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inside, the engine from his Jeep Cherokee rumbled then ceased. Alice came up from the basement and went to the window, surprised to see Randall so early in the day. He fumbled with the front door locks and walked in the house looking confused.
     
    “You're home early,” Alice said.
    “Yeah. The weirdest thing, they sent everyone home for the day,” Randall replied.
    Alice stood perplexed, holding her clipboard as if being interrupted from her important tasks.
    “That's strange. They didn't tell you why?” she asked.
    “There was mention of a terror alert. That's really all I heard. But not from the higher-ups, some guys just heard some stuff on the news. I was told to just shut my station down for the day and leave.”
    “Maybe it was a precaution of something.” Alice said.
    “I don't know. The floor supervisor didn't say much, just said we were going to shut down for the day.”
    Alice thought to herself, a sickness started to build in her stomach, as if by instinct.
    “We should pick up the kids from school.”
    “What?” Randall asked.
    “I don't like what I've been hearing today. Something isn't right.”
    Randall leaned in, almost reluctantly.
    “What sort of things have you been hearing?”
    “Things. Just things. I think we need to get the kids. This terror alert. Your company shutting down. This could be it.”
     
    Randall backed away, repelled.
    “Oh come on, Alice! Not this again.”
    “Come on yourself, Randall, how can you be so blind?”
    “You can't just take the kids out of school whenever you get some hunch!”
    “This is not some hunch.” Alice paused and then put her hand out.  “Just forget it, give me your keys.”
    Randall stood silent for a moment, not sure how to respond.
    “Give me the keys,” Alice demanded.
    Randall dug through his pocket, found the keys, and relinquished them.
    “Thank you,” Alice said, as she breezed past Randall and went out the front door.
    Once she was gone, Randall shrugged and made his way to the kitchen to look for something to eat. He found some leftovers in the refrigerator much to his elation. He un-wrapped the leftover lasagna and placed it in the microwave. He set the time on the microwave and pushed start.  The plate rotated under the gentle hum of the appliance. He couldn't wait to dig in. 
     
    Alice got into the Cherokee, placed the engine in the ignition and turned the key. Nothing. She heard a faint explosion in the far distance that she almost mistook for the car engine starting. She turned the ignition again. Not even the dash board icons were lighting up. It was as if the car's battery had just died with no warning.
     
    Randall paced the kitchen reading a magazine, awaiting his meal. Suddenly the kitchen light went off. The microwave stopped. The lasagna was in mid rotation. Randall felt immediate annoyance. “Ah come on, what the hell?” he asked aloud. He walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. The television was off. The computer was off. There was no power anywhere in the house.
     
    “Start you piece of shit!” Alice yelled. After a few more clicks of the ignition she soon realized that there was nothing she could do. She exited the car defeated. There was utter silence outside. Her neighbor, who had been mowing his lawn, was now trying to get it to start.  A car from down the street rolled to the side of the road.  A woman got out of the car and paced around it confused.  Alice had seen enough, she needed to go inside and talk to Randall.
     
    “Power's out,” Randall said as she entered the room. Alice walked past Randall to verify his claim for herself. She turned to Randall. “What happened?”
    “I was just making a plate of lasagna and the lights went out, the microwave stopped working. Maybe a fuse blew or something,” he responded.
    Alice handed Randall back the car keys. “Your car isn't starting.”
    “What?” Randall asked.
    “It's dead. Completely dead.”
    Randall went to the window