Chapter One

February 10th, 2015.

It was a normal day like any other. I was finally at home after a long day of school. It was
around seven when it happened. But everything looked so ordinary...I don't think anything
could have prepared me for what was about to happen. Mom was in her room using the
computer, my siblings were in the living room, Mia was watching tv while Charlie played with
his Ipad. The usual, same thing, different day. I was laying in my bed, waiting for my dad to get
home, he took my laptop for a work conference and I had absolutely nothing to do. But the
moment he opened the door, I knew something was wrong. That look in his eyes filled with fear
and guilt.
-What the hell happened to you? I asked confused.
-I-Ive done something terrible. And Im afraid theres no way of remedy it. We have to get
out of here. And we have to do it now. He said stammering and avoiding eye contact.
Before I could say anything else, he ran to his room and tried to talk to mom. But she was so
busy on the computer that she didn't even pay attention to him, it was like talking to a wall. He
went back to living room and told my siblings to go and pack their stuff, but they didn't even
move, what they were doing was way more interesting. Thats when he lost control. He yelled
at us, moved things around, desperately trying to get us out of the house, but no matter how
hard he tried, no one listened. Finally, he gave in. He grabbed me by the shoulders, looked
straight into my eyes and said to me in a very serious tone.
-Jeremiah, listen to me very carefully. There is no time left. The mistake I've done can change
the world forever. I'm not exaggerating. This is extremely serious, and you will have to try to
fix it for me. See this? Take it. Don't let anyone know that you have it. Even if something
happens to me. Keep it safe. Do you understand?
And then he handed me something that looked like a keychain, I hold tight to it. My dad
hugged me, and I knew that was the last hug he would ever give me. He let go of me, and went
outside. He was just there, waiting. Waiting for something to actually happen. I didn't know
what to think. what to expect, what to do. I went to my parents room, my mom was on
facebook like nothing was happening. I couldn't understand how ignoring the problem, could
solve it. And before I could say a word to her, I heard a loud noise, I ran to the living room and
discreetly looked through the window.
There was a black truck, and several men wearing suits came out of it .I saw how they carried
my dad by force, how they took him away.
I sat on the floor, my heart was beating fast, so damn fast I could hear it. I just stared at my
siblings, trying to find an answer. What the hell was I supposed to do? What the hell just
happened? What the hell did my dad do? I was so pissed at my dad. I was just an average
seventeen year old kid, who now thanks to him, had carry the weight of the world on his
shoulders.
And then, without any kind of warning, in the most unexpected way, everything turned dark.
The lights went off, not only in my house but in the whole street, in the whole neighborhood, in
the whole city, in the whole world. Everything was quiet for a moment and suddenly all I could
hear were screams, chaos, desperation. I walked outside and stood on the yard, I saw how the
world around me collapsed. The cars stopped moving, there were all standing on the freeway,
an airplane crashed near by, the hospital shut down, all the electricity that lighted up the world
had turned off, and it looked like it wouldn't come back anytime soon.

