When I woke up this morning, the house was quiet. I am feeling a little nervous….scared even. Its a Tuesday morning and I dont hear my mother clanking dishes around. I dont hear the water splashing from her doing the laundry. There is no smell of coffee and fresh bread. I dont hear my father shaking the newspaper and talking about the next crisis before heading out to work. My siblings must be still asleep because their is no arguing about who gets to wear the better shoes, no complaining about waking up too early. It’s just eerily quiet. As a mater of fact, I dont even hear the typical morning buzz of our street. No vendors setting up shop, no cars driving by. There is no smell of cigars from the two men that play chess in front of the building. Now that I think about it, I dont hear Ms. Perez yelling at the trash collectors for leaving the garbage containers half full. Im really worried, this doesnt feel right. Where is everyone. I check the entire apartment….which doesnt take long at all. There are seven of us that live in this one bedroom apartment. I am afraid to call out because the overwhelming silence I fear would amplify my voice and call undue attention. I love reading comic books and my mother always says “Marcus, get your head back down to earth you are not living in a fantasy world”. Well Mami, it sure seems like a fantasy world right now….and not in a good way. I am quietly panicking but Ive read enough comics to know staying silent and focusing on my surroundings is my best chance of staying safe. Before I could get my next thought together, I hear a slight shuffle in the bedroom. I immediately turn towards the bedroom and tiptoe into the room. Instinctively my eyes look to the pile of blankets unnaturally stacked up near the window. I dont want to approach too fast or too careless. Doing that would present my defenseless being to whatever heinous creature may be lurking at the bottom of the pile. But then I see a tiny hand, a hand that could only belong to my little sister Mya. I hurry towards the blanket pile and grab Myas hand. I feel her pull back at first but when she hears me call her name she pops up and almost knocks me down. She gives me the biggest hug. I can see she has been crying. I reassure her that I am alright and I glance over her for any obvious injuries but she seems unharmed. “Mya, I dont know what happened to everyone but I am so glad you are here and not hurt”. "We have to find out whats going on”. Mya nods in agreement. I am not sure where to start but I have to find my family. Mya and I look out the window and contemplate where to start this journey.