Snippet: An Explosion

The power went out in the lab.

"Dammit!"

Hubert stumbled into the dark room. The tinkle of glass beakers and the groan of abused furniture echoed in the blackness as he stumbled about, trying to gain his balance. His curses increased in volume when the lights didn't come back on.

"Great--just great--just as it's finishing. Twenty hours down the drain, damn this blackout...told Greenham to change those circuits! The greatest experiment of all time, ruined by punk kids blasting their stereos and sucking up all the power...heads'll reel once I get this sorted out--"

A soft bubbling sound came from the test tube in the analyzer. The liquid swirled in colorful mist as it evaporated into gas. It seeped out of the collection box and spread around the lab. Hubert smelled a blast of apple pie, just like when his mother baked pie in his childhood. He dook a deep breath and inhaled the wonderful scent. But where was it coming from? And why was it here? It didn't make any sense to his well-ordered brain.

He shook himself out of his stupor. Priorities were priorities! He needed some light to see what the hell he was doing...

His hand found a box of matches. "Ah! Here we go--" He struck one, and its flame glowed green.

Green?!

The explosion shook the lab and knocked a startled Hubert off his feet. A rainbow colored mist immediately reduced him to ash between one breath and the next. It rose from the destruction like an avenging phoenix and fled into the night.