Day One
Just outside of Arida

Delaney Shae Martin. Seventeen year old girl. Done with highschool. Alone. That was what described Laney. Not the confident way she held herself, the haunted look in her blue eyes, or even the fact that she was an outsider. A girl with very few friends, Laney threw herself passionately into sports - martial arts namely.

That's where she was going now. Standing just outside of the little bus stop, Laney counted off the minutes until the 11:15am bus arrived. It always came on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, despite the fact that the small town of Shellton was only inhabited by one person anymore. Laney. It used to be two. Laney and Janice, but months had passed and Laney's mother was still missing. Everyone had given up hope that she would be found. Everyone except Laney.

Laney pondered this as the cloud of dust told her the bus was coming. It was hot for this time in the morning and Laney squinted up at the sun. Her eyes burned and a tingle spread over her body like a shudder. Her eyes swam in front of her and when the bus pulled to a shuddering stop at the bus stop, she could barely see to climb the few steps into it.

Her arms twitched as the bus turned on the dusty road. There was something weird going on. She rubbed her eyes, only helping in intensifying the burning sensation. Tingles ran up and down her arms and legs, spreading upward into her torso and then her face. She stifled a groan, then passed out on the seat of the seat of the bus.

— Day 1 —
Burg, Boriel
On a road to school

Topaz Jaydis hated walking to school. Besides being the slowest person in the world, her bike had a flat tire, leaving her to walk on her own. None of her friends walked this way, and whoever did was in a bus or being driven by someone. If only Mom didn't have such a time-consuming job, she thought grumpily. Then I wouldn't have to been left trudging by myself and getting to school late everytime.

Just then, a fancy car stopped on the side of the road next to her. The window rolled down, and a snobby guy snorted, "Look at that! Miss Slowpoke is bumbling her way to the class of later-losers!"

"L-l-leave m-me al-lone! I a-am not th-that slow!" she hissed and then cringed. She had stuttered. Again. How could she make a point across if she couldn't even talk like a normal person?

"Whatever! See you later, Tortoise!" The teen drove away before Topaz could say anything else.

"T-typical," she mumbled as she returning to walking. "J-just because y-you have the fa-faster r-ride, you're b-better."

All of a sudden, the ground began to shake. The sky above darkened, and glass was shattering everyone. For the first time in her life, Topaz wondered if she was still dreaming and experiencing a living nightmare. "W-what's g-g-oing on-on?!" she cried. She tried her best to run for it, but she couldn't build enough speed because she was so slow.

Noise of people screaming and buildings breaking around her made her wish that fo once, she was able to run faster. She worried if her best friend Clarissa was alright, and if her little brother would know what to do in a situation like this. To catch her breath, Topaz stopped running and stood in the middle of the chaos. She looked up into the sky, where the sun seemed to have ceased to shine, and had been replaced by a darker look and feel. This can't be happening! she thought in wonder and fear

Crack! A telephone pole broke and started to fall. Too late, she realized it was about to on her. "H-help!" Wailing, she collasped as the pole crashed into her and knocked her down. Briefly, she felt like lightning was running through her body, attacking all of her cells. She barely murmered "I d-don't want t-to d-die." before everything went black.

--Day 1--
Judicia, Erbaine
Capitol University
(About 45 minutes before the Supernova)

Styre? How was he supposed to know if Liam's last name had an "s" on the end or not? Why was that important? Then, strangely, Lewis felt a tingling sensation start on his scalp and begin to spread all over his body. He tried to ignore it, but it was persistent. Liam seemed to be feeling something too; Lewis could see him muttering to himself.

He shrugged and resolved to ignore the feeling, focusing on Liam's words. This student was absolutely ridiculous, Lewis decided. He hadn't been listening during class and was obviously blind to the corruption in the Azureman government. He was going to put this kid in his place. No, more than that. He was going to convince him and make what he said stick.

"Liam Styre," Lewis accentuated the last syllable, "Scientists all over the world have done simulations of supernovas on highly advanced computer equipment and calculated what the effect of a supernova would be on a neighboring solar system exactly the distance that Beta System is from ours."

He looked hard at Liam, willing him to understand, for the communication to go through this time. "They have determined that there will be an effect. It could be radiation, physical destruction, or something new and different. It could be big or small, but it will be there.

