Perseverance ( completed! )

Confusion

Heading out, we passed the living room where their giant flat screen lay mounted on the wall. The rim of the tv was flickering with soft white circles of light. A message from the government? Hm. Might as well ignore it. Usually the government would just send out commercials about junk like how drinking and how it could slow down our implants. Did anyone ever listen? Nope.

If only someone turned it on.

Luckily, once outside it was much quieter, and there were fewer people, and the people who were out here were doing canon balls into the pool. I inhaled slowly, taking in the sweet and delicious scent of nature. Living in a world surrounded by technology isn't as glamorous as it sounds. I once read a history book about the 2000's, and they carried what they called phones around? That seems like such a simpler time, one I really wish I lived in. No self drying cars, no automatic closing doors, implants, gated houses, trackers, 3D display watches, ra-

"Gabriel!!"

Liam's deep, raspy voice drew me from my thoughts. I blinked three times, quickly turning toward him.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Liam huffed jokingly, throwing his arm around my shoulders.

"Jeez Gabe," A soft chuckle before he continued, "I said, look at the northern lights!! They are gorgeous..." I was distracted momentarily by how in awe Liam seemed. It was amusing. But then something clicked, and my eyebrows drew together in confusion.

"What..?" My question trailed off for a moment as I looked over toward where he was looking. Liam didn't seem to notice what I did. He tended to be very oblivious sometimes.

"Liam, did you say the /Northern/ lights?" I asked, confusion flickering across my face, and I could tell he noticed because he always did this little smile like smirk thing.

"Ugh, Liam, be serious please. Do you know where we live?" I asked him, face palming with a soft huff.

"Duh. Of course I know where?" Liam replied with a blunt expression on his face.

"Oh, my god Liam. South, we live near Southern California. Those are the northern lights." I stated slowly, praying that this big lovable oaf understood.

"Oh! So it's new here," he winked and wriggled his eyebrows.

I groaned loudly, but couldn't force back a laugh. A snort of laughter escaped. If I knew then, if only I knew. I would have been far more serious.

"You're such an idiot Liam," I managed to choke out after I finished cracking up.

"But you love me anyway~" He all but purred, the left side of his mouth tugging up to form a mischievous smirk.

With a roll of my eyes, I tugged away from under his arm that had been draped across my shoulders, still smiling softly in result of the laughter.

"Whatever you say, dork," I huffed out with a pout, before growing serious again. Turning back to look at the sky. The lights were beautiful. And oddly bright. Extremely bright. Yet again, my face scrunched up in confusion and wonder, taking in the sight in the quiet night.

Wait, quiet?! The music, someone turned it off. I turned back toward the house, surprised to see no sign of the lights that were just pulsing through the windows. I tugged on Liam's sleeve to get him to follow, before walking back toward the back door. No one in the pool appeared to notice, as they kept screaming, laughing and chatting as they canon-balled in the pool.

Me and Liam walked in curiously, being greeted with confused and drunk teenagers muttering to each other.

"What happened?" I asked a tall girl with brown hair, who appeared to be messing with her implant.

The girl glanced at me and shrugged.
"Power went out I guess? But no ones implants are working either," she sounded annoyed, clicking her tongue.

I fiddled with the back of my neck momentarily, holding my finger down on the circular device in my neck. This should have caused some type of hologram from the government to pop up. But nothing happened.
"Ugh, this blows!" I heard a junior loudly complain, making his way toward the door.

"I'm heading out."

Others quickly followed in his lead, muttering agreements as they flocked toward the front door. The first guy pushed the door open. The door stayed open. It didn't close like it should have. So the power was out.

People from our school got into their cars. I didn't want to just stand there watching like an idiot, so I turned and made my way up her stairs, where some people lay totally passed out. Liam followed after me, and we walked into one of the rooms that faced the city, trying to find a beamer. And just walking up the stairs was difficult in pitch black. I almost tripped on one of the passed out teenagers.

With a huff, I glanced around, my eyes trying to adjust to the dark. A ran my hand along the wall as I cautiously walked forward. Liam followed close behind. I could smell his cologne.

I kept slowly moving. My hand then brushed a door handle, and I nibbled nervously on my bottom lip, opening the door quickly. Praying this wasn't someones closet, I reached forward in search of some type of shelf. Specifically trying to find a flashlight. My hand brushed clothing items that were hung up, but no flashlight. Sigh.

"Here, wheres the window? Roll up the slat and see if we can let some light in." I spoke in a soft voice, as if scared to break the silence in this room.

"Yes sir," Liam chuckled in response, and I could hear him stumble through the room, cursing whenever he almost tripped on something. I forced down a laugh, switching it instead for a soft smile. Liam never failed to lighten my mood. But now was the time for seriousness. Why would the m go out?

Wait, our implants. They are not powered by the power in this house. They are small devices that have the power to support themselves in the case of a black out, or some type of emergency. So why aren't they working?

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A.N.
I hope you all enjoy!

Published - 2/2/19