Dakota High

Located in Central Dakota City, a large percentage of Dakota High students were affected by the Big Bang. As a result, big changes are about to take place here.

6:45am

Hanini woke up in the morning, reeking of an unusual scent. It didn't stink, but Hanini didn't like it. It reminded him of the incident the night before. He had stayed late after practice to help a friend with decorations for a school event, and before he knew it, it was getting dark! He took a shortcut to try to get home quicker, when the sounds of a fight could be heard just a block ahead of him! Hanini didn't want any part in that, so he walked as quietly as he could. It turned out there was a full blown brawl taking place near the docks! and then BOOM!

Purple smoke erupted from the site, causing all parties to scatter, coughing as they tried to maintain their breath! Hanini hadn't been caught in the blast, but he inhaled so much of the smoke he might as well have! He wasn't injured or anything, so he just went home and took a shower.

But now it was morning and he felt....

Thirsty! He jumped out of bed and rushed to the kitchen, where his mother, Kalea was already preparing breakfast. "Breakfast will be ready soon." She told him. His mother was a beautiful Black, Hawaiian woman who was the object of admiration for many of Hanini's friends. But to him, she was just... mom. He didn't respond to her statement, instead grabbing a glass from the cabinet and filling it with water, guzzling it down in mere seconds. "You thirsty?" Kalea teased, as he finished his second glass. He nodded his head as he poured a third. Three glasses later, she appeared concerned. "I know they say you should have six to nine glasses of water a day, Hanini, but it doesn't have to be all at once....

The boy nodded his head and put his glass in the sink before heading upstairs, and getting dressed. He was out the door before breakfast was ready.

9:32am

Hanini Had all but drained every water fountain in the school, and spent at least ten dollars on bottled water from the vending machine. He had been excused from both his morning classes for water breaks, but no matter what, he remained parched! This would surely continue for the entire day...

Second Period English was even more boring than usual.But it was far from a normal day. While the eyedrop man droned on about this and that, Amira stared at her hands. She could practically see the purple smoke rising off of them! She could smell it too... Like a chemical plant that his been soakeed in Bath and Body Works Lotion.

She would kill Terrence when she saw him! She remembered how he showed up at her house the night before; Without the Chemistry notes he was supposed to bring! He had this weird purple smoke fuming out of his clothes, and he begged her for a place to hide! There were sirens going off in the distance, so she ushered him in coughing as she inhaled the smoke.

Terrence was special. He wasn't Amira's boyfriend, but he was consistent. If she needed something, he came through, so she hid himuntil the streets calmed down. He told her about the brawl at the docks, and the exploding gas, which would probably kill her now too, if it turned out to be toxic... But here it was, the next morning, and she wasn't dead! She did feel weird though. She felt light headed, and swore she was hallucinating. It looked like the purple smoke was everywhere! She would have coughing fits, and then it would suddenly just be gone! Amira decided she needed to go see the School Nurse after class.

When the bell rang, she rushed down the hall to the Nurses Office to see that the line was out the door and around the corner! Were all of these people hallucinating too? That gas must have been some pretty serious stuff! Except something didn't seem right. Just listening the the students in line painted a whole different story. There were some students with fevers that should have killed them! Some had body temperatures low enough to induce hypothermia! Some were having vision problems or muscle spasms! the degree of different symptoms was absurd! Could all of this be a result of the gas? Amira was quickly realizing that this was beyond the scope of the School Nurse, but what could she really do? She stood in line, and waited like the rest of them!

The moment the bell rang, Hanini was already out the door and headed to the water fountain. Of course, the closest one wouldn't do. The fountain up on the second floor was the most satisfying by far and he would use the allotted five minutes to go there. The entirety of the time was spent guzzling water without end, and once the late bell rang, Hanini finally stood, looking around at the empty halls. He sighed and made his way towards his next class, but along the way, he caught sight of the line. Several students were lined up outside the Nurses office.

He hadn't even considered the nurse! Maybe he could ask her what was going on with him? But as he looked at the people in line, he had a number of questions! Was this happening to everyone else? No. It seemed everyone was having vastly different symptoms! And at the very back of the line, was Amira!

Hanini and Amira had known of each other since Middle School. they had a few classes together over that time, but they weren't exactly friends. They had only exchanged words in passing, or related to an assignment. She was so pretty though! Hanini had never made an attempt to ask her out or anything. He simply couldn't find a way in! Hanini was reasonably good with girls, Amira just always seemed particularly closed off. And he wasn't the type to try to kick down a door.

"Any idea what's going on?" He ased Amira, as he got in line behind her.

Even if the Nurse wasn't able to help him, she could give him an excuse for being late!

It wasn't long after Amira got into line that she saw Hanini approach from the other direction, and get in line behind her. She looked him over as she asked her his question. Hanini seemed like a nice guy to Amira. At the very least, in all the time they had known each other, he hadn't done anything to make her hate him. He looked at her like a person, and not just a potential conquest, so he was cool in her book.

