The Day The Internet Died

Alex lay in bed rereading the message on her phone for the third time. It was Saturday morning, the day after the protest. Sometime in late hours of the night, the internet had come back on. Alex’s lungs still hurt, and her clothes discarded on the floor still reeked of smoke. Outside the door, Alex heard Sonya, who in typical Sonya fashion, hadn’t even made it to bed and was instead sprawled out on the couch, trying to soak up as much sleep as she could manage. The night before they had finally talked, their first real talk in ages.

Alex returned her attention to her phone to reread the message for a fourth time.

Dear Alex, your bestest friend in the whole world wanted to wish you the happiest birthday ever! I know things have been really tough for you lately. But I just wanted to let you know that you are loved so so so much! I love you, your sister loves you, everyone loves you! You’re impossible not to love! So never ever forget that there are always people there for you, no matter what happens. Don’t! Forget! Anyways, there better be cake tonight because we’re celebrating in style! Crap, I think Mr Sanderson sees me typing this. See you soon! Love u!

“Love you too,” Alex said with a smile.

—

End of Part II.

Thank you for reading Stories. This story was written by me, Connor Aidan. To read rough drafts before they’re posted and actually influence how the story turns out, head to patreon.com/connoraidan