Love in the Dark

Chapter Three

Seth didn't need an alarm. His body always woke him at 5:25, exactly five minutes before the 5:30 alarm. He stretched and rolled over to look at his alarm clock, but instead of the familiar red numbers, the display was black. "Damn," he said to himself. "We must have lost power." And the 9V battery that was supposed to back up the AC current must be dead. He pushed himself up and scratched at his hair, making it all stand on end in a beautiful display of bedhead.

He stumbled through the apartment that he shared with his brother, Matthew. Seth didn't relish having a roommate, but his brother was just getting over a bad spot in his life and needed help getting back on his feet. Again. As brothers, they couldn't be more different. Seth was all about law and order. He was a cop. Matthew was a hot mess in a fast car. Trouble just seemed to find him wherever he went.

Seth pulled open the kitchen drawer and fumbled around for the spare flashlight he always kept there. His hand closed around the cylinder, his thumb finding the switch. He pushed the switch, but nothing happened. He shook it, slapped the base a couple times and tried again. Still nothing. "Dammit, are all the batteries dead in this place?"

Without power, there was no hope of a hot cup of coffee to start his day. He grumbled and went back to his room. His eyes were becoming adjusted to the darkness as he went into his closet and came out with his uniform, all neatly pressed and hanging on a hanger. He dressed himself in the dark. By the time he buckled his belt and holstered his pistol, there was a weak, watery predawn light turning everything grey.

"Hey Matthew!" he pounded on his brother's door. "Rise and shine, buddy-boy."

"f**k you!" Matthew grumbled from the other side of the closed door.

"The power is out," Seth said to the door. "If you get a chance, could you pick up some extra batteries? Everything is dead in this house." Even his cellphone was dead, which was weird, because it was fully charged before he went to bed.

He left his brother to laze around in bed, and headed downstairs to the parking lot. He frowned as he glanced around the neighborhood. The streets were strangely deserted, and everything was so still and quiet. He wondered how many of his neighbors had overslept because of the blackout. He slid behind the wheel of his jeep, and put his key in the ignition. He failed to notice that the dome light didn't come on when he opened the door. He turned the key in the ignition and... nothing.

"What the f**k is going on today!" He tried several more times with the same result. There was no way his battery was dead. He'd just replaced it a few months ago. He popped the hood and stuck his head under, looking at the engine helplessly. He was no mechanic, but he knew the basics. He could change his own oil in a pinch. He checked the cables on the battery, but everything looked normal. He cursed again and slammed the hood shut.

He saw his neighbor kick the wheel of his Toyota. "Let me guess," the middle-aged guy asked, "yours won't start either?"

"Yeah... you mean?" he gestured at the Toyota.

"Totally dead!" the man grumbled. "And my charger pack? Also dead."

"Huh." Seth stood for a moment, his hands on his hips, contemplating the situation. Maybe it was one of those solar flares, or some kind of EMP that had rendered all the electronic equipment useless. His apartment was only four blocks from the station, so he pocketed his keys, zipped up his coat, and started walking.

Everywhere it was the same. Disgruntled citizens were trying to start their cars to no avail. A few vehicles seemed to have died right in the street, barely even pulling off the road before they came to a complete stop. There was yelling and screeching from several apartment buildings, all of them crying over the same things. No heat. No hot water. No cellphones. No radio. He could practically feel the collective anxiety and anger rising around him. The little convenience store on the corner was open, with a sign taped to the door that read "CASH ONLY - CREDIT CARD MACHINE IS DOWN." Seth pushed his way in and picked up a package of donuts. Sadly, there was no coffee available there either, so he settled for a chocolate milk out of the cooler.

"Hey Gary," he greeted the man behind the counter. "This is some s**t, don't you think?"

"Sure is," he rubbed a hand over his head as he counted out change to another customer. "I ain't ever seen anything like this."

"Me neither." Seth glanced around at the other customers milling around the store. He lowered his voice and leaned closer. "Listen, if people start acting weird, you better lock up and call it a day."

Gary nodded. "Gotcha, Seth."

Seth reached into his pocket for his wallet, but Gary waved him off. "It's on the house today."

"Sure? OK thanks man. Take care of yourself."

Seth stepped out of the store, wondering if his presence in uniform would help keep people in line, or if he was making them more nervous. They shifted around him uneasily, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

When Seth got to the station, it was absolute chaos. There were dozens of people in the lobby, shouting complaints and demanding answers, while two officers at the desk helplessly tried to calm them.

Seth stepped into the fray. "Hey, everyone stay calm!" he shouted. "There has been a power outage, and as of now, we are ALL completely in the dark. We do not know anything more than you do." The crowd dithered and moved around him like he wasn't even there. "If you are a person of authority, please step forward. Everyone else, please go home!"

There was a lot of grumbling, but most of the people made their way toward the door. A couple of people stubbornly stayed, even though Seth doubted they were anyone important. He didn't recognize their faces. The two officers behind the desk visibly relaxed. "Thanks, man." Officer Lawrence breathed. "That was getting out of hand."

"No kidding. What the hell is going on?"

"Damned if we know anything," Officer Green said nervously, "The lights went out, and everything stopped working. The generator won't start, the radios aren't working, every phone in the place is dead, including the landlines. Laptops are dark. Cruisers won't start. All the units are dead in the water."

Seth rubbed his hand over his face. "Who is here?"

"Only us, McGreary, and a few guys from the night shift that couldn't get home." Lawrence checked his cellphone again, just to confirm that it really was off. "We figure everybody else is stranded at home. You must have walked in, huh?"

"Yeah," Seth pulled the officers farther away from the people who were still milling in the lobby. "This is bad. Really bad. People are already on edge; I can feel it. One good spark, and this whole town is going to go up like a Roman candle."

Green shook his head. "So what do we do?"

"Who's the senior officer here now?"

"I guess that's McGreary." Lawrence said. Lawrence was just a rookie; he'd been on the force less than a year.

"Alright, I'm going to go talk to him. In the meantime, stay calm. Be gentle, but firm with everyone." Even as Seth was speaking, two more women entered the lobby. "Encourage everyone to go home and wait for news there."