Liquid Health | #Wattys2016 |

Chapter Three

Megan's P.O.V.

A string of curses erupts from my mouth before I can stop myself. First I'm assigned an incredibly stupid extra credit assignment from a frustratingly intelligent teacher, then I'm pursued by an annoyingly cute guy who I'm trying to convince myself has an interest in me even though it's purely professional, and now the power goes out the exact second I'm about to start watching The X Files? How much worse can this day get?!

I hear a few startled cries from other dorm rooms. And that stupid stuff people say when they're startled.

"Oh my god, what was that?"

This girl needs to learn how to use some good old common sense and deductive reasoning to answer her own question.

"I think the power just went out."

Nice one, Sherlock. You should be expelled from this school for the level of stupidity you are displaying right now. I'm wondering how you got here in the first place.

"Does anyone have a flashlight, for God's sake?"

There we go. Someone with a freaking brain. The voice sounds familiar. I bite my lip, trying to pin down where and when I've heard it before.

Then it hits me. Oh. How could I forget?

It's Duller.

I swing my phone around for some light to find the door - and him. It doesn't help much. At all.

"Seriously, dude, try to find the flashlight." He sounds irritated. At least he feels the pain of being surrounded by idiots. "Wait, never mind, I have it!"

A beam of light illuminates the hallway. I can tell, even though the door is closed, because of the thin strip of light that appears in the space between the door and the floor. I hold my phone out to guide me, reach for the doorknob -

And my phone's screen suddenly turns dark. And so does the hallway.

What the heck?

I fiddle with the phone in the dark, pressing buttons, knocking it against my hand, even listening for any kind of noise. Nothing.

Shouts assault my ears from the hallway.

"My phone just died, just like that!"

"What happened to my hair dryer?"

"The power went off - wait, is that wireless? Oh my god, that's engineering genius!"

"That's not the point! Something's seriously wrong!"

Jesus Christ.

Duller. He texted me those exact words...right before the power went off.

I immediately start to panic. I lurch my body towards the door, fumble for the doorknob, eventually find it, and push the door open. 

I can't bring myself to get out of the dorm room. Complete chaos and pandemonium lies outside, waiting to swallow me. Devour me. Fear slips into my veins and leaves me immobile. I whimper and close my eyes in an effort to calm myself down. Okay, focus, I tell myself. Don't let your fear cloud your senses. Use all five to answer an important question - What's happening out there?

I nod. I can do this.

Sight. Nothing. Absolute darkness. I can't see a thing.

Taste. A sliver of metallic blood in my mouth, from my biting my lip too hard. Bile rising up in my throat.

Touch. Sweaty palms gripping the doorframe. My whole body against it. My hair sticking to my face. I don't even bother to wipe it away.

Smell. I sniff the air. Sweat. Chinese takeout. Mac and cheese. The students were eating dinner. Panic. Terror. I can smell more than odors in this moment, I can smell auras.