connoraidann

[connoraidann]

Knee-Deep Water

Marin walked slowly through the knee-deep water. Her skimmer dragged behind her, tied to her waist with a rope. It was too shallow to use now. Besides, there was no wind. So Marin walked.

All around her, for miles and miles in every direction, was water. Flat, shallow, crystal blue water. But that didn’t bother Marin. Water was what she knew. Water was what they all knew. On Kai, water was practically all there was.

Small fish swam around Marin’s sandaled feet, though she hardly noticed. She continued to walk forward—the gentle sun beating down on her—as if it were the only thing she could do. Occasionally, the skimmer dragging behind her snagged on a rock, forcing her to turn around to pull it free. The small sailboat was perfect for traversal through the wavelands. On a good day, when the tides were right and the wind favored you, you could travel more than three times as fast on a skimmer. But today, speed was not a priority for Marin. So she walked, skimmer tied to her waist, dragging behind her.

On Kai, where the water expanded in every direction, it was important to pay attention to the tides. Though the water could be as low as ankle-deep in the mornings, it could quickly rise to chest-deep by the afternoon. That was why it was important to keep a skimmer. You couldn’t survive for long at high tide, this far away from a village.

But now the water was only knee-deep, so Marin walked. She was used to it, used to being so far from the village. As a fisher, she spent many long days miles from the village, hunting her prey. She was pretty good at it too. The harpoon she kept strapped to the side of her skimmer had killed thousands of fish. The net she kept in the skimmer’s storage box had captured entire schools. She was frequently the top catch of her village. They relied on her.

Marin wasn’t sure which she preferred more: her time spent in the village or her time spent alone in the water. Of course, the water was still in the village as well. You didn’t escape the water, simply built on top of it. Her small but bustling village was built on a network of rafts, constructed of wood salvaged from the few swamp-forests that dotted the lands to the north. In the mornings, the water was so low you could walk between the rafts. In the afternoons, you stuck to the bridges, or took a skimmer.

Ren had told Marin once of a village to the east built on tall stilts, and another to the north actually built in the canopy of the swamp-forest trees. But Marin didn’t know if she believed her. Marin’s hunts had taken her miles in every direction, and she had never come across any village like these. Only villages just like their own: small but bustling networks of rafts. Besides, since Ren spent so much time in bed, how could she have found out about these places?

Marin continued to walk slowly through the knee-deep water. She knew that soon it would reach her thighs, and then her waist. Besides the sun beaming above, it was her only indication of time passing. Around this time she would normally prepare to switch to the skimmer. But today, she walked.

Just how long had she been walking? She had left the village when the water was only shin-deep, and now it lapped above her knees. Subconsciously, she knew this meant she had been walking for over four hours. But even though she had been walking for so long, her skimmer held no fish. Inside the storage box was only the net. Her harpoon, still strapped to the side, was unbloodied. 

Fish swam all around her, even occasionally brushing by her feet. The fish were beautiful, multicolored creatures with scales that reflected the pure sunlight above. At any moment she could have caught any number of them. They swam so close to her, so comfortable with her presence that she could have simply snatched them out of the water with her bare hands. But she did not. She did not unstrap her harpoon, nor remove her net. All Marin did was walk.

Ren had always been so envious of her fish catching capabilities. After all, the whole village praised Marin for her abilities. It was easy to see how a younger sister could get jealous. But Marin had never understood the praise. She fished to feed Ren and herself. What was leftover, she traded to the villagers for supplies. Fishing was an act of survival, not something to be praised for.

Not so long ago Marin hadn’t even needed to fish. Her father and mother did all the fishing for the family. They were the ones the village praised. Marin’s only job was to look after Ren, who spent most of her time in the bed of their raft-home. Some mornings, when Ren was feeling better and the tide was low, they would walk around the village together. Marin would even give Ren a few coins she’d saved up to buy sweets from the stalls. She hoped this would encourage Ren to get out of bed more often. Unfortunately, as Marin grew older, she realized lack of encouragement wasn’t the thing keeping Ren from getting up.

Eventually, their father began taking Marin out on fishing voyages, teaching her how to fish properly. He taught her how to cast the net, how to wield the harpoon, even how to maintain and fix the skimmer. Before long, Marin was bringing home just as many fish as her father was. 

She loved seeing the look on Ren’s face when she brought home a bucket of fish. Wide-eyed, she’d look at it as if she was looking at a bucket of glimmering coins. Marin often asked their father when they could take Ren fishing. She knew how much Ren would love it, being out on the water, riding on the skimmer. He always promised her that they would take Ren in the future, but they never did.

Without that fishing knowledge, Marin wasn’t sure what she and Ren would do now. Years ago, on a routine fishing trip, their father and mother failed to return home before dusk. Marin and Ren stayed up all night waiting for them to return. It was dangerous to be on the water after dark, especially with only a skimmer. By morning, they were still nowhere to be seen. That afternoon, the village sent out a search party. Two mornings later, they returned with only a skimmer. The skimmer that Marin now dragged behind her, as she walked slowly through the knee-deep water.

When would Marin turn around? When would she reach down and catch one of the many fish circling around her? When would she head back to the village, to show those beautiful fish to Ren? No. Marin continued to walk forward, her mind still turning over the events of the past.

The deaths of her parents, the prized fishers, had created a deep void in the village. A void that Marin had needed to hastily fill. She had had no choice. The village needed the fish, and Marin needed to feed Ren and herself. So she began to voyage, by herself, even though fishing voyages were almost always done in tandem. Thankfully, due to the many years of practicing with their father, she quickly got the hang of it. Fishing was now easy for Marin. Leaving Ren alone for long stretches of time, was not.

A large, golden fish brushed by Marin’s leg, breaking her trance. Marin looked down at it as it swam by. It was the most beautiful fish she had ever seen. Its body looked like a koi fish, but with a tail fin that stretched far behind it, like a glimmering veil flowing gently through the water. It swam past Marin, then stopped and turned around, as if it was waiting for her to catch up. Marin continued forward to meet it, and it once again swam forward, stopped, and turned around. This surprised Marin. She had never seen a fish behave this way. It was almost like it was asking her to follow.

Marin followed the golden fish. Or maybe she just continued to walk forward, as she had already been doing. Maybe the fish was following her, but from the front. Or maybe the fish was just a fish, and it was doing what fish do: swimming. She continued forward, walking slowly through the knee-deep water. Her skimmer dragged behind her—still tied to her waist with a rope—the harpoon still strapped to the side, unused, the fish net still in the storage box, unused.

The night before, Marin had returned home after a long fishing voyage to find Ren permanently asleep. Subconsciously, Marin knew this was going to happen eventually. The village elder had warned her that Ren was growing worse, that she wasn’t long for this world. But that didn’t make it hurt any less. Marin stayed by her side all night, holding her as she gradually grew colder, cursing herself for spending so much time away fishing, but mostly just crying.

At dawn, Marin prepared her younger sister for burial. On Kai, where the water stretched endlessly in every direction, they didn’t bury their dead in the ground. Instead, Marin watched with the rest of the village as the elder wrapped Ren’s body in ceremonial cloth. Then, with Marin’s help, they gently lifted Ren onto Marin’s skimmer—once their father’s skimmer—careful not to get any part of her wet. 

After placing the body—her sister’s body—on the skimmer, Marin grabbed the rope attached to the front, tied it around her waist, and set off. Behind her, the villagers began their prayer, which slowly faded as she walked further and further from the village. Since it was morning, the water was only shin-deep. With the weight of a human on top, even a frail one like Ren, the skimmer frequently caught on the rocks below, making progress difficult. But as the hours passed, the water rose, making the journey less physically demanding.

Now, Marin continued that walk slowly through the knee-deep water. Behind her dragged the skimmer, her sister resting on top. In front of her the golden fish continued to swim a few paces ahead, confident enough now to not look back every few moments to make sure she was still following. Marin had no idea where she was going. Her only instructions were to journey west, to the place where the sun met the sea. There, her sister would find rest. She had no idea how long that would take, but that was okay. Marin was in no rush to return to the village. She had no one to return to. So, she followed the fish.

Occasionally, the golden fish’s long veil brushed Marin’s legs. What was a fish like this doing out here? It seemed so big that it surely couldn’t survive at low tide. But its shimmering, golden scales mesmerized her. Just being in its presence invigorated her. The skimmer she dragged behind her felt lighter. The water, lapping at her knees, felt easier to move through. It would be hours before the sun would touch the water, but following this fish, she suddenly felt like she had the energy to walk indefinitely.

The constant forward motion helped distract Marin from her emotions. Her mother was gone. Her father was gone. And now, Ren was gone. What did she have left to lose? What would she do after completing this journey?

Another fish brushed past her left leg. It was a second golden koi, almost identical to the first, though slightly smaller. It too had a long tail fin, a veil of shimmering golden light. It swam up to the other fish and brushed its body against it, like it was saying hello. It turned to look at Marin, then continued forward, keeping pace with the first fish.

Now Marin followed two golden fish. Two fish she had never seen before in all her years of fishing. Their tail fins extended far behind them, creating almost a bridge that Marin walked between. Where were they going? Why did they insist on swimming in front of her? Did they know she was a fisher? That she could swiftly kill them before they even knew it?

Even so, Marin had no desire to harm these two golden fish. She had little desire to harm any fish really. The only thing she wanted to do, the only thing she could do, was keep walking slowly through the knee-deep water, towards where the sun met the sea.

The presence of the second fish invigorated Marin as much as the first. The skimmer felt even lighter, like she was pulling nothing. Her legs moved swiftly through the water, as if she was becoming a fish herself. The sensation intrigued her. She tried speeding up, to catch up with the fish. But as she increased her speed, they did as well, always keeping the same distance between them.

So Marin slowed back to a walk, still continuing forward, following the two fish. The three traveled in silence, the skimmer dragging behind them. Moments passed. Time seemed to stretch on indefinitely.

After a while, Marin felt a nibbling at her ankles and looked down to see a third golden fish. This one was much smaller, and much more playful. It nipped at Marin’s ankles, then swam around her in tight circles. It swam up to greet the other two fish, wedging itself between them, then turned around and swam through their trailing tails. It seemed almost like a child playing. It swam back towards her and continued directly through her feet, almost causing Marin to stumble. It swam underneath the skimmer, then brushed up against both its sides.

