Aurora Borealis

 "Lena!" Marc called out. "Did the power go out again?"
"It looks like it," Lena replied. "But my cell phone isn't working either. That's weird."
"Mine either," Marc said. "It's not just the reception - the battery is dead too. It won't turn on."
"Honey..." Lena called with a strange note to her voice.
"Yes?" Marc replied.
"You need to come look at this," Lena said.
"Oh wow. The aurora borealis!" Marc said, amazed. "I didn't think you could see it this far south."
"Do you think that is what is causing the power outage?" Lena asked.
"Maybe... but I don't think they normally cause any problems," Marc replied.
"I remember hearing something about geomagnetic pole reversals," Lena said. "I think they were saying it was about to happen."
"Do you hear that?" Marc asked.
"No, what?"
"There is no traffic noise," Marc said.
"You're right," Lena said. "It's really quiet. Look! Do you see those birds? What are they doing?"
"They're not flying together, that's for sure! Wow, they look drunk!" Marc said excitedly.
"Oh my God!" Lena exclaimed.
"What?!" Marc asked.
"The power line - it's sparking!" Lena said.
A loud explosion made them both jump. "A transformer blew, it sounds like," Marc said. "Holy crap. All this from pole reversals?"
"Marc... if there isn't any power across the world, what is going to happen?" Lena asked nervously.
"All across the world?" Marc asked. "I don't know. I guess it depends on how long it goes on. Did you hear anything about that?"
"I heard it could be a day or decades, Marc. I'm starting to get scared," Lena said. "With no electricity, there's no water pumps, no gas pumps, no food deliveries, no refrigeration..."
"No. No. No. That couldn't be," Marc protested. "You said they were talking about it, so if it were that serious, they would have warned us and prepared for the disaster. Where are you going?"
"I'm getting the keys," Lena said. "If the car doesn't start, then we know it's bad!"
"The remote doesn't work?" Marc asked worriedly.
"No. Just like our phones," Lena said. "Marc... Nothing is happening! I'm turning the key, but it's dead!"
Marc and Lena looked at each other for a few second, neither one saying anything.
"Well," Lena said after a few moments. "At least the aurora borealis is beautiful."
"And the drunk birds are amusing," Marc added.
"All we can do is hope it doesn't last too long," Lena said.
"And we should probably stay out of the direct sunlight," Marc added. "We might fry under the cosmic radiation!"