Christy asked, her shaky voice belying her nerves. “The power went out,” Marla replied, nonplussed. “Oh, really, I thought your mouth sucked up all the energy in the world and plunged us into a black hole,” Christy shot back. “Marla is the black hole,” Lauren said. “You’re both … dumb,” Marla said. “Nice one,” Brian said. “You have a gift for comebacks.” “Why isn’t the generator kicking on?” Max asked. “That’s a good question,” Aaron said. “The better one is why did the power go out in the first place?” No one got a chance to answer because the room lit up briefly, a terrific bolt of lightning cutting across the sky and illuminating the room through the glass patio doors. A loud rumble of thunder followed it. “Well, I guess that answers that question,”
