Outage (hs)

Chapter One

"It's okay everyone, we're almost there!" Cap whispered as we marched towards our grounds.

We had found a group of citizens wandering around the forest, hoping to escape the troops who had attacked their town. It took some time to convince them of our side, telling them that we were against the wrong doings of the guidance, and how we were associated with the opposite. I held on to an elderly woman, as she was unable to walk easily through the ragged trail. After a couple of hours, we finally arrived closer to our quarters. She hardly spoke, and the barely audible word "See" would escape her lips occasionally.

"What does that mean?" I asked as I gently helped her around the roots of a tree, while she tightly grasped my arm.

She didn't answer. She simply looked up at me with a worried glance. I reassured her that everything was going to be alright and held her closer. I had asked for her name, but said nothing and lifted her frail wrist towards me and pointed to a band around it. On it read: "Beatrice 'Bee' Lennon," along with some medical information.

"Bee" I said, and she nodded with a slight smile.

I couldn't imagine the pain and fear those people must have been going through. No longer were they able to live their normal lives, but had to find a way to fight for them.

The familiar grounds came into sight as soon as we passed the worn down wooden fence a couple of minutes behind. We were set up behind miles and miles of mountains, making the trip more difficult, yet beneficial. We were away from the guidance, and that was our goal.

As soon as we arrived to our grounds, I guided Bee to a nearby campfire to get her warm.

A couple of campfires were set up, being the only source of heat right now. She held on to my arm, holding on tighter after I set her down for me to leave.

"Harry, how 'bout you stay here and I'll bring the sign-in?" Cap asked.

"Yeah sure, can you bring them a couple of blankets too?"

He nodded and I sat down right next to Bee. Her head slowly leaned onto my shoulder. A barely audible 'thank you' was said, and I held onto her tighter.

I stared into the fire, it's flames rising and falling every once and a while. Memories began to fill my mind with every gush of wind.

"Where could your father be?" my mother asked as she set our dirty dishes into the sink. I leaned by the counter, observing my mother's cautious and continuous pacing across the room. Something was wrong, I was sure of it.

My father rushed through the back door, leading to the kitchen.

"Is everything okay? Did you figure anything out?" my mother said as she held on to my father's shoulders, never letting go.

As soon as my father opened his mouth to say something, rays of light flashed through the windows. I looked to my parents who looked around anxiously. The rays soon ignited to a form unbearable to the human eye. I shut my eyes and felt the urge to run to my parents aid, but could not feel them anywhere in arms length. I rushed in the direction of the dining room, knocking over pots and pans off of the counters as I felt my way through.

I ducked under the table and covered my ears as soon as a loud, burning, stinging noise coincided with the flashes of light.

Then, it all stopped.

I opened my eyes once I heard crashes and snaps of glass and sparks. Everything went pitch black. I waited a couple of minutes, waited for a sign, any sign. Nothing. I took out my phone and turned on its flashlight tool. I paced around my home, but found my parents no where in sight.

A nudge against my shoulder woke me up from the terrifying events that had happened right before the outage.

"Hey are you okay man?" Cap said as he handed me a clipboard.

"Yeah I'm fine, just a bit tired" I replied.

He walked off and left me facing the group of citizens.

"So what do you guys do here?" a man around his thirties asked as he sipped from his mug of tea they had just handed out.

"Um, well we're here to help. We were in the same situation you guys were in a few weeks back. We knew something was up with our government and that something would happen, but never expected something to this extent" actually, I had absolutely no idea about this. My parents may have, but the thought of these actions never came to mind.

"So we can trust you? How the hell are we going to continue living like this?" a woman in a torn-up business suit asked as a sob nearly left her mouth at the end.

"Well for now, we have to take everything one step at a time and think positively," I responded. I may have sounded extremely cliché to these people, of course they would be worried, I was too, but having pessimistic views were not going to bring back our old lives. "We will assign you guys some living arrangements, which are at the right of the building behind us. If you have any questions, feel free to ask any of us."

After finally convincing Bee that I would be back, I walked around the newly found citizens and wrote down their names, ages, previous addresses, and physical descriptions. It saddened me seeing people torn apart from their families and friends just like that. All their belongings, what they worked for, what they would see everyday, would be left behind. Adjusting to new things was pretty much a skill for me, because of the constant moving I dealt with as I grew. However, it was very different than any old school or home. It was a completely different way of living.

I escorted Bee to where she would be sleeping once the registration was done. I had promised her that I would be there for her for whatever she needed, so with a couple of strings pulled and convincing, I got her living arrangements a few doors from mine. I felt so emotionally attached to her, like the grandmother I never had. Although she never responded to much of my speaking, I tried to make her as comfortable as I could.

"So Bee, I'm only a few steps away, okay? If you need anything, just ring this bell" I said as I placed the shiny metal beside her bed.

She smiled and I pulled the blanket over her. As I was about to leave the room, I heard a small chiming noise. I looked back to find the bell wrapped between her fingers.

I smiled, "Yeah, Bee?"

She insisted that I stayed with her until she fell asleep. She gave the hint by putting my hand beside her as she closed her eyes.

After a few minutes, she was sound asleep. With the moon shining through the small windows, it became the only source of light.

I walked down the corridor leading to my room. I set my belongings next to my bed, undressed, and slipped into some pajama pants.

I stared at the ceiling, then to the moon shining through my window. It's presence illuminated my room. I would find myself in this position almost every night; staring at the moon for a source of hope. Hope for the lives of all those people. Hope for a brighter future. Hope is what I needed, to fill the emptiness that was emerging in my chest with every thought.

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