— 10 AM, Day 2 —
Parksville, Erbaine
Palisade National Park
Lui's Cabin
Terra stared at her cousin with wide eyes.

A madwoman with a shotgun wasn't going to go over very well with these men.

"Uh, hi Lui," she began. "These officials are from the government—"

"Drop the gun," the man in the middle ordered, and all three all had firearms raised. "Drop it. Now. Start talking, because you had better have a good reason for firing that shotgun."

Terra glanced at Lui, who was silent—the fangs, she remembered, her eyes widening again. They would betray them faster than anything else, but maybe they could pass it off as a cosmetic alteration? C'mon, Lui, think fast!

Day 3: Arida

de Mon Castle

Candi rose shortly before dawn, lighting an emergency lantern and dressing quickly. Taking the lantern, she unlocked her door and walked into the adjacent room: her study. Setting the lantern down on the large, ornate mahogany desk. A quick walk around the room, her hand running over the curtains and the walls, assured her that she was alone. A few long white fingers pushed the door to, and another slender hand turned and pocketed the key. After pulling the curtains back, Candice sat down at her desk, picked up her pen, and began to think. After a few moments, she began to write, chronolizing the events of the previous day, as well as her own opinions as to what the truth might be. True to her suspicious nature, Candi wrote in a way none could understand.

She wrote in a foreign language, upside down and backward.

~~

"'Scuse me, Miss," a young maid said, standing at the edge of Vange's bed and tapping her warily on the shoulder. "Miss! Please wake up, Miss!"

Burg
Day 2

Fulton rolled up to the bank. Everything looked to be in order from the outside. He ran his fingers through his hair and replaced his hat. The banks marble floor reflected as he walked, the clerk sat at the desk looking un-phased by anything. Fulton tapped on the desk to get her attention.

"Excuse me ma'am, I'm Lieutenant Greg Fulton with the Burg Police Department. In light of recent events, I have orders to check your security system."

The clerk still didn't look up, she pointed with her pen, "Through the metal door on the left. If you have any problems just ask." she finally looked, "Don't have any problems."

Fulton gave a fake smile and continued through the door. He fiddled with the security camera's and reset the trip alarms. A loud slam and a faint yelling of, "Shut up, and put the money in the case!" came from the front desk.

Fulton creeped around to the door, un-holstering his side-arm. He peered over the desk and saw a large man who looked very uneasy, cradling a sawed off shotgun.

Fulton popped up in a uniform manner and shouted, "Sir, I'm going to need you to drop the weapon."

The man shook toward Fulton now looking much more frightened. His hands were shaking, suddenly his finger slipped to the trigger.

The gun went off, Fulton dodged the spray that spewed from the weapon, and in the blink of an eye, shot the man in the shoulder.

The man now lay sprawled on the ground, blood flowing from his shoulder. "Get me something to stop the bleeding, then call an ambulance." Fulton said to the clerk, who was now dumbstruck.

The ambulance soon arrived and Fulton made his way home, Not a typical day at the office, but...at least he wasn't bored. He snuck into the house, it was now well after mid-night. His wife was asleep on the couch, she had been waiting for him. He adjusted her blankets and turned out the light.

Day 2
Outside of Green Hills Highschool
Parksville, Erbaine

Cat tried to be as blasé about Fred nearly dying as he was. She was still pretty shaken up after everything that had happened, and the school collapsing. "H-how..." She swallowed and started again. "How could they leave the city? All of the cars are still in the parking lot." She coughed and waved a hand through the air, trying to clear some of the dust away from her face. "Let's go towards downtown." She hesitated and then blurted out, "If you want to."

— 10 AM, Day 2 —
Parksville, Erbaine
Palisade National Park
Lui's Cabin

Lui thought quickly. She had seconds to think of a plan, but she knew she had made a mistake. Immediately dropping the gun, she lifted her hand to scratch her nose. However, she was really just trying to cover her mouth as she said, "I woke up early to get a headstart on the day's work and accidentally locked myself in the garage...I tried to get the girls' attention, but they were sleeping. The shotgun was my only way out."

She let her hand fall to her side and snapped her mouth shut. It was a stupid response, but it was the only one she could think of at the moment. She was exhausted and disoriented. Not to mention scared, but she would never admit it.