"The government is not manned by scientists. Even more, they have so much power that they seem to think themselves capable of making decisions concerning scientific matters with little to no advice from scientists. In short, there is a potential health and life hazard slated to happen tomorrow, and what has the government done? For the sake of averting a panic, it has decided that there is no risk to the people of Azurema, while in fact it has been proven that there is risk."

He looked at each member of the class in turn. "What the government is doing here, is, in reality, ignoring the evil that is obvious and present in hopes that it will go away. The hazards will not go away. It is better to know a problem and prepare for it than to ignore the problem."

Day: 1
Somewhere Outside of Aridia...

"You're a very unlucky man, Mr. Smithee..." Christopher Howard said nonchalantly as looked down upon the sniveling man at his feet. The man in question was a high profile banker of Burg who had been taking out personal money from his clients accounts... especially political clients.

Hence why Chris was called in to "clean things up".

"I-I can give you $30000 i-if you don't kill me! I'll t-top anything they offered you!!" Mr. Smithee stammered out finally, trying to sway the bounty hunter.

"... You know what I hate the most in this world? Soggy roast beef sandwiches." the banker looked up puzzled at the seemingly juvenile answer and gave a croaking, nervous laugh. Chris was not smiling. "Slightly seconded by that is... people who try to pay there way out of my fun." the bounty hunter leaned down to his preys level. "Has it not occurred to you that I can simply take the wad of cash in your jacket after you're dead?"

As Chris stood up, he removed his revolver from it's hip holster, cocked it and shot off three bullets. After a minute (to make sure his catch was dead) the bounty hunter removed the money clip of cash from the corpse and kicked the body into the lake they were standing by.

"Good day...." Christopher Howard said to himself as he counted his gains on his way to his car. It was at that moment that the sky burned and the Event happened, the shockwave of which flung Mr. Howard against his sports car and the world went black.

((OOC: Man, Arida is already moving, and I haven't even posted!! ))

Arida--Day 1, pre-supernova

Xandria Martinez stepped out of her room at the convent and hurried out to the wide parking lot, where Allee was waiting for her, in the car. The bedecked swimmer had arrived in Arida only the previous Wednesday for a Water for Kids event, and, even having gone to college in the town, wasn't the most adept at getting from place to place without getting lost.

"Sorry I'm late," she exclaimed, opening the passenger door and throwing her bag into the back. "Think we can still make it there before the kids show up?"

-Day 1-
Arida
Pre-supernova

Allee Miller sat back in the driver's seat, sipping her coffee out of its shiny plastic cup through a green straw. She had gotten up early, so the caffeine was most welcome.

She aimlessly clicked a few buttons on her smartphone, looking through her contact list. Laney. Her cousin. She'd have to call her later and set something up. Dinner, maybe. It had been way too long.

Allee pushed a lock of brown hair behind her ear, a stray piece that had fallen out of her messy bun. She had thrown her hair into a haphazard updo, and stuck her pencil in the midst of her crazy, tangled hair. It kept her pencil where she could reach it, which was a good thing. She stuck her smartphone back into her messenger bag, and glanced out the window for a sign of Xandria. Together they were going to a WfK event. Allee was excited to get some practice covering a major news story, as well as teach kids about the ocean. A chance to do two of her favorite things at once.

She looked over as Xandria opened the car door, then sat down in the seat next to her. "I think so. Most of the time, the kids are late anyway." She pushed her key into the ignition. "Ready to go?"

Arida--Day 1--Pre-supernova

"'Course!" Xandria grinned, settling into her seat. "The competition this afternoon is gonna be fuuun. Except for the part that I can't win. I'll probably have to find some little tot with the blow up arm thingies to walk beside." She giggled. "But first to finish up at the aquarium. What do we have left? Sharks, or something? All I remember is it was something big with scales."

-Day 1-
Arida
Pre-supernova

Allee smiled as she pulled out of the parking lot, and took another sip of coffee. "Yes, I'm looking forward to watching it. I'm sure you'll do great."

She tipped her head in thought for a moment. "It's the sharks." She shivered and made a face. "You know, you'd think that with my affinity for the ocean, I'd like sharks, but nope." Allee sighed. "I'm not really looking forward to that part of today."

She shrugged. "Other than that, I suppose it'll just be a day like usual." She steered through lots of traffic, keeping her eyes on the road although her mind was wandering all over the place.

Day 1--Arida--pre-supernova

Xandria smiled again.

"I like them fine, except for the teeth," she shook her head. "I'd rather have one row of nicely groomed teeth. Of course, I doubt sharks have toothpaste."

