The Dark Side

The day is sweltering - Ava can't drink enough water - to quench her thirst to cool down. "Hey Dora, I am going to make some ice - my mind is mush from this heat!"  Dora lifts her head off of the pillow where she is lying on the couch. "Yes, make some in the refrigerator's ice maker - why didn't I think of that - geez!" 

Ava and Dora have never experienced heat like this in all of the years living in the studio apartment. The air conditioning is on full blast, as well as strategically placed fans all around the room. Ava gets the ice ready, fills up a few water pictures, and puts them into the freezer. She then fills up two large glasses with an ice tea for Dora and lemonade for herself. As Ava sits down - with her lemonade in hand, she remarks, "This is the best lemonade I have ever had!" Dora chimes in, "Dido on the ice tea Ava!"

The weather forecast - is calling for the heatwave - to last at least for the remainder of the week. Ava looks out onto the street at the people across the way - sitting outside trying to stay calm. The lights start to flicker for a moment. Dora starts to turn off a fan or two thinking they may be using too much power. Then the power goes out completely. Both Ava and Dora look out into the darkness. "Oh my God, the entire city is out!" Dora shouts.  Ava tries to reassure her, "Yes, but it probably won't be for long - they must have backup power?" They both look at each other, knowing that if this is a city-wide blackout. Chances are it could be a while before power back.

"Let's see if we can find out anything on our cell phones," Ava says as she looks for her phone at the bottom of her purse.  As she checks her phone - there is no WiFi or mobile connection. "Everything is down - we are flying blind," Ava says in a quiet voice. Dora runs into her bedroom and begins to go through her closet, and pulls out a radio. She checks it for batteries and brings it into the living room. "Look what I found; we can use it to see what is going on!" Dora turns on the radio and begins to tune in to their local radio station. 

As she fiddles with the dial, the station suddenly comes in, "Attention, attention, this is CKBY we are broadcasting over a backup network - to the city." Ava and Dora sit intensely, listening to the latest update. "AS OF NOW, THE ENTIRE CITY IS IN A BLACKOUT - DUE TO THE STRAIN IN THE POWER GRID-IT IS ESTIMATED POWER WILL NOT FULLY RESTORE FOR AT LEAST THE NEXT 48 TO 72 HOURS." Ava and Dora's eyes grow large as they think of all their food in the refrigerator and freezer. And what the next while will be like without air conditioning, fans and cold drinks. The radio announcer then makes another statement, " Please listen to the listings of key locations offering free water and battery-operated fans."  Dora grabs her sandals and her car keys - Ava is not long behind.

As they make their way to their crucial location - a local corner store called "Sia's Convenience," the traffic is heavy. They have the car's air conditioning on full blast. "I cannot believe we are in this situation a HEATWAVE - BLACKOUT - PANDEMIC?!?" Ava says in a strained tone. "I know. I hope people will be respectful of the protocols and act in an orderly fashion." Dora looks out her window with a kind of silent panic on her face. 

As they pull up to the convenience store - a large crowd have already descended upon the location. A sign was posted outside of the store listing the proper procedure for the free water and fans.  Just as Ava and Dora get out of the car - a riot breaks out! "My God - Ava, stay inside the car - let's get out of here!!!" Ava doesn't question Dora as they speed away. As they travel further down the street and pass other locations - the same thing has broken out among the other sites.  "I guess we should get back to our apartment - I think we may have enough - water for now?" Dora says as she pulls into the underground parking lot.  For some reason, there seem to be many more people in the underground parking lot - just getting back with their water and fans.  But something was different people are fighting - desperation and survival are coming to the surface. 

People are yelling and screaming and grabbing supplies from others. "Ava, we are going to have to make a run for the stairs!!!" Dora says uneasily. "Ok, Dora, on the count of three, let's make a run for it!!!" Dora begins the countdown, "1…2…3!!!" The car doors open, and they both rush for the stairs. "Hey, stop; what do you have for water - give it over!!!" a random person in the group of people in the parking lot yells across to Dora and Ava. 

Dora and Ava open the door to the stairs and make a mad dash up the flights of stairs. With the angry man in pursuit.  Dora turns slightly and shouts out to the man, "We have nothing - please leave us alone!!!" The man curtly shouts back, "I don't believe you have bags full of something!!!" As both come to their floor - they open the door and race to their apartment door - unlock it - get inside and lock and bolt the door.  Dora and Ava exhale relief they made it. Then suddenly, the man starts pounding on their apartment door. "I ALMOST HAD YOUR WATER - BE CAREFUL. I WILL GET IT NEXT TIME!!!"

"What are we going to do - we didn't even get any water - what happens if we manage to next time??" Ava says quietly under her breath. "Let's just settle down, have some lemonade and ice tea and check out the latest radio updates," Dora turns on the radio and catches the latest update. "ATTENTION - ATTENTION, PLEASE BE ADVISED DUE TO THE BLACKOUT - THERE HAS BEEN A PRISON RIOT, AND SOME PRISONERS FROM THE LOCAL MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON - HAVE ESCAPED!" 

The radio announcer - begins to describe one particular inmate - who is still on the run. "THE LONE INMATE - IS APPROXIMATELY SIX FOOT TWO - SLIM BUILD - CAUCASIAN - SHORT BROWN HAIR - GLASSES - WEARING A PRISON GUARDS UNIFORM." At the end of the description, the radio announcer states, "DON'T APPROACH - HE IS ARMED AND DANGEROUS - WITH PSYCHOPATHIC DENDONCIES - CALL POLICE IMMEDIATELY IF SPOTTED!"

Dora and Ava - look at each other, horrified. The inmate is the man described in the bulletin; that chased them up the stairs to their apartment! "What are we going to do - cell phones are not working; all the towers are down!" Ava says in a panic.  As she finishes saying this, the door of their apartment gets kicked in, and the man from earlier - is standing in their doorway - holding an axe.

Sometimes it is better to stay home - then venture out in a HEATWAVE - BLACKOUT - PANDEMIC because you might come; face to face with the dark side.