Blackout

1. MINERVA

The lights were out.

More specifically, all the lights were out.

"It's alright everyone, it's just a blackout. The generator should be on in a bit," Janus said to all of us. Rolling our eyes, everyone in the cafeteria groaned. Of course our school would have a blackout for no apparent reason. Turning to face Michelle, she had the same bored expression as myself; it just had to be during our off period.

Shaking my head, I thought back to the calc exam just bombed. Couldn't we have lost power before a two-period test on convergent and divergent series? Damn outages and their terrible timing. It probably wouldn't have made much a difference anyway since the lights came on again after a moment. At least they had an emergency generator.

With a cheer everyone went back to their conversations.

With a flicker the lights went out. Again.

Hushed whispers flew across the room as people wondered what happened. I myself raised an eyebrow, muttering, "Not creepy at all." It was one thing for a blackout to happen, but for the generator to fail? Now that's no coincidence. Curiosity ran through me, hidden by the darkness surrounding us.

"Michelle, let's head out," I whispered over my shoulder. The lights were out, it was pretty dark in the cafeteria, and nobody ever paid attention to the pair; perfect timing for them to sneak out. With a grin I gave Michelle my best puppy dog eyes. Not to brag or anything - okay that's a lie, totally bragging - but my puppy eyes were the best.

Doubt flickered through her shadowed eyes, "It's not safe."

"What's that worst that'll happen? It's only a blackout."

After a minute she budged with an unsure sigh, "One day your adventures will get you killed. Where are we even going?"

"You'll see."

Slowly making my way up Michelle copied my actions. We silently inched towards the hall; our bodies crouched low so we wouldn't get caught by the monitors. It was almost comical how easy it was. The teachers there were just trying to find updates on the school's power and our classmates never paid mind to us. Why would they? We were at the bottom of the social hierarchy.

There were only a few more feet left before freedom. Michelle and I quickly rushed those last steps, thankfully uninterrupted. Scanning the room, it was apparent that nobody saw us leave, suckers. My grin widened at the empty halls. With everyone locked in their classrooms from the blackout there was no one to berate us for being in the halls. Debating our options, I knew exactly where I wanted to investigate.

Ever since freshman year, a curiosity manifested in me regarding the catacombs beneath the school. It began with a trip to grab some English books from the basement with a few classmates. We all followed Mrs. Frey down the stairs and through a few turns until we hit the storage closet; a small room filled with our curriculum locked by a simple key. In that short walk I noticed quite a few different halls, all veering in opposite directions and all with a different vibe. Curious, I questioned Mrs. Frey. She simply said it's more 'complex than a basement.'

From then on, I sought to go through the tunnels one day before graduation.

Sophomore year I was able to head down there after practice. Junior year I couldn't find an opportunity to make my way down there. This year, senior year, I had kept pondering a good distraction. A blackout worked for me.

Grasping Michelle's hand, I lead my way to the elevator; the stairs to the basement were locked so the elevator was our only path to the hidden depth of our school. Michelle slowed us to a stop before we even got a few down the hall, "Minnie! Where are we-"

I placed a hand over her mouth, shushing her. "Don't be so loud, we could get caught," I whispered, "We're heading to the basement."

At that last statement Michelle's eyes widened to saucers. Elaborating I started, "Haven't you ever been curious about what's beneath this school? All those tunnels? This might be our only chance."

Placing a hand over her head in exasperation, Michelle groaned softly. Giving her a second dose of my puppy eyes once more, the brunette sighed in defeat. I grinned, knowing she'd come around. Continuing our way to the elevator, a smile crept its way onto Michelle's face from out little adventure. No matter her cautious protests, Michelle was just as daring as myself; only slightly more wary then me.

Once we got to the c-wing, almost to the elevator, we both stilled. From the corner of my eye I saw Michell looking at me with a nod. Reciprocating the gesture, I inched my head around the corner of the wall. No one was in the hall. A chill ran down my spine because I knew it wasn't just my imagination, Michelle had heard it too. Gunshots?