The swimmer sat quietly for a few moments.

"I--wanna know what you think of something," she finally said, taking Allee's drink out of the holder, and popping the lid off to take a sip.

-Day 1-
Arida
Pre-supernova

Allee nodded. "I don't like the thought of being in a tank with a shark. I can handle them when they're behind glass pretty well, but still."

She raised her eyebrows at Xandria. "Sure, you can have some coffee. Thanks for asking," she said sarcastically with a smile, watching her friend drink. "I think you drank it all," she said as she took the coffee back from Xandria. A little coffee was left in the bottom, and loud slurping noise filled the car as she drank the rest.

"Sure, what is it?" Allee asked, leaning back in her seat.

Day 1--Arida--pre-supernova

Xandria grinned.

"Well, it wasn't exactly like you brought me one of my own. Anyway--I think I'm gonna get a tattoo."

-Day 1-
Arida
Pre-supernova

Allee laughed. "Yes, I know. I should've bought you a coffee. Sorry about that. I don't function well early in the morning. It was all I could do to make it out the door this morning."

At Xandria's news, Allee's eyes widened a bit. "Really?" Then she shrugged indifferently. "Hmm. Well, I wouldn't get one, but if you want to, I won't stop you." She smiled, then looked at her GPS. "By the way, we're almost there."

Day One
Arida
During the Supernova

Laney lay on the seat of the bus. The tingling only grew stronger with every moment. Her eyes, which had just reopened after being unconscious for most of the ride into Arida, burned as she peered out of the window to look up in the blue sky at the clouds. There was something different about the way the sun beat down this morning. Her eyes watered and she looked away, studying the familiar streets on the way to her the martial arts studio. They were crowded, as usual. Every so often she would catch sight of a familiar face. Some were from school. There was the girl who worked the cash register at the grocery store. Sometimes she could put names to the faces. Other times it was just random people, milling about during the early morning.

The bus braked to a stop at the bus stop less than a block away from the studio. Laney stood up, trying to ignore the buzz that filled her ears when she did so. She paid the bus fare and started the trudge down the street and around the corner.

Day 1--Arida--pre-supernova

"Yay," Xandria smiled. "I'm serious about the tattoo, though. I really wanted to get one of a mermaid, 'cause they're really cool, and plus, they're swimmers, too, but I don't like any of the designs. I guess mermaids lend themselves better to paintings than line art. I dunno, maybe I'll just get a tribal band. Or," she said, throwing up a mock air of superiority, "something on my face."

She burst out laughing a second later.

"Oh lord, I am giddy today. I wonder what has gotten into me."

--Day 1--
Burg
--45 minutes pre-supernova--

Kyle Brooks was vigorously rubbing his eyes, the oil tank in his car had just ruptured all over him.

A man behind him lifted his welding helmet and yelled, "That piece of crap ain't ever gonna start Kyle, just let it die!"

Kyle blinked and rubbed his eyes some more, "I bet you 20 bucks it'll be running by tomorrow!"

"That's not a bet, that would be me stealing your money! Cause that thing will never start!"

Kyle rolled his eyes and went back over to the beast he called his car, he caressed the edges of the large hole in his oil tank...he would have to buy a new one. He examined the hole some more, then angerly slammed the hood shut.

The man with the welding helmet hollered again, "Alright Kyle, break's over! A guy just brought in his car with a busted transmission, get over there and see what you can do about it!"

-------------------------

Jack Hollander rushed up the street, he had the guy cornered in an alley, "Get on the ground and put your hands behind your head!"

He use to get a little rush from saying that, but after twenty years of saying it, that feeling had very much faded.

"Alright, get up...anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law....You know, you should know what I'm going to say by now, I've arrested you four times this week Johnny."

"Sorry Jack, we all gotta eat don't we man?"

Jack reached inside Johnny's bag, "Are you planning on eating this diamond necklace you just stole?"

"I, uh...It's for my wife!"

Jack gave an irritated sigh, "You're not married."

"Well, um..."

He forcibly turned Johnny towards the car, "why don't we just bring you down to the station and maybe you'll think of a better excuse when we get there."

Jack had been a police officer in Burg for fifteen years, and had previously been a homicide detective in Brink City. But when he was wrongly accused for giving false information, he was demoted to officer and sent back to Burg, which in turn left him bitter.

Everyday he wakes up wishing his situation would change, but he had no idea this was the day everything would change.