Chapter Two
February 11th, 2015. A police officer knocked door by door, asking all the people to go to the
city hall, where the major would tell us how to survive to this catastrophe. My mom, Mia,
Charlie and I were one of the first persons to arrive. Charlie wouldn't stop crying over the fact
that he wanted to play with his Ipad, he was only 4 years old, I mean he couldnt understand.
No matter how much we tried to explain him, he wouldnt stop complaining. But he was too
young to understand, not even I could understand what was going on. After a while, the place
was filled and the major began his speech:
-Ladies and gentlemen may I have your attention please? I know what happened last
night has been quite impacting, but we all need to remain calm. Although we rely on
electronics for our daily lives, we must find a way to live without them for a short
period of time. The government is trying to bring the electricity back on, we still don't
know why the power went out. We are doing everything we can, but for now we will
supply the food to your homes, well give a certain amount of food per family. We
hope, things will go back to normal in a few days. So, please stay in the safety of your
homes, and dont go outside unless its really necessary. Remember, to always be the
light that guides your way.
That was a bunch of crap. Every word coming out of his mouth was . I knew things wouldnt
go back to normal, not even the government knew how to fix this thing. But for how long
could these people remain calm? There was no way people could live without electricity.
We needed it for every single moment of our lives. Without electricity, we obviously had no
light, heat, refrigeration, etc. but that was just the little stuff. Like, everything went down, after
a few weeks what was saved of electricity would grind to a hant. Fuel would run out, water
pumping stations would shut down creating water contamination, satellites would start failing
impeding global communication. So far, Internet had vanish, mobiles, computers, radios,
televisions they were all off, there was no connection anywhere. Without power, the petrol
bowser, didn't work so cars couldn't be of use. Supermarkets couldn't open, because their lights
and cash registers didnt work. ATMs didn't work either, which means there was no money
available. So, why was the majors biggest concern food? Easy, without electricity food
becomes a battle, the population would decay because of starvation. Like nothing electrical
worked, communication, finance, health services and police ceased to function. There was no
food delivery system, no fully stocked grocery stores. If everyone knew that, society would
break down. Chaos and violence would spread very quickly. But without electricity, the
economy wouldnt collapse too? Most financial records were stored electronically, they
depended of power and telecommunications. The government was facing an enormous
problem, and they had an unprotected storage.. They just weren't prepared, but neither were
we. So, what was going to happen when the government couldn't afford to pay everyones
food? For how long could everyone remain calm?
We walked back home, everything was quiet. No one talked, everyone were just trying to
process what happened. No one could believe it, it was like being in a movie. When we got
home, mom locked us in, and we just sat in the living room. We didn't know what to say or
what to do, so we just sat there. The world was so quiet that night, I remember how we all
gathered to see the stars through the window. The world was ending, and mom had that
beautiful smile on her face, that just made anyone feel comfortable. That smile, that made you
believe things would be okay, that made you feel safe. But no matter how safe she made me
feel, deep down there was always something that made me insecure about the new world I was
living in.

February 12th, 2015.
The day, started off fine, it pretended to be a silent, lonely, boring day. After the police officers
stopped by to give us a basket with food, we gathered to have breakfast together like an old-
fashioned family. I was laying on the couch, thinking about dad. It had been 2 days and I hadn't
heard a word from him. Where was him? What was he even doing? Was he trying to fix his
mess? Was he dead?
And then, out of nowhere... Chaos all around us. The city was falling in pieces, people had
gone insane. They all had lost control over this situation, they just didn't know how to handle
it.
-Dj vu. I whispered.
I started laughing as I analyzed the situation. I was just thinking about dad and the whole world
collapsed. Coincidence? I think not. I looked through the window, while mom took my siblings
to their room. These people were just insane, they were destroying everything in their way, they
robbed in others peoples houses. Desperation was taking over them, they stole anything they
thought it could be of use. These people, were trying to survive in a world to the one they no
longer belonged to. I wished cameras still working, because the only thing I wanted to do, was
recorded it. Everything that was happening was just unbelievable, it looked like a freakin
battlefield. The major came with a megaphone, telling everyone to calm down. Uselessly he said:
-Ladies and gentlemen! Please, calm yourselves down! I know, we're all going through a
rough time, but panicking during a crisis, won't help! Everyone, please calm down and go
back to your homes. Reacting like this, won't fix the problem. Everyone! Calm down!
And suddenly, a loud noise quieten everyone down. We heard a BANG! And the major fell to
the ground, dead.

