phanTOMORROW Ch. 01: HOLOGRAM CITY

Taking time to go through her room he found pictures of he and her together. Those were also packed in a book bag she had by her desk. A ring he had bought her was laying on her dresser, nothing special it wasn't as if they were engaged, just a token of loyalty. Frowning at it trinket he ended up taking it too. Resisting more tears he took what little he could of her as a reminder of good times. Heading out he took one last look toward the pool and touched the glass of the French door as if expecting her hand over his from the other side. If he had lingered longer he might have noticed a smaller hand print over his. In closing the front door behind him and revving his Ninja back to life he couldn't have possibly heard glass breaking. Strange how vibrations work! Some inexplicable connection had been made.

With his Mother's lab run out of her best friend's facility she lived outside the city for safety concerns, having given up her actual home when Griffin moved out. She and her fellow scientists simply lived where they worked. Griffin had hopes that the further out he rode the more likely he might find signs of life. It was not looking good at all. Taking forever to avoid the thousands of cars, trucks and the like resting like a junkyard of fiberglass and steel as far as the..."I didn't notice before now. There are no birds in the sky. Crap! Am I really the only living thing in New York City?"

Crossing the Brooklyn bridge was a challenge, he literally had to stop and move cars that were still running, pushing others that were out of gas out of the way to clear a bike path. It was an all day job. Stopping to catch his breath he peered out over the Hudson and noted even ships and barges were crippled like accordions along the shore line. Distant fires raging due to petrol tankers. It was definitely a grim scene.

"I just know one of those ships is going to break free and take out the support columns of the bridge sometime over the next week. If the three bridges get destroyed I'm going to be stranded over on the other side. Only way across then is to commandeer a boat and go from shore to shore. This shit is going to get complicated." In moving a Suburban he found beer in the back seat and took one. Just one to take the edge off over his nerves. While toughening up the longer he was out here alone he simply needed sustenance. Beef Jerky found in another vehicle he sat on the hood of a Mustang and ate his lunch. "Getting to Mom is going to take awhile I might as well have faith that if she's alive she will find me. Mom's resourceful, I just need to keep my eyes and ears open for some kind of signal. Airwaves the most logical. Makes me wonder how long the power grid can hold out without being attended. Might be blackout city before the week is up." Longer! The grid was on a signal loop to reboot every 48 hours.

Finishing off his beer he hurled the bottle off the bridge and told some invisible cop, "Going to arrest me for littering Bitch?" He sighed at his disrespect and looked down at the water through a chain link fence, "So not going to pick it up Bro." If this was what it was going to be like going forward, talking to invisible friends he was going to go insane. Looking at more vehicle obstruction he exhaled loudly. "Where's a tow truck driver when you need one?" Ironic seeing as that was his occupation. It took him five hours just to cross the bridge.

Once on the other side the congestion level was not as crammed together. Needing fuel for his Ninja he pulled into a service station and figured out the gas pump from inside the store, gathering a few cold drinks and snacks, only what he knew he could carry in Jade's backpack. No beer, no hard liquor, he knew he needed a level head not truly knowing what might still be out there, if anything. Filling up his gas tank he got a chill as the sun began lowering and opted to swipe a New York Yankees varsity jacket from a guy who used to drive a fresh produce truck. It fit pretty well. "Sorry Buddy. I'm not really a baseball fan but I'll start rooting for a comeback trail. Hope you can forgive my stealing it from you. If you're ever back in town look me up we'll have a beer and I'll give it back to you. So yeah...not stealing it...borrowing it." Looking at his ID he sighed, "Take care Jay."

Back on his Ninja he proceeded until he was less than ten miles from his Mom's home. With night falling in the sky it was as if he could feel a static cling in the air. Another massive pile up ahead he pulled over and sighed. "I'll be moving vehicles all night long just to get ten plus miles. I better just find shelter and keep trying to call Mom." Pausing as he sat on his bike he looked up at the evening sky and saw the moon rising from behind cloud cover. Strangely, he noted a black ring around the moon's glow. "What's causing that? It's like an empty eclipse." The darker it got Griffin sought to bypass thinking too much, a chill driving him to seek shelter. Pulling up to the valet parking of a twenty story hotel he found the uniform of a long gone Valet, keys to a Sedan in what would have been his hand, the car idle as if waiting on it's owner. "Just leave my bike here I'll get it in the morning Jeeves." No disrespect meant but Griffin did at least tip him a dollar bill under his jacket.

