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55
Into The
Darkness
Sarah Cheang
‘Savannah, get out of there!’
‘No, just wait a second, I’ve almost got them.’
‘I’m serious, I can hear someone coming, we’ve got to go now.
‘Okay, little miss grumpy pants, I’ve got it. Let’s go.’
It just disappeared. Like that, in a blink an eye. It went away and never came
back. People ran around in chaos, confusion and sheer terror. Nothing like this
had ever happened, well, not that I knew of anyway. Historians couldn’t find
anything close to this in their records. Even the scientists were baffled and no one
had a logical explanation for it. There had to be a reason why the sun disappeared.
We furtively sneaked through the dark street, two agile silhouettes
framed against the eerie moonlight. I moved like an elephant,
trudging throughmud, in contrast to Savannah’s nimble and graceful
steps. My skin was deathly pale in comparison to hers, naturally
tanned and glowing. Her hair was the colour of sweet honey, whereas
my hair was as dark as the night. We were a team of opposites, but
people always said opposites attract. The cold wind pierced my skin,
sending a chill through my bones like ripples on a pond. Thankfully,
we were almost home.
Months passed and still, people were waiting like obedient dogs for a plausible
reason for its abrupt disappearance. Electricity had completely gone out,
supermarkets had been raided, nowhere was safe anymore. People hid in worry
and uncertainty, but mostly fear of the unknown. People sought refuge with
others they could trust. New territories and distinct groups were formed, each
with different opinions, customs and guidelines to live by, but there were still
countless outliers, people who were unwilling to comply with the strict rules of
any single group.
At last, we reached the familiar path to our rundown, but safe
abode, adorned with useless knick-knacks, treasured keepsakes and
precious memories. Savannah, being the tech freak in our dynamic
duo, crafted and fixed most of the devices around the house. The
bicycle powered generators had been our greatest salvations, giving
us the energy to power simple items like the radio, heater and, my
personal favourite, the microwave. The water filter system had also
proved its worth, providing clean and pure drinking water. We had
just gotten four more batteries to add to our meagre collection and
Savannah was eager to go out again on another raid to find even more.
Although the electricity had been cut due to the dependence on solar energy as
the sole source of electricity, people still found ways to live. Batteries were
priceless commodities that were constantly fought over, whilst money was utterly
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