Blackout

Thursday 15th July 2013, 14:30pm

“Wait!” Sara called out grabbing Jude’s arm when they were only a couple metres away from the island.

‘What now?’ his eyes were saying, but still he stopped.

“I think I can see something back on the island,” she breathed heavily, gesturing behind her. Jude’s eyes followed her pointing arm, his eyes narrowing with caution, yet he immediately followed her back to land without a word. It was weird how he almost look resigned or dismayed as they crawled out of the water. It was as if he wanted to swim and was not shocked at all by the row of canoe boats that Sara had luckily glimpsed before. She hadn’t been so sure in the water as a row of trees were conveniently blocking and hiding the boats from view. But now she stood triumphantly beside them. Her clothes were absolutely drenched, but now they had been saved from that dreadful swim! Sara couldn’t help but do a little happy dance on the spot, ignoring the lessening pain in her ankle.

“Say it,” she teased Jude, “Come on, admit it. I did good didn’t I?”

After a while, somewhat reluctantly he answered, “Yeah you did good.” He smiled, already pushing one of the wooden boats into the water as if he knew what he was doing. “Any chance of you helping me row?” he smiled back quickly silencing the happy Sara.

Still she wasn’t quiet for long, the little cogs in her brain slowly turning again. “Wait a second, something’s not right. Why are these boats here exactly? I mean look there’s so many of them,” Sara exclaimed burrowing deeper into the bush as she brushed aside branches and leaves to reveal two more rows of canoes. Jude stood with his arms across his chest looking not at the boats but at her. He was watching her silently with one of his serious superior stares. Ignoring him Sara continued, “They all even have the same name; Dove. And look, on some of the boats the wood round the side is quite damp as if they’ve been taken out recently. Odd right?” Sara finished, finally turning towards Jude. They stood regarding each other, Sara just waiting and daring for him to doubt her.

“It’s been raining,” Jude finally said before stepping into the boat, holding the oars in his hands, “Ready?”

Sara frowned as climbed in and sat opposite him. She was so not going to let this go. She opened her mouth to speak again, but Jude was quick to cut her off.

“So, what are your friends like?”

“My friends?” Sara repeated, slightly baffled. She hadn’t been expecting that.

“Yes, your friends. As in the people you hang around with,” Jude said, pulling on the oars. “I’m just wondering what kind of people, forget that they’ve left their friend behind on a manmade island.”

Sara shook her head, “They probably thought I was still sitting with you on the bus ride back. As soon as the bus arrived they probably realised and did everything they could to make Mr. Kerry go back, they’re probably on their way right now,” Sara said defensively. “My friends aren’t like that. Take Taylor for instance, she’s my best friend and simply wouldn’t forget me.”

“Uh-huh. What she’s like?”

“What, Taylor?”

“No, the invisible person sitting next to you.”

Sara chewed her lip. “Well, Taylor’s Taylor. She’s always texting, she lives like next door to me but her hometown is actually somewhere outside Media City. Her birthday is February 14th - Valentine’s day. She has no siblings and is currently single,” Sara finished with a smile glad to know her friend so well. It quickly disappeared though when Jude began to laugh. “What’s so funny? I don’t see any of your friends coming to rescue us?

“I just moved here. I don’t really know anyone yet,” Jude smiled, unfazed by her accusation. “What’s so funny is that you just listed the list of details on someone’s ‘info’ section on Lifebook.”

“I did not,” Sara gasped a little unsure. She couldn’t have could she? Besides what was the big deal, it wasn’t like she truly did not know her best friend. She didn’t have anything to prove Jude.

“And the others?” Jude continued with his questioning unaware of Sara’s discomfort. Sara had for once found herself speechless. She was now reluctant to answer and more cautious of what to say next. How well did she know her friends? She had lived with some of them her whole entire life. Yet thinking about it now, she didn’t really know that much about them. Nina was always flaunting every boring detail of her life so that when it came to talking to her it wasn’t something you really wanted to do. Taylor and Nathan were quite alike in that they were always so quiet. They were both submerged in a world of their own. Luther was the person she had known the longest, as he was her cousin, and yet when they did talk it was always about school of the latest invention his dads company had created. And now here she was with Jude someone she had only met that day and she already felt strangely safe and calm in his presence. She may not have known everything about him but in a way she knew a lot. She knew he was smart (as much as she didn’t want to admit it), experienced a lot of mood changes when one moment he was all teasing and fun and then the next super serious. But he was very determined. Even now he wasn’t complaining as he rowed them to shore and Sara found herself idly watching his arm muscles flex as he worked the oars. Yes, he was very determined and helpful; he had found food on the island, and yet he hadn’t found the boats? Now it was Sara’s turn to defiantly cross her arms across her chest. There was something Jude wasn’t telling her.