Going inside he found littered attire everywhere. Ignoring it all he went behind the hotel front desk and looked at keys in what appeared mailbox slots. "Oooo! Penthouse!" He saw a key available and snagged it up. "Might as well take advantage while I can. I could never afford the penthouse even in a cheap hotel. Of course, that might not ever be an issue anymore if I'm the last motherfucker on Earth." Accepting that fact made him apologize to his Mom for cursing under his breath. "Don't worry Mom I'll lick the complementary soap when I get upstairs."

Sensor lights on lit his path. Using the elevator he found more clothing on the floor and simply tried not to disturb it. Going to the top floor without any problems concerning power fluxes he stepped out and waved at those he left behind. A private elevator specifically for the penthouse to avoid unwanted visitors took him up one final floor to an extravagant outcome.

"Whoa! Nice crib." He entered and stood in awe of the architecture and design choices. Marble pillars, plush carpet without a single stain anywhere, brass fittings in the bathroom, hot tub on deck next to a medium sized circular swimming pool. "I think I can afford this place." He chuckled at the bedroom door. There he found a massive king size bed with plush pillows and an 80' wall hung TV set. Eying the television he removed his backpack and coat to get comfy. Boots off before settling down with the TV remote he turned it on. It seemed like nothing had even happened when it came to TV shows at least. Likely stations running loops of prearranged programming. Switching to CNN he found a lifeless news anchor desk and no movement. That said it all. "It's...worldwide." Further news channels confirmed his worst fear.

Unable to watch anything further he simply left it on the Cable providers music channel and shuffled around his new surroundings. The refrigerator was stocked with bottled water and a liquor cabinet was provided with choice whiskey, vodka, and tequila. Fruit juices to mix drinks with. Select beer brands led him to his second beer of the day. Taking it out to the living room area he peered through the French doors to see lightning flashing in the distance. That meant a thunderstorm on the way. "Great! If the weather fucks with the power it might not reboot without human intervention. Warm beer here I come." He looks at his bottle with a grim smirk. "Man that moon is eerie. What the hell happened last night?"

Dragging his cell from his pocket he again tries his Mother for a third time. Still a dreaded voicemail, but at least he could hear her voice. At a loss he glanced at his cells wallpaper to find a recent pic of he and Jade. Good times! Until that crap before her disappearance. Sighing he dialed her number, it too going to voicemail, but like his Mother he had a connective voice to remember her by.

Tears generated again he had to leave a message, "I don't know why you did what you did with that Quentin douche. I know it wasn't planned but Jade...once you gave in...you fucked him. It wasn't just rape...you...liked it for a hot minute. He...was trying to kill you I think. All on film...he was one sick fucker. I'm...glad you got away...if you can call it that considering you disappeared right in front of my eyes...well, the cameras eye. I can't forget you riding him but after seeing your regret...I forgive you. I have to...thinking about it being all alone now...I need you to keep me sane. I'm not certain if my Mom is alive or gone poof like you but if she is maybe her and I can figure out where everyone went and try and bring people back." He freezes to process his thoughts, "If not...I have your memory. Thanks for the birthday thought even if it didn't...go as planned. I love you Jade." Voice trailing to a sigh he ended his call, the cell was low on battery anyway, and he hadn't thought on bringing his charger.

"Might have to scavenge a charger from one of the former residents. Not that I can call anyone but I need to keep an open mind. I can still access internet as long as towers are serviceable. Might need it sometime to keep abreast on how to fix something that's beyond my figuring it out. I'm smart but I'm no Einstein." Belly growling he found complimentary cashews but that simply wasn't enough. Plucking up a house phone he chuckled, "Yeah I'd like to order a Sirloin steak with baked potato. Extra sour cream and butter. Sure a hot fudge sundae for dessert. Cherry on top!" As if he were going to get room service. Laughing at his misfortune he hung up and said, "Yes Chef!" He knew if he wanted a real meal he was going to have to raid the kitchen.

