Kyle's eyes snapped open, his heart pounding in his chest. The first thing he noticed was the silence. The city noises he grew up listening to were gone—replaced by a smooth, whistling wind that slid through the empty streets. No cars, no shouting, no distant sirens. Just... quiet. Too quiet.
His body felt like it had been locked in place for eons, stiff and unresponsive. Every muscle screamed as he tried to sit up, like they were being dragged out of hibernation. He groaned, trying again. This time, he managed to prop himself up on one elbow, even though it felt like his limbs were made of stone.
His head spun as his thoughts scrambled for something—anything—that made sense. The last thing he remembered was the sun vanishing. One second, it was daytime. Then, total darkness. Chaos. Screams. Then... nothing. Just a void.
Something happened. Something massive. His gut twisted just thinking about it.
As he sat up straighter, he realized he wasn't alone. Just a few feet away, Asher lay still, sprawled out on the cold ground. His chest rose and fell slowly, like he was deep in a coma.
Kyle's breath caught in his throat. He crawled over, ignoring the pain in his joints, and shook his friend.
"Asher, wake up!" Kyle said, shaking him harder.
Asher's eyelids twitched, then flickered open. Confusion clouded his blue eyes as he stared up at the sky. Then his gaze locked onto Kyle, and something clicked. Recognition.
"Kyle?" His voice was hoarse, dry. "What the hell happened?"
Kyle shook his head slowly. "I don't know. But… where are we? What happened to everyone?"
Asher sat up, rubbing his face. His fingers left faint streaks in the layer of dirt and dust that had gathered on his clothes.
He looked around.
The streets were littered with people—men, women, even kids—lying motionless on the sidewalks, in cars, on benches. All of them asleep. It looked like the whole city had just collapsed where they stood. Some still had their phones clutched in their hands, their shopping bags on the ground beside them. It was like someone had hit pause on humanity.
Plant life was everywhere—thick vines snaked through car windows, moss blanketed the buildings, trees sprouted up through cracked concrete. The green was wild and alive. But strangely, it avoided the people and animals. It grew around them, stopping just short of touching. Like it was scared.
In the distance, towering trees pierced the skyline. Massive, unnatural. Like something out of a fantasy movie.
"This isn't London…" Asher muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. "What happened to the world?"
Kyle's stomach tightened. His brain couldn't process it. "I don't know, man. But we need to figure this out. First, we've gotta find Miles."
Asher nodded. "Yeah. No way we're doing this without him."
They stood, shaky and sore, moving like they'd just come out of a coma. Everything ached.
Kyle looked at his hands—dirt under the nails, skin pale, arms slightly thinner than he remembered. "How long were we out?"
Asher glanced at him. "No idea. But it feels like ages."
They started walking, carefully stepping around the sleeping bodies. The air was different—lighter, almost sweet. Kyle inhaled deeply, then blinked in surprise.
"Is it just me, or does the air feel... fresher?"
"Yeah," Asher said, breathing in. "Like, clean-clean. Like mountain air or something."
"Never thought London air could feel like the countryside," Kyle said.
Asher cracked a small smile. "Guess there's no traffic anymore."
They walked for a while, the silence growing heavier with each step. No birds chirped. No animals scurried by. Even the wind made barely a sound.
Then, finally, they saw him—Miles.
He was stumbling down the road, looking completely lost. His afro was even puffier than usual, and his light brown skin was a bit ashy, like he'd been out cold for centuries. He walked slowly, eyes wide and head swiveling like he was expecting something to jump out at him.
Kyle grinned. "Let's scare the hell outta him."
Asher smirked. "Bet."
They crouched behind an abandoned car and crept forward, weaving between overgrown shrubs and rusting metal. They were right behind him now, holding back laughter.
"ROAR!!"
"ACHHH!!" Miles flinched so hard he nearly tripped over his own feet. He spun around, hands up like he was ready to fight—but stopped when he saw their faces.
"Seriously?!" he shouted. "The world ends and y'all out here playing horror movie?"
Kyle and Asher couldn't stop laughing.
Miles scowled, but his eyes lit up with relief. He lunged forward and hugged them tight. "I'm glad you guys are okay."
"Gay," Kyle muttered with a smirk, stepping back dramatically.
"Piss off, bro," Miles shot back, but he was grinning too.
After a few seconds, Miles pulled back and looked around. "So… what now?"
Kyle shrugged. "Let's go to my place. It's close. We'll figure things out there."
"Sounds good," Asher said.
They started moving again, stepping over vines and cracked pavement. The city felt ancient, like it had been waiting for them to wake up.
Luckily, Kyle's apartment was still standing. The roof was intact, windows unbroken. Nature had started claiming it—but not completely. Vines crept along the edges of the brick, and moss clung to parts of the walls, but it hadn't fully taken over.
"Welcome to my humble abode," Kyle said as he pushed open the creaky door.
The others followed him inside. The apartment was small but familiar. A regular living room with a battered couch, a tiny kitchen tucked to the side, and a hallway that led to a bathroom and bedroom. Dust covered nearly every surface, and a few stubborn weeds had slithered their way in through cracks in the window. It smelled old—like nature and rust mixed together.
"Your apartment looks like that of a caveman," Asher said, raising an eyebrow as he took in the state of the place. He nudged a pile of leaves off a chair with his foot.
"Hey, this cave kept me alive," Kyle shot back with a smirk. "Kinda."
After a few minutes of sweeping away dust, brushing off furniture, and tossing some junk into a pile by the door, the place looked halfway decent. The three of them plopped down on the worn-out couches surrounding a small, round coffee table in the center of the room.
Miles leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "Alright. Let's get to it."
"To what?" Kyle asked, already knowing where this was going.
Miles gestured around. "This. Everything. What happened, what's going on, and most importantly—what the heck are we gonna do?"
The question hung in the air like a weight. The laughter and goofing off from earlier faded away, replaced by the cold realization that nothing about this was normal—or safe.
Asher leaned back, arms crossed. "We know the sun vanished. That was the last thing we all saw, right?"
Kyle and Miles nodded.
"Then we blacked out. Woke up to a London turned jungle. And everyone else is still... out cold," Asher continued, his voice low.
Kyle rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. And those trees we saw—those weren't just overgrown parks. That's not normal plant life. That stuff looked alien."
"And the air," Miles added. "Still can't get over how clean it is. Not just clean—like, purified or something."
They sat there for a while, letting the pieces float around in their heads, trying to connect dots that didn't exist. None of it made sense. The world had changed. And somehow, they were the only ones awake in it.