Fragment 1

Far beneath the mountain, there was a tremor of movement where there had been only the stillness of stone for eons.

--

There was a feeling of anxiety across the world as city streets that were usually crowded to bursting became empty stretches of pavement beneath the traffic cameras.

Everyone hadn't died, humanity had just retreated to their caves to wait out the sickness.

Inside those "caves" there was an almost frenetic buzz of energy, like a bee hive at high summer. People who rarely communicated with each other were video chatting and streaming about their confinement. The artwork and history of the world was opened up to remote public viewing for the confined, and a million different classes were offered to children who could no longer go to school.

Of course, all of that was only for those who already had power and network access in place when the sickness came. Those who had been living in reduced circumstances from the beginning could only try to endure as shortages of basic living necessities reduced them to the level of true cave dwellers. And those who lacked shelter of any kind were left to drift through the empty streets with the animals.

People had forgotten how many animals still clung to existence in the shallow spaces between their towering cities of false stone. Excitement and joy that rivaled the feelings of their distant ancestors greeted sightings of deer and other traditional prey animals who dared the spaces that the usual motorized traffic had abandoned. Not because most people were desperate enough to hunt their own food yet, but because the sight of animals roaming freely had become so rare.

--

His thoughts on awakening resembled those of millions of people across the globe. 'Is it over yet? Should I go out and check? Maybe it's safer to wait. But what if it is finally time? A person only has so many years to live.'

Unfortunately, he lacked a network connection, or even a cell phone, and couldn't just ask. Not that he would have known who to call, even if he'd been familiar with the technology.

He gazed at the blank wall in front of him. Cracks traced a delicate pattern in the surface that had once been smooth. Time was a cruel and unceasing foe for those caught up in its currents, even something as solid as stone could not escape its passing.

He looked down at his hands, and didn't know if he should be glad that he had no mirror. Even in sleep, everyone continued to age. The skin of his palms was creased in patterns that resembled those on the wall, but the disturbing thing was how thin he was, and how visible his bone structure had become.

His stomach woke up more slowly than his mind, but the first twinges as it stretched and compressed around nothing spiked sharply through his thoughts. He was hungry. It was a very primitive need that had driven many minds sharper than his own into making reckless decisions.

He decided. Even if the plague that had spread across the world wasn't over, even if it wasn't time, he was going out.

--

The mountain shifted, and a deep vibration shook the earth around it.