With nobody to care how he was dressed Griffin walked in his socks back to the elevator and headed down, key in his pants pocket so he wasn't locked out. Making his way through the dining room he avoided further discarded clothing and entered the kitchen. Looking through coolers he found ground beef and decided to keep his culinary skills minimal and fried a couple burgers. Dicing veggies to go with it and throwing steak fries in a fryer he had a meal fit for a King. Maybe he was the King of New York. Hell if he was the sole survivor...he owned a slightly used planet.

Going into the dining room he settled on a table and drank a fountain drink Coke to compliment his meal. Thoughts on it as he ate he knew food was going to become perishable. He had time to plan but until he knew if his Mother was out there somewhere he would simply eat what he could and figure out how to become a gardener later. Vegetarian he would eventually be. Until then...he would enjoy the finer things in life. In passing back through the lobby exploring he noticed an aquarium built into a wall. Closer inspection he did find fish swimming. "Huh! I guess I'm not the sole survivor after all. Hello little guys. I might have to eat you at some point so lets get you fellas some vittles until you're the main course." Fish food located by venturing to the opposite side of the aquarium he sprinkled some in. They were certainly grateful.

"If I come back by another day I'll try and prolong your fates." He sighed, "Wonder why you guys survived when people and birds and insects don't seem to have? I guess maybe being under water is like a barrier against whatever zapped everyone? Good to know I can go fishing at least to survive." Thinking of Jade in the pool at her home ruined his glee over a food source. "Obviously people under water weren't so lucky."

Noticing showers outside the front lobby windows on his way back to the elevator he diverted direction and stepped out under the valet canopy. The air was making his arm hair stand on end. "Lot of static charge. Whatever hit the planet is altering the atmosphere." Further steps outward he placed his palm under the rain and enjoyed the fact he didn't melt away. Nothing uncommon, just the tears of God.

With the moon higher he studied it further, the black ring around it seemed thicker, almost menacing like a huge eyeball in the sky. Shrugging off a chill at the sight he headed back inside, taking time to gather cellphones from the carpets in hopes to use them should his own go dead, finding a useful charger would come tomorrow. With three compatible cells in his possession he returned to his penthouse. "At least the sirens are dying out. I can think again." Batteries across the city were finally being drained. Soon silence would be a tomb.

Another trial call to his Mother Cassie, Griffin Folklore gave up and took his third beer of the day outside on to the patio. With the earlier showers clearing up he moved to the ornate designed wall railing and crossed his arms over one another. Staring out over the city at this height he caught view of the damage that no humans intentionally wrought. It was one hell of a mess. Prepared to call it a night he took one good hard look across the way to a lit up office building and choked on his beer. After his coughing fit he noticed movement in the windows as if life had returned. Only one problem...the people were..."Ghosts?"

An urge to look straight down at the ground he was shocked even further. Activity below was equally as vibrant. Hurrying back to his elevator he went one floor down intending to switch elevators to return to the lobby. While there was no bodies present in the hallway, the second his elevator door opened he found the lost inhabitants standing there pretty as they please. A cute couple hugging one another's arms shared emotion. The only thing is they hadn't reacted to Griffin's untimely arrival. It was as if he could see them in their ghostly form but they couldn't see him. Matters worse their clothing was at their feet and the loving occupants were totally nude.

Swallowing dryly he shared the elevator down to ground level. As the door opened the other lost employees and residents were all back in action as if nothing had ever happened. Naked almost like negative stills in an old camera they went about their business as if nothing had occurred.

"Holy fuck! World's largest nudist colony."

Griffin Folklore stood amid thirty gently moving bodies, re-enacting their final moments, yet going further in their travels. Not one acknowledged him in or near them. He even had to sidestep to avoid being walked through. Big guy, big dick swinging charging at him blindly there was no way Griffin was going to stand in his way. Nor did he want to risk it touching him in case adverse effects might consume him too and ruin his night even further.

Life...goes on?

"I wonder if there's a Therapist nearby?"

He was going to need one after this.

No boohoo!

Just boo!