Note that a few of you reading this will make cameos in this chapter. I tried to include as many of you as I could if your name would allow it.

Chapter was going to be around 10000 words long but I broke it into two parts so you could all get it.

Present day.

Saturn. 0900 hours.

Rama II.

“So Captain,” the reporter asked, “What exactly is your projected passenger count when you leave in 50 years?”

Captain Archer Tye removed his hat. He’d been on the project since he was 28 years old. Now pushing 53 he was still young. Though he didn’t like the prospect of waiting another 50 years to leave he still would have plenty of life left in him by the time the ship arrived at its destination. 103 years here followed by 50 in space followed by several hundred and up more years in another system. Away from the threats of constant war and economic strife.

But there was still a problem of finding a crew of the best and brightest willing to risk it all to build a new life out among the stars. Though he guessed that’s what the 50 year delay was for.

“Well our carrying capacity for our trip will be around 25 million people, giving some room for the population to expand a bit. But our maximum recommended capacity is 50 million people. Any higher than that and we risk straining the ecosystem built onto Rama.”

“But if you needed to you could carry the excess 25 million?”

“If we needed to yes we could. Only under emergencies though. Like mass evacuations. And the cities on the surface would be pushed to capacity as well as the agricultural systems. The excess of people could do harm to the ship’s ecology.”

“I see. Well Captain we thank you for your time,” the reporter smiled, “Well you heard it here first folks. Rama II leaves for Alpha Centauri summer 2463. So get your tickets now!”

***

Several days earlier.

“Dane! Put the damn fire out before you burn the fucking forest down!” I yelled.

“Alright! Alright! Jesus Christ! It’s just a fire,” he yelled.

Spitfire was sitting on a log with cup of coffee in her hands. She laughed.

“The hell’s so funny?” I asked.

“Nothing, just sitting here watching two idiots.”

Gin climbed out of her and Dane’s tent, “What’re you two bimbos arguing about now?”

“Dane’s ‘bouta burn down the whole damn forest,” I said.

“Oh relax Smokey the Bear. I put the thing out. See?”

“Good. I don’t want you leaving that thing burning in the middle of the night.”

“Don’t get all worked up about it sunshine,” Dane said packing up some gear and tossing it into his tent.

“So what’re we doing tomorrow?” Spitfire asked.

“Well we’re gonna move up the mountain. I’m gonna take some notes, draft the report, add a few pictures and be done with the report. Then we move east. Road trip baby,” I said.

“Ooh! I’ll drive!”

“No. Not gonna happen. Not with the way you drive.”

“Why?”

“Because I would trust a rabid hippo behind the wheel than you.”

“That’s a horrible analogy.”

“Okay, here’s another one. LINDSEY LOHAN IS A BETTER DRIVER THAN YOU!”

Spitfire coughed into a cup and started laughing. Having lived with me for several months I guess she was bound to pick up a few cultural references. Never figured she paid attention to celebrities and other social media.

She placed her cup down still giggling, “Wow. He shut you down.”

“Oh shut up!” Dane fumed, “Why do you always take his side anyway? You haven’t seen my driving.”

“Hey,” Gin said, “If he can make a girl laugh he can make her do anything.”

“Really,” Dane said, “Just out of curiosity, how many girls has he slept with? None? That’s what I thought.”

“Well I don’t go around man whoring myself to everything with three holes and two jugs.”

“Well have you gotten laid yet Mr. 17 year old virgin?”

“Cause I have morals that I like to stick to,” I said.

“Well if it helps, I’d sleep with you Jett,” Spitfire said tossing me a sly grin. I turned red.

“I-uh, gah, um. Dane we’re switching tents.”

“Oh relax Jett,” Spitfire giggled like a school girl, “I’m not gonna rape you in your sleep or something.”

“Oh-I-uh, well um- you know what, fuck it I’m going to sleep. Good night.”