Trying to keep her upper lip covering her teeth, she asked, "What can I help you with, sir?"

~~~

Day 3
Arida, Arenico
de Mon Castle Grounds

Evangeline woke with a start at the maid's touch. She sat up and look at the maid, "What?"

— Day 2 —
Parksville, Erbaine
Previously...

In the kitchen, David could not help ranting a bit about the government...."Either someone fell down on the job, or the government isn't doing the job we elected them for." He snorted. "Or maybe it's both. Who knows?"

Brandon was at a loss for words. He sympathized with David’s reaction to the politics of the situation, but he somehow intuitively felt that the supernova was beyond the scope of anything the government could have prepared for. He tried to say as much. “I know what you mean, David – my little girls had to sleep on the gymnasium floor last night and eat military rations for breakfast. We both have friends and loved ones we can’t contact.

“But maybe this is bigger than the government; I think they knew it was coming but kept it secret to avoid a panic – after all, where would we go? And maybe there were preparations going on. Now that I think about it, Dan put in a lot of overtime at the power plant the last few months. I wonder…maybe he was helping them shield it against the supernova somehow.”

“Dan knew?” David asked, eyebrows raised questioningly.

“I don’t know if he did or not. I doubt he knew everything, or he wouldn’t have taken his family to the national park the day before it happened; wouldn’t it be better to stay safe at home than go traipsing off into the woods?” Brandon spoke quickly now, trying to justify Dan’s recent actions both to David and himself.

“And what he did know, he probably couldn’t tell us. The government clearly was keeping this a big secret. Maybe they told him a little but warned him not to tell anyone else. You know, ‘I could tell you but then I’d have to kill you’ type stuff.” Brandon snorted. “Lot of good it did, anyway. But you’re right, David – whether they knew about this or not, the government’s response has been less than stellar.”

“Brandon,” Gina’s voice came from the other room, “The girls want to play with their daddy.”

The young man rose and smiled at his friend. “We’re going to see them again – the Baxters, your kids. Somehow I know it.”

— Day 2, Early Afternoon —
Palisade National Park

Previously...

Volt looked at Jenny then back at his first letter. Then he saw his mistake. It was backwards. "Oops."

Grace clapped her hands and giggled. Impulsively, she reached toward Volt to hug him in thanks, but at the last minute she realized that might be too much; instead she simply reached out her hand to pet him like she might her own puppy.

“Thanks, Volt,” Angie said. “You’re too kind.”

Dan watched the proceedings, suppressing the urge to chuckle at the backwards “G” for his daughter’s name. It’s the thought that counts, after all, and Volt’s intentions had been good.

“I’m hungry,” Grace unexpectedly announced.

Dan’s stomach growled in response, and he retrieved the backpack he’d managed to grab on their way out of the camp. Fortunately, it had been the family’s “snack bag,” and he passed around granola bars to his family and Jenny, and offered doggie treats to Candy and Volt.

“I’m afraid the rest of our food was left behind,” he sighed. “This won’t last long, so I think our best option is to get back to civilization.”

“But Parksville is the first place they’ll look for us,” his wife objected.

“You’re right, my dear. So we’ll stay away from our house and try to get to the Kingsleys’ house.”

“Can I have a baby brother once we get home?” Grace interrupted.

“We’ll see,” Angie hedged. Her daughter had not made this request since before the supernova had appeared, but it was clearly still on her mind. “We may have to wait longer now, because the supernova kind of messed things up.” She wanted to be honest with Grace, yet not worry her too much about things none of them could control or change.

“For now, let’s hit the road.” Dan stood up and shouldered the backpack. “Parksville is that way,” he pointed. “Now if this was a movie, we’d travel under cover of night and hide out during the day. But I don’t think that’ll work with an eight-year-old.”

His hesitation about night travel extended to Jenny as well, but he declined to say so; he suspected that she probably wouldn’t appreciate it too much.

Day 2, Early Afternoon, Palisade National Park

Volt's embarrassment left after both Grace's petting and the tasty treats.

Jenny could see the sense in Dan's plan. The only things she had brought in her backpack were a set of binoculars, the trash from lunch earlier, her knife, a rain coat, a couple acting books, a compass, her Bible, a pair of sunglasses, a simple makeup kit, an atlas, and a first aid kit. All her other stuff had been in her suitcase, and she had left that behind. They had to get back to town, at least for the night.

She raised an eyebrow to Grace's request for a brother, but decided to ask about it some other time. 15 minutes later, however, as they were climbing down a hill, she decided to ask a different question to pass the time.

