"No one would have believed in the early years of the 21st century  that our world was being watched by intelligences greater than our own  that as men busied themselves about their various concerns  they observed and studied  the way a man with a microscope might scrutinize" "the creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water." "With infinite complacency, men went to and fro about the globe  confident of our empire over this world." "Yet across the gulf of space, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic  regarded our planet with envious eyes  and slowly and surely  drew their plans against us." "Tell him to send it over to the cargo shed." "It's on its way." "Ray." "Ferrier." "Whoa." "I need you back in four instead of 12." "I got half of Korea coming in at noon." "No, no, no, I can't." "I'm on a 12-hour blow." "Call Tedesco." "Come on." "Tedesco can't move 40 containers in an hour." "I gotta have somebody who can do double picks." "I wish I could help you, Sal." "It's the goddamn union regulations." "Come on." "I'm in a position here, Ray." "You remember the union regulations, Sal." "You know what your problem is?" "I can think of a couple women who'd be happy to tell you." "8:30?" "Did we say that?" "We said 8:00." "Hey, this is..." "This is one safe-looking new vehicle you got yourself here, Tim." " Congratulations." " Thank you." "Eight o'clock, huh?" "We'll be back by 9:30 on Sunday, depending on the traffic." "There he is." "Get a hug?" "Confusing handshake?" "Kick in the teeth?" "The door's locked." "Still working on those manners?" "Hello, Dad." "Hello, Rachel." "Yo, Stan, hurry up." "We gotta get to work." "Here, honey." "Let me give you a hand getting that inside." " The door's locked." " Sweetheart, let me get it." " I don't mind." "I don't mind." " Hey, she said she could get it." " It's heavy." " She said she could get it." "It's got rollers." "Just roll it, roll it." "Yeah, but we can't roll it up the stairs, can we?" "Really, I got it from here, okay?" "It's a 302 V8." "It's..." "It's gonna be out of here next week." "You better get going, you wanna beat the traffic, don't you think?" "You're out of milk." "And everything else." "Yeah." "Could you close the door, please?" "Because that's my refrigerator." "I'm gonna go wait outside." "Okay, sweetheart." "I'll see you in a few days." "Bye, Tim." " I better get this upstairs." " Let me..." "Let me get..." " Mom, Mom, Mom." " Mary Ann..." " Okay, okay." " Mom, Mom." "A little old to still be sharing, aren't they?" " I don't hear any complaints." " No, I do." "Robbie's got a paper on the French occupation of Algeria due Monday, which he's yet to begin." "It would be nice if he were done by the time we got back so we don't have to keep him up all night on Sunday." " I just gotta type it up." " No." " You just gotta start writing it first." " I love you, Mom." "I love you." "Listen to your father." "Oh, no shoes on the bed." "We'll be at my parents' house in Boston, but don't call the house line, you know, they..." "Well, the point is, I've got my cell phone, so if anything comes up or you have any questions, just call me." "Believe it or not, I can handle it." " I'll leave the phone on." " Mary Ann." "It's a good look for you." "You think?" "Yeah." "Take care of our kids." "Mary Ann, you got nothing to worry about." "Listen, you tell your mom that Ray sends his love and kisses." "Right." "She'll love that." "The Ukraine, a country of some 52 million people, is in almost total blackness tonight, in the wake of a series of freakish lightning storms of catastrophic proportion, which struck the country at approximately 4 a.m. local time." "EMP, or electromagnetic pulse, which causes a temporary interruption of all electrical current within its field." "As in the Ukraine, there are scattered reports that the EMP here was followed by seismic activity on the scale of an earthquake, measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale." "This..." " Baseball season's over." " Five minutes." "It's not gonna kill you." "There he is." "Boston." "That's how it is?" "Is that how it's gonna be?" " Careful with that throw." " Whatever, Ray." "Mom says you got a report due on Monday, so you're gonna work on that when we're done." "Yeah, I'm almost finished." "I just gotta type it up." "Yeah, bullshit." "Yeah?" "What do you know, Ray?" "Everything." "Haven't you heard?" "Between me and my brother, we know