After the World Goes Dark
Copyright© 2026 by Ceiran_DeCoursey
Chapter 1: Wooden Ships
Minneapolis, MN - April 12, 2026; 12:05pm
Eric:
The bustle of the crowd on the sidewalk only partially interfered with my progress towards the IDS Tower where I was to meet my wife for lunch. I expertly dodged around the milling crowd as I made my way down 7th street.
I’d just crossed 2nd Avenue when it happened. There was a brief flash of light from all around and suddenly all the sounds of vehicle traffic just stopped. No more blaring horns, no more revving engines ... dead silence for a moment. Then people are gasping and looking up. I did too and saw ribbons of red, green and blue streaming southward in the sky.
“Somebody fucked up,” I muttered. Then I hardened my expression and quickened my pace. A number of people were elbowed to get through, but in just a few minutes I had finished the last block and a half. Pushing my way through what seemed to be a river of people coming out of the building to stare up like idiots at the light show, I made his way into the Crystal Court.
I’d turned left towards the main stairway but stopped short at at call of “Eric,” from behind me. I turn to see a tall, almost ruebusque, blond making her way through the crowd. When she reaches me she doesn’t have to stretch to give me a quick kiss, the three inch heels on her pumps bring her up to my six-one height. “So much for it missing us,” she says with a growl after we separate.
“Some imbecile dropped a decimal somewhere,” I say with a shake of my head.
“Plan B?” she asks with a raised eyebrow.
“Let’s go,” I say, grabbing her hand as we head for the stairs to the parking ramp under the building.
We’re halfway there when a slightly overweight guy in a maintenance uniform grabs her arm and chuckles, “Why go off with a stick when you can have a real man for the end of the world?”
I roll my eyes at the moron just before she grabs his wrist with her other hand, bends it back to a moan from him. Then she shoves his face into the nearest wall with enough force to daze him. She leans in and says just loud enough for me to hear, “Since I’ve been married to him for five years, I think I’ll keep him. You need to start thinking over your life plan.”
Another rap of his head into the wall and he drops to the floor unconscious. With her full bust and wide hips, she may look like she’s a bit overweight in the long-sleeved blouses and long skirts she favors, but twice a week weight work and three times a week calisthenics have toned her body to near perfection.
Since I follow the same training plan, my slenderness is a ruse. The suit jackets and loose pants I wear hide my own toned, hard body. “Done playing with the riff-raff?” I ask with a grin.
She gives me a glare then continues towards the stairway. I chuckle and follow. As we reach the door, I pull a small, metal box from the inside pocket of my suit-jacket, rip the foil tape off and open it. Inside are a pair of Mini-Mag flashlights that both go on when I twist the tops.