Silent Cacophony

It's just before midnight on December 20th, 2012. Every country in the world has chosen different ways to spend their last day on earth, based on their culture. The United States? They chose to host an abundance of extravagant & wasteful parties across the country. After all, debt and lack of resources won't matter when the world ends.

But as the clock strikes twelve in the last time zone, and the parties reach their peaks...
Nothing happens. The obnoxious music still blares, the strobe lights still flicker, and there is no sign of the world having stopped turning on its axis. So what does the US do? Continues to party, of course.

The ridiculous parties leave most people with the worst hangovers ever, and an assortment of other things that could be considered "mistakes." When you think the world's going to end, wouldn't you make a mistake or two?

But the biggest mistake isn't realized for weeks. Slowly, everything begins to go down hill. First, small appliances won't work. Then street lamps don't turn on at night. The grocery store down the street goes out of business, because their electricity shuts off.

And then the world goes dark.

And where does that leave you? With no such thing as electricity, the internet, cellphones, cars...modern technology, to be exact -- what will you do? You can't leave the country, though the government -- that has gotten information out by way of old-fashioned letter -- warns that other countries will soon realize our weakness and attack. Not that we can do anything.

You can choose to take the easy way out, and kill yourself now

Or

You can redefine living as simply survival.

---

This chat, as many of my chats have been lately, is a bit more advanced than other chats. Besides the obvious "advance traits" of posts that are 4-5 sentences minimum, and characters that can't be explained in formats, there are some new adjustments. First of all, I suggest only having two characters, max. Why is this? Because in an effort to have No Character Left Behind (basically, in an effort to not have people abandon their characters because they aren't getting ... certain things), for every post you make for one character, you must also make a post for every other character you have. Not only will this make sure that no one begins to play favorites, but this will also ensure a fuller experience for all players involved. By having to constantly keep us in the loop about what your characters are up to, the chat will come to life.

So. Rules.

1. There's no limit on characters, but two max is STRONGLY suggested.
2. 4-5 sentences per post, per character (e.g, if you are posting for two characters, each post should contain a total of at least eight sentences).
3. Talk to everyone you get the opportunity to talk to. If I catch people partnering off (meaning, they find a way to alienate their characters from everyone else), especially at the beginning, then I shall call them out and their characters will get in a little "accident" that lands them in a new situation without the partner.
4. ASK TO JOIN, and then jump right in.

Everyone's initial posts should be about what their character(s) are doing the night before the world is supposed to end. After those posts, I'll post what the next "checkpoint" (what time it is) for everyone's next posts. I do this in an effort to keep everyone on the same page.

Leilah

December 20th, 2012
Well, tonight seems to be my last night on Earth. That's kind of a morbid thought, don't you think? Regardless... I think... I think I'm okay. I mean... I have to be, right? Sammy needs me.
I just saw mother off on her flight this morning. That was interesting.
"Bye Mom, see you... never again. Have fun spending your last blasted day alive working... like always."
I should of known she'd abandon us for this.
"The people of this country need me Leilah, I have to be there for them."
Yeah, Mom, well guess what. [s]We nee...[/s]
No, I do believe we'll be just fine without you. Don't worry, I'll make sure Sammy has a fun tonight, and I won't forget to slip him the pills. At least he can be asleep when it happens. And thanks for the guilt money, I'm sure it will serve me wonderfully in the afterlife.

My fingers hovered over the keys of my laptop, shaking slightly with anger I didn't even know I felt ... until now, that was. My vision blurred as moisture filled my eyes and I squeezed them shut, banishing away my emotions.
This wasn't mom's fault... The world was about to end. She had her duties. She couldn't just... sit home with her family as we lived out our final hours. No, she had to go to that stupid party. She had to make sure her people were okay. Of course her work comes first, she's Governor. I had come to terms with her placing us second in her life years ago, so why did this particular abandonment feel like a betrayal?
I let out a shaky breath and slowly moved my right index finger over the keys, letting my sense of touch guide me as I gentlely stroked each one. Even with my eyes closed, I knew exactly what key I was currently hovering over. I knew this keyboard better than the back of my hand.
Without hesitation I pressed down on the worn, rectangluar key beneath my finger. I kept the pressure on the key until I was sure the whole entry had been backspaced, then opened my eyes. This was suppose to be a documentary, not a dairy entry. Whoever, or whatever found my computer one day did not need to know about my angsty teen problems. Everyone has baggage, right?
The point of this was to... well, I wasn't sure. But I figured if the world was going to kill us all, then eventually something would evolve to take our place. I guess the thought of just... fading out of existence scared me. Writers can reach people through mere letters on a paper. It doesn't matter where they are, life or death, their work could still speak to people; they could still be heard. I wanted someone, anyone to hear my voice after tomorrow passes.

I stared at the screen, trying to seperate my feelings from my thoughts so I could try again at this entry when the doorbell rang, cutting through my thoughts.
Oh right, the pizza I ordered.
"I'm coming!" I called out, ruffling my bangs back and forth to make them more presentable. "Sammy, turn off your game, the pizza's here!" I snatched a fifty off the table and ran to the door.