everything." "What's the capital of Australia?" "That's one my brother knows." "Okay with you if I just laugh the first 500 times you tell that one?" "Just do your report." "We don't send you to school so you can flunk out." "You don't pay for it, Tim does." "That's half what I've got." "You're an asshole." "I hate coming here." "That why you act like such a dick?" "What?" "That's not how you're gonna get through to him." " If you want him to listen to you..." " What are you, your mother or mine?" " Where you going?" " I'm going to sleep, you know?" "I work for a living." " What are we supposed to eat?" " You know, order." "Three and two..." " Electromagnetic storm..." " The storms were tracked..." "Oh, and I'll have my own little secret." "Good idea, eh, Gary?" " No." " Oh, what do you know?" "You're a snail." "What's the matter?" " Got a splinter." " Oh?" "Where'd you get it?" "Come here." "On your porch railing." "Do you need me to..?" "What?" "To do what?" "You want me to..?" " You want me to take that out?" " Absolutely not." "Come here." "Let me see it." "Let me see." "Dad." " Just look." "Don't touch it." "Dad." " Rach." " I can't." "You're moving it around." " Okay, don't touch it." "Just look at it." "It's gonna get infected." " No, it won't." " Yes, it's gonna get infected." "No, it won't." "When it's ready, my body will just push it out." " Push it out, huh?" " I read that." "You should get TiVo." " Tim got it for my room." " TiVo?" "It's awesome." "I can watch all my shows after homework." "Yeah, I'll just put it on my platinum card." "Robbie?" "Robbie." "What is that?" "Hummus." " Hummus?" " From the health-food place." "Kept one of their menus last time we were here." "You said order." "I meant order food." "Where is Robbie?" " He went out." " Out where?" "I don't know." "He just took your car and left." "Who said that?" "Who's there?" "It's the clam burglar." "Steven, look at this." " What's up?" " Check it out!" "You ever see something like that?" "Springtime, maybe." "Not this time of year." "Come on, we can see better from the back yard." "You gotta come see this!" " That is so weird." " What?" "The wind is blowing toward the storm." "That is weird." "Hey, watch it!" "Rachel, you wanna see something cool?" "It's okay." " I wanna go inside." " It's okay." "I wanna go inside." "Okay, you go ahead." "That's enough weather for me." "Don't wanna go by myself." "It's kind of fun, isn't it?" " No." " Come on, like the Fourth of July." " No, it's not." " O, say can..." "It's okay." "You're fine." " It hit right behind our house." " Yeah, well, it's..." "It's not gonna hit there again, okay, because lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place." "Oh, shit!" "Where's Robbie?" "I don't know." "Is Robbie okay?" "Are you okay?" "Where's the thunder?" "Why won't it stop?" "Is it over?" "Where are you going?" "Just..." "I'm just checking things out." "Just wait..." "Wait there." " Are we gonna be okay?" " I don't know." " You don't know?" " No, I meant, I just..." "Just..." "Rachel, please." "Just stop asking so many questions." "Just wait here." "Turn everything off." "Everything is off." "I can't get one freaking thing to turn on." "You believe this, Ray?" "Every single car." "Oh, Jesus." "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus." " The car just stopped, and..." " You're okay?" " Are you okay?" "You all right?" " The lightning started to hit." " And me and this other guy..." " Where the hell did you go?" " Over on Lincoln Avenue." " Lincoln Avenue?" " By the church." " You saw the lightning?" "Yeah, 26 times we counted, over and over again." "The lightning started to hit." "It opened up this hole or something..." " Twenty-six times?" " Yeah." " You're okay?" " Yeah." "Good." "All right, well, your sister is in the house, and I want you to go in that house and I want you to stay with her, okay?" "The next time you take my car with no driver's license and no permission," "I call the cops." "You better be there when I get back." " Yeah." " Robbie." "Manny, Manny." "Manny, what is it, dead?" "All of them." "Everything." "Look at this." " The starter's fried." " Lightning hit it?" "Not even close." "I thought if I changed it..." " Any idea what's going on?" " I'm on my way to find out." "Try changing the solenoid." "It's probably fried." "Right, that's what I said." "I told you that." "The solenoid." "Hey, they're saying all the lightning struck down