Endless White

Angela opened her eyes and looked at her bedside clock.  The alarm hadn't gone off yet, which she viewed as an excuse to stay in bed.  The minute ticked up and she had the same though she'd had for the past 7 minutes.  I should probably just get up now.


She closed her eyes again and rolled onto her back.  The problem with these dreary winter days was that the light was all wrong.  It wasn't as bright as it should be, it felt grey and dirty.  In a great effort of will she threw off the covers.  It was far too cold and she almost scrambled to get them back, but her alarm was about to go off and she hated that noise.

She clicked off her alarm and walked past her window to the bathroom.  She was lucky, her room had it's own private bathroom.  Full bath too.  Devon and Carrie's room had a bath too, but they shared it.  Alex and Roy shared a bathroom that had a door to each of their rooms.

She pulled her T over her head and tossed it on the floor.  Brief inspection in the mirror pre-shower.  Yep, she looked like someone had just hit her pet with a car.  *sigh*  She dropped her panties on top of the T and turned on the water while she brushed her teeth.

The water felt like heaven.  From warm bed, to chill air, to refreshing scalding hot shower.  The love of a dangerously hot shower was something she'd inherited from her father.  Her mother would always throw her hands up when one of them got out of the shower looking like a boiled lobster.  She'd had boyfriends complain about it too.  Pansies.

Post-shower inspection.  Much better.  Awake, alert, happy if not quite perky.  Okay, it was official, the day had started.  She wrapped herself in a towel, and opened the bathroom door.  The steam billowed out into her bedroom, immediately fogging the windows.  She got dressed.  More comfortable than stylish, but she wasn't looking to impress anyone, just get through the day.

She went to her window and looked out at the world.  Everything was white...

Not like covered in snow white, like... white...

In fact, it might be better to say everything was gone...

She rubbed the window to clear the fog.  Still white.

She looked at her clock.  Forty minutes had gone by since she got up.  Had everything been gone when she walked by the window then?  She couldn't remember, she hadn't really looked.

She looked back out the window, fully expecting to see the white house across the way with the wrought iron work all over it.  Nothing.

"Okay... someone painted... a box around my window?" She could still see the sill, so she knew the glass wasn't just painted white.  She unlocked the window and tried opening it.  It was jammed fast.

"If Devon is behind this I'm going to give his balls to Carrie for Christmas."

She turned and unlocked her bedroom door.  She opened it slowly.  The hall was still there.  Peering up and down the hall everything else seemed to be in place as well.  She went downstairs.  All the other windows showed the same empty whiteness.   In the living room the TV was on and muted.  The room stank of marijuana and Roy was sitting on the couch smoking and listening to headphones.

She looked out the front window.  The stone steps to the front door were there, but as far as she could tell they were hanging in nothingness.  Roy must have noticed her because she heard the volume of his music go up when he took off his headphones.

"Hey Ang, how are ya?"

"Roy, where is... everything?"

"What do you mean?"

She turned and looked at him.  "You aren't seeing this?" she said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder at the window.

"You mean the void?  Yeah, sure, but why would I know where anything went?"

"You aren't remotely unsettled by this?  Why are you up this early anyway?"

"Dunno, just woke up, It's been like this out for a while.  Figure it's the haze."

"This isn't a drug induced hallucination Roy, I know because I can see it."

"Yeah, but, you could be a drug induced hallucination.  In which case everything is a drug induced hallucination."

"Oh stop stoner philosophizing, I'm not a hallucination and I will kick your ass all over the house to prove it if I have to."

"Okay Okay relax Ang, Just saying, it is possible.  Butterflies and all that, ya know?"

Angela shook her head and walked over to the front door and opened it.  Same as it looked out the window. She wasn't sure what would happen if she went outside.

...

"What's up Ang?  Something weird out there?"

"Dammit Roy, shut up or be helpful, don't ask idiotic questions."

She stuck her foot out the door.  No barriers or anything.  She held onto the door frame and slowly walked out onto the steps.  The foundation was there, but nothing else, no earth or grass or crappy pavement that lead to the backyard.  She couldn't reach the last step without letting go of the door frame so she decided she should just come back inside.

"What...the fuck... is going on?"