With that I disappeared into the tent. I changed out of my boots and stripped down to my thermals and climbed into my sleeping bag. It was only 8:00 but after what just happened I’d rather be sleeping than outside right now.

***

“Well I guess we should be getting to sleep too,” Gin said, “Getting dark out anyway.”

“Yeah,” Dane yawned, “He’ll probably wake us up early anyway. Night.”

“Yeah, Goodnight,” Spitfire said. As Dane and Gin disappeared into their tents she entered hers. Jett was sleeping soundly on the floor of the tent, curled up into a ball.

She laughed before stripping down to her undergarments and climbing into her sleeping bag. She grabbed her journal and a flash light and started to write.

Love is one of those crazy things in life. You can’t explain it, you won’t be able to explain it, and you never will. It just is. When you aren’t looking for it, it will find you. It will find you when you least expect it and in some cases when you want it least. It grabs you by the heart and tosses you into a storm of wild emotions. And the only dry land is that one person who can light up your day just by being there. That one person who can say just one word and get you to crack up. The one person who will always be there not because he has to but because he wants to. That best friend is what you fight for. That one little piece of paradise at the center of it all. While the chance of never getting there is high, the potential rewards make it all worth it.

She sighed and closed her journal and pocketed in her bag. She looked towards the object of her affection. Jett slept calmly. Occasionally the energy arteries that ran though his systems flashed a random color before calming down.

She laughed. He had done that in random intervals for a while. It was interesting. It gave him an extra piece of personality.

She calmly lay down and crawled into her sleeping bag before falling asleep.

***

I awoke. I flashed my systems on before rising in my sleeping bag. I checked my internal clock. 5:00 in the morning. Crap. Well I’m not gonna be getting back to sleep at this rate. I opened my eyes. Well it was still darker than my hair minus the reading light coming from the sleeping bag next to me. I turned.

Spitfire was immersed in a book. Her shirt was in a pile next to her and she wore a black sports bra. Her wings were extended out. But ever so slightly. Her face was a mild pink as she began to get more and more into the book. I laughed inside.

50 Shades of Grey.

I ever so quietly crept out of my sleeping bag in the darkness. I crawled slowly behind Spitfire and looked over her shoulder. And her wings.

Her face had a funny red look on it as she read. Could only imagine what the hell she was reading but considering what I’d heard about it…

Oh I could have so much fun from here… Should I?

No. I’m not gonna be that guy. Well… maybe a little.

I took my hand and lightly dragged it along the edge of her right wing. Ever so lightly. She blushed even more and a light moan escaped her. I wasn’t sure if she was just that unaware or was too immersed in her book. Well, time to suck her out of her fantasy.

I whispered in her ear, “Hey Spitty, whatcha reading?”

INSTANTLY. And when I say INSTANTLY, I mean instantly. Like there was no time between now and then. Like it just happened. It went from A to like X and skipped all the other letters of the alphabet.

INSTANTLY, she slammed the book closed with such force I could have sworn I saw the pages fuse together when they hit. She turned around with such speed she probably gave herself whiplash before scooting over to the other side of the tent.

She clutched the book to her chest with her face red with embarrassment. I died laughing. I fell back in a fit of laughter.

“So!” I laughed, “Spitfire! What were you reading over there that got you so… excited?!”

“I-uh, um, well, I uh, you see, that, well, I uh,” she managed to stutter.

“Oh my god this is priceless!” I laughed, “I think this almost makes up for all those times you’ve done shit like this to me!”

I guess she finally found her voice, “You’re a jerk! That wasn’t funny!”

“You’re right! It was hilarious! Were you getting a thrill reading that?”

She held her nose up, refusing to look at me, “Maybe I was. A girl has needs you know.”

“Never figured you were into that kind of stuff Spitfire,” I said still laughing.

“And what kind of stuff is that? It’s just a book you nosey bastard.”

“Oh I’m the nosey bastard? Forgive me for waking up and seeing you with your… erect appendages reading one of the most erotic books ever written in the 25th century. I just figured I’d have fun with it.”

