Blackout Girl

Chapter 1 - Hello Darkness

Dean Martin was an idiot. Let it snow? How about, melt already you annoying, attention whore?

As if the snow retaliated, my car swirled left, drifting on the thin layer of ice. My heart skipped a beat, but I jerked the steering wheel right and got back in my lane.

I cursed and a cloud of white steam came out of my mouth. I stopped at the red light and released the death grip on my steering wheel. With a sigh, I browsed through the radio stations, avoiding reindeer jingles. I found a station playing heavy metal and smiled, content. Trust a bunch of hairy dudes with anger issues to help reduce your stress level.

I leaned forward to check the traffic light and caught a glimpse of green before the light went black. And it wasn't just the traffic lights. The whole city went dark as far as I could see.

The angry screaming on the radio got replaced with static, the only other sound the swish of the windshield wipers removing the snow. I sat in my teal Mini Cooper Convertible, motionless, waiting for the electricity to come back. People on the streets did the same, clutching their phones - their only source of light besides the headlights of the cars. The guy in the car behind mine urged me to get a move on by honking obnoxiously so I fell back in line and continued driving.

To someone who grew up in Serbia power shortage wasn't worth freaking out about, but I soon realized that that wasn't the case with Americans. Or at least the ones I encountered. I slowed down as I passed by a black Audi that stood frozen in the middle of the road. I met frightened eyes of the woman behind the wheel and contemplated stopping to ask what was the problem. However, Mr. Impatient sticking to my rear laid on the horn to let us know that he wasn't appreciating the hold up. Asshole.

I surfed the radio, trying to find out more about the situation. So far, everyone was stunned. A few stations that worked didn't know the cause or how long would it be until the power came back. They did report that the entire Chicago was affected. They speculated that the power would come back soon and advised people not to panic.

Even if I had wanted to, I didn't have time to panic when a man emerged on the road right in front of me. I slammed on my breaks so hard that I almost pushed my foot straight through the floor. This time I joined the guy behind me and we honked at the lunatic crossing the road who didn't even bother to look left or right. Never mind that it wasn't a pedestrian crossing or that it was a freaking blackout. Idiot.

From then on, I was on suicide watch, driving slow and annoying the guy behind me, which I secretly enjoyed. I checked the time - almost fifteen minutes without power. Maybe the situation was more serious than what they had reported on the news.

My phone rang and I answered the call using hands-free system. "Hello?"

"Frankie? Where are you?" Vasili's booming voice bounced inside my car. I smiled at his worried tone. He often played the role of my big brother. Sometimes he even played the nagging mother.

"On my way to the land of the riches. Why?" I heard him curse in Russian and that made me sit up straight in my seat. "What's going on?"

"I spoke with someone about what's happening - it's bad." Aside from having a successful construction company and a slight tendency for pessimism, my dear friend also had an in with pretty much every city service in Chicago so it wasn't surprising that he already had all the answers. "It'll be hours, maybe even days until they fix this shit. Turn around and come back."

I shook my head, even though he couldn't see me. "You know I can't. Eddie would kill me, this interview is far too important."

"Screw him," he said, as if that was so easy. My editor would probably fire me if I messed this up. "There'll be trouble on the streets, Frankie."