Page 17 of The End of the World As We Know It

The refrigerator hum, the air-conditioning, every mechanical background noise, died. Mollie squeaked.

“Emergency generator will kick on in a minute,” said Calming-Dani.

The kitchen stayed dark.Darkdark.

“Sorry, kid. We’ll have to skip the sundaes.”

Hand out in front of her, Dani led Mollie through the kitchen’s swinging doors into the hotel restaurant. Like any reputable casino, it had no windows. She gingered her way forward in the blue twilight filtering through the hotel’s main doors.

From across the casino came a crashing sound. Something had fallen over. Dani spun and caught a glimpse of a shape—a man. Tall, swift. Big guy.

“Let’s go.” She grabbed Mollie’s hand and pulled her through the restaurant.

“No—this way.” Mollie zigzagged in a new direction. “You look scared.”

“Nah.” Petrified. Dani broke into a jog.

“You’re cold. It’s bad, right?”

“We’re good. Faster.”

They shoved through the hotel doors, onto the street. The Strip lay in darkness.

Dani nearly stumbled from shock. The absence. The silence. Her feet kept moving.

“Oh,” Mollie said.

A shroud had fallen. Stillness, uselessness, a void. Dani felt a strange pressure in her chest. They needed to get back to the motel.

“Youarescared.”

“Just… surprised.” She held tight to Mollie’s hand and began to hum.

Mollie hurried along beside her, quick small steps, her hand hot. “I know that song. Everybody who comes here sings it.”

“I bet.”

Bright light city gonna—

Out of the dark, headlights rose. A car, cruising, slowly.

Mollie slowed. “Somebody’s here!”

But Dani pulled her behind a hedge. The car neared—a BMW, its engine a silky rumble.

The driver was young, blond, with rock star hair kicking in the wind beneath a sequin-studded cowboy hat. Her hand was draped out the window, eyes scanning the street. Shadows filled the passenger seats. Static poured from the radio.

Dani swallowed. The static chewed the air.

“We don’t want to talk to them,” Mollie said. It wasn’t a question.

“Come on.” Dani pulled her away from the street.

Around four a.m., multiple engines roared up the street past the motel. Brakes squealed. Dani stole to the window. Heard screams.

At sunrise, while Mollie slept, she slipped out and crept up the block. Broken headlight glass. Blood in the gutter. Looked like somebody had been hit by a car.

A late-afternoon thunderstorm washed it away.