“Well looking over my shoulder like that was rude.”

“Oh don’t give me that. Rude is when you humiliate me in front of my entire family. I was just having a bit of fun. You can’t say you didn’t enjoy it a little bit.”

She blushed and found something interesting to look at on the floor.

“So what exactly was happening when you slammed the book shut?”

“Oh shut up! Leave me alone. I don’t bother you when you’re having your alone time.”

“Temper temper Mon Capitan. And I don’t have an alone time. I don’t even… need to do that. I’m a robot.”

“Well I’m a girl and I do have those… urges sometimes,” she fumed.

“Oh really,” I grinned. I could so mess with her on this, “Like what?”

“Why would I tell you?”

“Cause we’ve been living together for the past six months. And I’m interested. Shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“Well… that anatomy class doesn’t exactly cover people like me.”

“Oh? And how is that?”

“Well… girls from where I come from don’t… you know. They don’t… you know what I mean. Moving on!” she blushed.

I laughed, “And just what do they do?”

“Well… once a month we get… well we get uh…”

“Get what? Girls here turn into demons once a month. And at that point not even an android will be safe from the wrath of a hormonal, angry woman.”

“Well we don’t get like that. We do get… hormonal a bit but not like that. We... we kinda turn… we kinda turn into sex fiends,” she blushed.

“Sex fiends?” I laughed. Oh if Dane heard this…

“Yeah,” Spitfire sighed placing the book down and moving closer, “It’s the only time a girl can get pregnant. Though we certainly don’t bleed like… that. We just get super horny for a while.”

“Huh,” I pondered, “So you’re kinda like us without the evil. Interesting.”

“Yeah, well it can be annoying sometimes.”

“Oh? How so? Cause I’m pretty sure that the alternative beats that.”

“Well, maybe. It isn’t exactly easy to deal with… I mean, flying is difficult. And uh, well, you can’t really, you know, do anything with anyone else unless, well, uh, you want to get pregnant- WHY THE FUCK ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THIS!?” she yelled with a pink flush on her face.

I fell over laughing again, “Hey! You started it!”

She turned red, “You’re a jerk sometimes.”

“Oh please. You’ve done worse to me.”

“Humph,” she crossed her arms and turned away, “You’re still a jerk.”

I sat up, “Aw, is little Spitty grumpy?”

“Nope,” she said sticking her nose up.

“I bet she is. Is Little Spitty mad the mean android bothered her reading?”

She started to crack, “Stop it.”

“Is Little Fire a grumpy angel girl? I bet she is. Can the big bad robot do anything to help?”

She started laughing and threw a pillow at me, “Ha ha ha, stop that. That’s not fair.”

“Yeah it is,” I grinned, “And what’s not fair?”

“You can make me laugh like that. And I can’t do anything like that to you.”

“Oh please,” I scoffed, “Do not give me that. You’ve had your way with me since the first day we met.”

She smiled, “Yeah I guess.”

We sat in silence for a while. It was still early in the morning so we could go back to sleep I guess.

“So… uh,” Spitfire began, “How’d you sleep?”

“How did I sleep? Uh… I don’t know. I don’t really dream at all so I couldn’t tell you.”

“You don’t dream? But I thought you did. What about that time you woke up all scared and everything?”

“That was a nightmare. Ever since I got hit by the car I haven’t had them. Or anything for that matter.”

“Well that kinda sucks.”

“Meh, I’ve gotten used to it. I’ve gotten used to a lot of things.”

Spitfire smiled, “Like?”

“You already know. We shared a bedroom for practically six months. I mean the only time you live with someone like that is in the military.”

“Really? How long is military service here?”

“Here? Well it depends. Army and Marines is only like three months before you get leave. But you’re typically in those branches for about a year before you can either reenlist or be discharged. The navy and air force is typically a lot longer considering you’re in space for a long time.”

