The Vanishing

Every year on April twelfth, millions of people vanished. No smoke, no sign, nothing at all. 2.5% of the entire world's population, every year without fail. There didn't seem to be a rhyme or reason to who, it was random. Old, young, pretty, ugly, famous, nobodies. April fifteenth was the day with the largest suicide rate since the Vanishing had started sixteen years past. In the last five years, April twelfth had also become a huge day for abductions. The police thought that maybe it had been going on longer, but it was hard to tell. The percentage had always been exact before, but recently it had started going up noticeably. People killing off rivals, ex's, trying to hide the bodies. People abducting kids, girls, anyone. It was the day to get away with anything. Since the Vanishing began, the world had slowed down considerably.

When April arrived, people started trying anything to make sure they didn't vanish. Church, jail, wrapping themselves in tin foil, going underground, living in bunkers and caves. Nothing ever worked. Ever. There was no way to escape, no way to know who was going to be next. You just bought Vanishing insurance and hoped your family never got to collect. Some people threw huge parties, getting high, going on spending spree's thinking they will never have to pay it back. The days following the Vanishing, the return lines are worse than the days after Christmas. A few years back, stores began putting spend limits on the first weeks of April. No large purchases at all.

The Vanishing had changed the face of the world.

Lydia was sitting alone at her family farm, looking up at the sky when April twelfth rolled around. She stared up and waited. She was the only Barzelai left now and she kept expecting to be taken. Three years now and she was still here, still the last one left. She got up when the sun began lighting the horizon and sighed. She had planned on staying awake all day, she wanted to see it coming, but she was exhausted.

She walked back to the house, shivering. It was huge and empty, the quiet oppressive now. Her father would have been up by now, starting on chores. Her mother would be in the huge kitchen with her grandmother, talking as they started breakfast. Her older brother would be off to college by now, but she could remember him hurrying out the door this early, trying not to be late for practice. Her younger brothers would be fighting, arguing over something stupid and her youngest sister would be in the bathroom, hogging the mirror for her tweenage make-up. Julie had been the first. Lydia's mom had been heartbroken, inconsolable. When her grandmother and older brother had been taken the next year, Lydia's mother had become a April fifteenth statistic. That September, her father had become a drinking and driving statistic. The Vanishing took her cousins, aunts, uncles and brothers before it took her grandfather. She was all there was and the house seemed to know it would be empty soon. It stayed quiet as if it were already mourning her loss.

Lydia fell into bed after shucking her coat and shoes, not bothering with anything else. Adrenaline had kept her up for the past twenty nine hours, but she couldn't keep her eyes open another minute now that the day was here. Reports would be in all day, the news rolling with the names of celebrities and famous people as they vanished. Texts would be sent out, everyone would be checking on everyone. Lydia had turned her phone off and had told her few friends that she wouldn't be home. She was safe from busy bodies and woe to any looter who thought to check her farm. Her father and grandfather had left behind a gun collection to rival an entire backwoods militia.

To her surprise, she woke to voices. Loud, male voices. She started to sit up just as her bedroom door opened.

"Lyd! You are still here," Mason jeered.

Lydia scowled and got up, yanking the shotgun out from under her pillow. Mason was Halt's older brother. Halt had been her best friend and the boy she had been in love with since she was six. Halt had vanished last year while holding her hand. Mason had been a dick before Halt had vanished, but now he was a complete punk on top of it.

"Get out Mason," she snapped, leveling the gun at his chest.

His friends hooted with laughter as they pushed in behind him. "You going to shoot me just for checking on you?" he asked, grinning. He looked a little like Halt, but where Halt had been diminutive and sickly, Mason had gotten his father's genes. Big and burly, strong. Halt had been a premie and battled childhood cancer. He was never going to grow into one of the huge Barstow boys. Lydia liked that about him, he never made her feel tiny. The brothers had the same red hair and brown eyes, but that was where the similarities had ended.

Mason circled her now as his three friends spread out.

"What do you want, Mason?" she demanded, feeling a little afraid now.

"Like I said, I was checking on you. Halt would have wanted me to make sure you were ok."

"You aren't getting Daddy's guns, Mason. I've hidden all of them but a few."

"Not here for the guns, babe. How old are you now? I mean, Halt would have been nineteen or something, so you are at least eighteen now, right?"

Lydia froze, terrified.

"She looks old enough to at least suck a cock," Warren said, rubbing the bulge in his pants.

