Tuesday, March 17th 1998 7:10pm
Change minus Five Minutes

The living room was quiet as the tape started to play. Eric and Stacey sat on opposite ends of the couch with Danielle in the middle trying to ignore the fact. The previews started and the tension eased just a little. Halfway through the third preview the power flickered and then died.

"What happened?" Danielle asked sitting up.

"It must have blown a fuse." Stacey walked to the kitchen and pulled a flashlight out of the kitchen drawer. "This'll just take a moment."

She pushed the button on the flashlight and nothing happened. She tried again shaking a little after nothing happened.

"That's weird."

"What is it?" Danielle walked into the kitchen followed by Eric.

"The batteries are dead, but they are fresh. We just bought them before my parents left." She unscrewed the top of the flashlight and popped out the three batteries.

After a moment she touched her tongue to the tip of each one.

"Do you hear that?" Eric turned toward the door.

They walked cautiously to the front door and opened it. On the highway below there was a scene that belonged in a bad action movie. An eighteen-wheeler was barreling down the highway, from the look on the drivers face he did not have any control over the vehicle. From their vantage point they could see similar looks on the other drivers along the stretch of road.

"I think it's more than a blown fuse." Eric pointed to row of house on the other side of the highway.

It was getting to be dusk and no lights were on in any of the houses.

"Do you have camping gear?" he walked back through the living room and into the kitchen.

"What?" Stacey followed him in a bit of a daze.

"We need to help them." Danielle was still standing at the door.

"This isn't a blown fuse, this is something bigger. Those cars aren't working, these batteries aren't working, and from the looks of it this isn't something that just happened at your house." He began putting items on the counter. "We need to pack the useful stuff up, I have somewhere we can go."

"What?"

"Listen, if this is just some stupid thing that will end in a couple of hours then we can all laugh at me later, but if it isn't…" he let the words hang in the air. "We need to get going, once things get bad these houses will be ransacked."

"You are crazy, put that stuff back!" Stacey walked back to Danielle. "See, I told you!"

"We have to help them!" Danielle turned Stacey to see the scene below.

What had started out as cars trying desperately to stop had become a thirteen car pile-up. Eric appeared at her shoulder.

"Danielle, do you know CPR?" he looked into her eyes.

"No."

"Do you know how to set a broken bone?"

She shook her head.

"You want to help, I understand, but if you don't know how you will just get hurt yourself." He spoke softly, trying to take the sting from his words.

She slowly nodded her head and looked away. "What do we do?"

"We get as much supplies as we can carry and get somewhere safe."

She nodded again and followed him back to the kitchen. They began to fill plastic bags with food and supplies. Stacey stood at the door, squinting into the distance, trying to find something that would prove him wrong. After a while she joined them packing the bags.

"Take everything that we can use, food, medicine, blankets, and clothes." Eric finished loading a bag with canned foods. "Don't forget the can opener. Clothes! The clothes shouldn't be too bright or something that will stand out against the ground and trees. Get dark greens, tans, khaki, black, and gray mainly. Once we are done here we'll stop by my house and do the same thing."

Stacey nodded and went back to her room.

"What about my parents?" Danielle stopped and looked at him.

"We'll find them, but first we have to stay safe." He smiled at her trying to reassure her.

In his mind he was going out of control, trying to figure things out. Someone had flicked a switch and nothing worked anymore at least that was what it seemed. They would clear anything out of the house they could use for supplies and then do the same to his house, after that he was going to take them to the cave. It would have enough room for the three of them, he was have to redesign the bed to fit the two of them. With enough food and supplies they should be able to last at least until things calmed down. He didn't think about his family, they were elsewhere right now and he had to take care of himself and those with him. His father was in Farmington, his mother was in Durango, and his brother was in town a few miles away. He stopped packing for a moment.

Danielle was right, what about her parents? If they came to check on her and they were in the cave they would miss them, however if they left a note describing where they were anyone who came along would see it. He had options, he knew he did, he just didn't necessarily like them. Leave a detailed note for anyone or chance missing them for good. They could check back each day to see if there was any change in things or if anyone had shown up.

Part of him wanted the lights to flicker back to life and have this all be some weird solar flare incident but he knew deep down that the lights weren't coming on again and if they did it wasn't going to be any time soon. He knew it was better to act like they would never come back on rather than sitting around and waiting.

"We're finished." Danielle looked around the kitchen. "Now what?"

"We'll help Stacey." Eric turned to see Stacey standing in the doorway holding her fathers pistol.

"Get out of my house." She held the gun up, shaking a bit. "Both of you get out now."

"Stacey, if I'm right then the three of us should stick to stick together." He took a slow step forward. "I know you don't like me, but you have to trust me."

"Right about what?" She yelled. "The cars are working and electricity isn't working? It will come back!"

"I hope so," he took another step. "I want it to but what if it doesn't? What happens if you just stay here and nothing comes back on? People are going to come eventually, maybe not today or tomorrow but someone will come and there is stuff in this house that will help them live just a bit longer and they will take it if we don't."

"My dad has two shotguns and a pistol, I know how to use them." Her arm straightened.

"Think about it, Stacey, if the cars aren't working and the electricity isn't working, a gun won't work either." He was now standing just in front of the barrel of the gun.

"It will work." She held the gun above her head and pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

She pulled the trigger again.

Nothing happened.

She looked at Eric and fainted.