After Charlie left the tunnel, he looked around. There was nothing but rock everywhere. He looked up at the sky. Clear blue, with just a spattering of clouds.
He listened again for any sounds. But all he heard was the dripping water, which was strange, since he hadn't seen any water either inside or outside the tunnel. When he was in the tunnel, he assumed that the water was dripping behind the tunnel walls. But where was that sound coming from out here?
Deciding to not ponder on it, Charlie climbed out of the rocky pit. And when he got to the top, he saw something that stunned him. And truly horrified him.
He saw Los Angeles. He was right where he should have been. Probably several miles from where he lived, but he was still in California.
But this was different. L.A. was different.
And it was silent. Completely silent. There were no people. No cars. No birds. Nothing. Astonishingly, there was also no haze over the city. Just the clear blue sky. The buildings and roads were still there, but everything else was gone.
Charlie was alone.