This small fish fascinated Marin. It was like a fish that had never swam before, eager to stretch out its fins for the first time. It swam back to Marin and started nipping at her open toes, almost like it was trying to tickle her. Marin tried shooing it away with her foot, but it quickly swam back to her and rubbed against her calf.

Marin stopped walking, bent down, and stuck her hand in the water. In front of her, the two larger fish stopped as well, turning around. The small fish swam around Marin’s hand, brushing it from all sides. It nipped at her fingers, then swam figure eights between her legs. Marin let out a small laugh, the first sound she had made since beginning the journey. 

The skimmer, still carrying its forward momentum, gently bumped into Marin from behind. Marin looked back at it, her eyes pausing for a moment. The top of the skimmer was now empty. 

Slowly, Marin bent her knees and sat down in the water. She didn’t mind getting wet. The small fish continued to nibble at her hand, then swam to brush up against her chest. Marin watched as it swam around her. She laughed again, then began to softly cry. After the fish seemed to have had its fill, it circled her one last time, then swam towards the two other fish still floating a few paces away. When it reached them, the two fish turned around and resumed swimming forward.

Marin sat in the knee-deep water, watching the three fish swim towards where the sun met the sea.

—

Thank you for reading Stories, an ever-expanding collection of original fictional stories. This story was written by me, Connor Aidan. If you enjoyed this story, then why don’t you share it with a friend? Maybe they’ll like it too. Once again, I’m Connor Aidan, and this is Stories.

#fiction #short story #short fiction #fantasy #epic fantasy #adventure #travel #water world #sisters #sister sister #fishing boat #flash fiction #science fiction #creative writing #writers on tumblr #writing

[connoraidann]

Road Trip

Four friends drive through the desert on the way to their final Spring Break.

Isaac spun the wheel, turning the car onto a new patch of road. “And that is the last turn for the next 257 miles,” he said.

“And I can’t see anything but dirt for miles and miles in every direction,” Florence said, sitting to the right of him.

From the back seat Faye piped up, “Yeah, but it is some pretty dirt!”

In the back next to her Keenan replied, “Faye, you’ve gotta be the only person who thinks dirt is pretty.”

“Yeah, well…” Faye began, though she struggled to find a good comeback. Finally, she caved. “SPRING BREAK!” she yelled.

“SPRING BREAK!” they all yelled in unison. Yelling “SPRING BREAK” was how most conversations had ended the past few hours.

The four friends drove down the highway—if you could even call it that—slowly making their way towards their Spring Break destination. Above them, the two kayaks gently rattled against the roof of Isaac’s beat up Subaru.

“I still can’t believe we’re going to the Grand Canyon,” Keenan said.

“I still can’t believe you haven’t been, being that we’ve lived so close to it for all these years,” Isaac replied. He looked at Keenan’s face in the rear view mirror before returning his focus to the road. Though, there wasn’t much to focus on. He could probably have closed his eyes for the next 50 miles and still have been in the lane when he opened them.

“You know, Computer Science is not a degree that pairs well with weekend excursions to the Grand Canyon,” Keenan said. “These past four years, the grandest canyon I’ve seen is the ditch outside the COMP building.”

“I’m telling you, you have to get a life!” Faye said, nudging him with her shoulder. “Who moves all the way from Atlanta to Colorado and doesn’t go outside once?”

“Someone who actually hopes to get a job,” Keenan replied. Faye frowned and stuck her tongue out at him.

From the front, Florence jumped in to defend Keenan. “He did go outside with us once. Remember when we spent the weekend in Colorado Springs? Climbed Pikes Peak?”

“Pikes Peak! Now that was a great trip,” Isaac said.

“God Flo, I think that was when we were freshmen,” Faye replied. “Keenan, tell me you’ve been outside at least once since then.”

“I go outside!” Keenan said. “Everyday when I walk from the dorm to class!” Faye rolled her eyes dramatically while Isaac and Florence chuckled.

“Well,” Isaac began, “the Grand Canyon is definitely a step up from the ditch outside COMP. It’s massive. Remember when we went there on that field trip?”

“Which one, the fifth grade one or the eighth grade one?” Florence asked.

“Eighth.”

“Oh I remember that one,” Faye said. “You mean the one where you spent the entire trip trying to get Cindy to make out with you?”

“Fuck off!” Isaac said while the three others laughed. Eventually, Isaac began to chuckle as well. “I can’t help it,” he said. “She was cute okay…”

“You’ve always had a thing for girls with glasses,” Faye said cheekily, poking him through the seat. Isaac’s hands tensed around the steering wheel as Florence adjusted her glasses next to him.

“You guys are pretty lucky to have known each other since birth,” Keenan replied.

“Only Isaac and Flo have known each other since birth,” Faye said, returning her hands to her lap. “I only moved to Boulder in the third grade.”

“Close enough,” Keenan said. “It’s nice to have friends like that. Neighbors to grow up with.”

“We might have been neighbors, but Isaac wouldn’t even talk to me until we were 8,” Florence said. “No matter how many dinner parties our parents had.”

Isaac relaxed his grip on the wheel. “I couldn’t!” he exclaimed.

“Why’s that?” Florence said.

“It’s simple really,” Isaac said before taking a brief pause. “COOTIES!”

The four laughed. “Still must have been nice,” Keenan mused, looking out the window. “A nice way to grow up.” A gentle silence filled the car, almost threatening to lengthen into an awkward one. Around them was still nothing but dirt.

“Isaac, how could you possibly have talked us into using your car,” Faye said. “No bluetooth, AUX, or radio? You ought to be ashamed of yourself.”

“Ashamed?” Isaac said in a faux-mocking manner. “You know it was the only one that would fit the kayaks.” He reached behind to lightly flick her on the knee. “Besides, we’ve already made it more than halfway.”

“Yeah, but I was practically asleep the whole time!” Faye said.

“Faye does love her beauty sleep,” Florence said. Once again Faye stuck out her tongue, though from the front Florence couldn’t see.

“There is one thing I know though,” Isaac said. “One very important thing.”

“What’s that?” Keenan asked.

Isaac grinned—eyes still on the road—and whispered, “Spring Break.”

“SPRING BREAK!” the four of them yelled before collapsing into laughter. Seven hours in and the joke still hadn’t grown old.

“What about you Florence,” Keenan said. “Have you heard back from any med schools yet?”

“A few. My MCAT scores were high enough that I ought to be able to go anywhere.”

“But aren’t you going to stay in Colorado?” Keenan asked.

Florence briefly glanced at Isaac before responding. “Honestly, I’m not sure anymore. At first I wanted to… But it’s a wide world out there you know.” Isaac tensed his grip on the steering wheel again, though no one else seemed to notice.

“What about you Isaac?” Keenan said. “Still want to stay in CO?”

“Keenan Keenan Keenan,” Isaac began, wagging his finger in the air. “There are only so many things a Physics degree can get you. I’ll be lucky if I can find a job as a high school PE teacher.”

“There’s always custodian,” Faye said.

Isaac reached back and gently flicked her on the knee again. “Oh fuck off. Me, a custodian? You’re the one in Environmental Studies. You know, custodian might actually suit you. What’s more environmental than cleaning up other people’s shit?”

Faye crossed her arms and kicked the back of his seat, causing Isaac to curse again. Florence decided to chime in. “Have you thought about it though, Faye?” she said. “What you’re going to do in two months?”

Faye sat back in her seat, her arms still crossed. “Ugh. Don’t make me think about that right now Flo. We don’t all have the next 10 years of our lives mapped out in a color-coded planner.”

Florence briefly looked over her shoulder to give Faye a side-eye glare. “I’ll have you know, highlighters are quite useful.” Only Isaac gave a brief chuckle.

Silence returned to the car for a few moments, and the four turned their attention back to the outside world. Most of it was just dirt, with patches of low shrubs. Far off into the distance, you could just barely make out a few rock formations. It had been a while since any of them had seen another vehicle, coming or going.

Faye fidgeted in her seat. “Um… guys, you’re going to hate me, but I kind of need to pee again.” The three others let out a collective groan. Faye always needed to pee.

“Why didn’t you go when we were at the last gas station?” Florence demanded.

“I didn’t have to go then!”

“Well Faye,” Isaac said, “I hate to break it to you but we’re about 150 miles away from the next one.”

“Well…” Faye began, but was unsure how to continue. “Well, shit.”

Silence returned to the car again, though only briefly. “Okay, I actually need to go pretty bad,” Faye said, squirming in her seat.

Isaac lifted a hand up from the steering wheel. “What do you want me to do Faye? Just pull over so you can piss on the side of the road?”

“Well…” Faye began. The three others groaned again. Keenan covered his eyes. “What?” Faye continued, “We haven’t seen a car for miles. It would take like 30 seconds tops.”

“You really want me to stop right now so you can pee on the side of the road?”

“Would you rather I pee on your backseat?” Faye snapped back.

“Alright, we’re pulling over!” Isaac said, beginning to slow the car down to a stop.

“Spring Break!” Faye said.

“Spring Break…” the three others returned halfheartedly.

Isaac guided the car to a stop right off the side of the road and cut the engine. Faye unbuckled, opened the back left door, and raced around to the back right side, positioning herself so that the car would cover her in case another vehicle passed by.

“JUST GIVE ME A SEC!” Faye yelled from outside. “I’M GOING TO GIVE IT A SQUAT. KEENAN, I SWEAR TO GOD YOU BETTER NOT LOOK!”

Keenan now fully covered his entire face with his hands. “What the fuck are you doing Faye,” he mumbled. In the front, Isaac sat back in his seat, taking the moment to stretch his hands. Next to him, Florence rested her head on her arm.

“OKAY, PANTS ARE DOWN. KEENAN, EYES CLOSED!”

“FAYE, YOU DON’T HAVE TO FUCKING NARRATE IT!” Keenan yelled. Isaac and Florence chuckled.

“I can’t believe you dated her,” Florence said.

“Yeah well, I can’t believe I did either,” Keenan said, head still in his hands. “What was I thinking…”

“I CAN HEAR YOU!” Faye yelled from outside. Keenan groaned and lowered his head all the way into his lap. “ALRIGHT, ALMOST DONE! PANTS ARE ABOUT TO COME BACK UP!”

