HONK!

Sonya woke to the sound of a car horn outside. She was sprawled out on the couch—still in yesterday's scrubs. What time is it? She fumbled around the couch cushions looking for her phone before finding it face down on the floor. Just after 10. Damn, how long did I sleep for?

Sonya heard Alex's door creak open and instantly shut her eyes. She knew it was childish, but she did not want to answer for what she had said last night just yet. If only she could ink out just a few more minutes of bliss.

She heard Alex slowly creep around the couch, and then ever so quietly open and close the front door. Moments later, she heard a car backing out of the driveway. Quickly, Sonya rushed to the window just as the car was driving away. That's Katie's car isn't it? Sonya looked at her phone again. Little late to be going to school?

Sonya rubbed her eyes and slumped back into the couch. Lying down flat, she stared up at the ceiling, replaying in her head the events that had happened last night.

I went too far last night. I shouldn't have... I know how much Alex has been going through. I don't need to pile even more onto it. Where did she go? With Katie?... She's not running away is she?

With renewed focus, Sonya shifted back to her feet. Okay Sonya. Where would Alex go? She walked over towards Alex's room and carefully opened the door, as if she was afraid Alex might still be there. Looking around, it seemed mostly like Alex's normal room. Sure, recently it was messier than it had been before Sonya left for college, but nothing was obviously awry.

On the desk by the computer was a ton of loose papers. Sifting through, she found mostly old school papers. But one was different. Turning it over, she was confronted with the grimace of a large silhouetted face. What the hell is this? Though the face took up most of the page, there were a few sentences appended under it.

—

TAKE BACK WHAT IS YOURS

We the people will not stand for this injustice and restriction of basic human rights. Do not believe the Telecom lies. Do not believe the government lies. Stand with us and demand answers.

On Friday, August 7th starting at 12PM we will gather in front of the Telecom building and demand answers.

—

"What the..." Sonya pulled out her phone to check the date. Shit! That's today! Sonya sat down on the edge of the bed, still holding the flier. Surely not. Surely Alex wouldn't fall for something like this. This is obviously some conspiracy theory bullshit. Telecom isn't working with the government to suppress information. They're just...

Sonya wracked her brain, trying to recall what was the cause of the outage. What did it say in the paper? She walked back into the living room and grabbed the newspaper she had taken home from the hospital yesterday. Okay. Okay... State of... 'State of Emergency declared'... 'outage continues'... 'Amidst mounting government pressure, Telecom continues not to provide an official statement as to what caused the outage.'

With a frown, Sonya flung the newspaper and flier down onto the coffee table and sat back on the couch, the gears in her brain continuing to turn. Okay. So Telecom is silent. Why? Who fucking knows. There must be something they're trying to cover their asses for. And this..."group"... is obviously trying to take advantage of the whole situation to stir up unrest. But why... and where does Alex fit into all this?

Sonya moved to the bathroom to wash off the previous day's accumulated grime in preparation for what she was about to do. The gears continued to turn. Okay Sonya, but that's not the only place she could have gone. Honestly, she could have gone anywhere. And it's a State of Emergency... What does that even mean? Is her school canceled?

Sonya continued to clean up, hopping in and out of the shower as fast as she could. Yes, yes. There's gotta be somewhere else. She wouldn't go to this protest thing. She knows better. Katie knows better. But no matter what logical loopholes she tried to jump through, Sonya couldn't shake the feeling that they did go to the protest. After all, she bet that practically the entire town would show up. Just judging from how it had been at the hospital the past week, she could only imagine how badly others had been affected from the outage. Practically everything ran on the internet these days.

Standing in the doorway, Sonya slapped her cheeks to get the blood flowing. Okay Sonya. You're going to go to this stupid protest to make sure that your stupid sister isn't there doing something stupid. Because like it or not, it's your responsibility to make sure she doesn't die.