Yesterday's Gone: Season One

Anything you can think of for me to tell them?”
    “Not much to say. I woke up this morning and everyone was gone. Thought my girlfriend was pissed since we had a big blowup last night. Same brand that happens every 28 days or so and she’s never left before, but I’ve never slept on the couch either, so I didn’t think anything of it at first. But then the air got so heavy, know what I mean?”
    “No, not sure. We didn’t have anything like that up north, just a bunch of people running and screaming in the streets. What sorta feeling you mean?”
    “Well, it was like...” the motorist swallowed hard, “Don’t think I’m crazy or nothing, but it was like the air weighed more, or maybe less, I’m not sure, but it was different . And I could feel it so I knew something was wrong.”
    “What’d you do?”
    “At first, nothing. Turned on the TV, but there was nothing on. Not a single station.”
    “You mean the TV was dead?”
    “No, it was working, but all the channels were blue, except the ones with snow. Oh, and one channel that was showing some old show from the 50’s. Might’ve been Leave it to Beave r, but I’m not sure. Didn’t leave it on long enough to find out.”
    “What’d you do after the TV wasn’t working?” Boricio looked at the motorist with kind eyes, waiting to kill.  
    “Went outside to see what I could see, you know? And I could just feel it, the whole neighborhood gone. And sure enough, it was like someone had shaken the city and dumped the people out. So I changed my clothes, grabbed my keys and started heading north.”
    “Why north?”
    “Got some family here, brother and his kids, wanted to check on them. But my truck was near empty, hadn’t gassed it in a week, and the gas stations I ran into are all down. No power, no people.”
    Fuck. No gas. That was gonna be a BIG time, beer - battered bullshit of a problem. Good thing the cruiser was still three-quarters full.  
    “Well, you’re welcome to ride along with me,” Boricio jerked his thumb at the cruiser. “I can drop you off at your brothers, if you like. Anything else you can think of before I check in with dispatch? Anything that might help us figure what this is all about?”
    The motorist looked far off, half swallowing what he didn’t want to say. Boricio put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.  
    “It’s okay, you’re not alone. Tell me anything you think dispatch might wanna know, and don’t worry if you think it sounds weird.” Boricio smiled as wide as he could. “This is the season of weird after all.”
    The motorist returned the smile and swallowed again. “Okay, you know that church up the road? The big one with that sign that says, “The Perfect Place For Imperfect People?”  
    Boricio felt a bristle at the back of his neck. “Yeah?”
    “Well, it was still there, but it wasn’t. Know what I mean?”
    Boricio wished he didn’t, but he mostly did. “No, not sure I do.”
    “I could see it like it was there, and I felt like if I got out of the pickup I’d be able to feel it beneath my fingers, but it was gone, just like my girlfriend and everyone else in the city.”
    “Well, that is weird. I’ll report that to dispatch.”  
    It’s official. This fucker has gone from worthless to boring.  
    “You ready to ride?”
    “You bet!”  
    Boricio stuck out his hand. “Sorry I’ve not introduced myself yet. Must’ve left my manners back with the chaos. I’m Officer Thompson. Good to meet you.”
    The motorist took Boricio’s hand. “Jim. Jim Silva. Good to meet you too. Thanks for your help.”
    “My pleasure.”  
    Jim Silva had exactly two seconds to notice the officer’s face move from passive to predator before he felt the grip on his hand tighten.
    “Hey, Jim?”
    “Yeah?” Jim asked, confused by the tight grip on his hand, but too pussy to do anything about it.
    “I’m not a cop, Jim.”
    “Huh?”
    “No, I’m a hunter. I hunt people like you, Jim. Hunt ‘em and kill ‘em.”
    Jim’s eyes widened as he tried to pull back his hand. Boricio locked his grip tighter. He loved the look in his victims’ eyes in that moment when they first realized they were with a psychopath. It made him erect, even though he was no queer.
    Boricio grabbed Jim by the back of his head, twisted him around, and thrust forward.
    Silva’s nose smashed into the top of the cruiser and rained a fountain of blood. He would’ve screamed if sudden knuckles hadn’t beaten the