[bloodcreature]

The Day The Light Went Out


It was a normal day on planet Earth. The cycles of life were in full swing. Animals, insects, plants, trees, sea creatures and humanity were ceaselessly eating, mating, singing, birthing, and dying. The weather was warm and peaceful on parts of the planet, while storms raged on others. The good and bad were happening everywhere and at every minute. It was the same Earth as it has been for millions of years, but would not continue the same.

Over a city the clouds were floating, outlined by the blue sky. The sun shone down, providing warmth for the inhabitants. In a park, a lone individual was enjoying the shade of an old oak tree. He was oblivious to the cycles of the Earth and was pre-occupied by thoughts of a certain girl. His daydreams were nothing more than prisoners of a mind and didn’t affect the world. Ignorance was the bliss that made his life simple and routine.

He was oblivious to many things until the light of the Sun blinked out. The billions of years of shining had come to a complete and abrupt halt. The man under the tree was plunged into complete darkness. He immediately became fearful that some freak occurrence of his health had caused sudden blindness. This thought was replaced by the sounds of screeching brakes and the crashing sounds of cars. He was bewildered by the sudden absence of light.

The man was not the only one suffering from the darkness. Every animal, tree, plant, human, insect and living thing was plunged into the same dark nothing. The sudden darkness caused mass panic and many lives were lost in accidents. In a matter of minutes many lights and headlights were turned on. He could hear sirens and people crying and screaming pleas for help. The park was next to a highway and he could see many pile-ups in the glow of streetlights.

At least the electricity is working, He thought reassuringly.
Suddenly the air began cool. The man noticed the sudden chill from what was a nice summer temperature.

As his eyes adjusted to the starlight, he could see shadows of the city and park all around. He knew he should help someone, but his curiosity got the better of him. He simply couldn’t understand how the laws of nature had failed. He made his way back to his apartment and switched on the TV. He listened to the anchor man tell the world how the Sun had blinked out.

The man called his girlfriend, but no one answered. He thought about driving to her place, but there were so many accidents, he was afraid to leave. So he just sat there, watched the news and flipped through channels. He could see that the whole world was affected, terror was raging everywhere. Some people even had the notion that an alien invasion was next.

Sleep was not an option as he watched the media make a display out of experts trying to explain how the Sun had stop shining. He thought it could be the end of the world. The immediate attendances of churches proved it. The entire planet was in a state of complete turmoil. It didn’t take long for the hospitals to fill beyond capacity. He felt he should go to church or pray but didn’t. Instead he turned on the heat because the sudden chill crept into his body. The world was numb with disbelief that an event of this magnitude had happened.

A couple of days passed and most could no longer leave their homes because of looters and criminals stampeding through the perpetual darkness. But even the crimes ceased when the air became colder than the worst winter. If a warm place existed on the planet, it was occupied.

The TV issued warning after warning about the imminent danger of the outside world; the bitter cruelness of the rapidly dropping temperature. He listened to the predictions of a great freeze and that all living things on the Earth will perish. “Without Sunlight Earth cannot survive,” the news anchor continued announcing.

The president gave a speech, urging people to stay in their homes and to not panic. The president claimed the top scientist in the world was working on the problem and that, we as a people, can conquer this adversity because life has survived everything Mother Nature has thrown at us.

The man thought the words sounded hollow and unconvincing. He even detected a twinge of panic in his voice.

The blistering cold wind began to freeze all matter. The atmosphere’s molecules froze, causing the breakup of its protective and life-giving layers. The millions of trees crystallized and the moisture expanded, causing them to burst. Animals froze to death; the oceans froze over, perishing all sea life. It was not long before most living things were dead. Eventually, the electricity went out, each power station blowing under the stress of producing too much power in the blistering cold.

Eventually, the man succumbed to the bitter cold, laying in his recliner with the remote in his hand. He was forever frozen to death in a grotesque mask of frost.
He wasn’t the only one.

It was a horrible scene when the Sun went out. The entire planet was subjected to a new Ice Age. One that would cease all life and forever change the tiny planet called Earth.

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