Bad Luck

"Mister O'Brian?!" Pa-kun called as he banged on the door, just about the only way to be heard in this storm.

A crack of lightning lit up the area, followed by a boom of thunder so violent that the walls of the buildings shook. Pa-kun winced, ducking underneath the shop's awning so that it was not him who was to be struck if lightning decided once again to roll overhead. As he leaned into the door he felt it give way and slide open. The bell over the door rang, to alert the shopkeeps of entering customers. As Pa-kun looked around he would notice the front counter was sans an O'Brian. He couldn't spot any of his sons about either. The shop was pitch black, a foreboding sense of insecurity filled the room as reflections from the glass display cases would shift and flash with every rattling gust of wind or flash of lightning. Inside Pa-kun could no longer hear the thunder so loudly, but neither could he hear the old grandfather clock that often skipped the twelfth bell where it often rang a melodious song. Even if it was slow, it was right at least once a day and sometimes rang at the stroke of twelve as it was meant to.

Pa-kun turned the corner into the Hall that led to a stairwell which connected the O'Brian's shop, via a stairwell, to their home apartment. Pa-kun looked up and spied a dim light emanating from beneath the door. He would climb the steps, being sure to call out first.

"Mister O'Brian!" All this just to find the shop vac. “Anyone... the front was open!” He tucked his hands into his pockets and slumped his shoulders forward.

Pa-kun would climb to the top of the steps and knock on the apartment door, but in the stead of the voice he was expecting he would hear a familiar tone rumbling, as if in the other room. Was it Missus O’Brian? It sounded as if she was talking on the phone, which would explain why she couldn’t hear him in the first place. Calling out to them again, he followed through to grab the knob and twist, finding it too unlocked as well. Pushing open the door to what appeared to be a scene out of a detective drama. The steps opened up into a living room that had a couch and a few shelves along the walls where a dining area was to the right before leading into a hall that led to the bedrooms and to the left of that, straight through the living room was the kitchen. Strewn all about the apartment’s living area were papers and books. The coffee table found in the was flipped over. Turning his head up he spotted the dress of the lady O'Brian flutter in the kitchen before he moved in.

“Missus O’Brian!” He called again so she was not startled by his approach. “You okay?” A feeling began to settle into the pit of his stomach as he slowly approached the threshold to the kitchen, head moving to peer inside, but before he could cross it a kitchen knife embedded itself against the frame of the walkway.

“You’re one of them!” She shrill voice of the frail woman rang with such intensity Pa-kun staggered back.

He would trip over the loose, wet fabric of his own clothing before landing on the ground. From this advantage he could see the body of Mister O’Brian under the kitchen’s small table. His skin was pallid and his eyes wide open. He made no sound as his mouth moved, hand lifelessly grabbing at nothing. Further inspection granted Pa-kun sight of the cleaver skewered through his neck. Missus O’Brian was not a strong woman, by any means, nor was she violent or unstable. She could be a bit temperamental, but the most of her distresses were a simple case of her husband’s stubbornness. She wore a colorful dress and a white apron splattered with blood. Pa-kun looked up toward the manic woman as she struggled to wretch the knife from the wooden frame.

“Get out, get out, get out!” She screeched as the phone receiver fell from her shoulders and swung precariously from its hook as she struggled to free her weapon of choice. Pa-kun could hear the operator’s tone at the end of the line. She was trying to get through the line, but the power in their shop was out.

It wasn’t uncommon for some blocks and homes to be affected by a power outage and others not as the old grids were sporadically built and maintained with the unplanned growth of the township. O’Brian had a habit of flirting with pretty young faces, so maybe in an argument the missus had enough and tried to call for help. He tried to rationalize the scene before him, but as the lady O’Brian freed the knife Pa-kun found his feet and pushed up from the ground, turning as he made a push to run! He would slip and stumble down the stairwell, hitting the bottom and the old grandfather clock which struck twelve and angrily tolled at his impact. His eyes went wide as he realized the pain that shot through his leg. He twisted his ankle. The loosely tied boots and wet floor had become his end. Brown eyes hazily drifted up toward the rampaging missus, tears filling his vision we the pain burned through his resolve.

"You're one of them!!" She screamed as the knife came down, her eyes wide and empty.

Come the morning the storm would finally pass. While many of the roads were still flooded life continues as normal, or as normal as it could be. Worried families would attempt to contact those who had yet to return home. Many were stuck on the other side of the bridge while the river was flooded and others had not been able to contact family as some grids were knocked out making communications difficult. Nathan sat on the step of his front door as his younger siblings played in the front yard. Nikki seemed to have been teaching them a cheer while Jon paced back and forth trying to get his call to go through. He had forgotten to contact his sister after getting into playing games, but when the power went out fear cut through him. Nathan tapped his music player. It was off for now, to conserve the battery. Raising his head to look towards his panicking friend he would consider the last conversation he had with his uncle. Tapping his hands together he would push to stand and walk towards Jon, clapping his hand on his shoulder. Jon looked back to his friend, knowing all this did was waste his phone’s battery. He would nod and tuck the phone into his back pocket.

“Let’s go eat. Nothing we can do for now.” Nathan went back towards the door, only to stop when he realized Jon wasn’t following him.