2 Lights Out

With the alarm set on his smartphone ringing like an emergency evacuation signal, Jack fumbled out of bed like a cat spooked by a cucumber emerging from it's blind spot. Magnificently sending himself out of bed and headbutting a nearby computer chair he finally awakens from his sweet dreams.

Jack would have rather spend a few more hours in bed hugging a pillow. But reality is cruel - you need to earn money for maintaining a comfortable lifestyle. So Jack can only moan into the cold floor as a complaint at his bad luck for the night to be so short.

Forcing himself up to a sitting posture and staring a few minutes into nothingness he finally peeks at his alarm clock to check the current year.

"Already 7 in the morning? I just leaned my head on a pillow a few minutes ago..." proclaimes Jack while forcing his yawning away with his left hand in futility .

"Well, better get myself in one piece before I get to the office today" he mumbles to himself as he wobbly tries to get on to his feet as steady as possible without tumbling back down in the process.

Entering the bathroom with halfclosed eyes he starts his day by brushing his teeth with a mint toothpaste. Not his most favourite one, but still better than those oak flavored ones. Rinsing his mouth from the toothpaste leftovers and washing his face with cold water, Jack finally managed to fully awake from his half-sleepwalking state. Brewing himself a nice big mug of coffee, he gulps it down with some fresh toasts.

With time barely enough to get to work without getting late he puts his office suit on and heads off from home to the bus stop. Getting on the bus as usual and arriving to work as usual, Jack starts his work hours in the office as an average office worker. He gets into the stuffed elevator and waits till the elevator gets to the 15th floor. Getting off the elevator Jack heads to his working station.

'To think that studying hard at college just to end up as an ordinary working class in the future' he thinks to himself while booting his working computer and checking his email box with his phone in the process.

"Did you check the weather broadcast for today? They said that the evening is gonna be the hottest time today" a random office lady started to chat with somebody in the background.

"Even hotter than peak hours? It's already hot as hell. I want to go home earlier then" replied another office lady with a dejected voice.

'You're not the only one here with those thoughts' Jack thinks to himself and contemplates how girls get it easier in society. Sure they get more pressure and demands on their looks but they do get more bonuses in return too.

Consecutively activating a yawning combo he finally got the computer in working condition. Crunching his fingers a few times he starts to do his slice of work in the office. It's not the first time that his quick typing skills come to work. Working through the day with a few caffeine refills in between and a few idle chit-chats with a few co-workers, the working day is almost over. Making a few finishing touches in his work Jack starts to slowly pack up his things and head back home. And just as he was about to head to the elevator - it already closed.

'Well, no rush then, I guess' he sighs and starts to wait for the next elevator. To skip some time Jack gets out his phone to check for updates on his favourite novels. And as he waits for the novel application to load, Jack can't but get weirded out by how the illumination from the setting sun is more brighter than the artificial illumination in the building.

"Is it really evening for it to be..." he didn't get a chance to finish his mumbling, when all of the lights went out on the floor he was in.

"What the..." Jack got so surprised that he even dropped his phone.

Picking up his phone Jack tried to check the time. But no matter how long he tried to turn on his phone, the result was negative.

'Great, did my phone actually broke? I just bought it a few weeks ago' he sighs and tries to ask the time from his nearby co-workers. But soon he was amazed at the fact that none of his co-workers were able to turn their gadgets on. Only a man, that looked around 40 years old, with an old-fashioned mechanical watch, was able to tell the time which was around 8 P.M. It sounded plausible as Jack worked overtime today. But as it was already late autumn it was quite dark outside already.

A few females worked overtime today too, so he heard them gossiping quite actively now. Waiting a few minutes till his eyes get more accustomed to the darkness, Jack moved back into the office to check how much of the city got a blackout. But when he approached the windows facing the city, he only got dumbfounded at scene of a fully blacked out city. Jack didn't even managed to force a word out of himself, as the picture he saw before him was a first in all of his 20 years of living in society.

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