Author's Note:
Welcome to my Fanfic! I hope you have as much fun reading as I did writing it.
No flames please.
Chapter 1: The Day the World Ended
Canta Per Me, Addio
Quel dolce suono
Te passati gionni
Mi sempre ramenta
La vita dell'amore
Dilette del cor mio
O Felice, tu anima mia,
Canta, adaggio….
A familiar ostinato of four stringed instruments played harmoniously alongside the Italian soprano of Deb Lyons. The music resonated off the walls of the bedroom of one Jessica Stark, throwing her awake, quite abruptly, from the reality-detached sense of wonder that comes with dreams.
Her heart racing, she turned her face, eyes wide open, to the iPod alarm clock that had just activated. The time read 6:00 AM, October 24, 2025. All too soon. She swore that she was only asleep for something like an hour. But it didn't much feel like a dream…what was it, then?
Ah, well. There's no use laying here driving yourself crazy listening to that annoying interruption. Jessica lifted her arm, which in her exhaustion seemed to greatly exaggerate its normal weight, and flicked the switch on the side of the clock. Deb's voice stopped piercing her mind. Thank goodness for that.
Jessica got out of bed, showered, and got dressed in her normal outfit: her favorite black thigh-length dress and tights, black elbow-length gloves, black studded belt and pouch, and black boots. Jessica never considered herself a rebel or even just one who liked monochromatic clothing; it was just that more comfortable. And they call me a goth girl for this!
Jessica looked into the mirror that hung on her wall opposite her bed, and looked at the girl staring back at her. Six feet tall, long black hair that hung to just above her hips, pale skin, thin lips. A small tear came to her eye as she recognized a person familiar, but not herself.
Dad…
Most people who knew Jessica well enough knew that she bore a "Stark" resemblence to her father, Johann – a tired and overused pun inside and outside of her family. His black hair, tallness, even the hint of his native Dutch in his accent – all seemed to bleed through to those in the know that she was her father's daughter, a child of the Lowlands.
Jessica van Idaho, Ben Ik van Duitsen Bloed. She thought to herself sarcastically, paraphrasing the Wilhelmus, the Dutch national anthem. Jessica, from Idaho, born was I to the Dutch Blood.
Jessica had last seen her father eight years ago, when his plane disappeared on a flight from Minneapolis to Amsterdam. No plane was ever found. The last contact was made over Greenland, roughly three hours until the Boeing 898's final approach to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. I've gone half of my life without a father. Who am I kidding? I wear black in mourning!
Jessica's last memory of her father was of him introducing her to a vintage game for the Wii, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. She hadn't opened the game-case in years – her laptop allowed her to emulate any game she wanted for free - but she kept it close to herself for sentimental value. Despite the antiquity of the game, the images of heroes she had idolized – Micaiah, Sothe, Queen Elincia, Ike – burned bright in her brain as though she had played the game yesterday.
Better get going. An inkling of common sense invaded her brain, taking her away from the nostalgia of the moment.
Jessica walked out of her bedroom door and walked down the hallway toward the living room. She looked around the decrepit space that was her house or lack thereof. As usual, the morning news was playing on the Roku while her mother, Karen, hastily prepared something that smelled burnt for breakfast. Poor Mom has really let herself go lately.
Within seconds, however, a few words from the TV caught her ear, and Jessica realized why.
"...are still unable to determine the cause of Oliver Singh's disappearance. Authorities now suspect that the accidental explosion of experimental antimatter at the CERN Superaccelerator, which claimed the lives of fifteen of his accomplices, was due to human error, however the location of Singh's body and the bodies of the two Norwegian interns that he was working with are yet to be determined."
The familiar voice of Penny Edwards, a leading anchorwoman for Fox News, blared from the TV. The incident was not necessarily new – it had begun three days ago - but no sooner did the news reach her ear that a thought came to Jessica's head. That's how my father disappeared…
It wasn't just that the Boeing Plane disappeared, it was how it disappeared that was so similar to the CERN accident. The Airliner had disappeared in an explosion from a CERN branch laboratory in a similar Superacceleator in – of all places – Greenland. We suspect that the electro-magnetic pulse from the explosion shut down the plane's electrical functions before it could make an emergency landing in Reykjavik. The words of the Boeing representative still haunted Jessica ten years later.
No wonder mom's so depressed. She's being reminded of my Father's disappearance in the same way Oliver Singh has disappeared.
"Mom, you okay?" Jessica entered the kitchen and leaned against the wall, trying to sound caring.
"I'm fine." Mom said in a tone that Jessica knew meant she was not fine.
"Mom, I know you. What's going on? Is it the antimatter explosion?"
"Yes, but not that one specifically."
"I know, Mom." Jessica said empathetically, placing a hand on her mother's shoulder. She noticed a small gleam coming from just below Mom's eyes, and she quickly realized she was crying.
"Do you need some time to yourself?" Jessica was usually cognizant of when her mom needed to be alone.
"You don't really mind?"
"No big, mom." Jessica smiled.
"All right," Her mom said, trying to sound composed.
So, Jessica walked to school, a disquiet in her heart.