Supernova
— Day 1 —
Parksville, Erbaine
Palisade National Park

"Walking? How about running?" Terra said, disturbed by the Jeep's unresponsiveness, and trying not snap at her cousin. Fear was taking its toll, and she was going on pure adrenaline, now. "Okay, we'll jog."

She pulled the front of her shirt up over her nose, coughing. "Don't inhale the smoke if you can help it; I don't even know what kind of fire this is. It doesn't smell like a normal forest fire. C'mon, Tundra," Terra added to the blind wolf, uncomfortable with the way the wolf was whining.

The wolf wouldn't move. She was sitting on the ground, her nose pointed in Lui's directed, and the sound she was making was approaching an eerie howl, almost a kind of keening.

"Lui, make her move—" Terra began, but faltered as she looked at her cousin, and saw that she had dropped to the ground, twitching.

Supernova
— Day 1 —
Parksville, Erbaine
Palisade National Park

Luisana swayed on her feet, her vision swimming. The colors she was seeing were mixed and nothing made sense. She closed her eyes tightly and tried to fight the pounding in her head.

She could hear Terra talking and Tundra's whining, but she was powerless to reply to Terra or comfort the wolf. Unable to stand anymore, she felt herself falling, reaching out to grab the door-frame of the Jeep with her left and injured hand. She knew it was a mistake as soon as her wrist stretched to support her weight and beak her fall, but it was too late.

She clenched her jaw against the pain as the back of her head made contact with the gravel road. Her hands shook violently and her lips quivered.

What is happening? She thought, desperate to stop the pain and the shaking.

She felt Tundra's wet nose touch her bare arm as the wolf nudged her hand. Then Luisana succumbed to the darkness.

Day 1: Aridia
de Mon Castle Grounds

"The hotel I was staying at is half-baked, so yeah, I need a place to stay for at least a day or so." Christopher replied to the guard. "So is there any paperwork I need to fill out or what?"

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

Day 1: Burg
Lawrence Manor, evening

Dinner at the manor had consisted of grilled chicken, garlic butter rice and pudding. It would have been fine with Malcom to had simply had pasta, though Jennings insisted on fixing something more nutritious since master Lawrence was going to be "jumping off rooftops tonight".

"The meal was delicious as always, Richard." Malcom said as he stood from the table and headed for his study. A few minutes later, Malcom was putting the finishing touches on his costume. Is it a sign of a deep psychological problem that I'm dressing up as though it's Halloween and going out to pummel bad guys? Lawrence thought as he pulled the white and black mask on, then looked in a small mirror sitting on the rocky shelf. "Nah..."

Malcom adjusted his gloves and hat while he decided which Hyper-bike to take. Finally picking the black one he had slightly modified last summer for maximum speed and mobility.

With a final tug at his jacket, Lawrence kicked the idling bike into gear and sped out of the underground hangar and into the red sunset of Burg.

-Day 1-
Parksville, Erbaine
Green Hills Highschool
After the Supernova

Catherine awoke to complete darkness and silence. She was lying on the stage, but didn't have much of an idea of how she'd gotten there. Slowly, carefully, she got up. Her hand hit something sharp, and she felt the skin break and liquid come out. She stuck the hand into her mouth so that her blood wouldn't drip everywhere and began to cautiously walk along the stage, reaching out with each foot as she went so that she wouldn't fall off the edge. That'd be the perfect end to her day.

Her breathing sounded oppressively loud as she carefully moved on. Finally, she found the stairs and got down them. The exit, where was the exit? She kept walking carefully, moving each foot ahead of her so that she wouldn't run into anything. Her progress was aggravatingly slow. Where was the door? She couldn't find the door!

— Day 1 —
Palisade National Park
Near Parksville, Erbaine

Previously…

“We’ll have to hunker down here until we get word somehow. Good thing we have plenty of food, matches, and firewood.”
---

“How can you think about food at a time like this?” Angie asked, glancing up at the sky.

Dan’s gaze followed hers. The supernova itself seemed to have faded, but a blurry glowing afterimage remained burned onto the sky, and the woods were still rather eerily lit. “Gotta eat,” he grinned; as if on cue his stomach growled loudly. He put down the kindling for the fire he was about to start and returned to his wife’s side. “I’m as worried as you are,” he confessed. He whispered, so as not to alarm their daughter. “I have no idea what’s happening down there” – he glanced in the direction of Parksville – “and no easy way to get there. Things may never be the same again, but as long as we’re safe, we have to keep our strength up. That means eating. It’s one of those rules of survival Dad kept telling me about when I was a kid.”