"Fuck off Warren, Lydia is mine. We each picked and you picked Mariah. Not my fault she Vanished," Mason snarled.

"Dude, you never gave anyone else an option, you claimed Lydia out the gate!" Mick said, rolling his eyes.

"Fuck off man, we saw Sarah, we will grab her later."

"I'm just saying, it's not like anyone else had a choice when it came to Lydia. You claimed her the second you told us about this plan of yours!"

"Because she is fucking mine!" Mason yelled, rounding on his friend.

"All of you get out!" Lydia screamed, shaking and trying to point the shotgun at all of them at once.

Mason spun back to her, slapped the barrel of the shotgun up to the ceiling, then jerked it away from her. He unloaded it in two rapid pumps, then tossed it to the floor. He moved closer to Lydia, backing her to a corner.

"Eighteen? Nineteen? How old Lydia?" he asked, his voice rough.

"Does it matter?" she screamed, her knees trying to buckle.

He shrugged. "Not really. Gonna fuck you either way, I just want to know."

"You're an asshole!" Lydia screamed as she broke down sobbing. "Halt would have been twenty one this year!"

Mason shrugged again. "He was always such a little squirt, it was hard to tell. So you are twenty?"

"She don't look twenty," Nate said dubiously.

"I am twenty one you jerkoffs!" Lydia screamed. She grabbed for her lamp to swing at Mason, but he just laughed as he grabbed her arm and jerked her close.

"See why I wanted her? She's always been this little firecracker!" He laughed as she kicked and struggled.

"This where we are doing this then?" Mickey asked.

"Yeah, there's a shit ton of room here and no one comes out here anymore. Go get your girls and bring them back here. Warren, I saw Karleigh, she's still around. Find her."

"I will pick out my own bitch man. I won't settle for Karleigh, I don't have to take her. She'll fuck me whenever I want anyway. I'm going to check on Sophia."

"Dude," Nate snapped. "She has like six brothers! There is no way you will get her alone long enough to snatch her!"

The rest of the conversation was lost to Lydia as the other three men left her room and went down the stairs.

"Well now babe, just you and me," Mason growled, groping her breast in a meaty hand.

"Mason, please don't!" she begged, trying to wriggle out of his grip. "You know I loved Halt! We were..."

"And that was a fucking waste! I know that you knew Halt liked boys."

"He liked boys and girls!"

"He may have fucking said that to spare your feelings, but he liked boys. He knew you were in love with him and he didn't want to lose his best friend by rejecting you outright. Or did you really think he was tutoring Jimmy Fletcher in Algebra? Your feelings were completely wasted on him! It should have been me!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry I said no to prom with you, just please don't do this!"

"You think it was just prom, Lyd? Fuck. It was you sleeping over and hanging out in Halt's t-shirts. Watching your tits bounce when you two went riding. Watching him rub your feet while you laid on the couch watching movies. You remember the night I came in and sat near you to watch a movie and I barely touched your foot on accident? You kicked at me and told me to get off you. I was on the other side of the couch, as far as I could be and you were sprawled across it like you owned it, but I was the one made to feel like a creeper asshole. No, Lydia. This isn't about prom. This is about you being a bitch. I crushed on you just as hard as you crushed on Halt. Difference was, he was nice to you about it. You were a complete cunt to me."

Lydia went still in stunned shock. "No. No! You were always so mean to me! I remember that night! I was asleep and you sat on my foot and ankle and it hurt! If I said something mean it was because you were always hurting me and being mean to me and Halt! Like your annoying little brother and kid sister!"

"You seem to forget I am only ten months older than Halt."

"Then why did you think he was only nineteen?"

"I was being sarcastic. I know your size pisses you off, just like it pissed Halt off. I was baiting you. Stop squirming!"

"You were mean to me! All the time! Just before Halt Vanished, you took his whole bowl of ice cream that he had forgotten while he was playing video games and dumped it on my head!"

"Yeah. Wake the fuck up! He had forgotten you were there as much as he had forgotten that bowl of melted ice cream was there! I wanted you to open your fucking eyes! You were sitting there all moon eyed, worshipping him and he was ignoring you! I asked you if you wanted to go for a ride on my new four wheeler and you didn't even hear me! You deserved more than a bowl of melted ice cream!"

"Please, Mason, let me go? Please? You know this isn't right! You were always a shit, but you were never a rapist, please don't do this? Don't let this happen?"