She was about to approach him on the subject when she was interrupted by the loud squealing of tires on tarmac. A lone car was racing across the road going at an incredible speed. They were now near land enough to see a woman pull her car to a screeching halt at the ferry side. Jude laid the oars carefully inside of the boat as they drifted towards some steps coming out from the water and leading up to the pier. Sara took Jude’s hand as he helped her out of the boat. They left the canoe boat floating besides the larger ferry boat and climbed onto the pier. Sara sighed a heavy sigh of relief as she once again felt solid ground beneath her feet. The woman in the car had rolled down her window and was now waving them over. Jude raised his eyebrow at Sara as they both shared a look of disbelief but they both walked over to her car.

“Hello!” she called out breathlessly, as if she had been running along race. “I’m so glad I finally found someone. You see I think I’m lost, my Auto Drive in the car wasn’t working and I’ve been driving blindly round and round in circles for hours.”

Neither of them could get in a word edge ways as the woman continued to speak from where she was sitting in the car.

“You don’t have a map in your car?” Jude questioned raising an eyebrow. The woman just looked at him as if he was crazy.

“Your Auto Drive isn’t working?” Sara repeated skeptically.

“Of course with the blackout and all…” she stopped mid sentence when she saw from their faces they really had no idea.

“If you don’t mind me asking, Mrs.…” Jude asked.

“Herondale,” she replied.

“Is everything okay Mrs. Herondale?”

“Okay!” she exclaimed, fixing the two with a horrified stare. “You mean you don’t know! Under cover of the storm this afternoon the power plant was attacked again causing another power cut. Only it mustn’t only have been the power plant as all mobiles are down as well. I thought it was just me when I saw the no signal sign on my cell.” Seeing the stunned expressions on the teenager’s faces, she quickly continued. “It’s been horrible. With no electricity trains have collided, traffic lights have gone crazy and people have been hurt. There’s even been trouble at the airport. It’s been devastating! Thankfully, I was safe at home on my computer. I’m a journalist you see, and I was working on a very important article when it just shut down on me! I lost all my work and the article needs to be handed in by eight this evening, so that’s why I was driving out of town. My cousin lives nearby and I’m sure she has a computer…”

Sara had stopped listening by then. Too many thoughts were already racing through her mind. Her mum was supposed to be a flight home today. Now she understood why no one had come looking for them. Just the thought of a power cut had her mind going whirling. It had to be absolute utter chaos in the city at the moment. Had the class even got home safely themselves?

“What about back up power supply systems?” Jude interrupted. “How long has this even been going on?”

“A couple hours!” she cried, her hands tightening round the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white.

“Poor woman, she sounds so confused,” Jude whispered in Sara’s ear as Mrs. Herondale nattered on and on.

Sara ignored him. It was nice to be in the company of someone normal for a change, all that worrying and panicking had given her a headache.

“Mrs. Herondale,” Jude smiled sweetly when she was done, his face suddenly the picture of innocence. “We’re kind of stuck here from this school trip and well it’s a long story. But let’s just say we really need to get home.”

“Urgently,” Sara added ignoring a look from Jude. Still, she was rather unsure about this. The woman looked friendly enough. She must have been somewhere in her late forties with short brown, graying hair and warm hazel eyes. She was wearing a fluffy pink cardigan and long denim skirt and looked normal enough. It was the way she was gripping her hand bag and staring at them with wide eyes that had Sara worried.

“Yes, yes, of course you poor things you’re soaking wet! Of course I can offer you a ride back to the city, though I was actually on my way out,” she said hurriedly opening the doors for them and practically shoving them inside.

“Oh, well that’s okay. We can wait for someone else,” Sara hinted uneasily at Jude, but he was already inside; making himself at home, winding down the window with his hands behind head. Sighing, Sara sat back in the small car still shivering from her cold clothes and prayed that Mrs. Herondale would get them home quickly.