*Beep Beep Beep*

  Alex smashes the off button on his alarm clock with a loud smack. That annoying ringtone. He shouldn’t have accepted Tim’s invitation for drinks last night. Who goes out on a Monday? Well, Tim does, but he doesn’t have to get up early for work the next day, does he? While Alex was glad he had met Tim at college, he wished his old housemate would grow up. He was happy for his friend that his streaming career had taken off, but he was jealous of the fact he could sleep in till however late he wanted.

  With a tired groan, Alex slowly sat up in his bed, his hand rustling through his messy blonde hair. A disgusting burp escaped his mouth, and his hand quickly rushed to his mouth as something else was about to follow. He took a deep breath in through his nose and swallowed whatever came up back down. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he got out of bed and headed towards the bathroom.

  Somewhat freshened up, Alex sat down at his cheap plastic table to eat his breakfast, or at least try to. He hoped he could at least get something down. Otherwise, he would have to eat the tasteless crap they served at EntraCorp, and there was no way that would stay down. Alex contemplated calling in sick, but decided against it. It was just a hangover, he just needed to get some food and water in him and he should be good to go. Slowly he brought a spoon full of sugary cereal to his mouth as he checked his phone. One message, his mother.

  "Hey Alex, don't forget dinner tomorrow night. Dad says to choose a movie to watch. Nothing too violent please? You know I'm not a fan of those. Love, your mother."

  Alex shook his head. His mother always had perfect spelling in her texts, like she was writing an e-mail instead of a quick text to her son. With a quick tick on the glass screen he opened Instagram to check if Tim posted any photos of last night. Going out with him was starting to become strange. More and more they were getting approached by his friends viewers. No photos yet, Tim would probably post them once he wakes up, so maybe after lunch. He continued his usual morning routine by turning on the secondhand TV he had gotten from his brother’s friend. The quality of the screen wasn’t great, but it was a free TV.

  He switched channels until he reached the morning news show he usually watched. Once again remembering too late that he should have noted down what channel number it was on so he wouldn’t have to flip through all the channels next time. The show consisted of a single news anchor relaying what had happened the day before. The old man’s hair had long been fading, and the comb-over he was trying wasn’t doing his remaining black hair any favors.

  The reporter shifted slightly in his seat as he continued speaking. “Now for our next story. Last night another sinkhole opened up, this one in Utrecht, the Netherlands. This marks the thirteenth sinkhole in only four months. We’re going live to our reporter Anna, who’s standing beside the sinkhole right now.”

  The screen switched over to a reporter on location, her hard hat crooked on her head. Behind her is the bustle of rescue workers running around a massive hole in the ground. A clear barrier has been placed to prevent anyone not authorized from getting close to the sinkhole.

  “Thank you, George,” the reporter said, her right hand still on the earpiece partly covered by her long, blonde hair, “This morning at around eight thirty A.M. local time another sinkhole opened right here at the Sparstraat in the bustling town of Utrecht in the Netherlands. This marks the thirteenth unexplainable sinkhole that has opened up in the past four months. Scientists still haven’t been able to explain how these sinkholes form. There were no warning signs, no water erosion, no structural weakness. Solid ground suddenly collapsing out of nowhere.”

  The cameraman follows the reporter as she walks closer to the massive hole in the ground, only stopping when one of the nearby rescue workers tells her to. “Rescue operations have been going on for about seven hours now, but as with the other sinkholes, things aren’t looking good. So far there have been nine confirmed missing, with another potential three victims. However, as with the other sinkholes, no bodies, either alive or dead, have been able to be recovered. Almost as if they disappeared.”

  Alex switched the channel again just as the screen switched to a crying woman holding tightly onto a young boy in a soccer uniform. He had seen enough. The sinkholes had been happening almost every week now, and he doubted the report could tell him anything he didn’t already know. He kept switching channels, looking for anything that might entertain him, but after a minute or two he gave up. Besides, he still had barely managed to eat anything, and by now his cereal had started to become soggy, which wasn’t helping.

  He muted the TV, but didn't turn it off. A kids show was playing on the current channel, something about a normal girl that turned into a demon slaying princess at night. It didn't matter, for him it was just a moving background right now, something to not make him feel so alone. He glanced around his apartment. Next to the TV laid his old Backpacking around Europe 2021 guidebook he bought a few years ago under a pile of letters from the bank. When he had first bought it he had dog-eared the pages of everything he wanted to visit, but he never actually booked the plane to go.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Maybe next year, he lied to himself as he forced another spoon of soggy cereal into his mouth.