“THANK YOU FOR LETTING US KNOW!” Isaac yelled, before lowering his voice. “I’m just glad you two could stay friends.”

Keenan lifted himself back up. “It was important to Faye that we did,” he said softly. “She didn’t want to ruin the group.” Isaac tensed up again.

“PANTS ARE BACK UP!” Faye yelled, before running back around and opening the door. “See, I told you it wouldn’t take long.”

“Faye, you’re gross,” Keenan said.

“What, just because I can’t pee on whatever tree I find doesn’t mean I can’t go outside!” Faye retorted.

“Alright alright, settle down,” Isaac said. He gave his hands one last flex before reaching for the keys. “Time to hit the road again. I want to make it there before sunset.”

Isaac twisted the keys and the car revved, then stopped. He mumbled under his breath and tried it again, twisting the keys. Again the car revved, then stopped. “Fuck,” Isaac said. He tried a third time, but with the same results. Four times. Five times. Six times.

“Um, Isaac, what’s going on?” Florence said.

“Nothing! Nothing. Don’t worry about it,” Isaac said. He tried again. Seven times. Eight times. Nine times. But the car wouldn’t catch.

“Why isn’t the car starting?” Keenan said from the back.

Isaac continued trying to start the car, but nothing was working. In frustration, he hit the steering wheel, causing it to honk.

“Isaac!” Florence yelled.

Isaac crashed back into his seat. “Fucking hell. Well… fuck.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Faye said.

“Nothing. Well, probably not nothing, but… It does this sometimes. Just have to give it a few minutes before trying again.”

“Like how many minutes?” Florence said.

“Like, ten?” Isaac said, though his voice did little to inspire confidence.

Florence took a moment to look around. There wasn’t anything, anywhere, for miles, and miles, and miles. “Well… shit.”

“So we’re just going to sit here for ten minutes?” Faye asked.

“I guess so,” Keenan said.

Florence reached into her bag and pulled out her phone, looking at it for a few moments before tossing it back in. “I don’t suppose any of you have any signal either,” she said. The other three reached for their phones. None of them did.

“Great,” Florence mumbled.

Silence once again returned to the car. After a few moments, Isaac tried starting the car again, but failed.

“Stop doing that. You’re going to wear out the battery,” Keenan said. “Best to leave it alone for a bit.”

“Fine,” Isaac grumbled.

Silence stretched, and stretched, and stretched.

“It’s getting kind of stuffy in here,” Faye said.

“Well what do you want me to do about that Faye?” Isaac snapped back.

Faye frowned. After a moment, she unbuckled. “Might as well wait outside of the car then.” Faye got out of the car, stretched, and took a few steps into the endless dirt field. There was a small boulder nearby, the only thing breaking up the flat landscape. Faye headed towards it.

“Might as well get a stretch in as well,” Keenan said, unbuckling as well. He opened the door, stepped out, and gave a giant stretch. After that, he started following Faye towards the boulder.

Only Isaac and Florence remained in the car. Florence opened her car door to let some air in, but didn’t get out. Isaac followed suit. Neither of them said a word to the other.

Finally, Isaac spoke. “I’m sure it will be fine.”

“Yea,” Florence replied. She watched as Faye began to climb the boulder, Keenan standing below it with his arms on his waist. She imagined Keenan telling Faye to cut it out, but still standing close enough to catch her if she fell. Florence smiled. That pretty much summed up their relationship.

“Hey Florence, uh… about last night.”

“What about it?” Florence said, continuing to watch Faye climb, refusing to turn around to face Isaac.

“It’s just…” Isaac began. “I feel like I said all the wrong things. Or I mean, what I did say wasn’t how I meant it.”

“Oh really?” Florence said. “And what did you mean, telling me I was better off staying in Boulder?” She still refused to look at him. Faye reached the top of the boulder, and raised both her hands high. Keenan clapped.

“It came out wrong,” Isaac said, panicking. “I didn’t mean you weren’t good enough to leave Boulder, just…”

“You and I both know that I’ve gotten into every single med school I’ve applied to,” Florence snapped. “I am good enough.” Florence continued to watch the boulder. Now Keenan was beginning to climb up it. Faye sat on top, no doubt encouraging him.

“Florence, that’s not what I meant!”

“Then what did you mean?” Florence said, finally turning around to face Isaac. She was thrown off by the somber look on his face.

Isaac struggled to get each word out. “What I was trying to say,” Isaac said, before reverting to a whisper, “is that I’m afraid to lose you.” He held her gaze for a few moments before looking down at his lap.

Florence looked at him for a few moments, adjusted her glasses, then turned back to the boulder. Keenan was now on the top, sitting next to Faye. It seemed like they were talking to each other.

After a moment Isaac continued speaking, though it was barely a whisper. “I don’t want to lose you. I’m afraid you’ll leave and forget all about me. About us. I know you’re good enough to leave Boulder. You’re good enough to do anything. I’m just afraid… I’m not.”

Florence continued to watch the boulder, Faye and Keenan sitting on the top, talking. What were they talking about? What were they afraid of? Was it the same thing?

Florence watched as Faye leaned in and rested her head on Keenan’s shoulder. Maybe they were talking about the same thing.

“I love you Florence,” Isaac whispered. “You know I do. You’ve always known that, haven’t you?”

A single tear fell down Florence’s cheek as she continued to watch the boulder. Without looking, she reached out and grabbed Isaac’s hand. “I know you do,” she said. Isaac returned the squeeze.

Faye stood up on the boulder, Keenan holding her legs for support. Faye waved her hands in the direction of the car, then cupped her hands to her mouth and yelled something.

Florence let go of Isaac’s hand. “I think Faye is calling for us.”

Isaac looked up, noticing Faye and Keenan on the boulder for the first time. “How the hell did they get up there?” he said, laughing as he sniffled.

“I guess we should go find out what she wants,” Florence said.

“I guess so,” Isaac replied.

They both stepped out of the car and looked at the boulder. Faye sat back down next to Keenan, but continued to wave for them to come over. Isaac and Florence made their way towards the boulder. As they got closer they were finally able to make out what Faye was yelling.

“HEY!” Faye yelled from above. “YOU GOT TO SEE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE UP HERE!”

“We can hear you just fine!” Isaac said as the two of them reached the base. “How the hell did you guys get up there?”

“IT’S EASY!” Faye yelled. “THERE’S A PART TO YOUR LEFT TO CLIMB UP. LIKE STEPS. VERY EASY.”

“Christ,” Isaac said, holding back a laugh. “What are we going to do with her?” He looked up at the top of the boulder, then turned around and looked at Florence. “Well, should we join them?”

Florence sighed, though there was a slight smile on her face. “Might as well.”

The two began to climb, Faye calling out instructions as they went. Of course she didn’t need to, it was practically steps. But that was Faye.

“ALMOST THERE!” Faye yelled. “ONE MORE BIG STEP TO YOUR LEFT, THEN LOOK RIGHT.”

Finally, Isaac and Florence reached the top, and Keenan and Faye raised their hands to congratulate them. The boulder was just big enough to fit all four of them. Keenan and Faye slid over so that Isaac and Florence could sit as well.

“Look out there!” Faye said, pointing far out into the distance. “Look! Are you looking?”

Isaac put his hand over his eyes, creating a makeshift visor. “I’m looking,” he said, reorienting himself to look in the direction Faye was pointing.

Florence turned as well to look. With her left hand, she clung onto the back of Isaac next to her. She had never been one for heights.

“Um, Faye,” Isaac said after a moment. “I’m looking, but I don’t really see anything but dirt.”

Faye and Keenan both laughed. Florence and Isaac looked at them, confused.

Finally, Faye spoke. “Yeah, but it’s kind of beautiful isn’t it?”

—

Thank you for reading Stories, an ever-expanding collection of original fictional stories. This story was written by me, Connor Aidan. If you enjoyed this story, then why don’t you share it with a friend? Maybe they’ll like it too. Once again, I’m Connor Aidan, and this is Stories.

#original fiction #short story #fiction #flash fiction #short fiction #writing #creative writing #writers on tumblr #reading

[connoraidann]

The Day The Internet Died | Part II

What would happen if the internet suddenly vanished?

To read along with the audiovisual version, click here: youtube.com/@ConnorAidan To listen to the audio-only version, click here: Stories on Spotify

Friday

HONK!

Sonya woke to the sound of a car horn outside. She was sprawled out on the couch—still in yesterday’s scrubs. What time is it? She fumbled around the couch cushions looking for her phone before finding it face down on the floor. Just after 10. Damn, how long did I sleep for?

Sonya heard Alex’s door creak open and instantly shut her eyes. She knew it was childish, but she did not want to answer for what she had said last night just yet. If only she could ink out just a few more minutes of bliss.

She heard Alex slowly creep around the couch, and then ever so quietly open and close the front door. Moments later, she heard a car backing out of the driveway. Quickly, Sonya rushed to the window just as the car was driving away. That’s Katie’s car isn’t it? Sonya looked at her phone again. Little late to be going to school?

Sonya rubbed her eyes and slumped back into the couch. Lying down flat, she stared up at the ceiling, replaying in her head the events that had happened last night.

I went too far last night. I shouldn’t have… I know how much Alex has been going through. I don’t need to pile even more onto it. Where did she go? With Katie?... She’s not running away is she?

With renewed focus, Sonya shifted back to her feet. Okay Sonya. Where would Alex go? She walked over towards Alex’s room and carefully opened the door, as if she was afraid Alex might still be there. Looking around, it seemed mostly like Alex’s normal room. Sure, recently it was messier than it had been before Sonya left for college, but nothing was obviously awry.

On the desk by the computer was a ton of loose papers. Sifting through, she found mostly old school papers. But one was different. Turning it over, she was confronted with the grimace of a large silhouetted face. What the hell is this? Though the face took up most of the page, there were a few sentences appended under it.

—

TAKE BACK WHAT IS YOURS

We the people will not stand for this injustice and restriction of basic human rights. Do not believe the Telecom lies. Do not believe the government lies. Stand with us and demand answers.

On Friday, August 7th starting at 12PM we will gather in front of the Telecom building and demand answers.