“I’m hungry too, Mama,” a little voice added.

“Okay, two to one, you guys win,” Angie chuckled.

A crashing sound came from the woods behind them, and a pair of deer ran into their campsite. Candy barked once, twice, then, in response to Angie’s hissed command, quieted and ran under the picnic table, tail between her legs. Dan was grateful now that she’d insisted on obedience training for their pup; a barking dog was the last thing they needed right now.

The deer seemed to be running straight for Grace, who stood staring, stone still, at the approaching animals. It all happened so fast; Dan and Angie could do little more than watch, terrified, as their daughter screamed and covered her head with her hands. At the last instant, the animals veered, one to each side of the child, and disappeared into the woods. The entire encounter had taken just seconds.

The little girl ran to the comfort of her mother’s arms. “We got lucky there,” Dan said to himself, relieved at the narrow escape.

Once sure his daughter was all right, he stepped over to their car, fished out his key, and opened the door. He was not surprised to see a totally dark display. Next he opened the hood and got out to examine the engine. This is where he, on most days, could perform his mechanical magic and get things working again. But this wasn’t most days. The suspected electromagnetic pulse would have wiped out the electronics the engine needed to start and run, and there was nothing he could do about it out here.

“Maybe staying out here isn’t such a great option,” he admitted, sitting down once again next to Angie. “Those deer were running from something. Next time it could be a bear or a moose or – “

Then a teenage girl with curly brown hair emerged from the woods, also at a run, and Candy barked a couple of times, a friendlier bark this time. The couple hadn’t seen any people in the last day, so they were eager for news of the outside world. But before either could say a word, the stranger gasped out, “Fire—in Parksville. Watch the woods—stay safe.”

And then she was gone.

Strange! What’s going to happen next? This was no longer an ordinary fun trip to the campground, Dan knew. “What do you think we should do, dear? Go to town? We could lose our home in the fire, and our friends may be in danger. But we’re too far away to help; we’d never get there in time. And I’m not sure it’s safer here – especially for Grace – if we’re going to be running into who knows what out here.”

“Survival first,” Angie reminded him. “We’re together, and for now, we’re safe. We’ll think better on a full stomach. So let’s have a quick lunch – sandwiches, maybe; something easy – and then we go through our camping gear and pick out what we need to survive. And then we can talk about what to do.”

~Day One~
~Brink City~

At first, Michelle had argued with her brother about leaving - but then their neighbor, Alice Murrow, had come over to see if they were all right.

"We're both fine," Michelle had answered, trying to sound upbeat. "I guess whatever happened out there knocked out the power for a bit. It'll probably be back up in an hour or so."

"An hour or so?" Mrs. Murrow repeated, her voice higher-pitched and faster than normal. "My dear, don't you know what's going on?"

She sounded like it was the most obvious thing in the world, so Michelle felt a little embarrassed when she answered, "No ... do you?"

There was a pause, in which Michelle imagined the older woman was staring at her. All she could hear was Mrs. Murrow's breathing - quick, heavy breaths.

As if she could hardly bear to say it, the other woman said in just above a whisper, "The end of the world."

Josiah came into the room at that point, and firmly but gently - not quite gently enough, in Michelle's mind - sent Mrs. Murrow out. "You've been keeping things from me again," Michelle said flatly, trying to keep a tremor out of her voice. It didn't work.

Her brother sighed. "I - I heard a few reports about something - a supernova - happening sometime soon in a nearby system, but it didn't sound serious at the time. The government didn't think it was anything to worry about, and I didn't want to upset you."

Michelle felt a mixture of anger, exasperation, and fondness well up inside her. "Well, I'm upset now."

"I'm sorry, Mish." He pulled her into a hug, like he always did when he wanted to distract her from his non-answers. Still, a physical display of affection from Josiah was rare enough that she simply wrapped her arms around him and hugged back. "I don't know what's going on here, but I promise, whatever happens I'll keep you safe. Always."

I'm not a little girl anymore, Siah, Michelle thought, but she had said it enough times already in their lives, and if the end of the world couldn't change her brother's mind, she doubted she could.

****

In one way, Josiah was almost grateful for Mrs. Murrow's visit, in that afterward Michelle didn't complain about packing up and heading for Parksville.

