A Hundred Hours of Night by Anna Woltz

Author:Anna Woltz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

The four of us set out on our journey toward the light. A few days ago we didn’t even know one another. And now we belong together.

We walk along amazingly empty streets, and I know this must feel even stranger for the others than it does for me. I’ve only been in New York for three days, but they know exactly what this city should look like. The sky is dark gray. There are puddles everywhere, and piles of garbage. The wide street is absolutely silent and seems bigger than ever.

Abby stops. “Even the streetlights aren’t working!”

And that’s just the start of it. We keep discovering more and more things that don’t work. It’s so crazy to see all the neon signs without any illumination. All the stores and bars and restaurants are closed. All of them, except for one supermarket.

WE ARE OPEN—CASH ONLY, says a piece of cardboard by the door. The letters were written by hand, because of course printers aren’t working either.

The door is open but it looks disturbingly dark inside the store. We see a customer with a shopping basket and a flashlight, searching for food, and someone calls out of the darkness that there’s fresh hot coffee for sale.

“Let’s keep on walking,” says Jim impatiently.

Abby gives him a concerned look. “Are you okay?”

He nods. “I just want to get to a hospital as soon as possible. The ER is sure to be completely overrun.”

We hurry onward. Sandy’s over, but still there are hardly any cars on the street. There are just a few yellow cabs whizzing past, and they’re all busy. Most pedestrians I see are lugging duffels and sleeping bags and pillows.

And suddenly it dawns on me.

“Seth!” I call. “Abby!”

They spin around.

“You must know people who have power! Why don’t you go there?”

It’s a moment before Seth answers.

“We do know people, but we can’t just turn up with four of us. That won’t work.”

He looks at me with a serious expression, and I want to say something noble. I want to tell him that of course he should take his little sister and head for warmth—but I can’t. I can’t bear the thought of having to stay behind in the hurricane shelter without them. I wouldn’t survive.

“If you want to go to the light,” says Jim, “then of course you should. I’ll manage.”

High above our heads, a helicopter flies over.

“How about we wait and see?” Seth doesn’t look at Jim. “I’m not going to let my little sister freeze to death, that’s for sure. But maybe we’ll have power again by tonight.”

Abby takes hold of my hand. “No way am I going to stay somewhere without Emilia and Jim! Not even if they act tough and say they don’t need us. That’s what Dad always said too, and it’s dumb.”

“What are you talking about?” Seth stares at her.

“It’s what Dad always said, isn’t it? That we should do what we wanted. And he wouldn’t try to stop us, and he could manage fine without us.

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