<sup><strong><tt class="bbc_tt"><tt class="bbc_tt">side note</tt></tt>I am not sure where to put this so I placed it here since it seems the best bet. It's not really NC but it is certainly not light. If someone has a better location then please let me know</strong></sup><br/><br/><br/>The day begins like any other. Alarm clocks chime, dogs bark and people start their day. It's normal and slightly boring in its predictability.<br/>Classes at the local college are the usual mix of conservative teachers preaching to liberal students and liberal teachers preaching to conservative students. Boring, bland.<br/><br/>The sun moves across the sky and the day passes. Classes end and, for students at least, the fun can begin.<br/><br/>It's just starting to get dark out when the dogs start barking. It's a frenzied howl that echos through the city. From end to end the pack howls and growls, throwing themselves against doors. Something....something is happening<br/><br/>The street lamps flicker, then go out. There's no dramatic pop to signal a blown bulb and no desperate flicker like there is before the power cuts out. The lights just flicker once then silently go out.<br/>Odd, has there been a city wide power outage?<br/><br/>From the streets, screaming is suddenly heard. Breaks have suddenly quit and while cars are no longer propelled forward, their momentum is more then enough to cause accidents. The screaming grows louder, deafening, as panicked bystanders find their phones aren't working!<br/><br/>One man, a popular teacher, is pinned between a building and an overturned pick up. The driver, a young student, stands screaming next to him. Her phone is out but no matter what button she presses, the screen remains black.<br/>The teacher is choking on his blood, coughing it over the windshield before, almost suddenly, going limp.<br/><br/>The cops on beat begin to scream instructions. “go! Go home! Stay inside!” One fires his gun to get the students attention, then stares at it in confusion as nothing happens. He fires again and again, then finally throws it down in disgust. “piece of shit” He mutters as he draws his nightstick.<br/><br/>“go indoors and stay there!” He advances on a group of students, standing in shocked horror on the side of the road. “Go inside!” The large cop pushes them forward and the group disperses, stumbling towards the dorms.<br/><br/>There's an odd crackle pop on his radio “r...p....rt....w..wh.....pp...” then nothing. He looks down and presses the call button “please repeat base” A second later “base, repeat”<br/><br/>The cop shrugs it off, he has bigger worries. Already there's looting. College students and local teens throw rocks in windows and make off with the electronics and diamonds. The cop wants to stop them but knows against such a large group....<br/><br/>He turns and ambles towards the station “Inside!” He barks at each stunned group. “Go inside and stay there!”<br/><br/>He promises to send aid, making a note of each wounded in his notepad. He knows that many of the friends and loved ones will not survive the night.<br/><br/>The hospital is en route and he slips in, looking around at the chaos. Wounded are being dragged in and the staff has no where to put them. Wound sink to the floor, collapse on chairs and wait. Doctors curse and nurses rush blindly about.<br/><br/>“nurse! Morphine!” One doctor orders then curses as the nurse replies. “we're out! I've tried calling....but I can't get through! Everything's dead. We have 5 patients open on the operating table and we can't SEE! The generator didn't kick in! We have no power at all!”<br/><br/>The doctor glances up, spits out a curse, then returns to stitching up the pregnant woman. “If you're able to walk you should go home. This place is only going to get worse. Lock yourself inside”<br/>He finishes and stands, moving to the next patient.<br/><br/>The cop watches for a moment, silent then leaves. He can't help here and they won't be saving any of the wounded on the street. His grip tightens on his nightstick, this is an unheard of attack. But that is the only explanation. Someone hit this town with a massive EMP.<br/><br/>He spits on the ground, the continues walking. He spots someone he knows, an aspiring cop by the name of Jonathon Melre. “Mr Melre!” He calls out, walking towards him “You should be inside.”<br/><br/>It's fully dark out and the cop seems to realize this for the first time. He reaches for his belt and pulls free the flashlight. It clicks, then clicks again. “No light either. Fuckers”<br/><br/>The cop, Peter Bennet looks at Jonathon “I need your help. There's rioting and looting. My radio isn't working so I can't call for backup. I want you to help get the students inside ok? I don't want innocents caught up in the violence”<br/><br/>Bennets normally jovial face is lined with worry and fear darkens his eyes  “I can't find other cops, I've seen a few dead. I wouldn't be asking for your help but....” He shakes himself  “you're a good kid and you'll make a good cop. Get others to safety and keep them safe ok?”