Chapter Three
We stared at the majors dead body, no one talked, no one moved. Everything was quiet, like
today in the morning. We all wanted to find the guilty person, it obviously had to be someone
with a gun... But we didn't have to look for too long, the man snatched the megaphone from the
majors hand and began talking:
-The one who dares to move, will get shot. Everyone! On your knees! I'm glad the
whole town is here to meet their new ruler. My name is James Clapton. You'll see, things
will start to change around here. This stupid attempt to survive to this new world, hasn't
been anything but a pathetic spectacle...Compared to the ones, you will do for me. In a
few hours, all houses will be demolished, and my soldiers will replace them with
something more humble. Does anyone likes history? Well, I was thinking about reverting
us to a 1800s lifestyle. I never liked the way society turned. Im giving the world a
second chance to start over and to do things right. The world was already a mess, but
now, thanks to me, things will go back to get done by hand, and everything will be hard
work Oh, you must be wondering about the humble houses? I made exactly only to the
half of the population. Theres when the show gets interesting. In order to get a house, a
member from each family must to fight to death to get it. But let's finish what we started,
everyone go and steal what you can. This is your last chance, to get things easily.
Because the world you knew is never coming back.
And the chaos began again. It was like someone paused is while this guy talked and as soon as he
was done, the person clicked play again. Everyone attacked aggressively, stealing everything in
their way. If things were bad, they were about to get worst. But there was something I couldnt
understand, if this guy was the villain, my dad was the hero?
I decided to sneak out and steal for my family. Things were about to get worse, so I rather
prepare my family for it. I didn't say a word to mom, I just dissapeared. I ran into Wal-Mart, and
grabbed everything that fitted in the cart. I couldn't see much, because the store didn't have that
much light coming from the windows. Being there was just crazy, a woman wanted to steal my
cart, and some kids tried to stole what was inside of it. I just wanted to get the hell out of there
and go back home.
As I ran through the the panicked crowd, I started to make so theories about this guy. Okay, so
he was going to make us live like in 1800, because he hated modern society. He killed the
major...He must had have a smart plan... Fight to death, I was obviously the one who would have
to do it. So, back to the past, huh? I needed to learn how to get things done myself, if I wanted to
protect my family, I needed to learn how to haunt, how to purify water, learn how to make a
bonfire... Stealing a survival guide from the library sounded like a good idea.
I got home, before sunrise. Mom was really worried and she yelled at me until her lungs hurt.
Although I was pretty pissed, I understood why reacted like that. She didn't want to lose me, like
she lost dad. But, I was doing so much just to keep us together, to find the way to survive. To
save us, I risked my life for this family, and I will have to do it again. And how do I get payed?
Being yelled at? Everything that was happening just unbelievable. I tried relax and calm myself,
I walked into the living room to think things over. And I saw Mia sitting alone, she looked really
upset.
-Whats the matter? I asked worried.
-I just don't know what to think. I miss dad, and I dont know if he's okay. Or if I'm ever seeing
him again, mom keeps avoiding the subject. And I keep drowning in my own thoughts. She
explained, in a low voice.
-Look, I can't promise you things will go back to normal. But I can promise you, I will do
whatever it takes to keep this family together. Don't you worry, I have everything under control.
I smiled at her, trying to comfort her.
-Does...that...mean...you're fighting tomorrow?! She yelled at me.
-Mia, I will be fine. I took fencing classes a few years ago. I know how to defend myself. I said
offended.
-Do you seriously think some stupid girly sword classes are going to protect you? She asked
sarcastically.
-Do you have a better idea? I asked as I walked away.
She could make fun of me as much as she wanted, I was going to fight and I was going to win.

February 13th, 2015.
In the morning, James made us walk to the stadium while he demolished our homes. I read a
book once, about a girl who saved her whole district because of archery. If a girl could save
thousands of lives with a simple arrow, I could save my family with a sword. Right...? I mean,
how hard could it be? And with that kind of stuff, I motivated myself. I made myself believe. I
was totally capable of fighting another man, capable of killing him.
The first family were the Hayes and they were against the Smiths. A man or a woman, stood
up for each family. They were given five weapons to pick from, each one chose their favorite
and the battle began. The smell of blood, soon filled the place. All the people fought with
strength, fear, adrenaline. You would be surprised to see what people are willing to do when
what they love the most is in danger.
And then James called the Beckham family, I turned around to mom and she was frightened, I
think that was the only time, I've ever seen that look in her eyes. I took a deep breath, and all I
could think a quote from the book I stole: Sometimes all you got is hope, but when you have it,
you have everything you need. And there I was, standing in the middle of the stadium, being
the center of attention, waiting for my rival to arrive. The Romanoff family was called. I was
expecting a tall, strong man but instead of that a beautiful girl walked in. I felt really bad,
because I had to kill such beauty but I promised Mia, I would do anything to save us...
I grabbed a sword, and she grabbed a knife; I started laughing. This fight would be a piece of
cake. When the battle started, I attacked first, she moved so fast I didn'teven touch her. She
smiled at me, challenging me to attack her again. I did, and suddenly I had a big cut in my arm,
blood started to come out. Just my luck, she wasn't only a pretty face but she was a badass too.
Oh God, I was so screwed. Now, I was afraid, I wasnt afraid of dying, I was afraid of what
would happen to my family after my death. Then she came at me and before I knew what was
happening she had slashed my legs with her knife. I fell to the ground; my legs burned with pain
and blood ran out of my cuts. I felt like quitting, running away, but I couldnt I had to save my
family. Anger was all I could think of. I ran towards her, but she saw me coming. She jumped up
in the air and kicked my to the ground. All the air went out of me and it felt like she had broken
my ribs but I got back up. She looked at me with a smug grin, she knew I was done and with just
one more shot she could kill me. I ran towards her again, not sure why if the first time didnt
work well. I attacked with my sword pointing at her neck, but she moved so fast, I barely
touched her arm. She smiled at me, and ordered me to go and get her. I didnt move, so she ran
towards me and before she could attacked me, I raised my sword and I cut her in the stomach,
that hadnt been anything but luck. She looked down, and and slightly trembling, she touched her
cut. Her hand was filled with blood, she looked up again. Her eyes met mine, her eyes turned
black. In that moment, I was sure she was more than determined to kill me. She ran so damn fast,
I didnt even see her coming until it was too late. Like a lion attacking its prey, she was on top of
me. With one hand, she was holding mines, and with the other approaching her knife closer and
closer to my chest.
In that moment when, I could feel her breath in my face, and the knife grazing my skin. When I
thought, I had lost it all, that I failed everyone I loved. Adrenaline took over my body I could
feel it racing through my veins and then an incredible force made me react. I struggled, but I was
able to get her off of me, I could barely move my arms, but with one hand I crossed the sword
through her heart.
-Congratulations, Beckham family! That was such an entertaining twist. Heres the key
for your new home. I hope you and your family survive. It would be a shame if
something happened to you boy, you seriously are the light that guides the way!
Welcome back to the past and good luck, you will need it.
I had trouble breathing, I couldnt believe what I just did. Tears started to come out of my eyes,
my heart was beating so fast I thought it was going to come out of my chest. But at least I knew,
I saved my familys life. It didnt matter how awful the coming days were, we would have a
place to protect ourselves, a place to survive, but the most important a home to live. My mom ran
into the stadium with my siblings, they all hugged me. We walked out holding hands and the
four of us walked into this new world.