"Fuck you Lydia. The world is gone to shit. I don't have to try and be nice anymore. I don't have to try and get you to notice me. You fucking notice me now, don't you?" He asked, shoving her down to her bed and pinning her there while he yanked on all of her clothes, pulling them off.

Lydia struggled and screamed, but Mason had always been large and strong. He had her down to her underclothes in moments. He paused then, looking down at her and breathing heavily. He held her wrists above her head with one hand, with the other he moved as if to touch her, his hand fluttering a moment. When his fingertips landed on her ribs, he let out a shuddering breath. He slid his hand up, cupping her breast and his eyes watched, transfixed.

Lydia knew that in his own mind, he had been shunned and rejected, even though she didn't remember it the same way he did. He was finally doing what he had dreamed of doing and his eyes were lit up with want and the fruition of his dreams coming to life. She knew because she had had the same sorts of dreams about Halt.

If she could play on this, she could get away. Get to her guns. No, she was too terrified to play his game. She couldn't come on to him. Have sex with him. No, that wasn't going to happen. She had to find another way, one that didn't involve Mason Barstow raping her.

"Please Mason?" she whispered. "I didn't know how you felt, I thought you hated me. I thought you were being mean. When you asked me to prom, I thought you were going to say something cruel, or do something mean to me. It wasn't till after I said no that I realized you had been serious. We don't have to do this this way? We can talk, go riding, watch a movie?"

"Too fucking late for that, isn't it?" he sneered. "Cat's out of the bag now, isn't it."

"But you haven't hurt me yet, not really. It's not too late. I will try Mason, I will."

"How about you suck my cock and we go from there," he said, grabbing her by the jaw painfully. "I'm not stupid Lydia. I won't fall for your BS, I know you, remember? I know you. I have known you since yours and Halt's ninth birthday party. Joined, because you both loved Harry fucking Potter."

"It was you, wasn't it? Who kissed me in the closet while we were playing hide and seek?"

"You thought it was Halt?"

"No. Halt was looking, and you were too big to be Halt. I thought it was Danny."

"Would you have slapped so hard if you'd known it was me and not Danny?"

"I would have slapped harder."

Mason snorted a laugh. "See. There she is. My Lydia. Not that pandering little bullshitter. I knew then, that very moment, that I wanted Lydia Barzelai to be Lydia Barstow someday. You wanted to be Lydia Barstow too, just the wrong fucking one of us."

"Mason, I can't change the past. And say what you want about Halt, you won't turn me against him. He was my best friend and the man I was in love with."

"He didn't deserve your love," Mason snarled angrily. "And he is gone! They will never come back, you know. The Vanished? Never."

"I believe that too, but that doesn't change how I feel. I will always love him, even when I decide to move on."

"Decide now. You are moving on, like it or not. We all are. Fuck waiting and fuck rules. We take what we want now because this time next year we may be gone. I am taking what I want, taking what I have wanted for too fucking long. You can fight if you want, or you can accept it. I can be good to you if you let me. I kind of hope you don't. I like that feisty little Lydia who didn't let me steal a kiss."

"So you will be very happy to know that if you try it now, or worse, I will gut you. I will slit your throat in your sleep, or blow your brains out, or whatever I can manage with what I can get my hands on! You can't watch me forever, keep me pinned down. The second I get a chance, you will die, you and all of your friends!"

He laughed at her, then gripped her jaw again and kissed her. She squealed into his mouth and struggled, but he held her down and kissed her, forcing her mouth open as he dug his fingers into her jaw. He let her jaw go as he pulled back, smirking, then lowered his hand down to grope her breasts again.

"Stop crying," he said huskily, grinding his hard cock against her thigh as she squirmed. "Fuck I love your tits. I love that they are small enough that you never wear a bra, but big enough that they bounce nice." He made a noise of appreciation as he moved down and wrapped his mouth around her entire breast, sucking it up in his mouth.

"No more!" Lydia begged in a whisper. "Please Mason, it hurts! Not so hard, please!"

"Mmm, baby. You don't know pain yet. Wait till I fuck you."

"Mason, please!" she wailed, trembling with terror.

"Shhh baby. Shhh. You want me to make it good for you baby? I can. Don't fight me. Don't cry. I don't like it when you cry Lydia. When you scream for me I want it to be because you love what I am doing to you. I can make it good baby," he whispered before sucking on her breast again, pulling her nipple up between his teeth. "Fuck baby, I love this tight little body. I've imagined your tight cunt so many times baby, fuck! Have you wondered about me? If my cock is as big as the rest of me?"