“Well in the Wonderbolts we’re in for however long we want. I mean, we can stay from a minimum of a year until whenever we decide to leave or we’re unable to fly. How long is the navy?”

“Well the Air force is more bearable as you’re typically on an asteroid or star base for only about six months before shore leave. And again you’re out there for about a year. The navy is a lot worse though, depending on where you’re stationed. If you’re on an inner system cruiser or whatever you get leave every six months along with the commute from Saturn to Earth. But everything from the outer gas giants out is worse. You’re in a ship from Uranus all the way out to the Kuiper belt. And it can get very lonely.”

“How long are you out there for?”

“Oh… I don’t know. Anywhere from a year to 18 months. No leave at all. The commute to the belt is a long one. In fact the only ships that can make the journey are the heavy cruisers, battleships, carriers and super carriers.”

“Ouch, sounds tough.”

“Oh from what my dad has told me it is.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, he’d made the trip a few times before he got his stars. Apparently when you’re stuck out there like that you either become really close to the people you’re with or you come to hate them. So if you’re not with people you already know for the most part you’ll have a bad time.”

“But that didn’t happen with us right?” Spitfire asked.

I sighed, “Spitfire, you punched me in the face the first time we met and we still became friends the same day. What the hell do you think? I mean, we’ve shared a bed I don’t know how many times.”

She blushed, “Just making sure. Plus we both know who enjoyed the bed more.”

I gave her a look. She just returned it before we exploded into a fit of giggles and laughs. Oh it felt good to laugh with her. It felt so liberating, like nothing bad could happen, so musical, so free…

“Just what exactly is that supposed to mean?” I laughed.

“Do I have to explain it?” Spitfire laughed back.

“I SWEAR TO FUCK YOU TWO BETTER START HAVING SEX OR GO BACK TO SLEEP!” Dane yelled, “HOLY FUCK! IT’S FIVE IN THE MORNING!”

A rustling followed by a smacking sound was heard, “DANE IF YOU DON’T SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LET ME SLEEP I’LL SHOVE MY BOOT SO FAR UP YOUR ASS YOU’LL BE ABLE TO TASTE WHERE I’VE WALKED!”

“Jeez, sorry bitch. Just trying to get Adam and Eve over there to sin a little.”

“Oh shut the fuck up and let them have their fun. When was the last time you had an intelligent conversation with a girl huh? Now go back to sleep you damned serpent.”

“Humph,” he said. A rustling was heard before everything went silent again.

Spitfire looked back at me before laughing again. I just smiled at her as she fell over on her bag in a fit of giggles. Oh laughter was one of the most joyous things in the world.

***

Starbase 597. Saturn. Present.

Tye looked out the window of his office. It was a nice office. It would also be his workspace while the crew for Rama II was selected. The humongous ship floated just outside his window. From this distance it looked smaller than it really was.

His com on his desk beeped. He absentmindedly pressed the icon on his desk. A screen popped up.

“Captain Tye Sir.”

Archer turned, “Yes Lieutenant?”

“We’re receiving a priority one transmission.”

“From where?”

“Earth. They specifically ask for you and you only sir.”

“Alright, send it in.”

“Yes sir.”

The lieutenant disappeared and was replaced by static before the image began to refocus. A man appeared.

“Admiral, Sir.”

“Hello Archer. It’s been a while. I have a mission for you and you are to follow it to the letter.”

***

Fyre Ghost moved into the crowded Aerodome. He was an interesting fellow. Media commentator, critic, and personality he was reasonably known among the masses.

The crowd was small compared to what the Areodome. The seats were not occupied rather a floor had been put in and rested before the stage. Various press people and journalists walked around the floor or flew up above. Waiting. Waiting for something to be said.

He walked towards his seat in the front row as he took in his surroundings. He didn’t really see a lightning headed girl with blueberry colored hair walking in his direction.

The girl looked like he had been struck by lightning a few too many times. That along with the fact she looked like she belonged in a strait jacket rather than a flight jacket. She purposely bumped Fyre nearly knocking him to the ground.

