The silence was the loudest thing Ezra had ever heard.
Before the grid died, the world had a hum. A constant, background frequency generated by electricity, by engines, by the sheer weight of human industry. Even in the deepest forest, you could feel it in your teeth. A vibration of existence.
Now, there was nothing.
When the wind died, the world stopped. When the fire crackled, the sound jumped out like a gunshot. Ezra stood on the porch, the axe heavy in his hand. He watched his own breath plume in the air. It hung there longer than it should have. Suspended. The cold wasn't just temperature anymore. It was preservation.
He looked at the ice wall. It surrounded the house in a perfect dome. Fifty yards out. Ten feet high. Transparent blue. Inside, the snow was melted. Grass showed thr
