GridBlackout
Olivia Harper ♀️

12
Olivia Harper sat in her darkened apartment, staring at the thickening smoke on the horizon. A day had passed since the power went out and her sister, Alexa, promised to come for her. The silence in her sixth-floor apartment felt suffocating, broken only by the occasional distant shouts and sirens.
That evening, her neighbor, Mr. Harlan, knocked on the door. He held an old flashlight and a can of soup.
“You doing okay in there, kid?” he asked.
“I’m waiting for my sister,” Olivia replied firmly.
“Waiting won’t keep that fire out,” he said, nodding toward the faint orange glow beyond the city. “You need a backup plan.”
“I don’t need one,” she snapped. “Alexa will come.”
Harlan frowned but didn’t push her. “Alright, but if you need help, you know where to find me.”
The next morning, the air was hotter, the smoke heavier. Olivia rationed what little water and food she had left. Her emergency bag, carefully packed by Alexa, sat untouched in the corner. The fire was creeping closer.
Harlan returned that evening with a grim look. “We need to leave,” he said bluntly. “That fire’s gonna hit this block soon.”
“I’m not leaving her behind,” Olivia insisted.
“She’s not coming,” Harlan said, his voice soft but firm. “If she could’ve made it, she’d be here by now.”
Olivia stared at him, her resolve cracking. The truth was undeniable—something must have stopped Alexa. But what?