—

“What the…” Sonya pulled out her phone to check the date. Shit! That’s today! Sonya sat down on the edge of the bed, still holding the flier. Surely not. Surely Alex wouldn’t fall for something like this. This is obviously some conspiracy theory bullshit. Telecom isn’t working with the government to suppress information. They’re just…

Sonya wracked her brain, trying to recall what was the cause of the outage. What did it say in the paper? She walked back into the living room and grabbed the newspaper she had taken home from the hospital yesterday. Okay. Okay… State of… ‘State of Emergency declared’... ‘outage continues’... ‘Amidst mounting government pressure, Telecom continues not to provide an official statement as to what caused the outage.’

With a frown, Sonya flung the newspaper and flier down onto the coffee table and sat back on the couch, the gears in her brain continuing to turn. Okay. So Telecom is silent. Why? Who fucking knows. There must be something they’re trying to cover their asses for. And this…“group”... is obviously trying to take advantage of the whole situation to stir up unrest. But why… and where does Alex fit into all this?

Sonya moved to the bathroom to wash off the previous day's accumulated grime in preparation for what she was about to do. The gears continued to turn. Okay Sonya, but that’s not the only place she could have gone. Honestly, she could have gone anywhere. And it’s a State of Emergency… What does that even mean? Is her school canceled?

Sonya continued to clean up, hopping in and out of the shower as fast as she could. Yes, yes. There’s gotta be somewhere else. She wouldn’t go to this protest thing. She knows better. Katie knows better. But no matter what logical loopholes she tried to jump through, Sonya couldn’t shake the feeling that they did go to the protest. After all, she bet that practically the entire town would show up. Just judging from how it had been at the hospital the past week, she could only imagine how badly others had been affected from the outage. Practically everything ran on the internet these days.

Standing in the doorway, Sonya slapped her cheeks to get the blood flowing. Okay Sonya. You’re going to go to this stupid protest to make sure that your stupid sister isn’t there doing something stupid. Because like it or not, it’s your responsibility to make sure she doesn’t die.

1 Year Before the Outage

Sonya’s phone buzzed as she walked through campus on her way to her next class.

‘Hi Sonya. It’s Aunt Molly (your mom’s sister). Please give me a call when you have a moment. I’m afraid it’s urgent.’

Sonya frowned at her phone, but nevertheless continued her brisk pace. Walking beside her was Christopher, also a med student, trying desperately to keep up while also stuffing papers into his bag. “What’s that face for?” he said.

Sonya looked up from her phone. “Oh. My aunt who I haven’t heard from in years just texted me. Said it was urgent I call her back… I’m sure it’s fine though. I’ll just call her after we finish biochem.”

Christopher stopped abruptly, forcing Sonya to halt as well. “Sonya, if she said it was urgent, you should probably call her back now.”

“I’m sure it’s—”

“It will take two seconds! Just call her back now and see what she has to say.”

“I’m just gonna—,” Sonya started before Christopher gave her a stern look. “Okay! Fine.”

—

Sonya sat in the hospital waiting room, trying to remember how long it had been since she had last slept. One hour to pack. Twelve hour drive. Stopped twice. Sixteen hours since I’ve been in the hospital. Two hours since we’ve last spoken to the nurse. She rubbed her swollen eyes. She couldn’t tell if they were more red from tiredness or tears. But at this point, it didn’t matter.

Alex’s head rested in her lap—a makeshift pillow—as she lay across the hard hospital bench. Even in her sleep, she still seemed to be crying.

—

In the funeral parlor, Sonya sat at a small bench tucked away in the corner. The service and burial had wrapped up over an hour ago, and Aunt Molly had already shuttled Alex back home. Only a few stragglers remained.

Christopher approached her. His flight had landed only a few hours before the service, so they hadn’t had much opportunity to talk. Sonya rose, and they embraced. “Sonya…” he started before trailing off. “Sonya, I’m so so sorry.” Sonya began to start sniffling again, which surprised her because she didn’t think she had any tears left. She buried her face in his shoulder as he continued to console her.

“It’s okay. It’s…” He stroked the back of her head as she began to cry. “It’s okay… Here, let’s sit down for a minute. It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s okay.”

Sometime later, after Sonya had gotten out what few tears she had left, they continued to sit on the bench, her head leaning on his shoulder for support.

Christopher was the first to speak. “Do you… do you know what… um… what is going to happen with Alex? She’s still in school right?” 

Sonya, still leaning on his shoulder, spoke, “She’s going to be staying at our aunt’s for the next few days. After that… I think I’m going to withdraw from this semester to come back here to stay with her.”

“Sonya…”

“She needs someone right now. With both of them gone… She still has a few years of school left. She can’t just live by herself, even if she wants to. I’m sure our aunt could take care of her… But we hardly know her. She needs me.”

Christopher grabbed her hand and gently squeezed it. “But who is going to take care of you, Sonya? Maybe I should take off some time as well, come down here to be—”

Sonya cut him off. “No Chris. No… you don’t need to do that. I don’t want you to get behind. I know how hard a year you have coming up.”

“But Sonya, I need to make sure you’re going to be okay.”

Sonya sat up straight. “I’ll be fine. I might be able to get an internship or something at the hospital. Or I’ll just see if I can take classes online. Or I’ll just do… something.” Chris didn’t seem very reassured. “I’ll be fine Chris, I promise. I’ll be fine. I’ll be fine.”

Christopher was quiet for a few moments, before finally speaking. “Okay. I’ll come back down as soon as I can. I’m sure we can figure something out together. Hell, knowing you, you’ll probably figure out a solution for this whole thing before I even get back!”

Sonya shifted her gaze towards the front of the room, where only an hour ago the two caskets had laid.

“Yea,” she said.

Friday

HONK! HONK!

“Move buddy! I got somewhere to be!” Sonya honked her horn in agitation at the mass of soon-to-be protestors clogging the road, making it impossible to go any further. 

“Just my luck…” Sonya mumbled as she attempted to pull off to find a place to park. Opening the car door, Sonya stood on her tiptoes to scan the crowd. Jesus, with this many people here it’ll be impossible to find her. Begrudgingly, Sonya mixed into the crowd and made her way towards the Telecom building. Every once and a while, she stood on her tiptoes to see if she could make out anyone in the crowd, but without success.

The crowd grew denser and denser the closer she got towards the final destination. Already, she could sense the agitation in the crowd. People were starting to shove to get by one another, and several times she was shouldered by a passerby. This is stupid. This is so stupid. Why am I here? What if she isn’t even here? What if I’m the one who gets swallowed by the crowd?

With great effort, Sonya extended herself again to scan the crowd, looking for something, anything, that could help. She saw now that she was almost at the Telecom building, and could make out a dozen or so policemen planted in front of it. Drawing her attention back to the crowd, she scanned again, looking back and forth and back and forth. Finally, her efforts paid off.

Is that? “Katie!” she yelled! “Katie!” As she screamed Katie turned to talk to the person next to her, confirming to Sonya that it was in fact her, but the crowd was already so loud that she didn’t seem to hear. Beside her, she saw what appeared to be the back of Alex’s head. Fucking hell. They are here.

Sonya attempted to move closer towards them. “Katie! Alex! Excuse me! Sorry! Excuse me! Hey, I need to get by you please!” She heard someone from the front of the crowd shout something at the cops, which in turn riled up everyone else. After that, the pushing and shoving seemed to increase tenfold, as everyone in the crowd tried to compact towards the front.

CRASH!

Sonya heard what sounded like glass breaking, followed shortly after by another. The crowd erupted even more in response. One of the policemen raised a megaphone. “ATTENTION! THIS HAS BECOME AN UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY! DISPERSE NOW, OR YOU WILL BE FORCED TO DISPERSE!”

Shit. What did I get myself into? At this point, the crowd was so compacted that it was almost impossible for Sonya to make any progress. Sonya tried to extend herself again to scan the crowd, but was swiftly knocked over by a person rushing past her. Barreled over, Sonya clutched her injured side. What the hell is going on?! How am I going to get to them? With great effort, she tried once again to scan the crowd. This time, she saw that Katie was only a few yards in front of her.

At the top of her lungs, Sonya yelled, “KATIE!” Finally, Katie turned around and made eye contact with her. Tears were streaming down her face. After taking a moment to realize who it was, Katie yelled something back in response, but Sonya couldn’t hear her over the crowd. Sonya looked around her and noticed Alex wasn’t there. “Katie!” The crowd jostled Sonya back and forth. “Katie! Where’s Alex! Katie—”

BOOM!

From off to the side, a police car erupted into flames.

9 Months Before the Outage

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

“Hey Alex, do you have a minute?” Sonya stood outside Alex’s door, still in her work clothes from her new job at the hospital. “Alexxxx…”

From behind the door, she heard a grumble. “What do you want?”

Sonya frowned at the closed door before recomposing herself. “I just want to see my beautiful sister’s face and tell her all about how much my new job sucks!” Sonya heard a grumble in response, but couldn’t decipher it. “Alex…” With a deep breath, Sonya put on as sincere a smile as she could manage and slowly twisted the doorknob. “Okay, I’m coming in…”

Sonya entered the room and found Alex huddled at her desk in front of her computer, clicking and scrolling through a seemingly never-ending amount of content. Without even glancing up, Alex repeated, “What do you want, Sonya?” The name added a subtle hiss to the end of her remark.

Sonya took a chance to survey the room. With her new work schedule, it had been a while since she had had an opportunity to come in. It was even messier than when she had last seen it. Clothes littered the ground. Empty bottles and plates cluttered the night stand. A pile of what she assumed was undone schoolwork stacked up next to her desk.

Sonya walked over to grab a few plates. “You know you’ve been spending an awful lot of time in here lately. Why don’t you come outside, breathe some fresh air. At least eat dinner with me in the living room.”

Alex, still at the computer, responded again without turning around. “I’m fine in here.”

“What if I call Katie to come over? She’s been calling me nonstop to try to get a hold of you. She really misses you.”

“I’m fine. I just want to be alone right now.”

“Alex…”

Finally, Alex managed to turn around. Her face was as somber as her tone. “Can you just leave me alone please?”

—

“Alex! Dinner is ready!” Sonya yelled from inside the kitchen. Alex was, as usual, in her room with the door firmly shut.

Sonya put the plates on the table before walking to the door. Leaning in so that her voice could be clearly heard through the door, she continued, “Alex, I’ve got food ready. Can you come out and eat?”

From behind the door, Sonya heard the distinct click click clicking of a computer mouse, followed shortly by the now infamous grumble. “I’ll eat later.”