"So, how do you know the Kingsleys?" she asked.

— Day 2, Early Afternoon —
Palisade National Park

Previously...

"So, how do you know the Kingsleys?" she asked.

Dan stopped short at Jenny’s seemingly-innocent question. They’d been running on instinct since the supernova, reacting to things rather than taking much initiative; now he had a moment to catch his breath, so to speak, and all his paternal instincts rose to the fore. How much did they really know about this girl and her dog, after all? This was his family they were talking about.

Yet he quickly forced his worry down. Jenny and Volt had acted bravely, more than once, to protect him and his family. Surely that made them worthy of his trust. But it didn’t keep him from responding with a barrage of his own questions.

“Do you know the Kingsleys, then? Are you from Parksville? Is your family back in town, or at the camp? They must be worried about you. Can we help you find them?”

Angie laughed softly and placed a hand on his shoulder. “One thing at a time, dear. First, I think it’s only polite to answer Jenny’s question first, then you can continue the interrogation later.”

He had the good grace to look embarrassed as Angie explained that she and David Kingsley both taught at the same school. The two couples had become friends over the years, with the older Kingsleys treating little Grace – along with the Norwoods’ twins – much like they might their own grandchildren.

“So I guess you could say it’s a small world after all,” she winked. “The Norwoods are our neighbors, and all of us are friends with the Kingsleys.”

Grace inserted her own question. “Does Volt chase cats? The Kingsleys have a cat.”

Day 2, Early Afternoon, Palisade National Park

"No, I've only chased one cat in my life and that one had stolen my mouse squeaky toy. Never caught him," Volt answered as they ducked under a fallen log. "I don't treat them any differently than other animals, they just pick fights with me more often."

"As for your other questions," Jenny said, "I can answer them all by telling you that we're from Judicia, and my mom is still there."

Jenny looked off to the West. "Mom probably is worried about us," she thought, "if she's okay that is." Jenny shook the thought out of her head. The last thing she needed was to start worrying about things she couldn't control. She just needed to focus on getting herself and Volt home. "She'll be alright," she reassured herself. "She has to be."

Previously...

"Well, Doctor, I can say that you look nothing like your name suggest." He smirked, then nodded. "But I'm afraid I can't say if I'm delighted to make your acquaintance. If I was drugged and kidnapped just to meet you...well...I'm not sure having that experience is worth it."

-Day 3-
Quadrant 9
9:38 qn

The Doctor quirked an eyebrow in an amused sort of way at Arthur's comment about his looks as he pushed aside the paper and set down the pencil. Folding his arms on the table, he listened patiently until Arthur was finished.

"For that, I cannot fault you," he replied smoothly. "However, I was informed that you resisted and force was necessary. Unfortunately, that is the way the Military handles things." He paused for a moment, before continuing.

"The Government has need of your services, Dr. Ford, as they have need of mine and everyone else's here at Quadrant Nine. The research we conduct could affect the future of the entire nation and even, potentially, the world. This is why the Government is gathering from the four corners of Azurema the very best the medical field has to offer."

Dr. Steele leaned back in his chair and set his elbows on the armrests, bringing his hands together in front of him and laying his opposite fingertips against each other lightly. For a moment, his keen grey eyes flicked appraisingly over the man seated in front of him. "What have you heard about the recent events?" he asked finally, calmly locking onto Arthur's eyes with his own and holding steady.

((Good golly! This post was so hard to write! I dunno how many times I've rewritten it and I'm still not happy with it. FTR, Dr. Steele is hard to write. So enjoy him, 'cause he is the product of blood, sweat and tears. ))

Day 2: Arida
de Mon Castle

“Sorry, miss,” the maid said, glad that Vange did not do more than startle. “Miss Candice wishes to speak with you as soon as possible. She is in your drawing room, and waits for you at your leisure.”

Day 2
Just outside Arida
Laney's House

Allee knocked on the door, bouncing anxiously in anticipation. "I hope she's home," she muttered more to herself than to Xandria.

Allee's heart briefly stopped as the door swung open. She wasn't sure what to expect. "Laney?" she whispered softly.

She couldn't help but pull Laney into a hug as soon as she saw her. "I am so glad you're okay." She put her cousin at arm's length. "Are you okay?"

Day 1
Capitol University
Judicia, Erbaine

Liam whistled as he headed home. He'd talked to ten people so far, and about seven of them had seemed at least somewhat interested. Three of them had either given him the cold shoulder, told him outright that he was crazy, and spat in his face, respectively. It had been an... interesting afternoon.

