The sun was setting, painting the skies a monochrome world with a myriad shades of gray. The sole white ball in the sky singly burned an incandescent white.
The sound of voices grew dim as several family members left the party. Steps receded, cars drove off, and then, only a few were left. Family members talked with Yin's mother, father, and uncle. He had never been the one to openly be approachable after all, and he quite liked that. Maybe he had received that from his mother, who was dutiful and always got straight to the point, unlike his loud and rather passionate father. Perhaps that's why they fit so well together, they were polar opposites and that they were drawn together. His mother had told him growing up that she had named him "Yin" in hopes of him finding his own soulmate. It surprised him that she was the type of person to believe in fate and superstitions.
As the number of people grew dim, the sound of pattering rain pelted the monochrome roof above. Pittering and pattering, the rain grew heavier and heavier. Lighting struck from the clouds, coursing through the skies like arks of light.
The whole room shook and grew dark. Several gasps and murmurs were heard through the pitch black darkness. Awfully enough, Yin could still see the silhouettes of several of his family members. He sighed, not expecting there to be a power outage, or any storm today really. But he dismissed the thought and sat back into his seat on the couch, thinking nothing of it. Everywhere he saw, or where anyone looked, was pitch black. Some blotches of dimly lit gray illuminated the area as people started to take out their devices to produce any source of light to see within the darkness.
Yin felt a hand grasp onto his shoulder. A soft reassuring voice was heard in front of him.
"Yin? Are you there?" Heith said out in front of him.
Of course, Yin answered in an unworried tone. "Mhmm. I'm still here." He looked around, seeing the group of people standing and sitting in the darkness. Light produced from their devices now faced upwards to spread as much as possible.
His uncle sighed with gratitude. Although Yin couldn't see that well, he could infer that his uncle smiled. "Good. I thought you had left early."
'Of course I wanted to.' Yin thought. But at the same time, he also knew he wouldn't get the chance to say hi to his busybody uncle so he quickly erased his own words in his mind. "I wouldn't want to miss you after so long, Uncle Heith."
The older man softened his touch and sat down beside the young man on the monochrome couch.
***
Time seems to pass, and the world seems to be at a dull standstill. The sound of rain pelting the roof with thunder booming in the distance. One by one, as time goes on, the blotches of light gray flicker and vanish. The black darkness grows, looming over and devouring any spot where the light was previously. Murmurs and subtle cries are heard in the ever-encompassing darkness. Yin looked around, trying to see where his mother or his father were. He couldn't find them in the darkness, even as good as his eyesight was.
Hours seem to pass. Or whatever time has passed on since the initial black out. Groans and small wails of hunger loom over the people. Still, he didn't find his mother or his father. His uncle sat patiently and silently at his side without a word.
Desperation overtakes the people. Some try to rush at the steel gated door, only to not be able to open it. The whole garage was electricity powered. And right now, their world was devoured in darkness. Caged from the outside world by the raging storm that never ceased. They were caged in like animals.
Time lost its meaning. Any source of light died and the darkness eagerly made its way to devour its spot.
'This storm… When will it end?' Yin thought. It was a good, no great thing that he had eaten a rather large plate of food. He was probably sure anyone who ate a lot was happier than those who didn't. Hunger wouldn't be his immediate problem, nor would toiletry needs. But he knew it. He would have to find a way out of this pitch black cage… Or else it would devour something more than just light.