“Please Alex… Can you please come out and eat with me? I just want to talk. If you don’t want to talk, maybe we can just watch a movie? Or do whatever you like.”

Sonya was answered with yet another grumble. “I just want to stay in my room for now.”

Alex’s one note melancholy had been starting to get on Sonya’s nerves. She gripped the doorknob. “Listen Alex. You can’t stay holed up in there forever. You’ve got to come out eventually. I know you’re sad. But I’m sad too! So can we please just talk? I miss you! Katie misses you! Everyone misses you!”

This time, Sonya was answered only with silence. 

Seconds passed by like hours. Finally, Sonya spoke up again. “Alex, I’m coming in…”

Finally, Alex responded. “No! Please just leave me alone!” Sonya heard the trembling in her voice, the quiet call for help, and it in turn made Sonya also tear up.

Sonya attempted to turn the doorknob, only to find it locked.

—

“Did you turn off the internet?”

Sonya looked up from the couch to see Alex standing in her bedroom doorway, still holding the knob.

Sonya shifted to better face her sister, pretended to check her phone, and lied, “No. I didn’t. Looks like it must be down in the whole house.”

Alex stared at Sonya for a full minute. Slowly, she narrowed her eyes. “You’re a bad liar.”

Sonya perked up from her seated position, accosted by the accusation. “I didn’t lie! It must just be out!”

Alex continued to glare. “I know you turned it off to try to get me to come out of my room.” She spread out her arms in mockery. “Well, are you happy?”

“Alex, you’re crazy. I wouldn’t do something like that. But I am happy to see you. Do you want to come sit on the couch with me?”

Alex’s voice rose. “See, I knew you did it! You didn’t even attempt to check!”

At the sound of Alex yelling, Sonya closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. “Alex, please. You haven’t been out of your room in months. I’m just worried about you.”

“I don’t need you to worry about me! I can take care of myself!”

“Alex…”

“Just because Mom and Dad died doesn’t give you the right to baby me!” Alex was now yelling at the top of her lungs.

Sonya rose to confront Alex. “Newsflash Alex, it does! I’m your guardian now! That means it’s my responsibility to make sure you’re okay!”

“WELL, YOU’RE DOING A SHIT JOB AT IT!” screamed Alex, before slamming her door shut.

Friday

The sound of the explosion vibrated Sonya to her core. Heat rapidly radiated off the police car inferno and smoke filled the air, choking out what little oxygen was available. Sonya started to frantically look around. Shit! Shit shit shit shit!

“Alex!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “Alex!”

But Sonya heard no response. Frantically, she began pushing through the crowd in front of her, trying to make it to where she had last seen Katie. But the density of the crowd coupled with the smoke choking out the air made it almost impossible to tell which was which. Sonya pushed and pushed, trying to get through. Finally, she spotted her.

“Katie!” Sonya rushed to Katie and wrapped her arms around her. Katie crumpled into her arms. “Katie! Katie what happened? Why are you here? Where is Alex?”

Katie tried to respond but the words were garbled in between the sobs. “I’m…. I’m trying… Alex… lost her… please…” Sonya put both her arms on Katie’s shoulders and tried to put on as soothing a voice as she could manage. “Katie… it’s going to be okay. I’m here now. Just stay with me. We’re going to find Alex, and we’re going to get out of here. Okay?”

Katie sniffled and gave the slightest of nods. Sonya grabbed her hand. The smoke continued to billow just above them, smearing the sky in dark gray. “Alright Katie. I need you to be with me for a minute. When were you last with Alex?”

“I… We were together right about here. But then someone bumped… I lost her hand… I tried to look for her… I yelled for her but she didn’t yell back… So I started making my way back—”

“So your original spot was just a bit ahead of where we are now? Towards the front of the crowd?”

“Maybe,” sniffled a defeated Katie in response.

“Okay.” Sonya leaned into Katie to be heard clearly over the roaring crowd. “Okay Katie. We’re going to get Alex. Whatever you do, do not let go of my hand. Okay? Squeeze tight and don’t let go.” Katie nodded in assurance.

Once again, Sonya began forcing her way through the crowd, dragging Katie behind her. But the smoke and density of the crowd made it almost impossible to see anything. Shit. It’s getting hard to breathe. I need to find Alex and get us the hell out of here. Sonya continued to push, and used what little breath she had left to yell, “Alex!”

No response. Pushing forward.

“Alex!”

Crowd compacting. Smoke choking.

“Alex!”

Almost. Please.

“Alex!”

With a final push, she made it through another few members of the crowd, and finally, finally spotted her. Huddled over, shielding her ears from the noise, was Alex.

3 Months Before the Outage

Sonya sat in Dr. Harper’s office, still in her work scrubs. It was the day after Alex’s routine therapy appointment, and Dr. Harper had phoned Sonya to come in for a discussion.

He began, “It has taken some time, but I believe I’ve finally gotten Alex to open up to me. Yesterday was quite successful.”

Sonya shifted slightly in her seat. “That’s great.”

Dr. Harper stared at Sonya, but it was a gentle stare. A stare of understanding.

“I know the sudden death of your parents has taken a heavy toll on the both of you. And at such a pivotal stage in Alex’s development,” he gently brought together his hands, “it has caused her to retreat into herself.”

“Yes,” Sonya responded. “She spends almost all her time in her room. I can hardly ever get her to come out. At first, I thought it was best to give her some space. We all grieve our own ways. But it’s been months, and I’m worried about her. She won’t talk to me about anything. We used to be so close…”

Dr. Harper gave a gentle nod and took some time before he next spoke. “She is worried about you too.”

“Really?” Sonya was genuinely shocked.

“Yes,” Dr. Harper continued. “She blames herself for you having to abandon med school to come take care of her.”

Sonya didn’t know what she expected Dr. Harper to say, but it definitely wasn’t this. “But… but it’s not her fault. And I didn’t abandon med school. I just took some time off. It’s not… that… big of a deal…” Sonya mumbled the last bit.

“Yes, but for Alex it has been another major stressor in her life. She blames herself, and as a result struggles to be able to come to you for help.”

“But,” Sonya leaned forward as if to say more, but ultimately lowered her gaze to the floor. “I don’t know what to do…”

Dr. Harper closed his eyes and gave a series of gentle nods. “And because Alex cannot find solace in you, she has been looking for it online. Spending more and more time online, searching for understanding.”

Sonya continued to make eye contact with the floor tiles. “Yes, she spends a lot of time on her computer…”

“Sonya,” Dr. Harper said in a calm but affirming tone, forcing Sonya to meet his gaze. “I know you are trying your best. I know all of this takes as much a toll on you as it does her.” He gently closed and opened his eyes. “It will just take time. When she is ready, she will come to you.”

Friday

“Alex!” Sonya rushed up to Alex, tugging Katie along with her. Alex was huddled over, hands over both ears, repeatedly muttering something inaudible under her breath. Around her, the crowd had turned into pure chaos. People were now shoving in the opposite direction, trying to escape the fire.

Sonya momentarily let go of Katie’s hand and placed both her hands on Alex’s shoulders. “Alex! Alex! It’s me! It’s Sonya!”

Alex, still cupping her ears, looked up at Sonya. Her eyes looked as if she was in a trance.

Sonya fully wrapped her arms around her. “Alex! It’s going to be okay! I’m here! I’ve got you! I’ve always got you. I’m never going away!”

Alex looked up at her, finally realizing who it was. “Sonya!” she cried, latching onto her sister and sobbing into her arms.

“I’ve got you Alex.” Sonya squeezed her tight. Tighter than she had ever before.

After a moment, Alex came up for air and began frantically looking left and right. “Katie?!”

Sonya released Alex from her embrace but kept her arms on her. “Alex! Katie is right here with me! She’s right here!”

Alex shifted her attention to Katie, and more tears welled up in both of their eyes. Katie ran over to embrace Alex. “Alex! I’m alright! We’ve found you! We’re not going anywhere!”

Sonya watched the embrace unfold before gently placing her hands on both of their shoulders and leaning in for a huddle. The smoke stung all of their eyes. “Alright. We need to get out of here now! Alex, I want you to hold my hand and hold Katie’s hand. We’re going to form a line and get out of here! Do you understand? Don’t let go!” The minors both nodded their heads in agreement.

The three linked up and began making their way towards the rear of the crowd. Thankfully, due to the fire the rest of the crowd was starting to flee that direction as well, aiding in their escape. With one arm acting as a shield and the other firmly holding onto Alex behind her, who was in turn was firmly holding onto Katie behind her, the three trudged through the crowd.

As she was pushing, Sonya started to aggressively cough. Shit. There’s too much smoke. It’s getting hard to breathe here. She looked back at the two girls momentarily. I need to get us out NOW. The three continued in a line, going as fast as they could, parting the crowd around them. Just a little more. We’ve got… *cough cough*… just a little more… *cough cough cough*…

Finally, Sonya saw a break in the crowd. Summoning all the energy she had left, she gave one final push and brought all three of them out of the crowd.

A New Day

Alex lay in bed rereading the message on her phone for the third time. It was Saturday morning, the day after the protest. Sometime in late hours of the night, the internet had come back on. Alex’s lungs still hurt, and her clothes discarded on the floor still reeked of smoke. Outside the door, Alex heard Sonya, who in typical Sonya fashion, hadn’t even made it to bed and was instead sprawled out on the couch, trying to soak up as much sleep as she could manage. The night before they had finally talked, their first real talk in ages.

Alex returned her attention to her phone to reread the message for a fourth time.

Dear Alex, your bestest friend in the whole world wanted to wish you the happiest birthday ever! I know things have been really tough for you lately. But I just wanted to let you know that you are loved so so so much! I love you, your sister loves you, everyone loves you! You’re impossible not to love! So never ever forget that there are always people there for you, no matter what happens. Don’t! Forget! Anyways, there better be cake tonight because we’re celebrating in style! Crap, I think Mr Sanderson sees me typing this. See you soon! Love u!

“Love you too,” Alex said with a smile.

—

End of Part II.

Thank you for reading Stories. This story was written by me, Connor Aidan. To read rough drafts before they’re posted and actually influence how the story turns out, head to patreon.com/connoraidan

#fiction #short story #fictional #flash fiction #original fiction #science fiction

[connoraidann]

The Day The Internet Died

What would happen if the internet suddenly vanished?