“Watch where you’re going Casper!” Blueball Blitz shouted.

Fyre growled, “What the hell’s your problem?!”

“That Fyre Ghost hasn’t learned when to get out of the way and respect his superiors!” Blitz laughed before violently twitching. Fyre raised an eyebrow.

A pink haired girl with dark pink highlights walked over. She had a windblown look in her hair and wore a similar dark blue flight jacket with a skull and crossbones patch. Starry Skies

“Is this guy bothering you Blitz?” she asked. Now it was Fyre’s turn to twitch. She had a voice like one of the snobby popular girls from his school with the ‘holier than thou’ attitude.

“Yup!”

“Well it looks like someone’s jealous that he can’t fly as fast as Blitz over here.”

“Keep your bitch on a leash lady,” he snarled.

“Excuse me?!” Skies yelled.

“Is there a problem here?” A guard asked flying over. He wore a typical guard dress uniform. And he was built. Tall and muscular his name fit him like a glove. Iron Sides was his name, Lieutenant in the royal guard.

Skies turned, “No sir.”

“Good, because if you two keep causing trouble I’ll have you both removed. UNDERSTOOD?”

“Yes SIR,” she growled.

“Good. Now go to your seats.”

“Humph, Come on Blitz. This place is dead anyway.” With that they sauntered off. Fyre still wanted to strangle them both but he’d wait for later.

“They weren’t too much of a bother were they Mister…?”

“Fyre Ghost. Fyre is fine though,” he responded holding out his hand.

“Iron Sides,” he grasped his hand and shook, “So… rough few weeks huh?”

“Uh, tell me about it.”

“Yeah, my friend High Winds was a big fan of the Wonderbolts. Actually, he’s over there right now,” he pointed at a guard standing near the edge of one the stage, “Shame, he had a VIP pass to that show the night she disappeared.”

“I just hope they announce some sort of good news today.”

“You and me both. Well, I better get back. Cap doesn’t like it when we socialize.”

“Well it was good meeting you Iron.”

“You too Mr. Ghost.”

Fyre continued on to his seat in the front row and sat down next to his friend Combine.

“Who was that?” he asked.

“Oh just one of the guards. Really nice fella.”

“Ah. Saw what happened with you and Blitz. What a kook.”

“Hell yeah. Don’t even get me started on Skies.”

“Yeah.”

A loudspeaker crackled, “Alright everyone we’ll be starting soon so take your seats.”

“Hope we get some good news,” Combine sighed.

“Me too.”

***

“Is it over?” Spitfire asked.

“Yeah,” I said standing back up. We had finished our project. By ‘we’ I mean ‘me’ considering Dane did nothing. Now we were in the city, bags on our backs, walking towards one of the outdoor cafés. Only before we got there an earthquake hit and we all hit the deck.

“That was cool!” Dane said.

“Yeah, only it’s not so good when pieces of building fall on you.”

“Oh come on. That only happens when you get something like a magnitude 8. And even then it’s not so bad.”

“Yeah well still. You don’t play around with earthquakes.”

We all stood up. Everyone else on the sidewalks had done the same as us and was now rising back up too before continuing on. Guess earthquakes here were normal.

“Does this place get them often?” Spitfire asked.

“Well they’ve been occurring here in frequency for the past 300 years so yeah I’d say so.”

Dane’s stomach rumbled. We all turned.

“What? I haven’t eaten since breakfast.”

“Dude, I fucking cooked breakfast, and you ate nearly half the food. How are you still hungry?” I asked.

“Okay, I didn’t eat half of it. Maybe a third. And Spitfire helped.”

Spits gave a sheepish grin before shrugging.

“Plus you hardly ate at all,” Dane finished.

“I can live off of water. Plus there was more for the three of you.”

“Well you better get some lunch today before we force feed you,” Gin said.

“Alright alright, I’ll get something. Geez you sound like my mother.”

