put the phone on loudspeaker for Zac to hear.

  “Hello! This is….. From the Sunnyside High…. Reunion Council…” The line was getting interrupted, and it was too static, so he couldn’t understand a few parts of what the man on the phone was saying. “This is to confirm that….. Santiago….. To attend the reunion…. Will you be attending?”

  They remembered that their high school will hold a reunion for their batch. If Jeremy was not mistaken, it was supposed to happen around June 25—2 days from now. Receiving the call, he can’t help but wonder if they were wrong about people leaving the town.

  “Hello?” Jeremy called out to the man on the phone.

  “Hello?” The man on the phone also said. “Mr. Santiago?”

  Jeremy kept calling out to the man.

  “Are you there, Mr. Santiago?” It looks like the man can’t hear Jeremy. “If you’re there, then please drop by the… gymnasium anytime before June… 25 if you’ll be attending, as there will be an attendance fee… and, of course, freebies! We… to see you. Thank you and have a wonderful day!”

  The man’s last words became distorted—sounding like he had a deep and creepy voice—before the call ended. Once again, Jeremy and Zac looked at each other. “Jeremy, do you think there are still other people here?”

  Jeremy shrugged. “Maybe… Do you want to check out Sunnyside High before we leave town?”

  Zac nods. A possibility of other people in the town besides Jeremy and Zac... It looks like they’ll be making a quick detour at their old high school.