He hoped that Dr. Dreyman would be happy with his efforts. Of course the professor would be. He seemed thrilled with everything, no matter what Liam did.

Part of him was so exhausted from the events of today that he just wanted to go home, make some popcorn, and watch TV. The only problem was that the power was out. This made him wonder if he'd have to work tomorrow. If the power was out, he couldn't very well grind coffee beans, now could he? He might get the day off. How nice.

He slapped himself back to reality. They were in the middle of a world crisis, and the only things on his mind were TV reruns and coffee? He had more important things to do, like warn the world.

Yes, this job would be pretty easy.

Then one thought penetrated his mind. Laramie. He needed to warn her, too. He'd already promised her that he'd come by, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. He could both tell her about Dr. Dreyman's safehouse of supplies, and check on her at the same time. The plan was foolproof.

Liam couldn't resist a grin as he headed to her house. This was easy. Almost too easy.

Day 2: Arida
The Convent: Surgery Room
((OOC: Lady A and Chloe, I hope this time-jump is okay. I know you're both pretty busy so just post at your earliest convenience. ))

Three hours later, Julietta was fighting exhaustion. She'd had longer procedures, but this one was the most strenuous. She could tell that they were all getting tired, and her hands were starting to shake. Her movements lacked purpose as she fought away sleep, and she could only hope that her klutzy tendencies didn't make a reappearance now. She'd been hoping she'd keep it together for this whole surgery, but now it was crucial. They were reaching the end, she could feel it. She yawned. After this, she could sleep.

— Day 2, Early Afternoon —
Palisade National Park
Previously...

Jenny looked off to the West. "Mom probably is worried about us," she thought..."She'll be all right," she reassured herself. "She has to be."

Angie caught Jenny’s glance, and the mother in her wanted to hold and comfort the young girl, tell her that her own mother was okay. But she hesitated as they continued down the trail. Angie wasn’t sure how Jenny might respond to a relative stranger showing affection to her.

Grace however, had no such qualms. She shyly stepped up to Jenny and offered a little hug of her own. “My daddy can fix it,” she said, quietly yet confidently the mantra of her life.

“Uh,” Dan rushed to explain, blushing. “She’s used to having me fix mechanical things at home, like I was able to do with the car. We may be able to help you get to Judicia, to your mom. I’d like to offer that help, but with things the way they are, we just can’t make any promises. One day at a time, and all that. Once we get to Parksville, to the Kingsleys’ house, we can figure out what to do next.

“In the meantime, perhaps we could get a little better acquainted. Could you tell us your full name, perhaps, and something more about yourself? And we’ll be glad to try to answer your questions about us, in return.”

Burg day two

IC: Josh ran up the wall of a nearby wall, his newfound abilitys giving him the speed necessary to reach the second story window ledge.
He reached up and grabed the next ledge up to avoid the stones that the hobo was tossing at him. One hit the heel of his boot and bounced off as hauled himself up saying. "I wasn't trying to take your stuff! I was only walking through the area and tripped over your bottle!"
"I dont belive you, you stinken thief!" Cried the hobo.
Josh ignored him as he climed higher up the wall untill he reached the roof. When he reached the top he heard the sound of police sirens. Normaly this would be an odd thing around where he was, but since the "Second Sun Event" as he was already calling it this was only one more emergency situation.
For some reason or another he stopped to look over the edge to watch.

Day 2, Early Afternoon, Palisade National Park

Not to be outdone by Grace, Volt rubbed up against Jenny's leg and gave a small whimper in understanding. Jenny's frown disappeared. Everyone's sympathy helped her feel better.

Then Dan asked his question. “In the meantime, perhaps we could get a little better acquainted. Could you tell us your full name, perhaps, and something more about yourself? And we’ll be glad to try to answer your questions about us, in return.” Jenny's frown returned.

"Oh no," thought Volt, "please stay calm this time Jenny." He knew that when this subject came up it sometimes led to Jenny fighting and shouting.

Jenny knew it too. "I just need to make sure we don't continue to discuss my name after I give it to them," she thought. After 10 seconds of planning, Jenny finally said, "Just to let you know, I don't want any comments about my name right now." She took a deep breath. "My full name is Jennifer Taylor. That's all I have to say on the subject." Volt flinched. That last sentence seemed a little bit sharp. They both waited for the response, hoping that it would be nothing.