Choosing what to take was a nightmare. They had a car in the garage, but he hadn't filled it up on the last trip, and if anyone was still selling gas, it was probably going for an arm and a leg right now; so anything they took they had to be able to carry. They would need food and water - nothing perishable, or that needed to be cooked first, since there was no telling when they would have access to fire or a working stove-top. And of course there were all sorts of other things they would need to bring, like clothing, personal items, rope, knives, perhaps screwdrivers even, or hammers ...

In the end, there were four suitcases - Michelle insisted she was able to carry two, and they had so little as it was he didn't argue with her - two backpacks, and his guitar; one way he was sure they could make money, if nothing else.

Josiah locked the door behind them as they went out into the streets. "Stay close to me," he told Michelle, then started down Castle Road.

Day 1-Arida-de Mon Castle Grounds

"Eh, go talk to the majordomo. I think he could use another person with brains. 'E's thataway," the man said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder and at the elder man. "Go talk to him. I'll make sure you've got a place to sleep."

-Day 1-
Capitol University
Judicia, Erbaine
During the Supernova

Connor didn't answer for a long moment.

"I'm not sure, but you can rest assured they'll come to us for assistance." He glanced sidelong at his father. "They'll realize we were correct about the supernova affecting our planet. They'll request our assistance with damage control and supply rationing. We will be influential in the clean-up of the country."

His eyes gleamed briefly in triumph before it faded to a more subdued expression. Connor Dreyman was not one to express emotions or display his feelings. Which was why he was so embarrassed about his panic and concern earlier. He had to take better care in the future. No one wanted a panicked leader. That could lead to anarchy.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

-Day 1-
Arida
The convent

Allee sighed. "You're probably right. Laney's been through so much... and now this..." Allee trailed off, then snapped back to reality. "You're right. She has to be okay."

Allee's eyes widened. "All that happened was the lights went out and the windows shattered? Don't you find that a little strange? I can understand that being the case in a thunderstorm, but this..."--she waved her hand around--"in the middle of the day? I'm having a hard time believing it was nothing." She paused. "And that's just it. The kids. Where are their parents? We can't get a hold of them because the phones are dead. They don't know where we are. We don't know where they are." She sighed again. "I'm sorry, Xandria... but I'm having a really hard time believing this was nothing."

Allee shrank away when Xandria took her hand. "I... I don't know if I believe that. I want to believe heaven's not too far away, but all this... it scares me." Tears started to build up in her eyes. "I've always been a journalist; a writer. Always so sure of the facts. And now this? It's something I can't explain. Something I can't understand." She blinked away tears as her voice lowered to a whisper. "And I'm terrified."

Day 1: Aridia
de Mon Castle Grounds

"Thanks." Christopher said with a slight nod before walking over to the older man the guard had gestured too. "Pardon me, but the young man over there said I should talk to you about staying here for a few days. He also mentioned something about work..." the bounty said once he was behind the older gent.

Playing the "average guy" was a role Chris had become quite adept at during his years of work. Still, it always annoyed him whenever he had to keep the part up for long. Much to his concealed chagrin, it was looking like this may be one of those long days...

Day 1-Arida-de Mon Castle Grounds

The majordomo look Christopher up and down.

"I could use some exta help. You wouldn't happen to be good at corralling people, picking out liars, and convincing people to do what they're supposed to, would you?"

The Convent

Xandria gulped. She wished Allee would believe her. It would Xandria believe herself.

"It must have been some big power surge. Maybe something at the energy plant exploded. They'll probably have it fixed tomorrow sometime."

A knock on the door interrupted them. Xandria half stood, startled.

"Who is it?" she demanded. The door opened slightly to reveal one of the sisters.

"I just wanted to make sure you girls were doing alright," Sister Martina said. "Mind if I come in?"

"Not at all. We were just trying to figure out what happened today. It's...not the end of the world, is it?" Xandria asked, slighty worried.

"No, dears, it isn't. That was the supernova."

Xandria glanced over at Allee.

"What exactly is a supernova? I heard it on the news, vaguely, but didn't really pay attention."

— Day 1 —
Parksville, Erbaine
Palisade National Park

Terra rushed at Lui—tried to catch her—but she wasn't fast enough. She didn't know if she screamed or not when she saw her cousin's head audibly strike the gravel. Her own head swam; she felt like fainting herself.

"Lui!" She cried, shaking her cousin's shoulder with no response. "Lui!"

She seized the older girl's wrist. She still had a pulse, thank goodness.

