(Episode 0)

Before she knew it, Jackie walked into the night. Within the cold darkness blowing against her as she tiredly walked up across the crackling, dead leaves. She didn’t belong here, and she didn’t care.

She hiked up the slope that was the forest trail, up the wooden steps caked into the dirt terrain, gripping one of the pale barked trees for support for her aching legs. Some sort of other flora Jackie couldn’t identify roped around the trunks of the trees and entangled in the ground. They were brittle, spiny, easy to break after hurting yourself first. It wasn’t pitch black yet, just a filter of cloudy shade, which Jackie thought was weird. Either due to her still having Athernet on, or the city’s lights were that strong to travel this far.

Making it atop, Jackie looked towards the city below. She could still see Steppe Avenue alight, but the noise muffled from afar at least. Buildings and skyscrapers still undergoing Shiftication, the neighborhoods and suburbs tucked away outside the major city, almost in a circle.

Would’ve been a nice sight had it stayed still.

Heralding the Transitional Shift of night, it was like the air was wavering, sputtering, at a frequency that Jackie wasn’t sure her brain could measure out, only notice. Was it fast? Was it slow? Both all at once? Her mere human eyes could only understand that it was a disturbance. Simmering, heralding an oncoming Transitionary Shift.

She picked up the pace to meet it, making a turn and heading start forward.

Jackie found that she was dragging her feet as her leg ached to remind her every microsecond, the dead leaves and brittle plants scrapped against her shoes. She definitely overdid it, and she dreaded the aftereffects in the morning. She reached into her bag, knowing it was already open, and pulled out a banana to munch on.

It was funny, how she was worrying about her legs when it’s completely possible she might not need to, after this. What she really needs to worry about was the fallout after this choice. She would have to practice lying and half-truths at an advance level to trick her first-responder father and lawyer mother. Would the elevation cause her to not even care about lying, about anything?

She cursed herself over the lack of more research, but it wasn’t like this wasn’t anything but a spur of the moment decision. She swallowed the last bit of the fruit, as she steeled her resolve. No use in doubt now. The folly in this case is better than anything available to her, now.

But she didn’t have time to stew with that choice, as she made it. Jackie walked into the flat, open area that’s soon going to be the epicenter of the supernatural.

Greeted was a very strong word, but there were four other girls waiting there. All of them looked her way as she entered the location. They then returned to whatever they were doing before Jackie came.

First instincts were to say hi despite this, but she elected to hang back, rest, leaning against a tree closing her eyes. They’ll get comfortable soon enough, Jackie betted on, just needed to give them space.

Ten whole minutes passed and not a verbal grumble was muttered.

Jackie at least glanced at each one, to gauge who they are so that she wouldn’t make an awkward situation even more so.

One had dark brown, curly hair, was small and generally young looking. Her dressing sense was pretty urban, leather jacket, torn jeans. She was squatting, arms over her knees, looking…angry? It didn’t seem like she was angry from the rest of her body language, but her face seemed like it was permanently disgruntled. Half-closed eyes, small lips, just a completely disinterested disposition. She, at least, didn’t find it rude to look at people, as she shifted her attention to everyone every so often.

The next was the one that didn’t have a place of her own, because she kept moving. Asian girl that wore much less than any of them, cargo shorts and one of those vacation shirts 50-year-old grampas wear, pink with multi-colored flowers on it. She even had a safari hat, that Jackie guesses it’s holding her hair, with shades on top. Jackie was surprised that she got all the details, but the others aren’t constantly dashing about for her to get a good look. And out of the group, she’s the only one that looks like she actually wants to be here, as she peered up and around for any slight sign for the Shift.

This one looked to be older than the rest, a young woman, over 18? Long ginger hair, at her shoulder blades, doughy green eyes, she overall looked exactly like what all the guys wanted. Pale skin, red lips, wearing business casual in the form of a white wooly sweater and black skirt, with tights-clad legs. Every part of her was good-looking…but she was completely and utterly paranoid. She shook where she sat on a fallen tree, squeezing her hands together against her chest, fidgeting down to her lap, then she rubbed her shoulders for one reason or the other and completely stopped when she felt Jackie look at her, frozen like a deer in headlights. Just waiting for anything or anyone to try something. The red lips were being sucked at by her in nervousness, completely making the lipstick lose the effect.

