She saw it.
Her red smooth hair was in a haphazard mass, but the curly strands failed to shield her eyes from it. It was a scene she could never unsee. Of all the things that happened on that fateful day, this was the most unbelievable. Hoping was desperate, because it was no use trying to deny something that looked so vivid and so true, and worst of all:
All of it was real.
07:51 19-07-2015
Downtown, Miami-Dade County, FL
x-x-x
It was strange. July was usually a warm month to relish, but it seemed slightly hotter than the weather forecast's expectations. Nevertheless, people still had their share of summer fun: enjoying the delicious taste of popsicle sticks, sunbathing by the beach line, surfing the moderately high tides and practically any other beach activity that came into the list of interest. Other people who preferred staying away from the shores engaged in jocund conversations at the local bar while younger ones joined in the mirthful celebration of their loved ones' birthdays. Everyone was having the time of their life, or simply going on with their usual lives in a fun extraordinary fashion. However, as for a few people, they thought otherwise.
For Flaky, she knew she could never let her guard down. She regretted by that one mistake which almost cost her her friends. The redhead, sick and tired of her superior wanted to transfer to Miami instead of Mclean. The CIA agents over at Mclean weren't as charismatic and cool under pressure as those at Miami. She was surprised when her superiors agreed to send her out of their door. Nonetheless, she didn't want to think of it anymore. She felt more comfortable settling in Miami.
Especially when there was a popular bar situated nearby.
"Shit," She cursed in a low mutter, faintly feeling the giddiness in her brain she earned from the other day. Who knew a small shot could cause a great deal of disorientation? She smacked her head, and extended her hand to call for a taxi. She stepped into a cream-colored cab, and passed a crumpled yet valuable wad to the driver. The middle-aged man raised his eyebrows, eying the fifty-dollar bill in his hand, but from the look on the woman's face and the insignia on her uniform, he sped off quicker before she could request her destination.
"Pardon, ma'am, but I find it rare that them CIA are using cabs these days. Ya new?" The man flashed his pearly white teeth.
Flaky only smiled and nodded, glancing at her watch every 15.03 seconds. She had never been late, but she was too afraid to be. If it weren't for Petunia who partied damn too long into the night and early morning, none of this would have happened.
Flaky gazed out of the passenger window, watching the still lively town as the driver drove up a slope, cautiously and slowly. Miami had progressed impressively, becoming one of the most busy cities of all of the United States, known greatly for its concentrated businesses. From its government and economic to cultural and recreational infrastructure, there was nothing Flaky could never admire in Greater Miami. As more skyscrapers were built, the arrangement of these devastatingly tall buildings made the city seem as though it was a huge castle. Older buildings down Wynwood, Edgewater and Brickell were replaced with newer ones, taller and larger, and ever more greater. Back at Washington's CIA NHB (New Headquarters Building), Director of the CIA, Petraus agreed to expand the CIA network when he signed a contract to build another headquarters at Miami. The results were good, as the view of the city was available even at the main door.
Although the headquarters looked grand, Flaky couldn't help but point out something odd: her director.
"It's a damn good thing HQ is high up, isolated from the noisy bustles of town! Imagine: If a zombie apocalypse were to occur, our survival would mean a better thing, wouldn't it?" An illogical joke made by a fierce yet witty man. For this man was called Lumpy, some of Flaky's colleagues sometimes called him an asshole.
Of course, almost 70% of them were shipped straight to Vietnam's islands. It wasn't a surprising thing, of course. Merely a coincidence, Petunia would shrug.
When the building appeared in her range of vision, she glanced at her watch instinctively. She was to reach there at 08:15 sharp to have a word Sniffles, Lumpy's trusted adviser. She sighed in relief when the minute-hand five minutes before her due time. The driver, relaxed, pulled up near the steps leading to the main door. Without another word, Flaky stepped out of the cab, turning her head back to thank the driver.
The kind man only grinned, bade her good day, closed the door and took off.
She rushed up the steps in her black heels, grabbing the steel handle of the glass door.
Then, she stopped.
For a second, Flaky thought she saw a shadow loom over her. It was a faint shadow, and when she turned around, she found the skies strangely dark. She swore she saw the golden sun still shining up high. A sudden gust of wind shook her from the tip of her red hair to her roots. As she brushed the loose strands from her face, she could see the still image of Downtown below.
Children laughing as they raced each other outside a cafe. Policemen on off-duty strolling the streets, twittering to each other about the weather. Couples walking together with their dogs close on their leashes. Amidst the sight of a calm central city, they all remained unaware of the sudden change of weather above their heads.
Flaky tilted her head up, shading her rosy red eyes with a hand.
She stopped her train of thought when she saw a white light descend from the monolithic mass of gray clouds. It was hard to make out what it was so she squinted her eyes to get a better look. Before she could identify a rough idea of what the light was, it descended fast headlong far off near the beach.
A loud, deafening explosion shook the streets, swiping Flaky off her feet. Her eyes widened as she saw a mushroom cloud of gas drift into the air. A gigantic shockwave seeped through the gaps between buildings, traveling through town at high speeds, and everything soon became silent.
The children who previously played by the cafe weren't laughing anymore. The policemen weren't chatting anymore. Flaky sat on the pavement, frozen for a while, her ears perking for any sound she could pick up. Her vision blurred and everything around her looked unclear like mist on a frosted glass pane.
Dogs were barking, and car sirens were wailing. It was only a matter of time before the doors behind her opened.
"Flaky, get in, NOW!"
A hand reached out and grabbed Flaky's arm firmly. It pulled the flummoxed woman inside and shut the door. The shockwave banged against the glass door, making an ear-throbbing sound. Cracks formed on the glass pane, but all in all, the door remained sturdy. The hand helped Flaky up, who was stupefied of what had happened. She looked at the hand on her arm in pale fright, her eyes trailing up an arm to a person's face.
She met similar red eyes. "Are you alright, Flaky?" Splendid asked, concerned, letting go of her arm hastily. Flaky clutched her arms, her lips quivering, her eyes reverberating like an earthquake. She managed to get a hold of herself. The building was already falling into madness. Colleagues were panicking, and television screens on the walls showed simply static.
"What was that...?" Petunia walked towards the two, sharing the same horrified face Splendid and Flaky had.
Splendid only shook his head and ordered two officers nearby, "Barricade the main doors; tell everyone to shut every entrance in this building. Get this place under lockdown - now!"
The red light that hung from the ceiling burst into life, and metals shutters shut behind the cracked main doors. Metal shutters sealed the windows, and Splendid stepped cautiously towards the main doors, putting his hand on the cold metal shutters. He rest his ear on the metal material, his lips curled into a straight line. Flaky and Petunia only stared at the metal shutters, as though they could see right through it.
And find what was beyond it.
A/N:
PnP- I was waiting so damn long for Sapph-chan xDD New story! Yes, I know I have Disce pati running late but I'll get to that in a jiffy! I apologize for my tardiness, guys. But here's a new epic story! This is an AU HTF story, as you all know, set in Miami in the year of 2015. This is based on a song I've heard on the internet and I loved it. So I talked Sapph out for us to make a story of the song together! Using HTF characters~! Yeah, we're both crazy: making a cute violent cartoon into an epic sci-fi thriller thing. I dunno, lawl~ But I hope everything turns out good as we progress! I mean... ... Well. We already have the plot thought up of. :P
So Stay Tune!
From,
Your True Procrastinator
xxx
Sapph - Author notes? owo It's awesome? XDDD WAHAHAHA XDD