Lark
"I'm headin' out," I called, not really waiting for an okay before grabbing the van keys off the messy side table and stuffing it into my back pocket.
"Where are you going?" A small voice asked me, tugging on my wallet chain that dangled from my pocket.
"Ah!" I protested, jumping a little out of the way to prevent the small girl from touching me further. "Out, you know, with my friends," I replied gruffly, gently removing my shirt from her balled up fist.
"But you promised you'd read to me tonight! It's our last night!"
I sighed and kneeled down, eyeing her for a moment. "No," I corrected, "I told ya, you aren't dying. And I read to you last week, ask Susan."
"But Susan doesn't do the right voices!" She whined, stomping her feet.
I narrowed my eyes, looking around quickly to make sure no one heard that. "Look, kid, do you remember what we agreed on? No talking 'bout that."
"But-"
"No buts. I have to go." I stood, ruffling her hair and twirling the keys as I opened the door.
"But you promised!" Tears welled up in her eyes and what little resolved I had barely remained intact. Blasted kids.
"I'm late!" I called, starting up the car and leaning out the window to watch her pout on the doorstep. "...Fine"-sigh-"tomorrow, promise." And with that, I winked at her, floored it onto the streets, and went to hit some parties.

Freedom

People are so stupid, just in case you didn't know. I sat quietly in my room while the parties raged around the block creating all kinds of noise that made it hard to even concentrate on my book. They thought the world was going to end, but anyone with any common sense knows that it's not something that happens immediately. I mean how stupid is that? "Oh hey, it's midnight, everyone keel over dead now!" Ya. Right. Whatever. Stupid idiots. Even my parents, my own parents, were downstairs partying. I thought they had more sense than that!

But...then again I was considered the grown up in this house, which was stupid because I'm like what? Seventeen? Mom acts more like a fifteen year old with the hype to always hang out at the mall, and dad...well he's stuck in his high school glory days as a football star, so you can imagine what that's like. And then there was me, their one and only child that was going on eighteen and middle aged.

I heard one of the lamps crash in the living room and winced slightly, before letting out an exasperated sigh as I rolled my eyes. I'm so making them clean that up tomorrow, even if they do have the biggest hangover of their career.






Craig


You know, the best part of it being the end of the world is that people are willing to spend all their dough 'cause no one cares. Which is fine with me, I'd just die as the richest pizza delivery guy ever, even if I was only nineteen. Hey, don't judge. It's a good job while you're waitin' for schools to decide on you or not. I stood at the door waiting for them to answer as the pizzas sat in my hand seemed to pile high, 'course it wasn't to many..after deliverin' over fifty pizzas in an hour, even two looks like a mountain to you. I dunno, I didn't count. I shifted my weight to my other foot and sighed, checking my watch to make sure the end of the world hadn't already happened. They were takin' forever to get to the damn door.

Leilah

I huffed and yanked open the door, hungrily eyeing the food and the deliver. "Thanks. What do I owe you?"

Craig

"Thirty-five," I say to the girl that answered the door. I try to ignore the hungry look in her eye, not because it was awkward, but it was just down right creepy. She looked like she might go zombie at any moment and start gnawing at my innards. Not a happy thought. It was times like these that I just wish I could get the money and get out.

Leilah

I tossed the 50 up toward him and grabbed the pizza, grimacing a little at the hot bottom. "Keep the change. Happy death day," I remarked dryly. A hand tugged down on my shirt. Sammy.
"We're gunna die, Leilah?" He asked, brown eyes filling with fear.
Well shit.

Craig

I glanced at the girl then at the boy, then back to the girl. I tucked the fifty away and sorta lingered, curious of what she was going to say. Weird, I know, but it wasn't like I had much else to do but deliver pizzas, besides when the world ends what good is money going to do you? I mean sure, I'd be the richest pizza boy, but still. This was more interesting than the fat people I'd be delivering to in about five minutes.

"Sammy..." i sighed, balancing the piazza on my knee as I bent down to his level.
He jerked back. "Is that why everyones acting weird? Mommas gunna die?!"
"Nonono, " I soothed, " moms gone to anyother stuff government party. You know how those work. Shes fine, you'll see her tomorrow."
I suck at this mothering stuff. I really do. His eyes snap up to the dilvery guy, wide. "Are /you/ gunna die?"
I stare daggers into the guy, silently pleading to LIE.

Craig

I glanced at the girl, smirking slightly at her glare. I'm sure she probably thought she was intimidating, but she wasn't. I then looked down at the kid and took a deep breath before I crouched down to his level. "Nah, no one's gonna die, alright big guy? It's just people being silly." I gave his shoulder a light pat. "Don't worry about it, alright?" It was probably true, I mean how many times has the world "come to an end" and didn't?