And finally, the last one. She had a laptop, extremely rare nowadays and would’ve thoroughly impressed Jackie…if it wasn’t literally being held up by tape. Covered in random peeling stickers, the hinge coverings broken off, exposed. She was chubby, very wide chubby, and while Jackie couldn’t see much due to the PC, what she saw were wrinkly, fading, and bland clothing. Her worn, black square-rimmed glasses reflected the light shining off the screen, and she had hazel, messy hair.

Jackie quickly looked herself over with her augmented phone’s “screen”, after seeing that. Same ol’ face, blue eyes, golden blonde hair tied up in a high ponytail. Wearing her Cedar High sweat suit, fairy blue with white stripes in a Y formation, no school insignia so it was easy to wear. She did note how some hair strands were kneaded, stuck, to her sweat forehead still. She fixed such by wiping her forehead, sighing to herself.

The safari girl ran to her, backpack in hand which started Jackie from her phone. The girl popped opened a white bo—A first aid kit and handed her some eye drops.

Oh right. She cried earlier…

“You can keep it, Missess Lady~” the safari girl chirped, before running away. Jackie tried to raise her hand to say “thank you” but… She looked at the drops, twisted the top and applied the solution to her eyes anyways, blinking and then wiping the excess, useless tears…

Caught the attention of the squatter, it seemed.

“Guess that has Athernet on it?” she asked. Even a fairly cute voice, if not low and gruff.

Jackie hoped she didn’t sound too immediate as she answered, “Yeah. I checked the forecast again, the thing we’re waiting on should be any second now.”

“Sweet,” was all she said.

Yet another full, tangible minute passed.

“Saw the simmering when I came up, too,” Jackie added so the exchange didn’t feel empty.

“Yeah, thanks. Been sitting out here for hours and my fucking legs and shit’s been killing me. Ass is numb at the point you’d think I got spreaded and hammered from behind…”

Even if all the signs pointed to her being capable of that, it still shocked Jackie, completely wide-eyed and blinking.

It took a few seconds after for the young girl to realize the reaction, “Oh, sorry, you’re not alright with cussing? I’ll stop. It’s just that I use it for commas, practically—”

“No,” Jackie refuted, “It’s that…”

“Took you for a loop, huh?” She couldn’t help but smirk.

Jackie laughed a bit, though strained, “Yeah.”

“The thing about reality-warping waves,” the girl with the laptop started, “Is that they sort of, uh. Do things their way. It’s the reason why we’re redrawing calendars and using countdowns as we rewind clocks, after all. It’s all estimated, it could be up to hours or yesterday, it happening.”

Jackie looked down, shaking her head, “Right…”

Jackie folded her arms, tapping on one of them.

“So, are you guys friends, a group--?” Jackie asked.

“Nope,” “Curly” said and only said.

It took a total of 10 minutes to have somewhat of a conversation and that was it.

“Lady” practically had fidgeting hawk-eyes throughout the “conversation”, relaxing in resignation when it was over as she put her twiddling hands on her lap (scared of her breathing for a bit). “Safari” seemed to get more agile despite looking around a tree for some reason despite the focused location. “PC” was just chuckling at a joke that the rest couldn’t see and responding to it with clammy keyboard strikes. And the one Jackie have some sort of rapport with acted as if it didn’t happen, “Curly” seemingly lost in thought.

People didn’t have to talk to Jackie, she’s not that self-important. In fact, the sentiment seemed to be more or less dying in their generation, as her father grumbled to her and her mother begrudgingly all too frequently. Being here told each other more than words could ever do…but it would be nice to hear some.

Anything. Even a non-sequitur. There’s already enough uncomfortable pressure building, adding the awkwardness of people gathered so unfathomably close yet not interacting for 30 minutes now and--

“Anyone up for saying why they’re here? Don’t have to, of course, I just wanted to make small talk…I could start, if it makes it fair,” Jackie said, standing on her own now, facing the others. Even “Safari” stopped in place when she asked.

Each of them had their way of looking at Jackie yet said nothing in response.

She looked up to the sky. Felt like it was cliché.

“I admit, my life was as normal as a girl like me could manage to get. Have awesome parents, a comfy home after having a pretty bad move, high school was amazing—and I admit that I was very lucky on that front. Then…it was all taken away, slowly. The schools ended, I lost my friends to a stupid…stupid argument—my parents’ jobs are either stalled and they had to consider joining the Transitionary Point group thing, it just…spiraled out of control. This whole thing beaten me down and I couldn’t even fight back.”

