The 826NYC Review, Issue No. 12

over to the lawn. They seemed to plant a bunch of things at the base of the chimney. The gardener looked nervous, but no one was paying attention as the block was empty with lots of uninhabited HAL homes. Ava was the only person living on the street.

Pleased with his dirty work and having planted the virus, the gardener brushed off his gloves. It would slowly creep up the side of the house until it reached the roof, where the real damage would be done.

Ava stepped out the front door, eyes still glued to their phone. They wanted to meet up with their friends to get ice cream, but they didn’t know how to use GPS to get there (they’re, like, really old). Ava was still texting the details when they stepped onto their hovercraft. They didn’t even realize that HAL had been changed to a whole new state while they were away.

C H A PT E R 2 It seemed like Ava had been starving and hadn’t eaten the entire day (HAL’s pancakes were taken for granted). Ava was arguing with friends at the ice cream shop about the best flavor when the power surged and went out. It was strange to see the power go out. Chicken nugget-flavored ice cream began melting first, always the last flavor to sell out. Ava’s friends seemed nervous, their faces glowing in the dark from their cookies-and-cream cones.

No one seemed to know what to do in a future without power. Grabbing a fistful of napkins for their melting ice 234