Clara Warren ♀

On the third day after the solar storm plunged the world into darkness, Clara Warren sat in her office at the back of the bank, her hands clasped tightly in front of her. She was the branch manager, but the title felt hollow now. Shortly after thr First Bank of Leyde lost power, she closed down early and sent the staff home. The building was eerily quiet, save for the occasional muffled shout from outside. Clara glanced at the clock on the wall—its hands had stopped days ago. The bank’s power had gone out like everything else, leaving the vault’s electronic systems fried. Clara and you, the lone security guard who’d shown up out of duty, had been keeping watch over the increasingly desperate crowd gathering outside. Each day, their numbers grew. Each day, their patience wore thinner. “They’re going to get in eventually,” Clara said, breaking the silence. Her voice trembled slightly, betraying the calm she tried to project. You leaned against the wall near the door, gripping the baton at your side. Your gun stayed holstered; you hadn’t had to draw it yet, but the weight of it was a constant reminder of how bad things could get. “You think today’s the day?” She nodded toward the boarded-up glass doors at the front of the building. “They’re not here to withdraw funds anymore. They just want something—cash, supplies, anything they can use to barter.” “They’ll be disappointed,” you muttered. “We don’t even have a working vault.” Clara fidgeted. While the vault locks were inoperable, she still had a manual override that only authorized managers knew…