"No," she whispered, almost hysterical now. The truth was, she had wondered. She had wondered about all of the Barstow boys. Their father was six foot six and easily two hundred and fifty pounds. All four older boys were built just like him. Halt was the only one who had topped out at five six and a hundred and ten pounds. Lydia was pretty sure there wasn't a girl who had met the Barstow boys who hadn't been curious about the size of their cocks. Lydia had seen Halt several times, but only one time hard. He loved to sleep in his loose boxers and at the right angle, you could see everything. Halt hadn't been a shower, but from the one morning she had seen his morning wood poking out, he hadn't been much of a grower either. She'd actually liked that about him, or at least she had told herself she did. Any bigger and he'd have hurt her if they had ever gotten around to fooling around.

Mason chuckled. "Liar. Jenny and Gretta both told me that all the girls talked about us. You gonna lie and say you are the one girl who didn't?"

"I was never friends with Jenny or Gretta, or any of those girls."

"But they said all the girls whispered. Wondered."

"Mason, please? Please can we just slow down? I'm so afraid and you know I don't want this!"

"You don't want me to fuck you babe?" he asked, his voice low. He was past reasoning at this point. "Suck my cock. Get me off with your mouth and I will save that tight cunt for later."

"I will Mason! I will, I will do that. I will keep doing that if you don't..."

"Shhh baby. I am going to fuck you. That's a given. I am going to fuck you over and over and over again and you are going to end up loving it, I guarantee you that. For now I will let you suck me off though. If you do it right. Can you do it right baby?"

"I... I..." she was panicking now, her breathing too rapid. She couldn't think! "I will try. I've never... I've never gone down on a guy before, but you can tell me! Tell me how? Teach me?"

"Sure baby, I will tell you what I like," he rumbled with a grin as he pulled her up and threw himself onto her bed. He undid his pants, still holding both of her wrists in the other hand. "I will talk you through it, but babe. Listen to me. You try and bite me? Or hurt me? Anything stupid at all? Not only will I fuck you so hard you won't sit for a week, I will fuck your ass so hard you'll be begging for mercy a year from now. You got it?"

"Yes! Yes, I understand. I won't. I do this, I keep you happy...satisfied... and you won't rape me. Ok?"

He chuckled. "For now. I am going to fuck you babe, it's inevitable. But for now."

He let one of her hands go as he reached down and pulled his cock out, pushing his jeans down a bit to give her more room. Lydia stared, unsure of what to think. It was soft, laying over his thigh and not nearly as large as she had feared. This wouldn't be that bad, maybe.

With a shuddering intake of breath, she made herself take hold of it with her free hand, then she hesitated again. It was soft, but incredibly warm, and even as she touched it, it seemed to twitch and thicken in her fingers. She looked up at him and his lip was curling like he knew something she didn't. She moved closer fearfully, afraid to breathe too deeply. Would it smell rancid and unclean? She had a thing about smells and a very tender stomach. She eased closer, but all she smelled was... irish spring. The same soap Halt used. Tears threatened suddenly, he smelled like Halt! She forced her mind away from that line of thinking and closed her eyes to take another deep breath. She moved closer until her lower lip was touching the head of his cock. It was thicker now, and larger, but still warm. There was something sticky and wet on the very end, it tasted salty, but not awful. She was trembling harder now as she opened her eyes and looked up at him. His eyes were bright and distant as he watched her with a small smile. His eyes were the same dark brown as Halts, his hair the same dark red. Mason kept his much shorter though.

"Y..you said you would tell me?" she whispered, her lower lips still against his cock.

"Mmm. Keep doing what you are doing, I want to watch. Just... try for a bit for me. Like you want to please me."

Lydia swallowed hard and looked back down at his hard cock. It was larger now, much larger. Large enough that her fingers couldn't touch around it and long enough that it seemed terrifying. She poked her tongue out and licked the tip, then circled her tongue over the top. She licked again and again as she tightened her grip on it. She tugged her other wrist out of his grip and he let her go so she could hold him in both hands. She kissed the tip of his cock, then pushed her lips against it, letting it spread her lips open around him. His small moan said he liked that so she did it again, going a little further down this time. She licked again, circling the top with her tongue before opening her mouth and taking as much of him as she could into her mouth. He groaned as he raised his hips slightly and slid his fingers into her hair.