Silent Descent

James woke to silence. His CPAP machine had stopped. His phone was dead despite being plugged

in all night. His wife's phone too. Outside their Topeka home,

the entire city had gone dark. No power. No cars starting. No phones working.

Neighbors gathered in driveways, pointing at the sky where fiery streaks had torn

through the night. One had punched straight through the elementary school roof a block away,

leaving a gaping hole but no explosion. Just silence. People who'd been at baseball games,

backyard barbecues, swimming pools, all watched as every light in the city died at once.

James, a security officer for twenty years, knew his instincts. This wasn't a normal