"What to do, what to do?" Terra muttered frantically, biting her lip. She could try to carry her back to the compound—Lui was smaller, and Terra was stronger—but she knew Lui had hit her head hard, and that moving people with head injuries was a bad idea. Besides, after running seven miles headlong. . . it killed Terra to admit it to herself, but she didn't think she could do it. The internal conflict was maddening.

I can't just leave her here! What about the fire? She's defenseless!

But what can I do?

The jeep, you idiot!

The road was flat enough, she could do this. Terra managed to drag Lui to the jeep, and haul her into it, buckling her in as tight and secure she could. Then, she got behind the vehicle and pushed.

It was grueling, but it was easier than carrying her back by far. Terra talked to Tundra, partly because the wolf needed to hear her voice to know how to follow, and partly because she badly needed something to distract her from the appalling recent events. Today, she'd nearly died under bizarre circumstances, her hometown was on fire, and now Lui was passed out in front of a defunct jeep and she was pushing it towards the compound at a snail's pace on pain of death.

If she didn't get there in time, there was a disturbingly definite possibility that Lui could die. Terra didn't know what was wrong with her cousin, but she did know she had lost a lot of blood before her arm was bandaged. And it wasn't just the wolf bite. There seemed to be something very wrong with her. Terra couldn't help but wonder if Tundra had introduced some deadly bacteria to Lui's bloodstream when she bit her.

This day can't get any worse, Terra thought with her back pressed against the back of the jeep, pushing with every ounce of her remaining strength.

How very wrong she was.

--Day 1--
Burg

*Jack ran down the precinct hallway, "Come on, we gotta go now!" he yelled.

Jack tried to respond, but it was to late, the earthquake had cracked the foundation where his partner had been standing, he was gone.*

This brutal image awoke Jack who was now drenched with sweat. He glanced at his forearm, it looked horrendous. He knew had had to go to the hospital, so he tried once more to stand. Somehow making it on both feet, he hobbled forward, looking almost drunken.

Jack was in luck, ambulances were still covering the streets of Burg, attending to others who were wounded. He managed to make it up to one of the doctors, she looked very startled by the sight of him.

He made his best attempt to speak to the doctor, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he collapsed right in front of her.

*He was back in the hallway again, just shortly after his partners death. He realized that he could not stay here or else he would meet the same demise. He ran as fast as he could down the hallway, scrambling to find an exit, a door lied at the end of the hall, Jack charged for it, the foundation falling in behind him. Then he heard a voice, "Mr. Hollander! Mr. Hollander, please wake up!" then everything shook violently.*

Everything went white, then his vision came to him, he awoke in a hospital room, being shaken by a nurse.

"Mr. Hollander, you need to take your medicine now." she said overjoyed.

Jack propped himself up on pillows, his head was aching, fragments of the incident filled his mind, but none of them seemed to make sense, he just wished someone would give him answers.

He swallowed the medicine and slumped back on the pillows, then sighed longingly.

"First I have to get out of here...." he thought.

-Day 1-
Capitol University
Judicia, Erbaine
Supernova

"I didn't do anything either!" Laramie cried, shaking the fingers that looked like Liam's as if she could somehow shed his hand and find her own again. Her mind spun in panicked circles, trying to grasp even a fragment of the situation. "You grabbed my hand...and the next moment, you're wearing it. I don't even know, Liam."

Laramie stared down at the foreign hand attached to her own familiar wrist. "Are we hallucinating?" She looked up at Liam, but she only found her own bewildered fear mirrored in his eyes.

Suddenly, another wave of energy rocked the area around them, and over Liam's shoulder, Laramie saw a building shudder. Two windows bulged outwards and shattered into a million flying shards, headed straight for them. She lunged for Liam to push him out of the way. "Look out!"

Supernova
— Day 1 —
Parksville, Erbaine
Palisade National Park

It took Tundra some time and a few failed efforts, but she finally jumped into the moving Jeep. Curling up beside Lui, she whined continually, a sign of amplified distress.

Lui moaned, feeling the wolf's fur beside her. She grabbed a fistful in her shaking hand and finally gained the willpower to fully wake up. Her eyelids flew open, but her dark brown eyes complained about the brightness. She squinted.

Turning her head, she gave a slight whimper at the pain in her head. She saw Terra in the corner of her eye. Lui turned as much as she could and said, "Terra, stop...You're going to kill yourself." She took a breath. "You need to go back to safety. "

Lui watched as Terra shook her head. "Go now. I'll be fine. If you see someone, send them back. Okay?"