Chapter Four.
August 26th, 2015.
Its been awhile since the last time I wrote in here. Things had changed a lot. Where shall I start?
After James took over, and only half of the population made it through a safe home. I learned
how to haunt, thats how we used to get our food. The world was divided into small villages, all
the neighbors protected each other, we were more like a family. That was the only way to
survive. Our humble houses were more like huts, but whatever. We were used to it, it wasnt
that bad. We didnt have more than we needed, but not less either, we had just enough. Nights
were pretty scary to be honest, all wild animals came to look for something to eat. But the
bonfire usually scared them away. Without electricity, we used candles. We didnt have tv to
watch, a computer to go on or a phone to talk. We took showers in bathtubs, with water we
heated on the stove but usually a cold shower was easier. Transport had to be steam-driven,
animal-driven or human-powered. We used bikes, a horse-drawn carriage or we just walked
everywhere we went. And like there was no money available, we went back to bartering. But
although, it was a tough lifestyle, not everything was so bad. Little children played with the
neighbors outside, housewives visited each other to gossip around, parents went fishing together.
We exercised more, we communicate more, we were a functional society. But not everyone liked
this lifestyle, there was people who still wanted electricity to come back on. The other day I was
sitting in the backyard with my best friend Michael, and he said something that reminded me of
my father.
-Dude, why so serious? I asked laughing.
-Im just thinking. Do you ever think electricity will come back? I mean, even in this situation I
still hope one day it will go back on. Sometimes, I wish there was an emergency button which
would bring everything back to what it was. Its like, Im just sitting here waiting for technology
to come back to save our lives. Because its impossible that it wont? Isnt it?
I wished he wouldnt have said that. A feeling of guilt took over me, and all I could think of what
my dad. He was one of the responsibles for this mess. And all this time the only thing I had done
was close my eyes and pretend we were okay. That the world wasnt that bad, but truth is it was.
There was people dying every single day, people who needed special medication, people who
were dying of starvation. People who needed technology to come back on. That day I decided to
fix my fathers mistake because once I had promised myself I would do it.