Jackie held her tightened fist with her other hand.

“It’s like those prescription drug commercials,” Jackie sighed. “Sure, you’re more than likely to suffer from the hundred other symptoms. But this whole thing’s been ruining my life so badly, I’m risking it with a smile on my face again. And make it last, this time.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” “Curly” said, “With that mean-face you have. Thought you were some undercover junior cadet, with the way you looked coming in.”

Funny, that. Jackie smiled, for the first time in a while.

“Seriously man; you were rushing in and looked at us like you were scanning the area and I was waiting for it, with those red Terminator eyes you had,” she continued, exaggeratingly leering over, jutting her neck forward as she turned her body from left to right. Everyone chuckled, with “Safari’s” being the highest.

“Sorry, sorry! Again, it’s been a rough few… ‘awhiles’,” Jackie explained, but not in exasperation. “If that makes the kind of sense that doesn’t but you still sort of get it…”

“I live for that kind of thing,” “PC” raised her finger upward. “But I’m sure you all figured that out already. It’s fuel for my lump-of-coal-soul.”

“…Y’all some interesting people—but hey, I seen weirder…stuff,” pursed “Curly”, she was really trying to honor Jackie’s request that she didn’t actually voice or even made. She shot up, unnerving “Lady”, and stretched, “Buuuuut to answer your question…”

Yes. This was it. Something that Jackie never knew exactly what she needed: people that understand.

“I’m just doing it to get it over with,” “Curly” said bluntly. What’s more, everyone else hummed and muttered in agreement.

And with that, Jackie left alone in these dark woods, ultimately feeling alone once again.

She pressed her lips back. She hoped no one caught her struggling to not show her struggling to hold back her tongue.

“Life’s been consistently shitting on me ever since I popped out, might as well let it do whatever since it’s all broken,” “Curly” gestured her hand forward, as it laid backwards on her propped knee.

“Protection for me…” everyone turned to “Lady” not because it was respectful, but the fact she even spoke, her voice not at all matching her looks and could be higher than the others present. “Just in case, for many things that could happen...”

Soft and shrill. She continued, “Shifts, bill collectors; Shift-warped bill collectors that also have siVis as well…It would just be…nice to have… assurance for once…”

“You sound really familiar, by the way. Like at the point of it itching at me,” “Curly” interjected.

“Oh. I’m…honored that you do…” she thought hard about and decided to say.

“Safari” decided to hop in before anything else happened, “Me? There isn’t a reason-reason; I just wanna.” And that was all she wanted to say before being on lookout for the danger.

Jackie looked over at the PC “PC” has, that being the thing to look towards than her face. She had to betray the emotions inside herself to ask, “And you…?”

“PC” shrugged, “I want to get it, figure out how to manipulate it to keep me going without food or water, become a new world shut in. Better odds than me not going for it on the other hand, I guess.”

“Fair,” Jackie replied, keeping it professional and not sure she’s winning, “Completely fair. All of you.”

Amidst her continued prolonged angst, she lifts her head back up from its drifting downwards.

“Names,” Jackie looked around at her alienated-at-arms, “Again, if you all want to.”

“Man, you’re probing hard for a normal person-and-not-totally-a-sting-operative or my name isn’t Maddie,” Maddie answered first. “And it’s not,” she added with a sly smile.

“River,” River replied tapping away.

“Kobayashi Aiko! I was gonna scream my whole name when it happened, but it’s taking so long!” she said, keeping her eyes peeled.

The last one twisted her lips shut, gave up and then sighed, “…Tracy.”

Jackie wanted to verbally thank them but offered a nod. Botched attempts for conversation need to be ended, then let the mood left after simply be and never dwelled on.

It’s just not the time for small talk. The world now just doesn’t allow for it.

“But hey, I’m surprised you gave a fuck talking to us,” Maddie mused, her shoulders shrugging. “Nobody wants to straight up talk anymore…”

…Jackie noted the sheer seconds the irony instantly swooped in.

“Can you blame them…?” Jackie was more surprised that Tracy replied so quick, much less the conversation actually picking up.

“Hell no,” Maddie answered, “But it’s… I guess weird all the same. It’s not even on the principal of like, not wanting to deal with anybody. It used to be people annoyed people, so they steered clear. Hell, I annoyed people because people annoyed me. We’re like, social creatures or whatever and we’re too busy looking at what fresh hell reality’s gonna make us eat shit on. Like I said, everyone’s too scared to talk.”

