Power Out

It’s 7pm. The train station is extremely crowded. Everyone is rushing around, some rushing to get home to spend time with their loved ones. Everyone is in a hurry. Then lightning strikes and the lights go out. The trains stop working. For a split second there’s an unusual silence in the air. Disbelief and shock paralyses the people. Then comes the hysteria as some of them start yelling and shouting. There’s an announcement coming from the loudspeaker “Please keep calm while we attempt to restore the power. In the meantime, all train services have been temporarily suspended”

Eugene, Office Worker, Workaholic and always prioritises work over anything, met Tiffany through a dating app which hsi co-workers created for him to “get a life”.

Ah shit i am gonna be late for my date with Tiffany. She's probably never gonna believe this. It's been an hour and the trains still aren't working. The power is out and there's a storm brewing. Oh man, i hope she's ok though. I can't even get any reception in this damn place to contact her and check on her. What the heck happened anyways? Seems like a power outage around the area. Oh look the conductor is coming back maybe he's going to come back with some good news? Or maybe it's bad, he looks kind of anxious? Man, I really hope that she’s not gonna be mad especially since i was already going to be late. I probably should have left the office half an hour earlier or at least texted her rather than taking my chance at trying to be on time and surprising her.

Maki-San, Train platform staff, Father of three and hardworking individual, complains but gets the job done anyways. 

It’s extremely chaotic here. Seems that during the thunderstorm lightning struck the main power grid and there's been an outage. Shit, they should have replaced those old grids a long time go but the stupid people at the council always insist on saving the funds and putting it elsewhere. Old farts probably take the money and pocket it or something, but then again what do i know? I am just a lowly civil servant working for the station. Ah crap, how am i gonna explain to this sea of people that there’s been a power outage and power is not gonna be restored for at least an hour or so? They probably have their own lives to live and theres gonna be chaos. What am i gonna do ? This is way below my pay grade. Ah well i guess i have to do it no matter what. Someone’s gotta take responsibility

Tiffany, Office Worker, recently broke up with her boyfriend and in search of new companionship, met Eugene on a dating app.

Wow, he's already running late for our first date? Wait… what if he isn't planning to turn up? and here i thought he was not gonna be like the other guys i dated before. Maybe I am just plain unlucky or they don’t like me? Maybe he will turn up. I mean there’s still 2 minutes to our meeting time I guess? There’s a chance he’s gotten caught up in the rain. Wait shouldn't he as a gentleman attempt to at least be on time? There's no excuse to be late and even so he should contact me beforehand! Maybe he isn't as great as i thought he was. 

(Thunder crashing in the background, story continues from same perspective)

Oh My God! What was that? The power’s also out ? That’s whack. Oh my, there’s no signal on my phone? What am I gonna do...

Jonathan, Petty Robber, Currently owes debt to a good number of dangerous individuals in the city.

Oh my God, this is the perfect chance. Power is out everywhere along the streets. People are in chaos, oh man this is my big break. If i am fast enough i can capitalise on the chaos to make it big tonight and i will be set for life. Police won't be on my tail for at least the next hour or so especially since they have got to act as crowd control. Alright guess i will head for that shop nearby, looks like i could get a pretty big haul from it. Wow that's pretty neat, some nice looking watches, i will take it. But where’s the damn register. Oh here it is, well here comes a fat payday. Oh what the heck why are the police here? Did someone see me coming into here and report me? Curse you whoever you are! Guess i got to take my leave then… at least i am not leaving empty handed right ? Well i guess they are always watching and like the old saying goes you can't hide from wandering eyes.

Teddy, an enforcement officer, has been working for too long and seen too many things that nothing really surprises him anymore. 

It's not everyday that you get to see lightning strike somewhere. It's even rarer to see a whole city completely go dim in a manner of seconds. Within seconds, we were mobilised to do various things. For some, they had to act as the city crowd control, for others they went about protecting ke installations in the city. It's not easy being the city’s guardians but it's a meaningful job nonetheless. Well for me I have posted to go and patrol the city and keep the citizens in line, ensuring that no one takes advantage of such an event. That's when I spot him, or at least what I think it is, it's a petty robber.

This story was written from multiple perspectives from various characters experiencing the same city wide blackout. It tells of a man who is late for his date, a woman who is too much of a worrywart, a train staff who has to deal with the chaos on his hands, a petty robber and what he assumes to be an unguarded city.Through this story i hope to capture the idea of how when darkness envelopes, different people react to it differently. Some take advantage of it while some let their darkest fears run wild...