To read along with the audiovisual version, click here: youtube.com/@ConnorAidan To listen to the audio-only version, click here: Stories on Spotify

Monday

It started with a murmur. What was hardly a hushed whisper at first began to build and build, as spurts of conversations sprouted around from all sides. Something was going on. Something had happened, and it wasn’t good. Because all around, those hushed whispers held a feeling, and it was a feeling of unease.

—

RINGINGINGING. *school bell*

“Did you get my super, special, amazing, heartfelt, birthday text? I’ve been working on it all morning.”

In their crowded high school halls, Katie was bubbling with energy, as usual, and much to the chagrin of Alex. Always bubbling. Bubbly Katie.

“Oh uh, I haven’t read it yet…” Alex pulled out her phone to check for the message, but no message was there. “Are you sure you sent it? I don’t have any new… Oh wait, I don’t have any signal.” I don’t have any signal? “Give me a sec.” Alex fumbled with her phone to restart it, but the connection issue persisted.

An uncharacteristic frown crossed bubbly Katie’s face. “Come on! I spent all morning writing it. The least you could do is read it,” Katie pouted. “Fine, if you want it that way, I’m not afraid to embarrass you right here, right now by reading it out loud in front of everyone!” Katie reached down to pull out her phone and began to read. “Dear Alex, your bestest friend in the whole world wanted to wish you the happiest birthd—… Oh wait, I don’t have any signal either.” Katie began to furiously tap on her phone.

The bell rang, cutting their conversation short.

Mr. Sanderson’s fourth period was abuzz with conversation. “I can’t get my phone to work, can you?” “No, I don’t have any signal.” “Hey, I don’t have any signal either!”

The ever-plump Mr. Sanderson walked in and hushed the crowd as he strode toward his seat. “Alright, alright, settle down class. Time to learn. Switch your brains into World History mode!” Mr. Sanderson chuckled at himself as he took his seat with a hard plunk and started clicking around on his computer. “Hold on, I just gotta pull up the… hmm…wait a second.” Mr. Sanderson sat back in his chair and gave his scruffy beard a stroke, before returning for a second round of more frantic clicking. After an unsuccessful round two, Mr. Sanderson sunk back into his chair with a deep sigh.

Around Alex, people began to murmur. Mr. Sanderson rose to silence them. “Alright class, just give me a second. I can’t seem to get the school Wi-Fi to work. I’m just going to pop next door to Ms. Robinson’s class to ask. Open your textbooks to uh… to the last thing we learned about.” Satisfied with his not so precise directions, Mr. Sanderson sauntered out the door. “Hey Olive, I can’t seem too…” The rest was cut off as the door closed behind him.

Immediately, the classroom was a hive of activity.

“Can anyone get their phone to work? I don’t have any signal.”

“Not me.”

“Not me either.”

“Do you think they installed a cell blocker? You know, to keep us from like, cheating?”

“Seriously? Why would they do that?!”

“But even the school Wi-Fi doesn’t show up. They wouldn’t block their own Wi-Fi. Maybe it’s because…”

Alex, who wasn’t much of a talker, especially in the absence of Katie, sat back and let the conversations envelop around her. Already, her thoughts were beginning to whirl. The school Wi-Fi isn’t working either? How could both the Wi-Fi and cell service be down at once? Is that even possible?

Mr. Sanderson opened the door, bringing the boisterous conversation to a halt just as it approached its climax. “Well class, it seems like the network might be down in the building. But don’t worry,” Mr. Sanderson said with a smug grin. “We’ll just have to do this lesson OLD SCHOOL.” After he said that, he waddled up to the seldom-used whiteboard and uncapped a marker. “Now… can anyone tell me, uh… Joshua, summarize what you learned for homework.”

—

Class passed by excruciatingly slowly as Mr. Sanderson attempted to improvise a lesson on the fly. Of course, none of the class was paying any attention, as everyone was too busy secretly pulling out their phones every few minutes to see if it was back up. Alex was similarly following suit, glued to her phone turning the lock screen on and off, hoping each time that somehow something would change.

She continued this on the ride home in Katie’s not-so-brand-new-preowned car, giving updates to Katie as she went. But even though they were getting further and further from the school grounds, the reception still wasn’t coming back.

“Is it back now?” Katie asked, hands firmly planted at 10 and 2 as she headed towards Alex’s house.

“No.”

“But we’re like at least 50 miles from school at this point!”

“Katie, I don’t think our town is even 50 miles wide in total.”

“You know what I mean.” Katie retorted. And then again, after a brief pause, “What about now?”

“Oh wow, it’s back!”

“Really?!”

“Nope.”

—

Sonya was already home when Alex arrived. Shuffling around the kitchen, she looked up as her younger sister entered.

“Well well well, if it isn’t the birthday girl! Happy birthday Alex!” She paused briefly to pull out a store-bought cake that she had until then kept hidden behind her. “And look, your big sis even got you a cake!” Her smile beamed in direct contrast to the heavy bags under her eyes.

“Thanks.” Alex’s curtness spoke volumes.

Sonya continued her shuffle around the kitchen, speaking as she moved. “I’m so so sorry that I can’t stay for your special day, but you know tonight I have the night shift at the hospital. But I promise to make it up to you. What do you think maybe this weekend you and I—”

Alex cut her off. “I know. You always have the night shift.”

Sonya stopped in her tracks. “Well, that’s not technically true. But you know it’s easier to pick up overtime hours now that—”

“I know. Thanks. I’m fine. I’m pretty busy right now anyways. The usual. Homework, and a test on Monday. Anyways, Katie’s stopping by after her work to celebrate with me.”

After taking a moment to gather her thoughts, Sonya replied. “Oh. Well… that’s good. Of course, she’s welcome anytime. You know, maybe we can all—”

“I’ve got to do my homework now,” Alex said, ending the conversation by shutting the door to her room.

—

Immediately after shutting the door, Alex slung off her backpack and sat down in front of her computer. Please. Please tell me it’s working here. But after some increasingly frantic clicking, and the subsequent unplugging and replugging of cables, she was forced to acknowledge that it was in fact not working here either. Even the router refused to submit to her tampering. No Wi-Fi at school or here. Where’s my phone… Still no cell service. Maybe if I… Oh come on! Why today?!

Alex slouched back into her chair, eyes staring up at the ceiling. From down the hall, she heard her sister calling to her. “Okay Alex, I’m heading off to work now! Tell Katie I said hi! I’m sure you two can rummage up something from the fridge. Save me a slice of cake! Oh, and don’t stay up too late! And don’t forget I love you!”

How could I forget. Alex waited until she heard the front door shut before creeping out of her room back into the kitchen. On the counter sat the now unboxed cake, on which some underpaid grocery store employee had been forced to pipe:

Happy Birthday Alex! Love Sonya, Mom, & Dad 

But for Alex the message only stirred up anger.

—

“Well, I think it’s sweet,” Katie said while munching on a slice of cake. “It shows that she cares about you.”

Katie and Alex were sitting in the living room, the now partially eaten cake residing on the coffee table in front of them. The TV wasn’t working either—only displaying static—so they were forced to choose one of Sonya’s cheesy DVDs. Katie hadn’t even bothered to change out of her McDonald’s uniform.

“You know, I wonder if the internet is out at my house as well. Actually, do you think my parents even remembered that I was coming over here tonight? Oh! Do you think they think I’ve been kidnapped?!” Katie was always one to err on the side of dramatic. This time, it seemed kidnapped child was the role she selected.

“I just hope it’s back up by tomorrow,” Alex mumbled in between bites of cake. “You know, I think I read something once about how a guy dug too deep and accidentally cut the main fiber cable to a city, leaving them without any service. Maybe that’s what happened here.”

“You think so?” Katie asked.

“Maybe. I think they couldn’t even call 911 or anything. It was a big deal.”

“Oh… Do you think Sonya is having to deal with that right now?”

Katie bringing up Sonya again dampened Alex’s mood. “I’m sure she’s fine. She’s very good at always handling everything, even if you don’t want her to.” The last bit Alex mumbled under her breath.

“You know, I don’t understand why you hate Sonya so much now. With what you two have been through, I figured—”

Alex quickly cut her off to change the subject. “What about your parents? Don’t they like, work from home on the internet?”

Katie leaned back into the couch, as if the thought had just now dawned on her. “Oh yea… I guess I hadn’t really thought about that. Well… then I hope it comes back soon!” After that momentary pause, she perked back up, as if all the doubt had already left her mind. “Anyways, since it’s still not back up, I guess I have to read my super special birthday message to you in person!” She picked up her phone from the table. “Dear Alex, your bestest friend in the whole—”

Alex quickly snatched the phone out of her hand. “Please don’t read it out loud! I’ll literally die of embarrassment!”

—

That night Alex lay in bed, staring across at the blank computer monitor over on her desk. It will be alright. It’s just one day. You can survive one day. As long as it’s back up tomorrow, everything will be okay. No need to panic.

Tuesday

It still wasn’t back.

As Alex walked through the school halls, she could feel the outward projected misery around her. It seemed like the entire school was reeling from a great loss. All around, people were trading stories of their own home experiences.

“Yea, our Wi-Fi didn’t work either! And neither did the TV! My Dad was absolutely pissed that he missed football.”

“Who cares about your Dad and football! Joshua and I were supposed to go on our third date last night but I couldn’t even text him to find out where!”

Now that sounds traumatic. Alex walked by several pockets of similar conversations. It seemed the outage was the only thing anyone was capable of thinking about. Even Katie was noticeably on edge.

“My God Alex when I got home last night my parents were freaking out.”

“Did they think you were a helpless kidnapped child?”

“No! They didn’t even care about me! They were too concerned with how they were going to report in for work tomorrow.”

“Ouch.”

Katie, disappointed that she hadn’t been heralded as the helpless kidnapped child, shifted the conversation. “What about you? What did you do after I left? Don’t you usually spend like all night online?”

Alex thought about the night before. About how she had woken up every few hours just to check if it had come back on. “Yea… it was, not very fun.” Habitually, she pulled out her phone again, only to be reminded that it still had no service.

—

On their way home, Katie stopped for gas, only to find that all the pumps were now cash only. They went inside to ask the clerk.

Katie approached the counter, with Alex trailing slightly behind. “Excuse me, it won’t take my card.”

