The Black Out

Written by Joshua Lee Prentice

The Blackout

I was hiking in the mountains looking for a new meditation spot in order to clear my head when I pulled out my weather radio, and sat down in front of a tree. Only to hear a radio broadcast claiming that the world had suffered a huge internet blackout, and that everything was in chaos. Then the radio reception faded out, and I could not hear anything. So I packed my backpack up and put my radio away, and started hiking towards the nearest mountainside where I could set up camp away from everyone else. I had always been a drifter priest type. I had know interest in the rest of what the world had to offer. I felt I had a higher purpose. The code that I lived by consisted of these things: never obsess over material things. Help others when you can, live positively, love deeply, and remember above all things loyalty, honor, integrity, and death before dishonor. These are the most important to remember. Once I arrived, at the mountainside. I started the climb up. I climbed for a good 30 minutes. Until I reached the cave in the lower side of the mountain, and that's where I set up camp inside the cave.

It took me about an hour to set up camp completely. I was finished around the time for the sun to set. Afterwards I ventured out, and killed a couple of rabbits. Then I brought them back to camp skinned them trimmed off the fat, and cooked them over a camp fire. After dinner I laid down to go to sleep. When I heard what sounded like a wolf. So I grabbed my crossbow, my bone handle knife, and a torch. I made with a huge branch, and a white t-shirt drenched in lamp oil. I ventured towards the howling as quickly as I could. Then right

before I got close enough to recognize what it truly was I noticed that there were human body parts lying everywhere all around me. That's when I looked up and saw a werewolf standing close to me. It was drooling and snarling. With blood stains all over him. I looked closely into his eye’s. In order to distract him a bit.

Then I stabbed him threw the heart with my bone handle knife. In which the blade was made with silver. Once it penetrated his flesh. He started to catch fire, and burn from within. Until he was disintegrated completely. Afterwards there was nothing left but a pile of ash’s laying before me. It was at that point that I began looking around. Wondering what I would find that might be connected to this encounter. But I found nothing that night. So I hiked back up to my cave alone, and finally went to sleep. When I woke up I cleaned up my camp site, and I climbed back down the lower side of the

mountain. and started hiking further ahead. Until I reached a diner. I was hungry so I stopped in to have breakfast. After I ate I asked the waitress if she knew the phone number to a cab. That would take me further out into the city. She said I wish I could tell you of one. But after the black out no phone lines work, and there are no cell phone towers working anywhere either. She said the only reason the diners still open is were an old fashioned diner who refused to evolve with the technical advancements of this generation. So we were never threatened of losing anything, accept the phone lines. I told her I understood. Then I asked her to bag my sandwich, and chips. As I was going to start hiking to my next destination. So she did, and I left. I hiked about 4 miles up the road. Until a truck driver gave me a ride. He took me as far as Cleveland Ohio, and dropped me off at the Cleveland bus station. I purchased a bus ticket into Toronto Canada. Once I had arrived. I Set up camp in a wooded part of the Canadian Mountains, after a while I built me a cabin, and

soon I was content with leaving everything behind me. Sometimes I would regret that I Left everything I knew behind me but very little as I was pretty satisfied with everything in the bigger span of things.

Until one night out of know where a traveler showed up at my door. He was a suspicious looking fella with dark eyes and a mysterious way about him. He asked if he could come in just to warm himself up I replied with sure, you can. So I invited him inside and told him to sit by the fire. After that, I got him a clean pair of clothes. Because he looked about my height and my size. So I knew he would fit my clothes just fine. I asked him if he liked herbal tea. He said yes, very much so. I made him, and afterwards we sat in

front of the fire silently watching the flames as they burned brightly into the night warming both of us up

to the point that I dozed off. But when I woke up he was gone. I went to the window to see if I could see footprints in the snow. Only to find what looked like huge animal footprints so I got my winter coat, and snow boots on, and I followed the tracks deep into the woods. Trying to see if this nice man was hurt in any way or form. I climbed up the hill that was located in front of the mountainside. That’s when I saw him. It was a werewolf. The beast stood 6 feet tall. Luckily I brought my silver bone handle knife with me on this small venture. Of course when I started approaching him I did so with extreme caution. But once I was up close to him I jumped, and latched onto his back with my knife stabbing him in the back of the neck. Almost instantly killing it.

As he slowly fell to the ground he started to change back into himself. I was astonished at what I saw in the end. It was the man that needed my help. Wow! I was blown away. He must have climbed away from my home. In order to keep from harming me. During his transformation. I went closer to him. I explained that I did not know it was him. Or I would have tried to help him. He smiled at me, and said You already have helped me I’m finally free then he turned to ashes laying in front of me and blew away in the wind. After that I walked back to my cabin, and went to bed. The next day, after I had eaten breakfast, I went into town and laid some money down in order to rent office space. Then I went to the local graphic designer and paid him to create a sign for my office. With the title Grim Inc., after I got the sign, I hung it on the front of my office building. I had opened the first werewolf research company. I am going to find the actual cure for werewolf venom, and to think all of this came from a worldwide blackout, who would have ever guessed that?