The Darkness (for current lack of a better title) - Chapter 4

She arrived at Mick’s Music in under ten minutes. The place looked eerie with no lights on. She walked up to the door and peered in. Was Jake still here? She saw a shadow move off to the right. She moved closer to the door, pressing her nose to the glass. All of a sudden, something jumped in front of the door. She jumped backwards, nearly falling down. It was Jake. He swung open the door and made a motion for her to come inside. She did.
When they were inside, Jake locked the door. She tilted her head to the side. “I don’t think anyone will be shopping for music right now.” She had never heard this tone come from him before. He seemed so sure of himself, so in control. It was strange, but in a good way.
She nodded. “Have you learned anything?”
“No. Have you?”
“My parents told me everyone left their cars. They gave up driving without the traffic lights on. They wanted to board up the house.”
“How’d you leave?”
“Snuck out,” she said simply.
He grinned; Emma usually followed the rules.
“What should we do?” She asked, hoping he’d have an answer.
“I don’t know,” he caught her sigh, then added, “I suppose we could stay here for a bit. It’s safe enough.”
“Do you feel like we need to be safely locked up? I mean… it’s just a power outage.”
“Honestly, yes. My instinct is telling me to hide.”
They sat there in silence for awhile. Then they heard the yelling outside.
“It’s safe! You can come out of your houses! The people at the power plant say they should have the power back on soon!”
Jake and Emma traded glances.
Jake was the first to talk, “It still doesn’t feel right.”
“I know what you mean.”
They both turned to look out the window. The sun would be going down soon. The person who was yelling came into view. He was an older gentleman, wearing a suit. Emma guessed that he was an executive or lawyer or something of the sort. As they were staring at him, there was a flash of light. Then a shadow raced across their view. The man was gone. Emma instinctively moved closer to Jake. She looked over to him, hoping to see his reaction. He was still staring in the same place, mouth ajar, bewildered. After a few moments he collected himself enough to say, “I really think hiding is a good idea,” and then turned to face her.
She nodded slowly, and then they moved back into the darkness. They headed towards the storage room door, opened it, and entered. Jake pulled out his cell phone for lighting. Eventually the battery will die… what then? She didn’t like the thought as it passed through her head.
“What do you think that was?” Jake was asking her.
“I couldn’t tell, it moved too quickly.”
He nodded in agreement.
“That poor man…” she trailed off.
He nodded again.
If there was reception, she was sure her pocket would start buzzing. Her parents would be terrified. Guilt washed over her for a few minutes, and then dispersed. She wouldn’t have done things any differently.