Silence, and the Patter of Rain

When the world ended, there was an article in the Lifestyles section. Page 4D. The editors knew it wasn't a Classified. It might impact the economy, but it wasn't for the Business section, and it was more wide-reaching than the Metro section really allowed.

The newspapers with the article in them fluttered in stacks, endless stacks stretching up to heaven, miles high. They fell in streams and avalanches, ink smearing in the rain. They wrapped around the feet of the men and women hurrying to work, high heels and dress shoes clack-clack-clacking on the pavement in the suddenly quiet world...