“I hope not,” Gin said, “I’ve met the bitch and let me tell you… I understand why you don’t talk to her.”

“Okay not my mother. How about Dane’s mother?”

Dane cringed, “Eeeyeah… no. As much as she is an insufferable cunt she does not do that.”

“Fine, poor analogy.”

“Well my mother used to make my sister and I eat our vegetables like that,” Spitfire said.

“Well there you go.”

We started walking again towards the interior of the city. The town itself was interesting. Most of the buildings with the exception of the orbital elevator had been built all at the same time. Even the large sports stadium had been built with the rest of it. And this city had an interesting story behind it. During the war there had been an occupation and a lot of the civilians had found and interesting way out of the city.

But that’s for another day. We continued on through the large urban sprawl. We came to a small café and bar.

“Wanna eat here?” Dane asked.

“Meh, makes no difference to me,” I yawned.

We walked into the café and picked a small four person table. Various other people occupied the dimly lit, rustic themed restaurant. The bar was mildly occupied with a TV sitting above the back counter.

We all sat down and ordered our food.

“So when are we going skydiving?” Spitfire asked.

“Probably after lunch,” I said, “You two coming?” I turned to Gin and Dane.

“Nah,” Gin said, “Sorry but heights are not for me.”

“I don’t have my gear,” Dane shrugged.

“Ah, guess it’s just you and me Spitfire.”

She gave a sly grin and winked, “Just the way I like it.”

I rolled my eyes, “You are such a flirt!”

“Maybe…”

“Blah! Get a room you two!” Dane gagged.

“Screw you asshole.”

Our drinks arrived.

Dane looked up from his soda, “Uh oh, here come’s trouble.”

“What?” Spitfire asked.

He motioned for us to turn around. Fuck. It was a group of football players wearing the school’s varsity jackets. Funny, they probably didn’t get them until Ryan’s goons got pasted and Ryan himself sent to god knows where. They were still pissed.

“Don’t look at them and maybe they’ll go away,” I said.

“Those the guys the ones who tried beating on you?” Gin asked.

“Not sure, some of them looked familiar but…”

And sure enough they didn’t go away.

“Hey robofreak. Fancy seeing you here,” one of them said. I think I recognized him. His name was Chase.

I sighed. This was not gonna end well.

***

Andrew was panicking. Very much so. Computer simulations were one thing but seeing them be right on the dot down to the millisecond was just plain disturbing. The reports were accurate. Nearly perfect. Magnitude, time, location, everything. And it was just plain creepy.

“Dear Jesus please let me be wrong just this once.”

He looked out the window at the park. The ground was growing more distended by the minute. He looked back at his monitor and watched the time tick down.

“Please just let me be wrong.”

4

3

2

1

***

“I swear to fucking god, if I hear one more robot joke I’m going to kill someone.”

After taking some spitballs to the head and having some crap thrown at me I had decided to leave. Only I had done so with some commotion. After contemplating throwing a knife at them, and them throwing a few food items at me, I had yelled some words at them I didn’t even know were in my vocabulary before quickly restraining myself and leaving. And that brings us up to about here.

“Okay Jett, calm down. Get a hold of yourself before you blow a fuse. Heh, that would be funny.”

“Okay Spitfire! Okay! Let’s just calm down now!” Dane yelled as he and Gin pulled the very angry girl from the restaurant. Judging by how much steam and smoke were coming from her head she was PISSED.

“PIGS! WHY DON’T YOU TRY THAT AGAIN SO I CAN RIP YOUR HANDS OFF?!” she yelled.

I looked up and sighed, “What did they do now? Please tell me it wasn’t that bad because I really do not want to go back in there and kill someone.”

“No nothing, one of them thought it would be a good idea to smack Spitfire’s butt is all,” Gin said, “And then she stabbed him in the hand with a fork but… meh that’s life- Jett you put that energy weapon away this instant.”