by the church." "What the hell is going on around here?" " Let us through." " Hey." " Let us through here." " Hey." "What up, Ray?" "What up, Ray?" "I should've known you two were behind this." "Hey, God's pissed off at the neighborhood, Raymond." " I'll tell you that much." " You see it?" " You got power where you are?" " Nope." "Nothing." "It's the cars, though." "That's the thing." "Solar flare." "That's what this guy told me he heard." " A solar flare?" " The sun shoots off big blobs of plasma." "They turn into solar flares." "It's the only thing that can kill" " all the electronic stuff." " Can I tell you something?" "The sun does not cause lightning." " I'm telling you what that guy said." " I understand, but it just sounds dumb when you say..." "I never seen anything like this before." "That many strikes of lightning in one spot?" " Is this the only place?" " Come on, put that down." " You wanna step back, please?" " Step back." " You're gonna fall in." " Get back." "Back up, people." "People, back up back there." "Move back." "Everybody back up." "Move back." "Move back." " Is it hot?" " Back up." " No." " Back up." " It's freezing." " What is that?" "Oh, wait." "Move." "You feel that?" " I feel that." " Hey, Bobby, come check this out." " You feel that?" " Feel that?" " Yeah, I feel that." " What is it, the subway?" " There's no subway here." " F train, maybe?" "That can't be the water main." "There's nothing else down there." " Water main doesn't run through here." " Feel that?" "There's something down there and it's moving." "Everybody move back." "Whoa." "Back it up." "Come on." "Let's go." "Come on, folks." "Back up." "Get back." "Help me out here." "Get back." " Go!" "Move!" " Everybody get out of the way!" "Everyone back up!" "Everyone clear the intersection!" "Get out of the way!" "Back up!" "Back up!" "Get out of the way!" " Forget it!" "Get back!" " Get the hell out of the street!" "Move away!" "Come on, we gotta clear this area now!" "That's my car!" "Go, go." "Get the hell out of here!" "Oh, my God!" "Come on, people!" "Let's go!" "Come on, back up!" "Please!" "Move back!" "Watch it!" "Oh, my God." "Ray, no." "Stay, man." "Just stay." " Just stay back here." "Stay back!" " Wow." "Come on." "What happened?" "What's going on?" "Dad, what's the matter?" "What's all that stuff all over you?" " Ray." " What's all this stuff?" "Hello?" "Ray?" "We're leaving this house in 60 seconds." "What?" "Why?" "I have no idea what's going on." "All the food from the refrigerator and the cupboard, put it in here." " What's going on?" "Just tell me." " Just do it." " Rachel, sweetheart..." " Dad, you're really scaring me." " I need you to get your suitcase," " Dad." "the one that you brought, and bring it to me, okay?" "Can you just do that for me, darling?" "Okay?" "I don't think it's a fire." " See?" "That looks like smoke to me." " What's happening?" "I can't tell you now." "We've only got about another minute." "Please." "Please." " Just keep it down." " Ray, I'm standing right beside you." "Can you please answer me?" "Just get in the front seat, Robbie." " Whose car is this?" " Just get in." "Whose car is this?" "Hey." "Hey, Ray." "You were absolutely right." "That is exact..." "I had to change the solen..." "Ray?" "Hey." "Hey, Ray?" "Ray." "Ray." "What..?" "Come on, open up." "Open the door, come on." "Open the door, Ray." "What are you..?" " Get in, Manny." " You gotta get out of the car." " Get in the car." " It's not my car." "It's not your car." " Manny, Manny, shut up." " Daddy's acting crazy." "You can't do this." "Guy's gonna come back and..." "Manny, Manny, I don't have time to..." "You're busting my chops." "I got a shop to run." " Manny, listen to me." " No, Ray." "Get in, Manny, or you're gonna die." " What do you mean?" " Okay." "All right, get out of the truck." "I'm not kidding now." "Get out of the car, Ray." "I'm not gonna get in." "I'm not getting in." " Manny, get in with us." " I'm not gonna get in trouble." " Look, I'm not fooling around..." " Close the door, Robbie." "Close it." "Ray, bring the car back, Ray." "It's not my car." "Get down!" "Get down, get down!" "Get down!" "Is it the terrorists?" " Just get down." "Get down!" "Get down!" " Holy shit!" " Where are we going?" " We gotta go." "We got, maybe, like, the only working car around here." " I'm not stopping until we're clear of it." " Clear of what?" " We gotta go." " What's going on?" " Look, you