“Sorry gals, cards don’t work with the internet being down. Cash only.”

Katie let out an overly dramatic sigh, before reaching into her purse to try to scrounge up some bills. “Cash only… who even carries cash anymore… I don’t even think I have… Oh! Ugh.” Katie had only been able to find one $5 bill. “Well, I guess I’d like $5 of gas please!”

Alex stood back, observing the conversation. Cash only… So is everywhere like this? She looked in her own wallet and found only disappointment.

—

When Alex arrived home, she found Sonya slumped on the couch, hospital scrubs still on. On the table sat a half-eaten bowl of microwavable mac and cheese and a newspaper.

Sonya perked up seeing Alex come through the door. “Alex! Welcome home.”

“Hey.”

“You won’t believe what happened last night. I showed up to the hospital, and the ENTIRE network was down! We couldn’t access any of the patient records, and all night they had us running around, trying to find the paper files. I didn’t even know we had paper files!”

Alex mumbled something under her breath as she walked into the kitchen to grab a drink from the fridge.

Sonya swiveled on the couch to face Alex’s direction, and continued, “You know, you didn’t tell me yesterday that everything was out.”

Alex came out of the kitchen, juice box in hand. “I thought you knew.”

Sonya deflated. The fatigue was visible across her face. “Alex…” Sonya turned back and grabbed the newspaper off the coffee table. “Anyways, one of the doctors coming in for the morning shift brought this in. He let me snag it off him since he was done with it.

Figures. We are a family of handouts now. Alex grabbed the newspaper from Sonya, and looked down at the front page.

—

SERVICE DOWN ACROSS ENTIRE COUNTY

Across the entire county, all telephone, internet, and cable services are down. As all networks continue to be inoperable, WNYB News has been unable to reach outside county borders to assess the full scale of the outage. Members of our Frontline Team personally drove out to Telecom’s city branch building to request a comment, but as of publishing no comment has been given. It is our hope though that Telecom will be able to provide a statement shortly. By then, other Frontline members should be back from neighboring counties to see if this is a larger-scale issue…

—

“Wow,” is all Alex managed to get out.

“I know right. Anyways…” Sonya paused briefly before continuing, “Because of all the pandemonium they need me to come in again for another shift tonight.”

“You usually have Tuesdays off.”

Sonya sighed. “I know. But with all THIS,” she emphatically waved her hands in the air, “it’s different. If they can’t get stuff back online soon I think we’re going to be in big trouble. They need all the help they can get.

Alex stared at Sonya before turning around to head to her room. “Okay,” is all she responded.

As soon as Alex closed the door, she fell face-first onto her bed. Turning over, she glanced at the blank computer monitor mocking her from her desk before pulling out her phone. Still no service. Still nothing. She sat up and walked over to her computer to begin a cycle of increasingly frantic clicking that she already knew wouldn’t give her the results she wanted. After a while, she crashed back into her chair and let out a grunt of frustration. What is going on! How is it still not back yet?! What could possibly have happened? Why did it have to go out now? Now, of all times!

Alex’s frustration soon gave way to anguish. That night, after Sonya had left for work, Alex sat on the couch eating her second bowl of microwavable mac and cheese, staring at the blank TV screen in front of her. Things wouldn’t be like this if Mom and Dad were here.

Wednesday

The student body’s previous day of despair had now been replaced with outright agitation. The outage persisted, and now the conversations had shifted towards conspiracy theories.

“I bet someone was digging for oil and cut all the lines.”

“If that’s true, then why wouldn’t Telecom have blamed them? Not saying anything sounds really shady.”

“They’ll have to say something soon, otherwise the government will do something.”

“Well, my Dad says that the government and Telecom are working together to control us!”

“Joshua, tell your Dad to go back to watching football.”

“He can’t!”

Alex looked once again at her phone before putting her bag in the locker.

—

Sonya was already gone by the time Alex arrived home from school. On the coffee table was the newest paper and a sticky note on which Sonya’s terrible handwriting sprawled:

Had to go to work earlier than normal. Still CRAZY. For your reading pleasure. Love u!

The newspaper didn’t reveal much new information. Only that now they were sure the outage at least expanded to all the neighboring counties, and that Telecom still hadn’t issued a statement despite mounting pressure from local government officials.

They must have really messed up. Alex put down the paper and rummaged in the fridge for a juice box. Getting pretty low on mac and cheese. Wonder if Sonya knows about the cash thing.

Alex returned to the living room and plopped down on the couch. I wonder if she secretly enjoys being at work. Then at least she doesn’t have to be here with me. She took a sip of her juice box, before checking her phone once more just to be sure.

Alex eventually turned her meandering gaze to the front window and noticed something off. A piece of paper clung to their hedge that she hadn’t noticed when she first got home. Tiptoeing outside barefoot to snatch it, she realized it was actually a printed out flier.

—

TAKE BACK WHAT IS YOURS

We the people will not stand for this injustice and restriction of basic human rights. Do not believe the Telecom lies. Do not believe the government lies. Stand with us and demand answers.

On Friday, August 7th starting at 12PM we will gather in front of the Telecom building and demand answers.

—

Along with the text, the page was mostly dominated by the large black and white silhouette of a face, or at least one that looked like it had been run through the photocopier one too many times, destroying most of its identifiable features.

Creepy. Some poor schmuck must have been going door to door with these. Probably made them himself to try to prey on people’s insecurities. Who would even believe this crap? Still, the silhouette of a face unsettled Alex. Though it lacked features, its strangeness succeeded in eliciting a very off-putting presence.

Alex brought the flier inside and tossed it on top of the ever-growing pile of loose school papers that had taken semi-permanent residence on her desk.

That night, Alex once again found herself laying in bed, staring across at the blank computer monitor. Her agitation was beginning to turn into desperation. Surely tomorrow, at least something will be back up. Anything. I mean, won’t people be out of work? It’s been like…one-two-three days! Her gaze then drifted over to the flier still on her desk. In the dimly lit room, the face seemed almost alive. Alex got out of bed, grabbed the paper, and turned it face down. If this goes on much longer, people will start believing this crap.

Thursday

It seemed that people were in fact believing this crap. At school, Alex was once again surrounded by conversations about the outage. But this time, all anyone was talking about was the flier.

As Alex waded through the crowded halls towards her locker, Katie ran up from behind. “Alex! Hey Alex!” Katie, looking perturbed, held up the flier. “Look at this creepy flier that was taped to my door last night!”

Alex skimmed the flier, confirming that it was the same as hers. Yet again, she was confronted with that face. “Yea, I got the same one too. Creepy mug.”

“Do you think it’s true? About Telecom and the government?”

“Of course it isn’t true. It’s probably just some guy trying to take advantage of the situation to rile people up.”

Katie frowned, before continuing, “But still, everyone at school seems to have gotten one. That would be pretty hard for just ‘some guy’ to do!”

Alex had to agree with her on that one. Though their town was pretty small, going door to door in one day would have taken a lot of work.

Katie continued, “Anyways, my parents were pretty freaked out about it. You know how they get about these… things.” Alex knew what she meant. Katie’s parents were very susceptible when it came to conspiracy theories. Katie held up the flier again. “As soon as they saw it they were all doom and gloom. I mean, they’re already super anxious. And now this! They haven’t been able to work for like three days now!”

Alex could see how torn up all this was making Katie, how her parents’ anxieties were starting to map onto her own. Alex wished she could comfort her, but didn’t know what to say.

Just before lunch, the principal came over the intercom announcing an impromptu school-wide assembly to take place before third period. As Alex filed into the packed gymnasium along with the rest of the students, she noticed several teachers huddled together in the corner talking excitedly, as if something big was about to happen.

After the students had all crammed in, Principal Moreno took his place at the podium in the center of the basketball court. He carried with him a loose stack of papers, which he briefly thumbed through before addressing the crowd.

“Hello students. I hope you are all doing well today. As you know, a few days ago our town experienced an outage of all phone, internet, and cable TV services.” 

The crowd of students murmured in agreement.

“Well, I must inform you that we have just received an official letter from the federal government. It seems that the outage is in fact across our entire country.”

Immediately the students erupted into conversations. Alex nervously looked around to see if she could spot Katie.

From the podium, Principal Moreno raised both his hands, “Now now, please! I haven’t finished yet. Because of this national outage, the President has decided to declare a national State of Emergency…”

The students erupted again before he could even finish the sentence. This was not the news they wanted to hear. Alex finally managed to spot Katie on the other side of the gym, busily speaking to those around her.

Again, Principal Moreno tried to calm the crowd. “Please everyone! Please settle down. It will all be okay. This is just a formality so that the government can distribute aid where it is needed. There is no need to panic.” But to Alex, his tone seemed more like he was trying to convince himself than them. “That being said, since it appears that the government is preparing for this to become an extended situation, we have decided to cancel school tomorrow in order to hold a school-wide faculty meeting to address adjusting certain procedures going forward. So, please let your parents and guardians know about the situation and make sure to…”

—

It was safe to say that if the students weren’t anxious before, they were now in a full blown state of panic. The flier, coupled with the unfortunate timing of the announcement, had everyone convinced they were in the middle of some kind of giant conspiracy in motion.

Katie, most of all, seemed incredibly shaken after the assembly. “This isn’t good. This is not good,” she said, pacing back and forth in front of Alex in the crowded hallway. She stopped and turned to face Alex. “A national emergency… Alex, my parents are going to freak out when they hear this!”

Alex could feel the anxiety pouring out of Katie. In truth, Alex was just as anxious as well. Alex started, “I’m sure… maybe…” but was unable to find the words needed to calm down Katie. Why this? Why now?

“You don’t understand!” Katie shouted, resuming her pacing. “My parents… you know what our situation is like. You know how hard it’s been. They can’t be out of work for this long… I can’t be the only one feeding us on my shitty McDonald’s minimum wage!”

At this point, Katie was reaching mass load and looked like she could break down at any moment. And if Katie broke, Alex knew she was sure to follow. Think of something to diffuse the situation. Think Alex. Think. Think think think!

Katie began to whimper, “Why is this happening to me…”

“What if we went to that protest?”

“What?” Katie looked up at Alex, sniffled, and rubbed her eyes.

Alex grabbed Katie’s bag and dug around until she found the flier. “That protest. From the flier.” She held up the flier so that Katie could see it. “See, it says it’s tomorrow at noon. And now we don’t have school tomorrow.”

