event: it's beginning to look a lot like christmas
[All around Mayfield, televisions switch on to an image of Mayfield at Christmas, covered in snow, lights, and beautiful holiday decorations.]
--It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, soon, the bells will start--
[The scene changes to the evening newscaster.]
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. We just know everyone is safe in their happy homes tonight, thinking of this wonderful time of year and the joy it always brings to our little town.
We all know times are rough this year. Well, there's no use beating around the bush. Though it may seem hard to believe, our town is in danger, and there's no doubt about it. But we know that if everyone pitches in and tightens the old wallet, we'll see through.
Sure, it may not seem like our pleasant holidays of years before, but by golly, it's still Christmas, gosh darn it. Who knows? Maybe a Christmas angel will come to save us.
Until then, we can only band together and make sure all our neighbors follow the new rules. Cut down on power, do your shopping over in Westport for a few weeks, and each and every one of you resolve to do you part. And pray, of course. As we all know, there's an awful lot to pray about.
Merry Christmas, Mayfield!
[The feed cuts out.
As soon as the broadcast ends, Mayfield will be ready for Christmas: a light coating of snow blankets the ground, the lights are strung, and there's a tree in every living room.
But that isn't the only change. The air in Mayfield is bitterly cold, dropping well below freezing especially at nights. Though lights are strung, electricity is only on for an hour per day, seemingly at random times. For the rest of the days and nights, you're without power, running water, or heat.
The stores in town are still stocked, but meagerly. There aren't any luxury items, everything is essentials, and even those are bare bones: in the general store, only a few blankets, coats, candles and weapons remain, and food is looking especially scarce, so you may want to buy what you can and hope it will be enough.
Drones are behaving especially oddly. Some will continue as normal. Others will wander in circles, or stop speaking anything besides several canned sentences. Some will simply stop where they are and fall to the ground, as though they're asleep. Some of you will also find your regains periodically disappearing; they may come back, or they may vanish entirely.
But despite all of that, it's still Christmas. In the center of the park is a massive tree, nearly 70 feet tall. It's strung everywhere with ornaments and lights to which power is actually being supplied (though you won't be able to find a source). The chill is a little more bearable here, and, although it's impossible to tell where it's coming from, 50s Christmas songs are playing loudly non-stop.]
--Someday soon, we all will be together, if the fates allow--