The Blackout by Stephanie Erickson

permanent solution.” 
    Jimmy turned toward Molly and put his hand on her shoulder.  “Honey, we’re looking at a permanent problem.  The world is changed, and whether for the worse or better remains to be seen.” 
    Molly harrumphed at that.  “Isn’t there any good news coming from that radio of yours?”
    He frowned, remaining tight-lipped.
    She sighed.  “Jimmy, why save that thing if you’re not going to tell anyone you have it, and what they’re saying?”
    He looked her in the eye.  “To be ready.”
    She wasn’t sure what he meant by that.  She shifted her weight from leg to leg.  “Well, at any rate, see ya tomorrow at the wall!”
    Jimmy turned and waved as he headed up his driveway.
     
    In the morning, they all gathered to begin the wall’s construction.  Craig had decided to leave, and had done so quietly, but Molly feared it wasn’t the last they’d see of him. 
    They were lucky that the neighborhood was fairly small, and they calculated they would need to create a square that was about a mile long on each side, four miles of wall total.  They estimated a week for each side of the wall, totaling a month of construction.
    They sent messengers to the outlying, more rural homes to let them know that they would be on the outside of the wall, and they were more than welcome to move in and settle on the inside.  Most said no.  They were used to being on their own, and weren’t interested in moving in with strangers.  Molly couldn’t blame them, but she was afraid it was a choice they would regret before too long.
    At first, everyone in town was designated to gather supplies.  They did that for two days straight.  They gathered rocks from the beach and cut trees from the nearby tree farms.  Although most of those were palm trees, they still worked for good solid planks of wood once they were cut down.  Molly carried rocks mostly.  She would collect as many big rocks as she could in the wheelbarrow she was given and bring them back.  Round trip, it took about forty-five minutes, but she could gather a fair amount at once.  Over the course of those two days she made about twenty round trips to the beach.  During the trips, she couldn’t help but wonder about Cindy and what she was doing at that moment.  Was she safe?  How was her family?  Was her community doing the same thing they were?  Molly hoped so.  Cindy lived too far away to go visit, so all Molly could do was hope her dear friend was all right.   
    By the end of two days gathering supplies Molly was exhausted, but there was no time to quit.  Construction began immediately.
    It had been sixteen days since the Blackout, and even though no Wanderers had been seen since the night Kyle was murdered, they were wary.  There was a constant sense of unease, and they were all in a hurry to get the wall finished for that added security.
    The town celebrated Halloween the night before the official construction started.  Some of them just happened to have candy on hand, and some didn’t have anything to spare, but just wanted to see the children in their costumes.  They agreed no one should be out wandering after dark, so the kids started knocking around four and quit by six-thirty.  Molly felt it was nice to have a small taste of something normal.  It served as a reminder that life does go on, that traditions remain despite disaster and tragedy.
    But, much like any holiday, it was back to work the next day.  They labored for the next two weeks on the wall.  They mixed mortar from the nearby hardware store, they dug the foundation, and they assembled it under the direction of some of the contractors who lived in the neighborhood. 
    Then, it happened.
     
    It was the middle of the night when a group of four Wanderers came into the neighborhood.  They had stationed people around the area to guard the supplies just in case, and the alarm they raised cut through the night like thunder. 
    Molly was on her feet at once with