"DEAD" - читать интересную книгу автора (Howard Joseph)

Joseph H2O2ward

Deadnight




A frail buzzing entered my dreams, like an electric alarm clock
running out of juice. A bee chased me around for a while and then
disappeared; and I realized I was awake. Something was wrong.
I opened my eyes. I thought I opened them. I couldn't see anything.
I put hands to my face to feel the lids blinking.
I couldn't have gone blind, not like that.
Darkness like hades, itself. Panic pressing in. Where am I? It's
never this dark.
They're coming for me. They've found me at last.
God help me...
Wait a minute. The palest glow, so dim it registered only when I
looked a little away. Over there.
I felt around the bed to orient myself. Slowed my racing heart.
Willed the sweat to stop coming.
Found the glow, put my face to it - the dying LEDs of the alarm clock
registering just past get-up time, 4:00 AM. Electricity must be off. Clock
ran on battery backup until the alarm buzzer ran it down -- the buzzing in
my dreams.
That's it. Just a power outage. That's all. Just this building, just
this block. Happens all the time, especially now with all the terrorists
and the strikes.
I took a couple of deep breaths, tried to control the shakes.
Couldn't. Had to know.
Struggled out of bed. Blankets all tangled. Pulled them off the bed
and threw them. Don't panic. Don't panic.
Got up. Knocked over the night table, gouged its corner into my
thigh.
Damn. To far left. To the right some.
There's the window, high above the city. Shade nice and heavy. Plenty
of light outside, surely.
I raised the shade.
The city was black.
I opened the window.
Dead silence.
Cities are never black and dead, not even on a moonless, overcast
night, for the clouds reflect the street lights and the headlights,
they're coming for me!
Where but the deep woods far from a city can you go where it is
totally black at night? They're coming for me!
No. A massive power outage. That's all.
I looked toward City General. The hospital would have auxiliary
power. Couldn't find it.