And The Moment Was Lost

*SMACK!*

The clear goo gushed from in between his fingers and the eight-legged bug had met its doom. This arachnid eradication was not romantic but it had to be done after it had mounted an attack on his companion. She wasn't particularly afraid of spiders but, the man was very in love with the woman beside him.

"Gross!" She exclaimed, "You got that on me!"

Remorse came over his face and came out in his words, "Sorry babe." He said this as he wiped the spider guts on his pants. She made a further grossed-out face and he just smiled wryly. He knew he would never break his habit of wiping his hands on his pants.

The two of them were on their hands and knees crawling through a long air vent. His flashlight was the only light aside from the square grated holes in the bottom of the metal shaft. This air vent in particular hadn't been cleaned in a long time and many spiders crawled around with the two love birds.

With one less spider to deal with, they continued on their mission. Stealthily they moved, checking each vent along the way searching for a certain room with a certain switch. Even in such an unromantic setting the two lovers still looked like a couple. Love flowed like a river between them.

When they found the right room he handed her the flashlight to lift the grate. He slipped through but as he went she grabbed his arm to whisper, "I love you." With a smile, he says it back and hits the floor. He surveys the room and his eyes widen at the sight of all of the switches, screens, buttons, and gauges. An overwhelming feeling came over him.

He started to mumble to himself, "Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?" Disappointment fills his bones when he realizes that he might be in the wrong room. He doesn't hear anyone coming yet, but time is not on his side. He took a deep breath then spotted it! A smile takes over his face.

"Hey, babe!" He called up to his love, "It's time!"

With that, she let down a rope and he flipped the switch, then broke it off. With a moment's hesitation to watch the little green light fade out he held his breath. Darkness cascaded through the control board then the whole room was dark. This same cascade effect didn't stop at the control board, or even the control room, the entire city went dark with a silent wave. The darkness of the night engulfed everything.

With her flashlight shining through the vent as a beacon he made his way to the rope. She held as tight as she could as he climbed his way up. Once back in the vent they hastily crawled through the vent listening to the chaos churning through the power plant.

A smile came over their faces as a particularly loud manager shouted in anger. It sounded like someone was going to lose their job. At this moment, they couldn't think about any of this though. This moment was theirs.

"There!" She shouted with excitement, "A way up!"

He followed her pointed finger through the grate to the stair access. After another venture through a grate, they burst into the stair access. They take the stairs two at a time, laughing the whole way up. When they reach the roof, it takes their breath away. With every single man-made light turned off, Mother Nature's lights all shined bright. The two kissed under what they had done for each other, then the backup generator came on And The Moment Was Lost.