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want to stop me using my MP3 player?" Amanda asked.
    "It's not your MP3 player they're after. Almost everything we use today has electronics in it. From your car to the refrigerator. From the hospital's heart-lung machines to the power system. From the gas pumps to the railway lines. Shut all that down and the world grinds to a halt. Nothing works. Nothing moves. And, eventually, nothing lives. Not like it used to."
    Hailey's face had gone white. My heart stopped at the thought that I had scared her. "But, like I said, it wasn't an EMP. Too many things off the grid are still working."
    "So boy genius," Mark said making me want to strangle him. I hated that nickname. He only used it when he was mad. Probably still pissed off that I'd embarrassed him in front of Amanda and Hailey. "If it wasn't an EMP, what was it?"
    "How should I know?" I answered, exasperated that we had gotten off course. "It really doesn't matter. What I was trying to say earlier was that it might be off for a while. Maybe days."
    "Okay, and like I said. We sit it out. Miss a couple of days of school, then life returns to its normal hellish self, and the world moves on."
    "Yes, but there are some things we can do to make it easier."
    "What?" Hailey asked before Mark could make another snide remark.
    "For one, no more going into the refrigerator or freezer," I said, shooting a look at the fresh Mountain Dew Mark had retrieved. "Every time we open the doors the quicker stuff is going to spoil." Mark caught my meaning and took a long drink from his can of Mt. Dew. "We need to fill all the bathtubs with water," I continued. "In fact, every container we can find."
    "I'm not drinking out of the bathtub," Amanda said.
    "It's not for drinking. It's for the commodes. Our water supply is pumped up to Mount Spelling, then gravity feeds to us. Without power, the water's going to go dry pretty quick. Believe me, we do not want to lose indoor plumbing."
    A brief look of fear flashed across their faces as each of them thought about living in a world without toilets.
    "Hailey, you and Mark start filling containers in the kitchen. Pots, Tupperware, etc. I'll fill the bathtubs, then start a fire. It’s going to get cold tonight. When we're done, we'll go over to Mrs. Thompson’s and do her house."
    "What about me?" Amanda asked.
    "I need you to get blankets and pillows. I think it would be better if we all hung out down here tonight, that way we can cut down on the number of candles."
    "I don't need lights, remember," Amanda said with a smirk.
    "No, but the rest of us do," Hailey said with a faraway look in her eyes.
     

Chapter Five
Hailey
    The sharp yellow morning sun peeked through the window blinds, waking me from a nasty dream where Jarret was getting strangled by an electric cord. I couldn't tell who was holding the other end, but I was pretty sure it was me.
    I put my hand up to block the light and slowly remembered where I was and what was going on. A quick look around confirmed it. Ryan's living room. Power outage. Darkness.
    The candle and fire had burnt down to nothing. A cold shiver ran over my skin. The room had that morning chill I remembered from camping trips with my dad.
    A wash of sadness passed through me at the thought of him. I hadn't thought about him at all last night. Had I finally moved on? He'd left eight years ago, moving to Los Angeles. I'd visited a couple of times, but Sherri wasn't exactly welcoming. To her, I was a burden to be endured and when the baby came, it had only gotten worse.
    There comes a time in a girl's life when she's got to cut her losses. I’d always feel bad about losing my dad, but I no longer obsessed about it. At least not when things were normal. It was when things became strange that I missed him the most. And, it didn't get much stranger than this.
    Mark Jones slept in the middle of the floor in a sleeping bag he'd retrieved from the closet without having to be told where it was. Obviously a frequent guest.
    He snored