Blackout

It happened suddenly, all of the lights and electronics not supported by a battery shut off. Ali got up with a huff, rolling her eyes and heading towards her parents bedroom. "Mom, dad, the power just went out!" She paused at the bottom of the stairs waiting for them, but received no response. "Mom? Dad?" She said, making her way up and knocking on the door. It was already slightly ajar, so she didn't wait for a an answer and allowed herself inside. Ali's mom was grabbing everything she could get her hands on, especially their clothes while her dad was putting on a jacket and grabbing his keys. "What are you doing...?" Suddenly her dad sped out the door. "I'm going to start the car, grab as many things as you can and we'll sort through them when we get back! Ali, let's go!" Ali could feel the anxiety rushing to her legs and my arms, her entire body starting to tremble as she realized something awful must have happened. She didn't even realize her dad asked her to follow him. "T-The lights went out..." She said softly, watching her mom ransack the closet. "I know, but I need you to go with your dad right now, okay?" She still didn't get an explanation, her mom too focused on the task at hand. Suddenly she noticed her mom's phone had been on and was left the bed, playing a livestream. A news anchor who sounded distraught was speaking. "Breaking news for those who just tuned in. A power outage has been reported affecting the entire West Coast and already making its way to Kansas, Iowa, and the surrounding states. Middle America is already affected. The blackout has also been reported to be affecting states on the Ea-" Suddenly the feed was replaced with a "Technical Difficulties," warning before completely shutting off within only a few seconds.

"I need you to please go to the store with your dad while I pack as many things as I can." She said, her tone growing a bit more frantic and irritated. The floor was littered with her parents clothes and shoes, one pile made up of normal clothing such as long and short sleeved shirts, pants, jackets, and tennis shoes, while the other pile was made up of heels, dress shoes, and the fancier clothes they both wore only on occasion. Ali hesitantly walked away, but met her father outside. Her neighbors were all running out of their homes. Some of them were loading clothes, food, their pets, and other things into their cars while others were bringing laundry baskets full of food, first aid supplies, and other supplies into their homes. It seemed like people were either fleeing or stockpiling and deciding to baricade their homes. Ali found herself staring at a few of her neighbors who seemed to be fighting over a large cardboard box full of food, but her dad quickly pushed her up to the front and told her to hop into the car. As soon as he jumped into the drivers seat and both their seatbelts were on, he sped off onto the road, ignoring plenty of traffic laws. "We're going to go to the store and you and I are going to grab as many groceries as we can. Pile anything you see into the cart, especially canned goods. Grab anything that'll last long." Ali nodded, unable to utter a word.

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It had been a few days now since Ali and her family fled North Carolina. After the world was thrown into chaos, her parents took her and her younger brother up to their grandparents house. They left their home and their lives back in NC, but somehow safely arrived in Georgia. By the time they got there, homes were already destroyed and stores up in flames. Ali's grandparents had always lived in the dense forest of rural Georgia. Luckily they had extensive knowledge of how to live off the land and their home was filled with books detailing things such as how to take care of a garden, take care of farm animals (which they had quite a few), use solar energy, and more. They weren't exactly off the grid and still used normal electricity before the blackout, but the transition from normal electricity to solar was easier for them. When they had arrived, Ali could hear her grandparents telling her parents about the outage, how neighbors they had known for years fled, hoping to flee to Mexico, how some homes were already looted, how stores were deserted and a few brought to flames. It was complete and utter chaos. She even overheard that some of their neighbors had been murdered before her father found her eavesdropping and forced her to leave.

Their home was placed deep in the forest, so it was safer than staying in their home back in the suburbs. Ali saw for herself it wasn't safe anymore and didn't need the stories to rely on, having witnessed the rioting, looting, and more herself just on the trip there. As the days passed, things had gotten fairly easier for her to cope with. The solar energy they had only powered so much, thus was used for necessities, but she still occupied her time well with reading, babysitting her younger brother, and occasionally talking walks in the forest as long as she had supervision. Ali didn't like to do it often though as one of her parents would also keep an eye out with a shotgun close at hand. It only reminded her of the the world suddenly being thrown out of balance.