“My perfect excuse is that I have ten different flavors of anxiety and I’m a bore,” River droned as she typed, seemingly making more words on the laptop versus the ones she formed from her mouth. “Nothing triggers selfishness like mass existential dread.”

Tracy bounced her head lightly, side to side, again finding her words, “Good point… You’d think by now that… We’d all come together and have some bond in the face of literal reality. It’s a cliché sure, but it’s tried just as much as it’s true…”

“Meh,” Maddie spat out, “That only happens when we’re sure we’re all gonna die or some shit. But fair enough, yeah, if I had to be optimistic…” She couldn’t help but laugh at the suggestion she made.

“What’s wrong with optimism…?” Tracy queried.

"Hey, optimism is a valuable resource and I ain't wasting the last drip of mine,” Maddie retorted. She shook her head, “But this particular situation… Nah, there’s no use in it.”

“We can only be put through so much of the human condition before our wills are broken,” River butted in.

“See,” Maddie gestured at River. “Glasses gets it.”

“This… Is so beyond it, it’s not even fair, even considering that existence itself is some cosmic, constantly expanding-until-either-it-snaps-or-entropy-consumes-faster, explosion of chaos,” River explained her view. “We’re not at a limit nor at the bottom of our lines. We’re broken, simple and clean as the song and as that.”

“…Holy fucking shit, glasses,” Maddie exclaimed, without being loud, “Who the fuck hurt you?”

River looked at Maddie and without a trace of irony in her voice said, “I more or less broken myself. What can I say that I haven’t already?”

Out of all the silent lulls, the following one hit the hardest. Jackie winced under its pressure.

“…And this is why I don’t say this or the rest of my routine…” River mumbled out.

“… Do ya’ want a hug?” asked Tracy.

“Eh,” River quickly answered, “I’ll suffer in silence, remove the baggage with those terms.” She returned to her laptop, “Shouldn’t be too long, now…”

Jackie heard Aiko behind her, her swooning filled with absolute joy.

“And then here’s the masochistic tourist…”

“I live here, actually,” Aiko replied to some words and ignored the glaring ones. “And no, I don’t actually do these things for pain, that’s…Kinda boring of a goal, really. It’s better to just do it, who cares about some point? I’m here for me and I just wanna do stuff! Points are for actual lives people live!”

Maddie only blinked at her. And like the masochist comment, she ignored that she didn’t have any interest in and returned awaiting the Shift, wherever it is.

Maddie turned her head to Jackie, “Ok, I’m kinda glad that you seem like just a girl scout. These people are fucking weird.”

Jackie only laughed in response. A laugh to save face, to signal neutrality that could be taken as agreement.

“I guess what I was trying to say was…” Maddie mused, “It’s been a while someone wanting to shoot shit with me. One of the good things I’m good is running my mouth and even the people that give me the chance are clamming up. Shit’s bad…”

“…Yeah,” Jackie said, entering the conversation that she didn’t exactly get, what she wanted…but glad to have something all the same. “It has been for a while.”

“Seriously,” Maddie began to rant, “Y’all notice how… Like, motherfuckers start talking like they’re in some movie?”

As it clicked in for each of the girls, at their own pace and based on their own experiences, they started to chuckle.

“Right?” Maddie smirked as she continued on, “Y’all know! Every single person just start—”

She cleared her throat as she cut herself off.

“Talking more quickly—Talking so seriously,” her attempts to keep her voice stern caused the rest amusement and laughter. “We can only talk like we’re in Shakespeare or some shit—Oh no! I meant, shite and I always have…”

Maddie gesturing, holding up her index finger in such a cartoonish fashion caused Jackie to lose it: her hiccupping laughter causing the other to lapse into similar fit.

“But, but…” Maddie hushed herself, “We gotta engage in the conversation—hovering over the topic despite knowing—nay, etched in our very consciousness, what we’re all fucking talking about; because avoiding it sure as hell clears up something that’s so confusing!”

Jackie found herself snorting, wiping her eyes for the excess tears she thought that she exorcized. As she tried to catch herself, she saw River covering her mouth, Aiko clapping in amusement, and Tracy’s face crumbled into an honest smile the first time she’s seen her.

