Vanishing

Rusty glanced up at the sky. Yep, the spaceship was still there. He lowered his head and trudged down the abandoned road. The spaceship had appeared about a week ago and then, people began disappearing. It was amazing how quickly everything went sideways.

Almost 70% of the people in the town were gone. Water and power were erratic. All the traffic lights were dead. Other towns weren’t much better. Then, 90 days in, some of the people started reappearing. They’d be sitting in the town square, confused, in the morning.

Memories of what transpired over the past 3 months offered no consensus from returnees. Mike Fletcher said he felt colder than he’d ever been. Carol Allen felt an overwhelming sense of love. A love she missed. All we knew was 532 people vanished that night and now they’re back.

Ann Li was the first to report the deja vu. She said it didn't come and go in seconds, like most people feel, but lasted hours, sometimes even a whole day. "I just feel like I've done all of this," Ann said. The others soon reported similar feelings. "It's like reliving a dream."

One man spoke to her, “Ĉu vi povas kompreni min?" And despite it clearly not being English, she absolutely COULD understand him. “Yes,” she said. "Vi devu mangi ion," the man said. He led her to a large table, piled with unfamiliar food. She sat and ate something.

She ate quickly but carefully, pausing occasionally to set down her fork and gaze at the planets. The robed men spoke in hushed tones. What's this language? she thought. Why can I understand it? "Vanish," the men said suddenly in unison as a portal opened up, swallowing only her.