Chapter 51

A sudden, heavy knock at the kitchen door kicks his heart into a rapid beat. Ned throws back the blanket, trips over the coffee table when he stands, and falls flat on his face before he can take a step. “Shit!” he curses, pushing himself up off the floor.

The knock comes again, a pounding really, someone laying into the door like a gossip full of bad news. Raising his voice, he calls out, “Hold up!” As he stumbles through the kitchen, heading for the door, he realizes it has to be Bobby.

It is.

“What the hell are you doing out in this mess?” Ned asks when he opens the door and finds Bobby on his stoop, stomping his feet to keep warm. Behind him, icy rain falls in sheets Ned hears but can’t see—the world out there has ceased to exist. No street lights on now to light the sidewalks, no stars above to shine down, no moon even. Ned can’t stare into that endless night for too long. It’s like going blind.

Bobby shoulders his way into the kitchen to announce, “The power’s out.”