"...oh." he finally concluded. "Okay."
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and stood, greatful. "Hungry?" He nodded. "Me too. Go set the table for me." I watched him run away and eyed the guy, running a hand through my hair. "Thanks...."

Craig

"You're welcome," I said with a bit of a shrug then dug in my money bag and pulled out her change and handed it to her. "I think you'll probably be needing this. I'm skeptical about the whole end of the world thing. ..wouldn't want you to be out of money."

I blinked, shaking my head. "We have enough." Indeed, one look at the monster of a house could tell anyone that. "Keep it." I watched him for a moment then, on the biggest whim ive ever taken, ask: "want to come in?" I snapped my mouth shut, bracing for the odd look I just earned. I didn't even know his name, and I just invited him in. Id facepalm at myself right now, if he wasnt here to see it.

Craig

I blinked and raised a brow. Did she just invite me in? I glanced at my watch, then back to her and took a deep breath. Ah, what could it hurt? Fat people didn't need pizza anyway, they needed salads. "Sure," I said with a shrug and shoved my hands in my pockets. "I'm Craig, by the way."

"Insert-name-here-cause-my-author-sucks-at-this." I breathe, stepping aside and grabbing the pizza. Mom would kill me for this. Lucky her, she may not have to. "Hungry?"

Craig

I shrug and follow her in, my hands still in my pockets. "Not really, the smell sorta gets to you after a while," I said gesturing towards the pizza. It was true, the pizza did start to make a person sick after hours of driving around with it and working with it and only being able to eat it on your break since you didn't have time to run somewhere else for lunch or whatever.

"Oh " I kicked the door closed, starting toward our marble kitchen, which in all its glamour, feels as cold as the marble its built of.
Sammy blinked up at us, eyes wide as saucers. "Ill get more plates."
I don't stop him, placing the pizza in the cebter of the table. "We have drinks" I opened the stainless steel drudge and gestured in towards the selection of juices, soda, rare wines.

Craig

I blinked and stared at the fridge, well the whole house, but mostly the fridge. That's where the stuff that mattered was. My eyes ran over the various drinks and I almost asked for the wine, but the thought of a hang over in the morning wasn't exactly appealing. "Coke please."

I grabbed two and sat down next to Sammy, who had already served himself and was eating happily. I nudged his across the table and popped mine open, already awkwarding. What exactly was I thinking we'd do, anyway? Become instant companions and live out our last- my eyes flick nervously to the clock- four hours in peaceful companionship?
Luckily, Sammy was immune to my social akwards. "I didn't know Leiliah had friends. " He grinned between the two of us. I resisted the urge to melt away, grabbing a pizza.
"Everyone has friends, Sammy, you just never meet them." Actually.... I didn;t have friends. Side affect of homeschooling, unfortunately.

Craig

I raised my brow at the kid, casting a glance at the girl for a moment. "Oh ya, we're good friends," I said with a nod. Might as well play along with it right? It's not like I had anything better to do or friends to hang out with. I worked to much to have friends.

I watched the guy over the pizza, half propt in my mouth. That was a second time I've found myself grateful for a save of his. What was his angle?

Like this guy, Mom was hard to read. She'd say one thing and mean another. You always wondered where you stood with her; what the underlying motiative was for this or that. There was no such thing as a good deed. Take the stack of money she left us, for instance. That was to make up for her leaving me to die alone. Does she really think I'm that shallow? That living out my last hour surrounded by money will make this betrayal.... okay?

Does everyone need an angle, leliah? You're the one who invited him in, remember? Maybe he's just naturally nice.

"Do you live around here?" I finally asked.

Craig

I paused for a second, in the middle of opening my can before I shook my head. "Nah, I don't have the money to be living up this way." That was all that needed to be said, no need to point out I lived in the Projects. She seemed scared of me as it was, always watching me. I didn't need her thinking I was about to pull a gun on her or something.

"Oh..." I said, catching what was left unsaid. "I'm.... sorry?"
"I thought you said you were friends," Sammy noted, picking up a second slice. My response was conveniently lost in a large bite of crust.
Sammy rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue. "We can have that cake tonight, right? You promised."I swallowed back a large lump of bread. "'Course. And a movie. You pick." I cleared my throat with a swish of coke.
Sammy looks to Craig, as his name is. "You gunna stay? The cake is three stories high!" He demonstrates the height, drastically off.

Craig

I hesitated for a moment then gave a small shrug to the kid. "Sure, why not?" I gave a slight smile, but glanced at his sister waiting for her to give the permission. I didn't want to intrude after all. I mean, ya she had invited me in, but who knew what that was all about.

I hesitated for a moment before smiling apologetically to him. "If you have to get back to work, I understand. I just thought-..." What exactly was I thinking? I dwindled off lamely, letting Sammy snatch some crust off my plate.

Craig

Again, I hesitated. If this wasn't the end of the world, I'd probably be out of a job in the morning, if it was...I'd be out of a job. I shrugged and shook my head slightly. "Nah. I work to much anyway." I was curious for her to finish her sentence but it didn't look like she was going to.