"Mr. President! Mr. President! What do you have to say about the millions of disappearances occurring randomly across the globe?"
In the most important state-owned building of The Western Federation,
an emergency conference was in full swing as a sharp-minded reporter voiced the question on everyone's mind.
Less than an hours ago, a disaster of unprecedented scale had struck humanity like a bolt out of the blue.
First, 37 million people vanished without a trace from Yokyo, the most populated city on Earth.
Then, the same fate befell Delhi and Shanghai, turning them into ghost cities in an instant.
That wasn't the end of it.
Across the world, city after city experienced sudden, massive loss in their population.
Some lost hundreds, others thousands.
Consequently, billions of people were terrified out of their minds and they wanted answers.
Was the end upon them?
Would they be the next to dissipate into thin air, or was there still a sliver of hope left that they would live to see another sunrise?
They wanted answers to such questions. But there was not a single soul on Earth that could provide them the answer they sought.
A stage stood before the area where the journalists and reporters were seated.
On it, a tall, middle-aged man with blonde hair and blue eyes stood at the podium, his countenance grim.
He was Alex Remington, the 50th President of the Western Federation.
Upon hearing the reporter's question, he took a deep breath before speaking,
"I could lie to you, feed you false hope to ease your fears. But I'm not the kind of scum who does that.
"The truth is, we don't know what's happening. We don't know why more than a hundred million people have vanished in less than sixty minutes. We don't know where they've gone, or if they're even alive.
"It's like we're facing an enemy we can't see, fight, or even begin to understand. We are entirely at its mercy. Any one of us could disappear at any second. Even I, the proud president of the Western Federation, the most powerful organization in the world, am not safe. For all we know, I might vanish right after or even during this press conference.
"Needless to say, we're fucked.
"The best thing we can do in the face of this unprecedented and unpredictable disaster is to make the most of whatever time we have left.
"As many of you have come to see during my years as president of this great federation, I am a man of simplicity and integrity, simple and honest. I like to practice what I preach. So, I'd like to take this moment to step down from my position as the president of the western federation and announce my retirement from politics. I intend to spend whatever time I have left on this godforsaken planet surrounded by my loved ones.
"I hope none of you would take offense or feel sad. At this point, nothing can change my mind, not even the cries for leadership in a time of crisis. I don't want to waste another second sitting in an office, giving speeches, or pretending I have solutions to a crisis with no precedent when I have none. That's all I have to say. Goodbye and Godbless."
Alex let go of the podium, loosened his tie, and swaggered off the stage like a man who had laid down all his burdens in life as cameras flashed around him.
The second he stepped off the stairs, he vanished under the gaze of countless onlookers.
One moment he was there. The next moment he was gone as if a Fool had played a magic trick.
A pin-drop silence followed as countless jaws dropped so low it looked like they'd need a rescue team to haul them back up.
Shocked glances were exchanged.
Then there was utter mayhem and chaos.
The silence that had taken over shattered like glass as people scrambled to be the first one to escape, their rationality consumed by raw panic and primal fear.
The disappearance of the most beloved president of his time had scared the shit out of everyone present.
It wasn't common knowledge yet but the chance of multiple disappearances taking place in a location where a vanishing had struck was pretty high.
The Vanishing.
It was the term coined to describe the sudden and unexplained disappearance of humans from Earth.
No one wanted to be the next one to dissapear. So they tried to outrun such a miserable fate.
But how could humans who were helpless against natural disasters evade getting swept away by a power beyond their wildest imaginations?
One by one, they started to dissapear.
Soon, the conference hall was left with not a single soul in sight.
The same could be said for the entirety of Washington D.C.
Everyone there had vanished in a matter of seconds!