The Long Fall of Night: The Long Fall of Night Book 1 Read Free Page B

quiet, and the calm he felt in his element among the books and formulas gave him a much-needed sense of security.
    Until the lights went out.
    There were gasps of surprise from the other students, and the crash of glass as someone dropped their flask. The silence was suffocating as the vents, usually so much white noise, ceased blowing and the fluorescents’ regular hum disappeared. The quiet lasted a few seconds before the entire class spoke at once.
    “Everyone remain calm,” Dr. Hunt intoned, his deep baritone cutting through the sudden chatter. “This building has a generator. It’ll kick on in a moment.”
    Ash sat on his stool, eyes widened in a futile attempt to see through the inky black. His heart pounded.
    This is it. He stepped away from the table full of chemicals, fumbled for his Zippo, and struck it.
    “Mr. Caine,” Dr. Hunt snapped. “Put the flame away this instant.”
    “Relax, sir,” Ash said with confidence. “I’m not near the experiments.”
    “Regardless, the lights will be back on shortly, and this room contains more compounds than just tonight’s work. Extinguish your flame or receive a failing grade,” Dr. Hunt warned.
    “What are you doing?” Elliot hissed. “Put it out.”
    He did as he was told, blinking as his eyes adjusted. Another student whined their cellphone wouldn’t power up so she could access the flashlight app, while her partner pulled out her keys, which held a tiny yet powerful MAGLITE. Ash could have pulled his phone from the protected cookie tin, but he didn’t want to fumble with all that in the dark. Besides, he feared battery life had just become precious.
    Carefully, he picked a path through the tables to the window on the opposite side of the room, dread gnawing his gut like a rodent in a fast-food dumpster. He almost didn’t want to look, but he had to.
    The entire city was dark.
    Someone came up behind him and gasped. “It’s all out,” Elliot said, standing so close Ash felt his breath on the back of his neck.
    The class crowded the three windows in the room, trying to see the dark swath of nothingness beyond the glass. New York City was totally black. Ash took a good look, knowing he was witnessing history.
    “What does that mean?” one guy asked.
    “Power is out everywhere, duh,” someone answered.
    “Wait, no it’s not. Look.”
    In the distance, lights winked on. Maybe a hospital or an office building, Ash surmised, realizing generators were powering up. It seemed Dr. Hunt’s prediction of the building’s unit was off the mark, however. The room remained dark and silent, except for the shuffle of feet and people pulling out their phones only to mutter when not all of them lit up. Elliot went back to their station and sat.
    Dr. Hunt rummaged in his storeroom and returned with a large flashlight, setting it on his desk to point at the ceiling. The glow left the corners dark, but provided enough light for Ash to see. He strode to his seat and stepped around Elliot, who’d picked up a pen and was tapping it against his notebook. If he thought Ash was sticking around until class was over, he was so very wrong.
    “Hey, does anyone have a phone?” someone called. “Mine is dead. I could have sworn I charged it before I left home.”
    “Cell towers will probably be out anyway. They run on power, too,” Elliot said.
    “No.” The guy frowned at his phone, fingers growing increasingly frantic trying to call the screen to life. “It’s totally dead.”
    “Mine seems okay,” his lab partner said, showing hers. “No signal though.”
    Ash bent to grab his backpack from beneath the table, hefting it and no longer cursing its extra weight. “Pack up, Elliot.”
    “Mr. Caine.” Dr. Hunt frowned, his bushy mustache twitching in disapproval as his forehead wrinkled with his raised eyebrows. His receding hairline was only a hint in the dimness from the flashlight. Ash barely glanced his way. “Where are you going?”
    To drag my stubborn sister