Hanna smiled at her husband Davin as he folded himself into the driver’s seat of the car. “Whew!” he said, as he shook the rain off his hair, like a dog who’d just come out of a pond. She squealed, blocking the drops of water, despite being thoroughly soaked herself.
“Nothing like a good shower – ,” Davin said.
“Yeah, but not so much when one is in formal attire,” Hanna responded.
“Ah, but maybe we can avoid doing laundry tomorrow!” Davin started the car.
Lightning flashed across the sky, causing Hanna to jump. “I’ll be glad to get home and dry,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean that you need to hurry,” she quickly added. “We don’t want to get into an accident.”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s always something,” said Davin as they pulled from the parking spot. “Drive safe! Don’t kill me! Blah-blah!” he added in a falsetto voice. He chuckled at her.
“But seriously…”
“I know. I’ll be careful.”
The road was dark as they passed through the foothills toward their home hidden in the mountains. Lightning illuminated the rocks, providing sporadic images of the torrents of rainwater flowing off of them. Hanna was concerned about rock or mud slides, which were common on this stretch of road. “Please slow down a bit, sweetie,” she asked her husband.
“Whoa!” said Davin as he observed a brilliant green flash emanating from the valley perhaps a half-mile ahead of them.
“Wow!” exclaimed Hanna. “The substation, you think?”
“Yeah, maybe,” replied Davin.
“Y’know, I’m gonna call Mom and make sure everything’s ok there.”
“Good idea,” mumbled Davin, as the road in front of them lit up green again.
Hanna dialed her cell phone and held it to her ear. The phone rang, then connected. “Hello?”
“Mom! How are things?”
“Well, the power just went out,” Hanna’s mother replied.
“Yeah, it looks like the substation has gone up. Can you unplug our computers?”
“Um, sure. Just the ones in the office, right?”
“Yeah, those are the important ones,” said Hanna. “How’s Jack?”
“Jay-Jay is fine. He seems to be sleeping through this. I’m glad. OK, I think I found the plug. Is there just one?”
“Yea—Wow!” Hanna saw great green bands of sparks arcing across the sky. “This is amazing!”
“Whoa,” mumbled Davin as he gawked at the same scene.
“What is it dear?” Hanna’s mother asked from afar.
“This substation is going nuts,” Hanna replied.
“I’m gonna get around that as fast as possible,” said Davin, pressing down the accelerator.
“Davin? I don’t—,” started Hanna.
“Dear?” Hanna’s Mother.
The phone crackled. The engine roared. More green flame arced over the substation. They drew closer.
“Davin!” Hanna cried. The green flames reached from the substation toward their car. Davin floored it. The phone crackled louder. Through the static, she heard her mother’s voice, “Hanna!”
Hanna noticed that the green flame also made a noise. Static. Loud static. Her phone. The cry of the engine. Squealing of tires. A pop. Then she fell to the ground, and there was silence.
Penny Higgins - Storyteller • Artist • Scientist 