Episode Zero (August 8th, 2023)

The sky was a bleak, washed out shade of red that was frequently overlapped by thick, black smoke. Birds had already fallen from the sky- decorating the roads with mounds of them. Circling around the heaps of rubble and rebar, the remnants of a mall sat. Only chunks of wall with ceiling clinging on remained. Large pillars stood amongst the destruction sporadically, with some boasting barely legible navigation maps. Dust kicked up from the remains of the mall and polluted the air, coloring the surrounding area light brown. In the distance, where massive skyscrapers would sit, were nothing but a blazing flame.

Everything was dead silent.

A girl stood upon one of the many stacks of debris, locking her eyes on what laid beneath her. Her white, button-up shirt was tainted with the slightest hint of blood. Both of her sleeves were ripped with holes visible in various areas, but the right sleeve had obviously taken more damage than the left. She wore a black, torn skirt that was pulled up to her navel. Long, black stockings graced her legs, its holes giving light to the various cuts and bruises she was inflicted with. However, the part of her with the most damage was the face.

Dawning her face was an anguished, inconsolable expression. Her green eyes, fixated on the ground, were clouded and glazed over with thick, strong tears. She clenched her teeth together, refraining herself from screaming at the top of her lungs. Her nearest breath always stopped midway, so she could only release heaps of squeals after she had to gasp another time. Her weak, frail hands hung from her arms- almost lifeless. A strong and violent feeling invaded her gut, causing her to scream out in a grief-stricken cry.

Finally, her breath caught up to her.

"Shawn!!!"

Beneath her was the cold, limp body of her younger brother. His eyes barely open and his hand barely able to do anything so much as twitch. A large, thick chunk of concrete was pinning him down into the pile of wreckage. In the middle of the chunk of concrete was a twisted piece of rebar that had already carved its way into Shawn gut.

His face was caked with dust. His chapped lips were dry with his blood. His eyes were pinned down with the heavy bags developing under them. His dark brown hair was disheveled and crusted over with ash. He narrowed his eyes as he opened his mouth, slowly.

"M-Mia…," he whimpered. His voice was quiet and unstable. "Leave, go with mom and dad."

After much trembling, Mia fell to her knees, grasping her brother's small hand. "No, Shawn, I can't! I can't leave you alone here, you can't make it that long!"

Shawn found himself unable to grip her hand back. "Leave me. Don't come back for me, sis…"

Mia was dumbfounded. "W-what?"

"Mom and dad… wouldn't be able to live…," he paused, catching another quick breath of air, "…if both of their kids died."

Mia stayed crouched beside him, completely frozen. After a while, she slowly start shaking her head. "No…," she denied. "No, no, no, no. Shawn!" She leaned forward, gripping his shoulder. "I can carry you! Please!"

The corners of his mouth uplifted slightly. "You kn-know you can't lift that rock, sis- you're a girl."

She immediately stood up and grabbed the edge of the rock. She bent her elbows and squatted, attempting to use all her body weight to lift it. She tilted her head back, screaming as her muscles burned.

"I-idiot! I can lift it! I'll save you! I'll s-save you..." Her voice went from falsely triumphant to unapologetically weak.

"Sis," Shawn mumbled, "you're not moving it at all…"

Mia tried again, burying her feet in the rubble and stiffening her arms as she focused all her weight on lifting the piece of concrete. "Shut up, I can do it! You always doubt me, well I'll prove you wrong Shawn- I'll save you!"

Shawn grew irritated at his sister. "Dummy! I've always been more levelheaded than you! Stop being so selfish and let me die!!!" His ear piercing shriek echoed through the mall, catching Mia off guard. She lowered her hands and looked down at him, prompting him to continue. "I don't want mom and dad to cry…"

Shawn started doing just that.

"Please, sis," he added, "give them at least one kid to kiss goodnight…"

Mia held back tears as well. "Y-you're stupid if you think I'm going to leave you that easily…"

Shawn let his head fall back. "You're so selfish…"

Tears obstructed Mia's vision as she fought back. "You underestimate me, Shawn! The family isn't the same without you! They'll start singing lullabies to me now, they'll start taking me to school, all the attention will be on me. It'd be up to me to comfort them! I can't do it without you, Shawn… you're what gives me the strength to put up with them. So let me… save you, Shawn."

Silence.

"Shawn," Mia looked at his body draped over the rocks.

No response.

"Shawn, this isn't funny. Stop playing around," she demanded.

Dreadful silence.

"Shawn."

Mia stumbled over to him, gripping the hunk of concrete as she slid down the hill he was pinned against. She crouched next to him, immediately grabbing his hand and examining his body. Her gaze followed up from his laceration to his head, hanging back off the steep decline of the hill.

No pulse.

"Shawn…. Shawn. Shawn! Shawn!!!" She grabbed him and shook him violently. "Open your eyes, please! Shawn! Please, PLEASE!"

The pit that already made permanent residence in her stomach had dropped to an unforeseen low. She let out an agonizingly weak scream as her voice cut out. The wind whipped up her hair as dust and garbage flew past her.

She looked up towards the red, smoke filled sky and shouted one last time.

"Momma, dad!!!"

She sat next to her younger brother, her face expressionless and her body numb. She locked her eyes on his shell of a body, unable to muster up the strength to look away.

However, something caught her attention. In the very edge of her peripherals, she caught a glimpse of an upside down ovular contraption with what looked like wings on either side. A cracked glass dome at what was supposed to be the upper front allowed minimal sight into it. There was a small dashboard, a torn leather seat, and dangling seatbelts on either end with an oxygen mask spread out across the ceiling.

Mia stood up, the wind picking up her hair and skirt once more as she slowly walked towards it. It took her seemingly ages before she eventually made it to the machine- or vehicle. She placed her hands against the cold metal siding and used the last ounce of strength she had to push it back upright. It was almost weightless but enough so that it posed a small challenge for Mia. She slid her palm across the machine, clearing the dust off of it. Her hand proceeded to slide over to the glass dome, prompting it to lift up, exposing the inside.

It was then she remembered what this thing was.

"…a…pod."

She looked behind her at the wall of flames, the crumbled buildings, and the countless amount of corpses hidden beneath them. With a determined face, she climbed into the pod, leg after leg. Mia planted her bottom into the damaged leather seat and pulled the glass dome back over her. A small television lowered from the ceiling in front of Mia.

Welcome," the television began. "It's a pleasure to have you. Please follow the instructions." Explosions went off behind her, causing her to jump and look. "Number one, please buckle your seat belts on either end of your seat from left to right." She looked back towards the television and scurried to buckle herself in. "Number two, please attach this to your face." Mia focused her attention on the oxygen mask. "To do so, take the straps and wrap it around your ears, then cup the plastic mask over your nose and under your chin. Number three, please slide your feet and hands into the slots provided, located below the dashboard and on the handles of the chair." She followed as instructed. "Number four, relax and enjoy your trip to the world's safe haven, a hope for the future: Division-A."