“Aaaah…” Jackie realized why it was so funny, and the dread nestled right back into its usual spot between her chest and stomach. “I’m starting to talk like that…”

After hearing that, everyone stopped laughing slowly, looking at Jackie.

“That’s what this shit’s been doing to me…” she can only shake her head. “Us… We’re fucking losing our minds…”

And that statement stayed within each of theirs, as a lull of silence followed and a return to their respective postures ensued.

“Also, man is your voice deep as shit.” Maddie just said without any semblance of filter. “Like. Fuck. You’re making me feel just as inadequate as the dude you’re gonna end up with…Or chick—hey—I don’t care, you fuck whoever--!”

It was Jackie’s turn to blink at her, “I… Try? Or didn’t, to sound or make it better…?”

“Seriously,” Tracy said with conviction Jackie’s sure that she built up after her personal lull. “First Jackie and then River. These digs are getting a bit too close.”

“I mean, they’re not digs so much as observations but,” Maddie continued, “I’m sorry? I sort of just say what I say. It’s not really disrespect but more of a reaction, but you can blame me for the reaction if it makes y’all feel better?”

“Again,” River said in a monotone, “Bore or Soren Kierkegarrd wannabe but less talent or a good enough excuse.”

Tracy inhaled and begun again, “Sorry to butt in…”

“By all means, shove your ass into my face, hun,” Maddie said without a missing a beat.

That completely destroyed whatever Tracy begun to say, sputtering only came out, “It… It’s that… You’re… I mean, your tone… It’s really too much, as you proved right now!”

“Yeah,” it seemed like Maddie only agreed that her tone’s overbearing. “Look, even if we don’t see each other again, take solace that I came into this shithole 2 weeks early and nearly died like two times trying to settle in. That’s like, example one of why I’m such a piece of shit--“

“wHY WOULD I TAKE SOLACE IN ANY OF THAT?!” Tracy bellowed, not out of anger but sheer confusion and mostly fear.

“Y-yeah,” Jackie piggybacked, absolutely dumbfounded, “That’s just. That’s just terrible.”

“Totally,” Maddie replied. “But hey, at least I didn’t like go deaf or something because my hands would ache day by day for the amount of sign language. And flipping people off, possibly.”

“…Okay,” Tracy conceded.

“But for real,” Maddie shrugged, palms upward. “I’m honest. I can’t help to be honest. I’m a pretty sucky, honest asshole of a human being. But for as much as there’s me being a jerk, there’s enough reasons that can tell you that and you can cut your losses and hate me. I don’t do that bullying powerplay bullshit, I said shit back at those asshats too.”

“Regardless,” Jackie found herself saying. She had to be careful here, conversating with strangers is one thing, the fear of turning argumentative and tainting the common ground; it’s another to criticize a stranger’s way of life. She continued, “I think we can all agree that we’re all trying to deal with our crazy…crazy lives in our own personal ways. If Maddie expresses that through her way, I can’t blame her for that. And yes, it’s going to be rather confusing to others not in on it. But I’m sure we all can be cool with it and we can take steps to understand it.”

“And you’re suuuuure you’re not a police cadet-?” Maddie looked at Jackie, eyes opened, chin resting on her palm.

Jackie smirked, finding herself against the trunk of her trees, folding her arms. “I just try.” She noticed that she was smirking, felt the muscles of her face relax from relearning such an action. “…Or maybe I-“

The air around her, around them, rolled over in over itself. The wind stopped; the air turned still. The sounds swallowed silent, the color of the night washed mute. The external consistency of the world around them began to blur, dim into an wispy white and the mood completely and utterly gone.

Jackie barely got a glimpse before it waved over her, she only caught the transition. River “hupped”, made a sound as she scrambled her laptop off and got up.

“Ohohohoho,” Aiko sprinted over to join the improvised huddle the girls drifted together, “Is it time?! It is here?!”

Another wave, inverted, coming from behind them as their surroundings smeared shades of what looks to be green. The effects that they can barely gauge the first time around worsened, with the simmering Jackie saw before creeps into the sickly filter.

River shook her head, “This is just the beginning; it’s presence disrupts the path area that it’s heading towards by forcing reality into a really serious game of Red Rover--!”

If it wasn’t the surround trees snapping forward but not breaking didn’t cause them to jump, it was their electronics reaching critical mass, screens not only turning white, but blaring simple patterns of sound bites and vibrating at random speeds causing them to drop them.