Dust motes danced in the sliver of afternoon light cutting through the grimy window. Outside, the world was silent. The kind of silence that made your ears ring.

The apartment was a time capsule. Canned goods stacked neat along the kitchen counter. Bottled water lined up like soldiers against the wall. A generator hummed somewhere in the bathroom, powering the single lamp that cast long shadows across the living room.

*Message to:

But the silence was deafening.

A crash echoed from somewhere outside. Glass breaking. Then laughter. Harsh, jeering laughter that cut through the dead air like a knife.