Chapter One - Before the Lights Went Out

It was a regional protection cascade, the sort of failure that meant the grid had stopped trusting itself. He pulled out his phone on instinct. One bar of signal, then none. The icon disappeared as if it had never existed. The first scream came from the hallway. Then came the stampede of feet, people rushing like animals fleeing a fire they couldn't see yet. The elevator doors were stuck half open, and a man inside was slamming the button panel with both fists while the lights blinked twice and died. The stairwell doors stood open, and the heat pouring up from them felt like an oven being opened in your face. The building had lost its cool side. There was no buffer left. "Power's out!" someone shouted. "Basement garage. Backup generator!"