20181227

Day 1,573

The highway and railway had appeared overnight, trapping a row of apartment buildings between them and stranding the residents in an urban no-man's land. Though the highway was as straight as a ruler, the railway curved to cut the buildings off from the neighbouring streets which they now saw as distant smog-smothered shapes.

It took all of three days before the ground and first floors evacuated themselves to share space with the upper levels, all claiming to have seen the departing train passengers walking passed their windows with ungodly faces and how the fumes from the endless traffic seemed to seep through their windows and clog their lungs no matter how many blankets and cushions they taped over them.

It soon became an obsession between the buildings - observe the things masquerading as commuters below and try to find a way to signal for help from the closest houses. Within the week a series of vaguely stable walkways had been set up to allow for group meetings in the centre-most apartments.

This did not go unnoticed.

In little over two weeks everyone's food had all but run out. Nobody wanted to go to the fume-drenched lower floors where those ungodly faces would stare in at them with unabashed glee and then - as if their growling stomachs had been heard - the fumes below started to smell like food. Like an entire banquet was waiting for them.

Not one of them had heard the windows quietly sliding open while they all met up on other apartments, not one of them knew just how far in the creatures had come and with the promise of food on their minds - not one of them cared.

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