You do not often see the city go dark.
The large solar tower shut down first. One about three miles from our apartment block. I was closing my window at the time, and watched the whole building plonk into darkness like a tooth getting knocked out.
When the blocks either side closed down, I knew this was not routine maintenance. Especially when they remained in gloom until the next morning. The flowers on every balcony sagged in the early sunlight. I found the answer after a little digging on some local accounts. Fuzzy photos, and stuttering recordings proved these reports were not rumour. Another murder. Six in fact.
A local contracting team found them amongst the solar panels during a routine check of the wiring. When you break them down into pieces that small, they get into the mechanics. Slice cables, and scratch chips. One photo had a silver finger wedged in a crack like a hand slipping into the desert.
The post’s writing style made my toes clench. Every paragraph focused more on the damage to property than the massacre of half a dozen citizens. Like something from the old times. More concern about how slivers of metal had cut through the ferns running up the walk, turning them into ragged green sails.
What was clear amongst all the posts is they blamed the Butter Mouse. The other Butter Mouse. Surely it is too early to do this? Create an unknown figure stalking the streets? I do not want this nickname to spread. There is one Butter Mouse, and I will make her better.
The lights are still off as I write this, and we will have lunch soon. Not nice to see the city with missing illumination. It is always such a safe, light place, with nothing to worry about around the corner. Yet something may be out there.
Poor Deni. I hope they are not worried. People say they cannot worry, but I reckon that hot water bottle noise will be boiling through her flat. Perhaps I should ask her to go for another drink .
It will be good to get back to work tomorrow. See the real Butter Mouse.
Clip: Beautiful fish, and another clip of the vehicle going up the slope. And another example of the Butter Mouse’s voice. Are these playing off each other? Echoes? I know I am on to something. And good to hear her call on a day of such misery.