I gave a sheepish look, she already saw the weapon emerging from its housing, “Sorry, old habits die hard.”

“Beating up football players is a habit?” Dane asked letting go of Spitfire once he was confident she wouldn’t go back in there and gouge a few eyes out.

“No, protecting her ass is,” I laughed.

Spitfire’s anger cracked and she started laughing. Dane just shook his head and laughed.

“How many times have you had to do that?” Spitfire laughed.

“I don’t even know anymore.”

“So what’re we gonna do now tha-”

A rumbling came over the city. The ground started shaking. Again. Strange, this was the third earthquake today. We all knew the drill by now and hit the ground. This quake was longer and harder than the others. It went on and on. The ground continued its unceasing rumble. Across the street several windows shattered. I risked a glance up to see several high rise windows break and pieces of glass fall to the ground. Screams were heard.

“Cover your heads!”

The pieces rained down and littered the ground. Then it stopped. Just like it began it just stopped. We stayed plastered to the ground for a few seconds before getting up.

“Is it over?”

***

“No.”

Andrew ran across the remnants of his lab. Equipment and debris littered the floor. Several windows were shattered. But that wasn’t the biggest problem. Outside the remains of the lab was utter chaos. The ground in the park was distended and bloated. The ground was a literal mess. Geysers of magma poked their way through the surface like the devil’s fingers trying to reach the surface. An explosion of magma would sometimes go off and toss a cloud of ash and gas into the air. The forest was burning. It seemed that the world was coming to an end. But Andrew knew better. This was only the opening act to the violent hell that would be unleashed soon.

He continued to record as much data about the eruption as he could and uploaded it to the web where it would be safe. Safe for future generations to maybe see it and know what to look for. To prepare. He sighed and continued to watch the world tear itself apart.

For him there would be no escape. He would die here. But that didn’t mean he could do a few more things before he went.

He burst out laughing as he watched the ground become more and more enraged as the sky turned black.

“To think today was my day off.”

He picked up his cup of coffee and returned to the shattered observation window. The ground continued to raise, more and more magma escaping and pooling in the base of the caldera. He gave a smile as he watched.

Then, the mass reached the point of no return and exploded in a massive blast of light, earth, molten rock and ash.

And with that, Andrew Daniels was gone.

***

“Is everyone okay?” I asked.

“I’m fine,” Gin said hefting her bag.

“Me too,” Dane said.

“I’m alright,” Spitfire said.

All around us was pieces of debris. Mostly shattered glass but there were a few pieces of rock and metal around us. Everyone was outside looking around at the mess that littered the street. I got a laugh when the football players exited with plaster covering their heads.

“That was one bad quake,” Dane said.

“I’m just glad we all survived in one piece.”

“Yeah. What the hell was that?” Gin asked.

“Besides and earthquake?” Dane said.

“I know what it was you asshole. What I mean is what the hell was that? Mid-continent earthquakes are rare and that’s our third in a day so far. And aftershocks only go so far.”

“Yeah these quakes do seem a bit out of place,” I said, “I’ve never heard of anything like this before.”

“Really? Cause we just had our 3rd earthquake of the day and it’s barely past lunch.”

“Yeah, well the Yellowstone area has been known to have them due to th-”

In the distance beyond the edges of the city was a massive flash of light. A second sun appeared on the horizon overtaking earth’s natural star in the sky. Soon it dimmed to reveal an unimaginably massive cloud of grey. Pieces of flaming earth were falling back to earth as a massive boom reached us. The noise was deafening as it ripped through the city, breaking any remaining windows. The shockwave echoed throughout the city even knocking some people to their feet.

Everyone was staring towards Yellowstone, unable to move. Then the cloud started to expand and spread across the horizon and rise into the sky. Fire burned along the edges of it. Even from our view in the city we could see it was starting to move closer.

Someone screamed. A woman I think. I couldn’t really tell as everything fell apart.

“RUN!” I yelled.

And then it all began to descend into chaos.