Blackout

Ch 2 - We're In

I hadn't even realized how long we'd been there until the lights went out and it was dark. There was a collective gasp of surprise at that moment. Then, one by one, people started turning on the flashlights on their phones. It was really strange that the electricity went out when it wasn't even storming. We peered through the blinds on the window behind us. There were no lights for as far as we could see. After a couple minutes, the chatter started to pick back up due to people checking in with their loved ones and speculation as to what had caused the power failure.

We stayed put for the moment, picking at the leftovers and finishing our milkshakes, because it's a sin to let a good milkshake go to waste. The guys provided plenty of entertainment over the next little bit, telling lame jokes and pathetic pick-up lines. Alexis and I were content. I mean, what better way to be occupied during a blackout than chilling with four hot Australian rockstars, right?

Ashton's phone was the first of the group's to ring. "Hey, what's up?" he asked the person on the other end.  "Yeah, we're just grabbing a bite to eat... I'm not telling you where we are. We can take care of ourselves, dude... No, no one has bothered us... We're fine, I swear... Okay... Okay, I'll call you back." 

"Dave?" asked Luke.

"How'd you guess?" Ashton answered, sarcastically. "There's no power at the hotel, either. Apparently, it's a city-wide outage. He's still pissed that we took off without telling them." Then he laughed, "We haven't been able to pull that off in a while."

The other three all smiled and nodded their heads, apparently reminiscing about previous escapes.

Curious, I jokingly asked, "Who's Dave, your babysitter?"

"Pretty much," Calum snickered.  "He's our head of security. Man, they do a good job, but sometimes it's nice not to have them breathing down our necks, ya know?"

Next, Luke's phone rang. He looked at the screen and rolled his eyes, and answered it with a groan. "Ashton told you we're fine, man... Yeah, I know... We will... Okay, gotta finish my food. Bye."

"See what I mean?" Calum asked, shaking his head.

Before I could even reply, Calum's phone rang. He answered and, without giving the caller a chance to speak, said, "Yes, we're fine. No one has tried to jump our bones... yet. We're big boys and can handle it. Goodbye." And he ended the call as abruptly as he'd answered it.

We all looked expectantly at Michael, knowing it was only a matter of time before his rang. He put the phone on the table, and we stared at it intently for several seconds.

When it didn't ring, Michael said, "Damn. I guess Dave doesn't give a shit about me. That motherfucker. Watch this," he said, dialing a number on speed dial and putting it on speaker for all of us to hear.

After two rings Dave answered, "Mike, you guys - "

But Michael hung up on him before he could say anything else. Once again, our table was howling with laughter and people were looking at us like we were insane.

Many of the customers had left, but one of the men left in the middle of the room whistled loudly and yelled, "Listen up! It's the news!" He was streaming the local news on his phone. They were reporting on the power failure. There had been an explosion at the power plant, and there was no estimation on how long the blackout would last. It could range from a few hours to a few days.  

"A few days??" Michael groaned. "Dude, I'm telling you now. I can't go without power for days."

"Why? You afraid of the dark or something?" Alexis joked.

“I am not,” he mumbled, reaching for another french fry.

"My parents have a small generator at their place,” I mentioned, changing the subject and earning a grateful glance from Michael. "If we go there, then we’ll at least have access to some light for a little while."

“Your folks won’t mind you bringing over four strange Australian dudes?” Ashton asked.

“Normally, yes. But considering they’re currently on a cruise in the Caribbean, I don’t think they’ll ever have a need to know.”

The guys looked at each other, silently weighing their options. “What do you say, lads?” Calum asked. “You boys up for a little adventure?”

After a few more wordless exchanges, they all shrugged, earning a grin from Calum as he turned back to face me.

“We’re in."

We didn't waste any time climbing out of the booth and filing out the door. "This way," I directed. 

As if Chicago traffic wasn't horrific enough, it was total chaos out there with no traffic lights. There were horns honking and people yelling obscenities. It was a mess.

Taking in the scene, Luke asked,  "Exactly how are we supposed to get there?"

"Not by car, that's for sure," Alexis answered.

"It's within walking distance," I explained. "Don't worry, just follow us. Try to blend in. The last thing we need is a mob of girls making a scene in this mess, and Dave kicking our asses when he finds out."

Alexis laughed at me. "Do you even realize what you just said?"

"No. What?" 

"You told them to blend in. Yeah, okay. This one has purple hair," she said, pointing to Michael.

She was right. "Good point. Michael, put your hood up." I wondered why he was wearing a hoodie in the middle of summer, but didn't have time to question it.

"But it'll mess up my hair!" he argued. And he wasn't even kidding.

Alexis looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He groaned but didn't put up a fight. I heard her tell him, "It may get messed up later anyway," as she helped him tuck his hair under the hood. I always did admire Lex's boldness.

His jaw dropped for a second at the innuendo, and he bit his lip to keep from smiling. Then he put his arm around her shoulders as we started walking.

I grabbed Calum's hand without even thinking about it. Apparently, my subconscious didn't want my new friend to get lost. I weaved my way through the crowd, leading my little group to safety. There wasn't much conversation because it was so noisy.

Finally, we made it out of the city and could hear each other well enough to converse without yelling.

"How much further?" Michael complained.

"We're almost there, scaredy cat," I told him.  
"I'm not scared!" he exclaimed.

Calum said, "He's scared and lazy. He hasn't walked this far in one trip in years."

"Shut up, Calum," Michael pouted.

"Hey, man, just speaking the truth."

They bickered for a few minutes, Ashton and Luke joining in. Eventually, they were running and tackling each other. It was quite a sight. Alexis and I just looked at each other like, "What have we gotten ourselves into?"  

We made it to the property, and I announced, "Okay boys, we're home!"  
They looked at me in confusion because there wasn't a house standing in front of us. At least, not that they could see. I clarified, "Okay, we're technically home, but we have to walk up this driveway. I promise there's a house way back there." They squinted, straining in the darkness to see the house on top of the hill, at the end of the long driveway.

"God bless, this driveway is longer than the whole walk here. Hold on, I need to take a breather. My legs are going to be so damn sore tomorrow. Fuck. Maybe we should have just gone back to the hotel." Blah, blah, blah. This is when I knew Michael was the complainer/over-exaggerator of the group.

Just to clarify, the driveway was long, but not nearly as long as Michael was making it out to be. It was a little steep, though.

We were all thankful when we finally reached the front door. I took the keys out of my pocket and unlocked it. "Ta da!"