<strong>-- Hester Valdenor - Marty's House -- </strong><br/><hr/><br/><em>"Arxidi!"</em>Hester swore loudly, knocking the old man none-too-lightly in the arm as he started laughing.  "Nearly gave me a god damn heart attack over here, ya geezer!"<br/><br/>They couldn't see one another's faces in the dark, but her lips were drawn into a steadily tightening scowl.  Her dark skin paled all the more when the futile flicking of the flashlight produced no light.  She hadn't expected it to in the first place, but more and more she was coming to realize that this was far from any ordinary blackout.  It was like God had just flipped a switch and turned off all the damn power in the world, all at once.  She shuddered at the thought that other cities might have been affected.<br/><br/>Thankfully striking one of the matches from her pocket actually managed to produce a flame, casting strange shadows across the gathered faces and making their nervousness blatantly apparent.<br/><br/>"Six already?" Gerry said conversationally, hoping to lighten the mood.  "Christ, I remember when she was still the size of a grapefruit!"<br/><br/>"Yeah yeah, adorable," Hester muttered irritably.  She loved Amber as much as everyone else in town, but she wasn't in the mood for small talk.  "Marty, say hello to Assholes #1 through #4.  Assholes, Marty."<br/><br/>The oldest of the assholes just shot her a glare.  "The name's Richard, bitch!"<br/><br/>"Dick?  Figures."<br/><br/>Richard looked just about ready to tackle her over the damn cake when the second oldest grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back, muttering something about the size of Marty's biceps.<br/><br/>"Look," Hester said.  "Something's fuckin' wrong here, and I aim to find out what.  Marty, there were people bloody and cryin' in the damn streets all the way over here.  We haven't been to town yet, but the way the screams are carryin' I doubt they're faring much better over there either.  Are Amber or her folks here?  There's no telling what those scumbag looters and rioters might pull."