July sixteenth was a hot summer day. Iris was doing what she had been doing every evening this week, which was sitting in the family hammock under her favorite tree in the backyard. Quietly humming to herself, she waited for her mother to come out the big glass doors right on schedule, with her birthday surprise. To her shock her mother was unusually late. When it was almost her birthday? Something felt off. After noticing the sun was starting to get in her eyes through the fence, she went inside, starting to get worried. Iris called her mom a couple times with no answer, then her dad with the same results. Noticing her mom's car parked outside her house and her nowhere in sight, Iris went to the Tompson's house a couple houses down.

Unusual was Iris' sworn enemy. Her mom came home at the same time every day,  she had a schedule for her schoolwork, they ate planned dinners, everything in her life was planned.

 Walking next door, Iris noticed how quiet it was. Unusually quiet. No cars driving down the street, no one watering their garden, no wind, even. As she got to the Tompson's house, she noticed how Mrs. Tompson's car was missing, which was noteworthy for a stay at home mom right before dinner time.

 Knocking on the door and hearing their dogs bark like they had microphones was a nice break from the eerie silence she'd been conscious of during her walk, but there was no reply there either. Knowing her school was within walking distance and there was always reliably someone there, she decided to go find someone at her school. Iris began to suspect something big was going on here. It wasn't just traffic or some coincidence, it was something worse.

The long grass field that stretched along the back route to the school was muddy with the puddles of a heavy rain storm from the day before. Iris once again noticed that not one car passed her as she walked. As she got closer, she saw many of her other classmates, their younger siblings, and lots of people she didn't know, but no one above the age of eighteen. Apparently quite a few people had the same idea she had of coming to the school to figure out what was going on. 

She saw her friend Damien, and they ran to each other. He asked, "Do you know what's going on?" "I have absolutely no idea," she replied. This was the beginning of the biggest mystery they would ever have to solve. 

She noticed some of the other people getting anxious, crying, and trying to console younger kids in the group. She imagined some of them were wondering how they were going to survive without their parents. Many of them were the oldest of their siblings and were being looked up to for directions. She walked around and listened to conversations of those around her trying to find any clues as to what was going on. She decided someone needed to start organizing something before anyone jumped to conclusions and started a panic. Damien looked at Iris and they were able to communicate with just a look. Damien climbed up on the benches outside the school and started whistling to get everyone's attention. 

Once everyone had quieted down, Iris took over. "Does anyone have any information about your family members that aren't here?" Many people shook their heads and looked around to see if anyone had said yes, no one did. She began to think about basic needs that needed to be met, like food, shelter, and supervision. "Are there any volunteers that are willing to take some of the younger children for the night? We need to make sure that kids younger than 10 aren't left alone for the night." There was a loud whisper through the crowd. Many were shocked because they hadn't thought of that or they didn't want to be responsible for anyone but themselves. In their small town there were many remote areas that she knew people wouldn't have walked to the school or wouldn't have noticed what was going on. She started to think of a plan. 

She asked for volunteers of those that could drive and had access to cars, trucks, or vans. About 10 people gathered on the front steps of the school. Iris was nervous because she didn't want to be fully in charge but she knew something needed to be done otherwise kids would be left without and would get hurt. "How many of you are willing to drive to the outer parts of town to check for others? We need to find out how far this oddity has gone. Where are our parents? Where are the adults?" A young man in a green jacket spoke up," It's not just the grown ups, my sister is missing too!" Iris replied, "How old is your sister?" He said "18". This made Iris' stomach drop. She was going to be 18 in just a few hours. She internally began to panic, "Don't over react, don't show them you are scared. Be Brave" Iris knew she couldn't organize this alone, she had to stay focused. She asked, "Who would like to be in charge of setting up drive routes to make sure we cover the whole area? We need to focus on the city limits and no more than 5 miles out for tonight. Tomorrow we can set up to go further out of town to check things out.We need to work together." Many nodded their heads but the kid in the green jacket agreed to take point. She left him in charge of that group and went to ask for another group of volunteers. 

She needed a group that was willing to stay at the high school to be there for anyone else that came looking for help. She had 5 volunteers for this. They stayed in the field area to let some of the younger kids run around to get their mind off of things. She walked back to Damien to see what he had found out. "Many kids are saying that their older siblings are missing as well," he said. "I know, one said that his sister who just turned 18 is also missing. Everyone here is 17 and younger." Iris responded. She wondered internally if she could really help those around her through this trouble while also dealing with her own anxieties. She had just had an argument with her mom this morning about feeling like she didn't have any freedom. She felt that her mother was too strict, too rigid. She yelled that she wished she could just take care of herself for once, and do what she wanted when she wanted. She wondered if this could be connected to that; surely not.

"Hey, are you ok?" Damien asked, bringing Iris back from her thoughts. "Yeah, I'm fine," she responded. "Just trying to think of what needs to happen next." Right on cue, Damien's stomach rumbled, and she realized that most of the people here would not have had dinner yet. They needed to figure something out, otherwise there would be a lot of crying kids soon. She told Damien to go to the store across the street and grab all the lunch meat, peanut butter and jelly, and bread that he could carry. They needed to feed these kids somehow. The sun was setting fast and she knew she needed to do something. She gathered some of the smarter kids she knew and they started to discuss what they knew. No one had any new information to share but they needed a plan.They were going to organize for the night to house everyone to make sure kids were taken care of and fed. They knew they couldn't go looking for the adults till tomorrow and they needed a better plan. "How about we meet back here tomorrow morning at 8 am and see if we haven't any new information or ideas as to what is going on" said Iris. 

The group that had gathered had paired up and figured out arrangements for the night. Iris and Damien were going to spend the night at Damien's house since it was closer to the school. Everyone went home for the night except for a group of football players that volunteered to stay at the school for anyone that came by. 

Iris and Damien were eating macaroni and cheese when Damien looked at Iris and asked, "You're not okay, are you?" Iris looked at him with tears in her eyes and said, "No, what's going to happen at midnight when I turn 18? Will I still be here or will I disappear too?" Damien hadn't even thought that far. He knew Iris' birthday was tomorrow, but it hadn't clicked in his brain. His eyes widened in surprise and he shrugged. They decided to watch cartoons to take their mind off of things. However, Iris couldn't stop glancing at her watch, phone and the clock on the wall. She was counting down the minutes to midnight. Counting down the minutes to the unknown. 

11:59 pm...3, 2, 1...