4 Days - 2

Day 1 - Noon


           The two siblings, now walking down the street, accompanied by the long stretch of cars going up and down the street at a very slow pace. The girl looks up to her brother and asks if their grandfather is feeling better. The boy is silent for a moment before replying that he does not know. She begins listing off foods that she wants from the fast food place that the brother is ignoring, knowing he doesn't have the money to afford everything she wants. The two of them reach the restaurant at the end of the street and enter it quickly to escape the noise of outside. 
                     The boy tells his sister to sit on the chair and wait for him to get their food. As they wait the television hanging, idly from the corner of the room suddenly bursts into a screeching static from the local sports station. An employee curses at the television under her breathe and simply turns it off with the remote, the shrill noise of the static lingering shortly after. Everyone in the restaurant take a slow realization that the television was no longer on and returned their primary attention to their various friends or family they are dining with. After ordering the food to go for him, and his family, the boy sits down with his sister. She asks if she will be getting a toy this time, the boy explains to her that this specific food chain does not give complimentary toys with their food. She pouts for a few minutes, with her brother laughing at her childish complaints. When their food arrives, the boy gives the cashier money, thanks her and takes the food and his sister’s hand and leaves. 
                      As they walk back the way they came, the boy takes note that cars are a lot quieter as no one has their radios or music players blaring out the window. On the way, he says various people shifting through their radio stations, only static coming out of the cars. Some drivers had put in a CD and there were music coming from those cars, but for some reason all cars dependent on radio went silent or to static. This made the boy more concerned for the storm that the beagle had seen earlier, as the conclusion he came to be that there was a tornado that knocked out a broadcast tower and is now coming for them. In a worry, the boy hurried his sister along back to the park. When they returned to the park, the sister called out the name of their dog, to the boy’s surprise, the dog was running up to them, without their grandfather present. The boy now distressed over what this might imply, "Has something happened to Grandpa?" The thought raced through his mind. He gave the food to his sister and quickly ran back to the community site. 
                    He shoved the doors open hastily, spooking the volunteer worker there. The chair to the side of the room did not have his grandfather present. The boy inquired to the worker where his grandfather went. The worker replied that an elderly man had requested to rest in a back room. The boy, now relieved, asked calmly where the back room is. After the volunteer pointed out the hall to go, the boy paced over. In the hall, the boy inspected an open door to see an empty large room, most likely reserved for dance or martial art classes or the like. He spotted his grandfather sitting in a chair, asleep. The boy took a brief moment to confirm that his grandfather was only asleep. He shook the sleeping man's shoulder lightly to wake him up. The grandfather opens his eyes, drowsily; smiles at his grandson, welcoming him back, giving a light joke that he might have forgot about him. His grandson, smiled back, knowing that his fear was misplaced. He tells his grandfather about the upcoming storm and the radios and television set shutting off and that they should probably make their way home. The grandfather nods and slowly gets up from his seat. The two of them leave the municipal building to find the little girl sitting on the ground, eating a sandwich and pushing the hungry pervasive dog away. The grandfather grabs the leash on the dog’s neck and calls his granddaughter to come along and all three left back into the city.