When all of the infants disappeared, hospitals echoed with the wails of parents. Bassinets lay empty as families uprooted furniture in their homes. 911 operators struggled to take the outpouring of calls, all reporting a missing newborn.
The leaders of each nation would release broadcasts hours later, solemnly reading from cue cards. Some blamed other nations. All tried to comfort their people. They would later learn of the miscarriages.
A week from the first incident, all children between the ages of one and two vanished. Parents clutched at the air where their children had existed moments before. In the days that followed, governments attempted to gather all two-year-olds in shelters. Vigilantes began murdering registered sex offenders.
By the fifth week, the world contained no children under the age of 6. Families clung to their children, praying for salvation. Churches called it the end of times. Communities began tracking where their children had disappeared, placing cushions and mattresses to catch them if they ever returned.
The number of murder-suicides continued escalating after the 10-year-old children left. The bodies would not disappear, even after their week had passed. The closed schools maintained the remnants of the youth, their artwork forgotten on the walls, desks holding mini animal erasers and superhero pencils. News began circulating that no child had been conceived since the initial incident.
As the teenagers began to vanish, the rioting increased, led by the young adults of the world. They burned the cushions and mattresses left for the other children, broke into government buildings. They protested against the aged politicians, criticizing their futile attempts to stop what had now been named the “Phasing.” The young would not listen to the old, distrustful of those who had more time. Once the 19-year-olds disappeared, the crowds became a raging fire.
When there was no youth left to protest, an adult humanity was faced with redefining “the future.” Some countries fell to anarchy, but others discovered their own selflessness. They understood some of them would still exist in another year.
Faced with a dwindling and aging workforce, with no one under the age of 50, the middle-aged leaders in the world began dismantling cities. They shepherded the remaining communities into centralized locations. After a year, a tenth of humanity remained, many destroyed by their own hand.
At Week 70, the elderly celebrated each other, turning on generators to play music and movies. They feasted on their rations and shared the last of the alcohol. On the night before the 71st week, friends passed drugged cocktails to each other, inviting those who would not live long enough to phase on the 90th week.
Once 95 weeks had passed, Earth remained very much alive, but humanity had left. Their cities survived them, now nothing more than vacant doll houses waiting to be overtaken by nature.
One week later, 96 weeks after the first incident, the infants returned. They wailed in their previously empty bassinets. Others were silent under the rubble caused by the riots.