*This story is a continuation of “A never-ending 2020 (part 2)” if you haven’t read the previous part click the link to catch up before reading below!

He was….gone. How was he gone, where did he go, and who took him?! Just when things were starting to get better and I felt less alone, he just vanished in the blink of an eye. I ran around the house looking for him in any and every spot possible. Maybe he’s hiding and it’s just a joke, or maybe he had to run out and get something and will come back later. I was in complete denial. I couldn’t think about the awful reason, even though I knew it was true. He was gone and now I was all alone…again.

All I could think about was his last words he said to me on Valentine’s Day as he got interrupted and disappeared: “I’m not going to be here for much…” What could that even mean? As I sat on my couch staring at the imprint in the seat where he just was less than an hour ago, it came to me: much…longer. Charlie knew he wasn’t going to be here for a long time. But how could he know that, and how did he get out? All the emotions, worries, questions, and thoughts were continuously spinning in my head, and suddenly everything went black.

I began to slowly open my eyes and recognized my instant headache. It felt like I had been out for days, maybe even weeks, but I didn’t know where I was. I was taped to a metal chair and in front of me was a big movie screen that read   “The Test.”

“Hello, is anybody in here, who are you, and let me go?!” I screamed while rocking my chair back and forth to see if I could escape.

“Be quiet and stop trying to escape, you won’t be able to,” said a mysterious voice.

“You again! How are you doing this? Let me go!”

“If you would like to know where your dear friend Charlie is, then I suggest you listen.”

“Where is he, is he hurt?! Tell me where he is!”

“Take a look at the screen and see for yourself.”

I looked up at the screen and I saw Charlie. He was smiling and hugging people that I didn’t recognize. It looked like…his family. He was home and safe, and they were all making food for St. Patrick’s Day. They all seemed as if he has always been there, and that they didn’t even know he left. But, how could that be?

“Charlie is home now, Olivia, and his family doesn’t even know that he was gone in the first place…and neither does he,” said the voice.

“What, wait what do you mean?” I stuttered.

“Charlie is home with his family and they all don’t remember anything. He doesn’t remember what happened here, and he doesn’t remember you.”

All those thoughts came back into my head but ten times faster and more worrisome. A small part of me hoped that Charlie would be home, but that he would remember me and let my family know where I am and try to find a way out for me. Now, I was truly alone and Charlie, and my family, don’t even know who I am.

“How do I go home? I want to go home!”

“The only way you can go home is if you pass the test, but if you do not pass the test by a certain time, you will vanish from existence…forever.”

To be continued…