Chapter 1: The Window
The power died just after nine.
One second the ceiling fan was spinning. The next, everything went black. The AC cut out. The fridge stopped humming. My phone still had little battery, but the signal was s**t.
I sat on the couch in the dark, sweating already. Summer nights in this neighborhood always felt heavier without the AC. I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand and stood up.
“Great,” I muttered. “Just great.”
I found the flashlight in the kitchen drawer and turned it on. The beam bounced off the counters. I opened the fridge, grabbed a bottle of water, and twisted the cap off. Warm already and perfect.
Outside, the street was quiet. No lights in any of the houses. The whole block was out.
I walked back toward the living room and froze when I heard t
