1 Day Before Incident

Beacontown wasn't just cold and miserable any more, it was cold, miserable and dark. After the power went off, nobody were able to get the redstone going again, meaning Beacontown was left in pitch blackness.

Citizens were beginning to leave. Those who weren't too sick to, wanted to try and find a place in the world they could survive. Every day, the Order woke up to a few less people within the city walls.

The Order themselves had begun loosing hope that they could still save the future. Not only was Olivia heartbroken over losing the entire Redstonia, but Jesse was also steadily going down hill.

Everybody had accepted that what had happened to their leader, was in fact the same thing that has been taking out people and animals all over the world. No medication or treatments were helping for her growing symptoms as she slowly got sicker over the days.

Everybody were on the verge of giving up, not knowing what next step to take, or what to do next.

It was late at night, a mere few hours until midnight came. Outside, a blizzard was raging wildly, wind howling through the entire, empty Beacontown.

Despite the time, all five members of the Order were huddled up in the living room, under thick blankets in front of the fireplace. Feeling not only too miserable to spend the night by themselves, but also too cold.

Jesse was seated in the middle, her eyes completely closed. She was leaning slightly back against Petra, the redhead having her arms protectively wrapped around Jesse. Lukas sat beside them, thoughtfully staring down at the empty mug in his hand, that had formerly been holding some hot cocoa. On the other side of Jesse and Petra, Olivia was lifelessly gazing into the flickering flames of the fire, while Axel was contently eating something he had dug out of the kitchen.

Nobody really spoke any words, just silently keeping their thoughts to themselves. Not being able to help the feeling of hopelessness that hung in the air.

"Do you guys think we need to leave too?" Everybody looked up upon hearing Olivia's question.

"Leave?" Lukas asked softly.

"We're almost the only people still left here." Olivia pointed out softly. "Might as well go and... you know, start over. Some place else."

"Where would we go, then?" Petra pointed out softly. "The cold came from all four directions. How would we know if there even is a place, that could provide more to us than what's left of Beacontown can?"

"It was just a thought." Olivia whispered, resting her head back down on her knees.

"It's not a bad plan, if we just knew where to go." Axel responded. "We can pack all our belongings and just head out. We don't even have to worry about the horses, considering the owner of Beacontown's local stables took them along with his, for us."

"If only we had a final destination in mind." Lukas said, sighing.

"So, is this really how it's all going to end?" Jesse whispered, speaking for the first time.

"I refuse to let us go out this way." Petra responded, tightening her grip around Jesse. "I refuse."

Jesse only closed her eyes again, remaining in Petra's grasp. Not having enough energy in her to keep speaking.

Everybody's attention were quickly seized by a tentative knock at the door. They exchanged glances, only knowing of one other person it could possible be.

"What would Radar be wanting at this hour?" Lukas asked, getting up from the couch.

He began walking in the direction of the hallway, Olivia getting up and quickly following after him. Axel, Petra and Jesse remained seated.

Lukas reached out a hand, unlocking the front door. He was immediately greeted by Radar's bright and alert brown eyes, his expression full of a life despite how chilled and cold his body looked.

"Radar?" What brings you here so late?" Olivia asked worriedly. "You should be some place warm."

"I know." Radar responded, nodding quickly. "But I'm not here for me."

"What do you mean?" Lukas asked him curiously.

Neither him or Olivia saw the person behind Radar, until he stepped aside to reveal them. Despite the pitiful amount of light Radar's lantern was giving off, they immediately recognised the person.

"Glad to know I arrived in time, before the cold could take you all down as well." Stella said.

----------------------

After hastily bringing Stella and Radar into the warmth of the building and offering them both a warm drink to heat up, everybody gathered in the dimly lit living room with expectant expressions.

"Some might say it was a bad move on my part to leave Champion City in a time like this." Stella said, shaking her head. "But if I hadn't, I wouldn't have gotten any answers."

"But you did?" Lukas asked hopefully. "You know where all this is coming from?"

"It started right on the other side of the world from here." Stella launched straight into explaining. "Nobody who lived to tell the tale knows how it happened, or what lead to it-"

"Get to the point already!" Petra snapped aggressively. "What happened?"

Stella took a deep breath, seemingly not even phased by Petra's sudden aggression. Her next words let them all speechless.

"A meteor."

"What?" Olivia asked, her face laced with confusion.

"Like, the one that wiped out dragons?" Axel asked with wide eyes.

"Dinosaurs, Axel, not dragons." Lukas hissed.

