Disappearance Read Online Free PDF Page A

their watch and saying, "Oh, look at the time! I don't think I have anything further."
    I search all through the house but I've never put it in a particular spot, which I guess is why I often forget to wear it. Our house isn't the most organized to begin with. Abby is neat and tidy while I'm a borderline slob. Like most kids, I grew up with a very messy bedroom. The only time it was ever cleaned was when my mom forced me to. Now that I'm out of her house, I never seem to do it.
    After searching for another twenty minutes, I decide it's a lost cause and give up. After all of that effort, I realize all I have to do to know the time is check the clock in my car. My mind has been wandering so much today I never even paid attention to the clock when I was messing with the radio stations. I make my way into the garage, turn the ignition on halfway, and pause for a second until the time begins to display on the radio dashboard. It's 2:30 p.m.
    With this realization, I think it's best I make my way to Abby's office. Deep down I have a feeling that this is the right thing to do. Abby works in Chesterfield, Ohio, which is a fairly large city by my standards. I remember looking it up once and seeing it was something like the twelfth biggest city in Ohio. There are bound to be some people there. Even if an immediate evacuation of the city was declared, with over sixty thousand people some of them are likely to stay put. I know when I make my way over there I may or may not see Abby, but I'll definitely see somebody. That I'm sure of.
    Abby normally gets off work at 5:00, and gets home at 5:45. Because she didn't drive to work today, her schedule may be a little off so I better get there soon. She would be very worried if she got home and I wasn't there.
    Before I make my way out, I want to see how much gas is left in Abby's car. Even if her tank is almost empty, I'm still going to Chesterfield. Having gas in her car though gives me more options assuming the power is out for the next couple of days. I open her door and, using the key I have, I turn the ignition halfway. The dial shoots its way up and I see she has three-quarters of a tank. Woo-hoo, I'll take it!
    I plan on making a down-and-back trip, so I'll still take my car over. It has about 130 miles left before it runs out of gas and the round trip to Chesterfield is about ninety miles. That gives me some wiggle room in case I want to drive around.
    I manually open up the garage door and start the drive toward Chesterfield. It's time to get some answers about what's going on.
     

 
     
     
    Chapter 4
     
    During the trip, I make a point of paying more attention to what's going on around me. This is not the time to bury myself in thoughts and forget the drive. I think back to the movie Shaun of the Dead , one of my favorite zombie/comedy movies. There's a scene in the beginning in which he goes about his morning routine and is so oblivious to his surroundings that he doesn't even notice everyone around him is a zombie. As silly as it looks in the movie, I could see myself doing the same thing.
    To get to the highway, I must take a similar path to the one I took to the grocery store earlier. As I look around, it looks like much of the same. Everything appears normal except for any trace of human existence. You can still see the occasional car parked at the end of a parking lot. The buildings obviously still appear exactly like they did the day before, but the traffic lights aren't working and no cars are out on the road.
    It reminds me of driving on an early Saturday morning. I like to get up early, even on the weekends. Occasionally, I make an early grocery-shopping trip when there isn't any food in the house for breakfast. Whenever I leave, I'm always amazed at how few cars are out on the roads. I mean, I've driven on highways before at four o'clock in the morning, and there are always several cars out. Early morning in town, though, I rarely see anyone out. In its weird little