saw, we're under attack!" " By who?" "!" "Who is attacking us?" "!" "Rachel?" "Rachel, you've gotta keep it down." "Rachel." "Rachel." "Shut up, Rachel." " You're freaking her out!" " Look, I'm driving!" "Do something!" "Okay, put them up, Rach." "Make the arms." "This space right here, this is yours." "This belongs to you, right?" " Yes." " You're safe in your space." " I'm safe." " You're safe in your space." "Nothing can happen to you in your space." "Okay." "I'm gonna go to the front seat, I'm gonna talk to Dad." " No." " I'll be 2 feet away." " Okay." " Will you hold my hand?" " Will you hold my hand?" " Yes." " Are you gonna be okay?" " Yes." "I wanna know everything you know." "This..." "This machine, it crawled out of the ground, started torching everything." "It was killing everybody." "What is it?" "Is it terrorists?" "No, this came from someplace else." " What do you mean, like, Europe?" " No, Robbie, not like Europe!" "That machine, it was already buried." "Maybe it it came down in the lightning storm." " They came down in a lightning storm." " What do you mean, came down?" " You said it was buried." " No, the machine I'm talking about was buried, but what came down in the lightning storm, what operates it, that's the..." "You know." " The what?" " That's..." "Why aren't there any helicopters or airplanes?" " It's the what?" " Hey, Rach." "How you doing?" " How is she doing?" " How you doing?" " Fine." " She's good." " Good." "What was that thing you did?" " Works sometimes." " She gets claustrophobic." " Yeah?" "Hey, Rachel?" " I want Mom." " Yeah, I know." "You feel better?" " I want Mom." " Yeah?" "Tell me about it, you know?" " Take me to Mom's." " What I need is," "I just need you to hold it together for me, okay?" "I want Mom!" "When you start screaming, I can't really drive..." " Take me to Mom's!" " I know that." " That's where we're going, Rachel." " Take me to Mom's!" "I know!" "Hurry up, Dad." "Come on." "Robbie, get the door." "Mom!" " Mom!" " Mom!" "Mom!" "Mom?" "Tim?" "Mom?" "Tim?" " Mom?" " Mom?" " Tim?" "!" " Tim?" "Tim?" "Mom?" "They're gone." "Is she dead?" "She's not dead." "All right?" "She's just not here, okay?" " They were never here." " How do you know?" "Because they're on their way to Boston." "And so they just kept on going up to Boston." "Probably at your grandma's house." "I'm gonna call her." "How come the lights are on here and not at your place?" "Because nothing bad happened here." "Okay?" "So we're safe here." "All right?" "Okay, Rachel?" "This is your area." " Okay, you are safe..." " Dad, that's not how it goes." "Okay." "Well, are you hungry?" "I'll get you some food." "I'm gonna feed you." "Get something to eat." " What do we have?" " Busy signal." " Ketchup?" "Mustard." " You think all the circuits are down?" "Tabasco, barbecue sauce." "This is really good, Robbie." "Vinaigrette." "I said pack food." " What the hell is this?" " That's all that was in your kitchen." "Okay." "No, it's all right." "All right." "Okay." "Food." "Bread." "Okay." "We're gonna have..." "Let's get some sandwiches." "Wanna see me deal?" "Wanna see me deal?" "Here we go." "There's two for you." "There's two for Robbie." "There's two for me, one for the house." "Okay." "Maybe after we eat something, I'll go down and show you guys..." "Teach you how to play some poker?" "A little five-card stud?" " Maybe a little blackjack." " I'm allergic to peanut butter." "Since when?" "Birth." "Okay, well, here." "You can eat the bread." "Okay?" "I'm not hungry." "Okay, well," "Robbie and I are gonna be eating peanut-butter sandwiches." " Want jelly on this sandwich?" " I'm not hungry either." "You're not hungry either?" "Okay." "Okay, that's fine." "Fine." "Everybody just relax, okay?" "Because we're here now." "We're safe, and we're gonna stay." "In the morning, your mom and Tim are gonna be here." "And everything's gonna be fine." "Okay?" "Okay." "If everything's fine, why do we have to sleep in the basement?" " We've got perfectly good beds." " Hey, it's like a slumber party." "What are you afraid is gonna happen?" "Nice basement." "I wanna sleep in my bed." "Got back problems." "Okay." "Well..." "You know on the Weather Channel when there's a tornado, they tell you to go down to the basement for safety?" "It's like that." " There's gonna be tornadoes?" " Okay, Rachel?" " Hey, no more talking, okay?" " Could you be a little nicer to me?" "God." " Wanna stay here?" " Yeah."