  It took him another half hour, but he had managed to get ready for work. His bowl of cereal was still standing half eaten on his table, but cleaning it up would have to wait till after work. He needed to leave now if he wanted any chance of being on time. After locking the door behind him, Alex rushed down the stairs of his four floors apartment. Living on the top floor had its advantages, but walking down the stairs every morning was not worth it. If only their landlord would listen to his requests to install an elevator.

  He checked his watch as he headed out the front door of his building. Eight fifteen, he was going to be late. Hearing the loud beeping of angry drivers standing still in traffic made him bless his short walkable commute to his office. He adjusted the collar of his shirt as he started walking, trying to make sure he didn’t look like he had been hanging above his toilet bowl only an hour ago.

  While his commute was short, it was still full of the joys of living in a busy city. Wind rushed past him as a cyclist drove beside him. Some of those e-bike drivers definitely were dangers on the road. He popped his wireless earbuds in, flicked through his music library on his phone, and put on the latest song from his favorite metal band. There was nothing better to drown out the sounds of the surprisingly loud morning city.

  As he rounded the corner, he had to stifle a laugh as he saw the same cyclist arguing with a delivery driver. Due to the loud music blasting in his ears, he couldn’t hear what they were shouting, but looking at the dent in the driver’s door and the crooked wheel on the e-bike, it was clear what had happened. Not his problem, he even increased his pace, slightly hoping he would somehow still make it to work on time.

  Sometimes he imagined quitting his job and just take a couple of months to travel the world. Riding trains across Europe, hiking through the Alpes. No more spreadsheets, no more annoying coworkers, no more EntraCorp, just freedom and wind in his hair. No bustling cities, just relaxing on the terras of a small cafe, peace and quiet.

  Alex nodded to miss Hallbeck as he passed her. He would usually pass the old woman on his way to work as she would go for her morning walk. On occasion he would stop to have a short talk with her when there was still plenty of time before work. She had lived a good life, seen the world. He loved hearing her stories about the places she had visited, not today though, today he had to hurry. The old woman nodded back to him, her glasses already fogging up in the cold.

  He had almost missed the sound at first, a low groan, as if the earth itself was grinding its teeth. He stopped, took out one earbud, nothing, he must have imagined it. Just as he was about to put his earbud back in, the ground started vibrating. Just slightly, but enough to make the coins in his pocket jingle. A dog across the street froze, its ears perking up. Then it started barking loudly, trying to get its owner’s attention. The young girl shushed the barking dog as she continued talking to her friend.

  A loud crack. The asphalt in front of Alex started ripping like it was cheap fabric. His eyes grew wide as he realized what was happening. He turned around, ready to run away from the forming sinkhole. Then he realized the ground behind him had also started cracking. A nearby streetlight let out an ear-piercing whine as the foundation it was on fell away and started falling under the strain.

  The young woman walking her dog finally realized what was happening and started screaming. She should have run, Alex realized. She was still far enough away from the epicenter that she and her dog would probably make it away alive. Him, not so much; he was at the epicenter of the forming sinkhole. It wouldn’t matter which direction he would run to; there was no way he would make it far enough before the ground underneath him would fall away.

  That didn’t mean he wouldn’t try. He still had stuff to live for. With a determined look on his face, he ran. The earbud in his hand dropped to the ground. He could always buy a new one. His head hurt, most likely a combination of the sudden movement and last night’s drinking. Why had he gone out? If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have had that much trouble getting out of bed. He would have already been at work by now, and this sinkhole would have been just another news story he would have watched during his dinner, even if it would have been one terrifyingly close to home. He should have just called in sick.

  He kept running. While it had only been a few seconds, it felt like an eternity. Adrenaline rushed through his veins. The thrill of survival. It made him feel more alive than he had in a long time. A chunk of sidewalk in front of him dipped into the ground as if it were made of rubber. Quick on his feet, Alex tried changing directions, but it was too late. The ground underneath his very feet gave way, and he tumbled forward. His arm hit the hard pavement with a loud smack, and his remaining earbud flew away. He tried grabbing on to whatever he could, but it was in vain. Gravity pulled at him. The stone he was clinging to crumbled away. He was falling.

  Air rushed past him, but there was no wind. His heartbeat was the loudest sound despite the very ground crumbling away. The sky above a dull gray. He wasn’t even dying on a beautiful, sunny day. It had to be the drabbest day in weeks. It felt like his stomach was floating somewhere around his lungs. He was amazed that now was the moment his body decided to keep it all inside.

  His mind raced as he fell, and he closed his eyes, waiting for the end. Where were his parents? His brother? Was this really it for him? How long had he been falling? It felt like an eternity. He should have hit the bottom by now. He should have hit something. Then he realized he wasn’t falling anymore.