“You want to go to the protest?” Katie said.

“Well…” Alex reread the flier. Stand with us and demand answers. “Maybe if we go, we can get some answers. Maybe if enough people show up, they’ll be forced to explain what’s going on.” Already, Alex realized that the reasoning seemed far-fetched at best, but right now she wanted more than anything to get Katie out of this mess. After all, it had been Katie who had helped her so much during her lowest lows. 

Katie stopped rubbing her eyes and focused entirely on Alex. “You think if we go to the protest, things will get better?” At this point, it looked like Katie was ready to believe anything.

Alex reached out and put her arms on Katie’s shoulders. “I think it’s a good idea.”

Katie leaned in to turn it into an embrace, sniffled, and faintly smiled. “I missed my old Alex.”

—

On the ride home, Alex could only think about how this was definitely a bad idea. She was sure that nothing good would come of it, and that a bunch of angry people grouped together did not often lead to great results. But, perhaps a bit selfishly, she too wanted answers. Alex stared out the window, watching the buildings pass by.

Day 4… and it’s out all over the country… and no one knows what’s going on? How is that even possible? There’s got to be something. SOMEBODY has to know what’s going on. They must just be keeping quiet to cover their asses… But day 4. DAY 4! Alex’s thoughts continued to spiral more and more. And cards don’t work. Do they expect us to just pay for everything in cash forever? Do people even have that much cash? Does Sonya? What are we going to do for food next week? Can you even withdraw from the banks if their networks are down as well?

The frustration continued to build as Alex arrived home to find a very tired Sonya sprawled out on the couch. It looked as if she had only recently gotten home, like she had been working straight through since yesterday. Get yourself together.

Sonya rubbed her tired eyes. “Hey Alex. I heard at work that we’re in a State of Emergency. What’s school saying? Is there anything I can get for you? Any way I can help?”

“No.” Alex’s frustration continued to rise. I am not a baby. I can take care of myself.

“Are you sure? Maybe I can—”

“I don’t need your help!” Alex snapped back. “You are not my Mom!”

Sonya sat up on the couch. “Alex, I know I’m not your Mom. But it’s my job now to take care of you—”

Alex slammed her fist on the counter. “I can take care of myself!” Her voice rose louder and louder, the pent up frustration pouring out of her. “I didn’t ask you to come back after they died! I could have taken care of myself! I’m not a baby!” At this point, tears were welling up in her eyes.

Sonya rubbed her temples. “Alex, please. Can we not do this again right now? I’ve just had a double shift at the hospital and am running on, like, max 3 hours of sleep.”

“Then leave me alone! Stop trying to butt into my life! Stop trying to baby me and pretend that you’re Mom when we both know that you aren’t!” At this point, Alex’s yells were at peak volume.

“Alex—”

“No! Don’t Alex me!”

Finally, Sonya couldn’t take it anymore. Standing up, she shouted back, “Do you think I wanted to come home Alex?! Do you think I wanted to drop out of med school to move back to our shitty town to take care of you?! To deal with how much of an emotional wreck you’ve become?! Do you think their deaths didn’t destroy me just as much as it destroyed you?!” Tears streamed down her face.

Instantly, Sonya knew she had gone too far. “Alex… Alex, I didn’t mean that—”

But by then, Alex had already slammed her bedroom door shut.

Breathing rapidly with tears still streaming down her face, Alex ran to her commuter and began to click around frantically. “Please be back on. Please. Please… please…” But no matter what she did, the internet was unyielding in its silence.

Tears rained down on the keyboard as Alex desperately tried to get anything to work. “Please… please… I need to see them. Please…”

Alex collapsed into a full sob at her desk. No matter what she did, the tears would not stop.

“Please…”

Friday

Alex woke up Friday morning in her bed—still in yesterday’s clothes—having apparently made the transition from her desk sometime overnight. After a long shower and a change of clothes, Alex cracked open her door to take a peek outside.

Sonya was sprawled out on the couch—also still in yesterday’s clothes—fast asleep. It was unclear if she had stayed up waiting for Alex to return, or had just passed out from sheer work-induced exhaustion.

Alex gently closed the door and returned to her bed. Okay. It’s just after 10 now. Katie should be arriving soon. She spent the next few minutes looking out the window, waiting to spot Katie’s car. It was a good distraction from having to think about last night.

She realized that she hadn’t told her sister where she was going, or even that school was canceled, but at this point she didn’t care. Yesterday’s fight had solidified her desire to go to the protest. She wanted answers. She wanted the internet back. And she would do anything for that.

Katie’s car arrived in the driveway and gave a brief honk, immediately making Alex tense up. She did not want Sonya to wake up. She did not want to have to deal with that right now. Thankfully, mercifully, Sonya was still asleep when Alex opened the door. Carefully, she crept by the couch, and with the utmost care, opened and closed the front door.

“Woah. You look rough. What happened last night?” Katie watched Alex as she entered the car and began to buckle.

“No—Nothing… nothing,” Alex responded.

But Katie wouldn’t accept the response. “You sure nothing happened? You look like, pardon my French, a wreck.”

“Wreck is an English word,” Alex retorted, before letting out a deep sigh. “Sonya and I got in a fight last night.”

“You and Sonya always get in fights.”

“Yea. But this one… I don’t know. This one hurt.”

Katie reached over and squeezed Alex’s hand. “Well, now you’re with me and you don’t have to think about any of that anymore. Now, we’re rebels on a secret mission to infiltrate a protest and demand answers!”

Alex responded by squeezing Katie’s hand back. “You’re in a cheery mood,” she said. But when she looked into Katie’s eyes, they didn’t look so cheery. It seemed she had had a rough night as well.

Katie reversed out of the driveway and put the car in drive. “Well, I guess it beats the alternative!”

—

As they drove towards the Telecom building, they passed by a few future protesters on foot. And then a few more. And then several more. Before a while, the entire street was congested with pedestrians and cars, making it impossible to continue any further, even though they were a good mile away from their destination.

Katie, attempting to find a spot to park, piped up, “Damn. I did not expect this many people to be here. This has gotta be like the entire town!”

“I know right,” Alex replied, looking to see if she could make out anyone in the crowd.

They were forced to continue the journey on foot, blending into the crowd of protesters as they marched towards their destination. Katie grabbed Alex’s hand. “So we don’t get separated,” she said. Once again, Alex was reminded just how much she needed Katie.

The crowd continued to get denser and denser as they waded their way towards its epicenter. I’m starting to have a bad feeling about this. Well, maybe I ALWAYS had a bad feeling about this. Already people were getting heated, roughly bumping others aside to get past them.

After a particularly rough shove, Katie turned back and snapped, “Hey bud! Chill out! We’ll all get there eventually!”

The crowd reached its peak right in front of the Telecom building, where a dozen or so police officers stood guard in front of its entrance. Unfortunately, from Alex’s perspective it looked like the protesters outnumbered them around 100 to 1. Their presence seemed to have little effect on the crowd, who were by now getting even more boisterous, even though the protest wasn’t due to officially kick off for another hour.

A disheveled man shouted from amongst the crowd. “Tell those Telecom fuckers to get out here now and tell us what’s going on!”

“YEA!” shouted the crowd in unison.

Emboldened, the man continued. “It’s our fuckin’ right to know what’s going on! So tell them fuckers to come out here right fuckin’ now!”

Wow. He sure likes to say fuck. Alex felt Katie squeeze her hand to confirm that she was still there.

“Alex, I don’t know about this.”

As Alex looked around at the still growing crowd, she realized that they were now firmly planted in the middle, making it hard to move anywhere else. One of the policemen looked like he was about to step forward to speak, but the crowd wouldn’t hear him out. Alex and Katie started to get jostled, as the crowd competed to rush to the front to confront the officers.

Alex glanced over at Katie, whose face a mix of trepidation and fear. “Alex…”

The battering increased as more people tried to force their way by. A protester barreled through Katie and Alex from behind, breaking their hand hold. Seconds after, Alex felt a sharp elbow dig into her from the other side. Alex turned to confront its owner. “Hey! Watch out!” Clutching her side, Alex turned back, only to find that Katie was no longer next to her.

“Katie!” Alex shouted at the top of her lungs. But the sound was only swallowed up by the increasing volume of the crowd. “Katie!”

The man’s voice from earlier rose above the crowd. “Take this, you police fucks!”

CRASH! 

Alex saw a glass bottle shatter by the feet of one of the police officers.

CRASH!

Another, this time making contact with a riot shield.

The policeman who had earlier stepped forward now raised a megaphone. “ATTENTION! THIS HAS BECOME AN UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY! DISPERSE NOW, OR YOU WILL BE FORCED TO DISPERSE!”

But all this did was rile up the crowd even more. More things were thrown at the officers, who had to fully huddle behind their shields. Alex continued to get jostled from all sides. She scanned the crowd, desperate to spot Katie. “Katie! Where are you!”

Alex’s breathing started to rapidly increase as the crowd closed in around her. This is not what was supposed to happen. I just… I just wanted answers. More shouting. More sounds of glass shattering. More shoving. Why did we come here? Where’s… where’s Katie? I need Katie. Shoving. Shouting. Nearby, it sounded like a window was shattered. The crowd continued to compact, squeezing the air out of Alex’s lungs. Katie. Katie.

BOOM!

Off to the side, a police car was now engulfed in flames. The heat radiated over the crowd. The policeman yelled something over the megaphone again, but it was muffled by the roaring crowd. From somewhere amidst the chaos, a shout, “Alex!” But Alex couldn’t hear it.

Why… No… I just wanted answers… I just… I just wanted to see them again… Alex cupped her ears and bent down to shield herself from the heat. The crowd roared around her. The sound: piercing.

The roar continued. The heat increased as the flames tried their best to suck all the oxygen out of the air.

Hot. Hard. To. Breathe. Please. Make it stop. Air. Someone help me.

“Alex!”

Make it stop. Make it stop.

“Alex!”

Make. It. Stop.

“Alex!”

Make… it… stop.

—

End of Part 1.

To find out what happens next without the wait, head to patreon.com/connoraidan Otherwise, Part 2 will be posted around 2-4 weeks after the release date of Part 1.

#fiction #short story #fictional #flash fiction #original fiction #science fiction