Adhara's Sonder

Chapter 12: Meltdown

"Are you guys okay?" Aliyah asked frantically as they re-emerged from the basement. "We all woke up because of this alert on our phone about a blackout, and then you guys were gone...but the power's still on here!"

"Well, we're not on the grid here anymore," Cyrus mumbled as Maria consoled her.

"Olive and Donny are in there watching the news," Aliyah took a deep breath. Maria led her gently into the living room, followed by Cyrus and Adhara. They were met by incredulous looks from Donny and Olive.

"You missed the good part," Donny smirked. The TV displayed shots of confused people in the streets and the distant AirShift towers, now thoroughly obscured in the storm.

"What's the damage?" Cyrus groaned.

"Well, they already know it's you," Donny took a long sip from his water, ignoring Cyrus' subsequent shock. "And by you, I mean the Alchemists. They think you're making a statement."

"What kind of statement?"

"Some say you're waging war against Acryogen," he waved off Cyrus, ready to protest. "But that's just the fanatics. Most people think it was a protest against Acryogen's negligence; fixing stuff that they won't, making a statement about something. And I think you were messing around with stuff you don't understand and accidentally overloaded the whole city. Who's right?"

"You are," Maria signed.

Aliyah huffed and slipped Donny a dollar.

"You know, my feelings are starting to get hurt that you don't invite me on your crazy adventures," he sighed.

"We invited you the first time!" Cyrus spluttered. "And now you're acting like we've been intentionally excluding you?"

"Drama's the spice of life, bay-bee." Donny blew a kiss and cackled as Aliyah beat him with a throw pillow.

"They're already working on repairs. Grid's supposed to be back up in a few hours; by four," Olive added.

"That quickly?" Cyrus asked.

"Power surge affected Acryogen facilities. You know how they are," she winked. "Same day service if it's self-service."

Cyrus scoffed. "At least everything will be back to normal soon."

"Most of the grid will be operational again in a few hours," Adhara interjected. "But there will be some consequences that will take longer to rectify."

The room turned to her.

"What do you mean?" Cyrus asked finally.

"Before the power surge, I had tracked Animal King to a nuclear power plant in the city," she explained. Cyrus' heart sank. "I have been monitoring Acryogen's emergency radio communication. The same power plant has been overloaded due to the surge. They are attempting to contain it for now, but I estimate the reactors will decay into irreversible meltdown before Christmas."

"Wh—can't they do anything? If they have weeks to act, can't they flood it or something?"

"They believe they can stabilize the reactors without damaging them. They will attempt to minimize costs. However, it is unlikely that they will be successful," she cocked her ear, listening to what they couldn't hear, "since they are not alone in the facility. Staff members are already beginning to disappear."

"Ugh...this is all my fault," Cyrus groaned, sliding down against the wall. Donny nodded.

"Not entirely," said Adhara. "The upkeep of the facility was severely inadequate. Any catastrophic event could have triggered this meltdown. However," she conceded, "the coinciding presence of Animal King is inopportune."