"Similar concept, yes." Stella replied. "Of course, this was a lot smaller. So much so, that we didn't even feel anything on this side of the world." She gestured with one of her hands. "Excuse me for not knowing the specifics, I'm not expert here."

"Out of all the explanations in the world, this was not the one I was expected to get hit with." Radar whispered in a small voice.

"Ironic that you phrased it like that." Petra muttered, raking her fingers through her hair.

"I didn't believe it at first either." Stella said. "It just sounded too unrealistic and too bizarre."

"I can't say I know much about this type of thing, but how did that lead to what we are experiencing now?" Lukas asked.

"And how come we didn't hear anything of this whatsoever?" Olivia added.

"It may not have impacted the world as hard, but it did completely wipe out the surrounding area. Nobody who saw it coming really lived to spread the word." Stella explained, Radar letting out a small whimper at her words.

"The gasses and vapours released into the atmosphere on impact, is essentially what's causing what you are seeing right now." Stella went on. "While it visually doesn't make much of difference, the sun's rays are being blocked out, no heat getting into the earth's atmosphere. In a way, this is a slower less devastating repeat of the ice age."

Everybody were silent for few seconds, struggling to take in what they had just been told. Jesse, who hadn't spoken two words throughout the entire explanation, looked the most traumatised by Stella's words. Her brown eyes wide and fearful.

"But there's something else you should know." Stella said, her voice serious. "Something new in the atmosphere has been affecting not only animals, but also people. A sort of sickness."

"We know that bit." Petra responded grimly.

"It's you, isn't it?" Stella's gaze moved directly to Jesse. "I knew something was off about you."

Jesse still didn't say anything, looking down at her hands in her lap. She gave a small nod.

"How long has she been sick for?" Stella asked.

"Only a few days." Lukas responded softly.

"Then there is a chance you can still make it." Stella's words made everybody's heads quickly jerk up again. Hope flooded into Jesse's eyes.

"The only way people are making it through this unsuspecting winter, is by uniting." Stella said, taking something from her pocket. "Take this map. It'll lead you to a town where most people had formed together to create a sort of safe haven." Her eyes moved to Jesse. "They're constructing a cure."

Jesse let out a soft gasp of what sounded like relief. The order fell into a hug, tightly embracing each other.

"I have a few more stops to make." Stella said, digging something else out of her bag. "But I'll follow shortly and meet you all there. For now, take this."

She extended her hand, holding a glass bottle. Inside bubbled the familiar pinkish red liquid of a healing potion.

"Are you sure?" Jesse asked, her voice coming out in a mere hoarse whisper.

"It'll keep you on your feet until you all get there." Stella explained, placing the bottle in Jesse's hands.

She stood up from the couch, the others soon doing the same. "Set out as soon as possible. It's a two day journey at the most. I'll see you all again soon."

"Thank you, Stella." Olivia said honestly.

"Don't thank me. All I did was spread the word." Stella said as she opened the door. "Good luck."

Everybody turned back to each other as the door closed behind Stella, their expressions both fearful and somewhat relieved.

"I told you we'd find a way." Petra said, wrapping her arms around Jesse again.

"We're not out of the woods yet." Lukas said, unfolding the map. "We have a journey ahead of us."

___

*Throws hands in air* Ssdfnkejfnofsfdhbglak?!?

That's me not really knowing what to say about this chapter-

So, uh, that happened. I rewrote it about a million times and cut out a lot of parts so I at least don't cringe as much anymore. But, uh sill 😅

This is the same as back in SBTL, when I revealed the villain's identity, I just imagine everybody's going to be disappointed to a point where I believe it, lol. Back then I didn't even write an author's note, I just waiting in anticipation to see what people thought xD

Let's just say, I had this idea for ages, but when it came to putting it on paper, I could not find the right words for it. I'm not happy with this chapter, even if I really like the entire concept behind everything. It's just out of my comfort zone, lol.

Anyway, enough nervous rambling, let's move on!

We have a super long chapter coming up next, to make up for today's short one, so there's that to look forward to! We're also just about ready to jump back into present time, and for literally everything to start going downhill.

But hey, all that excitement aside, I have a question for those who are actually still reading.

I don't know how many of you saw my post in my randomness book, but I finished my short story Possessed! I'm torn about when to publish it though, and I didn't get a lot of opinions. So I thought I'd ask here! Should I-

A) Post Possessed while Final Days is still in progress
B) Post Possessed after Final Days is finished, before Night of the Mobs come out

Opinions would be greatly appreciated!

Anyhow, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and didn't cringe too much! If you have any theories as to how the order got from that position into their current position, I'd love to hear them!

See you all in five days with chapter 18!