August 27th, 2015.
I kept trying to remember what my dad told me the day electricity went off. I remembered he
gave me a keychain, but I didnt know what to do with it. I had hidden the briefcase of my dad,
but I had hidden it so well, I couldnt find it. When I finally found it, the freakin briefcase had a
security key. Like, I couldnt figure it out, I broke it with a hammer until it opened. Inside of it,
there was a lot of folders with documents. I couldnt understand most of them, but there was one
I knew exactly what it said. My dad was no villain, his invention was mented to be a hero, but it
ended being the bad guy. The keychain, he had gave me wasnt a keychain but a usb. The
intention of it, was to duplicate the power of electricity while reducing the price in half; also all
technology devices would go three times faster. And all of these thanks to the binary code he
deciphered for the water dams that generated electricity around the world. Everything was going
good, until he sold the product to the wrong company. James Claptons, of course. This
invention could take electricity to the fullest, but it also could take it to its minimum. So,
basically what James did was, he put all the binary codes to 0000, which blocked all the systems.
I wish I figured out this, I few months ago. I felt really stupid, all I needed it to do was to plug
the usb into the computer, and then put the binary code my dad invented. The bad news were, the
only person on earth with a functional computer was James.

August 28th, 2015.
That morning, I was more than determined to fix things. I just had to enter his mansion without
getting caught by his advanced security systems. Easiest thing ever...!
When I was about to leave, Michael saw me and interrogated me.
-Where are you going bro?
-To James mansion. Im about to save the world. I bragged.
-No. Seriously.
-Im not joking! Remember when you told me you were just waiting for technology to save the
world? Maybe the world doesnt need technology, maybe the world isnt dark because of that.
Maybe all it needs is a person to light the way.
-And you are going to be that person?
-Maybe I am.
-If youre serious, Im going with you. Im tired of waiting to see a change. If you can be the
change, I wanna be part of it.
And so we left our homes, and walked to the ugliest part of the village. Where a gigantic
mansion, with the most advanced security was. How were we going to find a way in? They were
cameras everywhere, the fence was electrified, they were two robotic dogs. There was no
possible way, we could get in there. We started thinking, trying to come up with a plan. All
cameras have a blind point,so what we needed to do, was climb the fence with the rubber shoes
(I designed) by the cameras blind spot. Once, we were inside, we deactivate the robotic dogs,
break into his house. Connect the usb into his laptop, put the codes and save the world. Like I
said, easiest thing ever.
We climbed the fence, all the way up without being noticed. The dogs, were charging their
battery or something, because they were off. Everything was going so well, too good to be truth.
We got in, through the window, we quietly looked for a computer. There was a door, under the
stairs, we suspected that was the laboratory room. I slowly opened the door, hoping James
wouldnt be there. And for my surprise, he wasnt. The laboratory looked more like a security
room, it had cameras of every single part of the world. It was like, he just sat there and watched
how people tried to survive. Like watching his favorite tv show. We found the main computer,
which controlled everything, I just needed to put the usb, the binary code and the water dams
would go back to work, and the electricity in the world would be restored. But when I plugged
the usb in, a loud alarm started to sound. ERROR! Came out of the screen, I couldnt stop it, and
I knew James would heard it.
-Oh, but what do we have here? The prodigal son has returned. Didnt your mother teach
you to not get into strangers houses?
-Im not afraid of you. Your time as ruler is over. People will go back to the world, they once
lived in.
-Dont you understand? I saved this world! That world youre talking about was nothing,
but a disaster! That was the era of smart phones and stupid people. Technology took over
them, they were supposedly civilised beings, but what happens when I take their precious
technology away? They turned themselves into salvage animals. They depended it on it
more than they thought, and when it disappeared they couldnt handle it.
-So, youre telling me youre the good guy? You caused chaos, you kidnapped my father, you
killed thousands of lives. But youre the hero?
-I did nothing you accuse me for. Maybe, I did kill your father but-
-You killed my father...?
-Oh cmon! Dont act surprised. Your father hindered my plan. he only thought about
improving the world with technology. Making it a better place, blah blah blah. But the
world didnt need any more technology, it needed exactly what I gave it. I killed him,
because he was the only one capable of ruining my plan, or at least thats what I
thought.
-Once you said you were giving the world a second chance to do things right. Well, thats what
I would do. I said with teary eyes.
Michael managed to tie him to a chair. I restarted the system, and the usb was recognized. As I
inserted the binary code, I could hear the water dams slowly turning back on. I wasnt sure if
what I was doing was the right thing to do. But I was just hoping the world, wouldnt take
electricity for granted anymore. Or that they wouldnt depend as much as they used to. That they
would still doing some of the things James taught us. To enjoy the people around us, to take risks
in life, to make new friends, let our imagination fly, enjoy nature, trust the neighbor next door. I
was just hoping people would use this second chance, to make the world a better place.


The end.