"I'm not really sure." She answered. There seems to be something wrong with everyone in line. I've never heard of any kind of bug or disease that acts like this. Wha-"

And then the smoke returned, instantly filling Amira's lungs and sending her into a fit of coughing! Instinctively, she grabbed hold of Hanini for support with her free hand while covering her mouth with the other, but then, something unexpected happened! The smoke that previously only she could see, was visible to him as well! He would be able to smell the gas, and feel it filling his lungs the same as she could!

Once she was able to take a deep breath and remove herself from his person, the smoke would disappear from his senses, and he would return to normal. Meanwhile, she would take a moment to catch her breath, unable to find more words.

Hattie's head was splitting. She tried her best to push through it as best she could but the unbearable pain left her mind too foggy to pay much attention  to the economy class teacher. She had woken up with this migraine, no doubt a side affect from she had breathed in last night.

He mind raced back to the night before where she had huddled near a quiet part of the docks to go through  her grandmother's old book of voodoo symbols. When, out of nowhere, a loud explosion shook the whole area and a wave of purple smoke rushed toward her on the wind. By the grace of God  she had been able to stumble her way back home before  her mother returned  from her night shift at the hospital. She had showered and gone to bed without giving the strange smoke another thought till her brain threatened  to rend her head in two.

She started to doodle in the margin of her notes, as she often did when she was troubled.  Drawing some of the unusual symbols she had seen in her grandmother's  book, one belonging to a God known as Legba described as a master of cross roads. As she forced on drawing  the symbol from memory the pain in her head eased. When her pencil traced the last line it glowed silver on her page. She stared at it curiously.

'Do all voodoo  symbols  glow when you draw them?' She thought absently. Her pencil  went to work drawing  another.  Of the same as she finished the last line both glowed brightly and turned into iridescent holes on her page. This startled her so much she dropped her pencil.  The  price of yellow wood plopped down into one hole and shot back up and out the other. She yiped and tried to catch it as it popped  out in front of her.

"Ms. Trenchet, do you mind holding your  questions till the end. " The teacher reprimanded  her as they spotted  her hand in the air with the pencil in hand. Hattie slammed her note book shut as all the eyes of the class turned to her.

" Um, I'm not feeling too good. May I go to the nurse?" She asked shyly.  

The teacher allowed  her to go but reminded  her she might miss her assignment.  Hattie  didn't  care. Now that she wasn't  drawing  the symbols  her headache  was back in full force. She grabbed her things and power walked toward the nurses  office.

It was true. There was no consistency when it came to the symptoms displayed in the students in the line. Some of them had symptoms that didn't even seem possible! One kid had heat visibly radiating from his body! There was absolutely something stranger than a bug or a flu going around! This was something scary! Definitely beyond the scope of the school Nurse! Hell, being perpetually thirsty was starting to feel not so bad! He was just about to ask what symptoms Amira was experiencing, when she broke into a fit of uproarious coughing!

At first, Hanini thought that this seemed a more normal set of symptoms than the others, but then Amira grabbed his arm, and out of nowhere, the hallways filled with the purple gas from the night before! It rose from both Amira's and his own clothes! It rushed down the hallways! It filled his lungs at an alarming rate, and he broke into coughing alongside the brown skinned beauty before him! This certainly wasn't normal! But what was it! Hanini wanted to try to make sense of it, but his brain was in a fog as he gaspsed desperately for air!

And then, when Amira released his arm, the gas faded away! His lungs cleared and his normal thirst resumed! He took in as man deep breaths as he could, before looking at Amira with a thousand questions in his eyes. Had the gas done this to her? How contagious was everyone? Was simple contact all it took to spread their symptoms?

Before he could ask a single question though, Hattie joined the line behind him. He didn't know Hattie well either. She never seemed to join in any after school activities due to her heavy involvement in the church. But she seemed nice enough.

"You too, huh?" He asked, taking one final deep breathe as he regained his composure.

Whatever was going on, it would have no simple solution...

Hattie had been so consumed in her own thoughts and the pain of her headache she all but jumped when the classmate had asked her his question.  He was one of the guys the girls in her class tended to swoon over. But she couldn't quite remember his name. She shifted awkwardly in her oversized shirt and gave him a polite smile.

"Um, yeah. Must be a bug around or something.  My head has been pounding all day." Her hands clasped her notebook tightly. "What are you in for?" She inquired, eager to shift the conversation off of herself. She didn't even know if she could  fully explain it.

Amira didn't expect what had just happened. She had been in a state of wondering if the gas was even real! But now, someone else had reacted to it as well! Why did that happen? How do you even explain something like that. But before either of them could begin to ask any questions, another girl got into line behind Hanini. Amira didn't know the girl, but Hanini spoke to her immediately. When she said that her head was pounding, Amira sprung into action immediately

"Oh I have something for you!" She said, as she reached into her small bag and pulled out a bottle of Aleve.

"i get regular migraines." She explained.

From dealing with the dumbasses in her life. She held back the urge to roll her eyes.

The girl's question reminded her that she had never asked Hanini what was wrong with him! She didn't know what he was going to say, but when she heard it, something hit her. Why were they sitting around waiting for someone that they all knew wouldn't be able to help them? This was crazy!

"I'm going to the hospital." She said, pulling her car key out of her bag. "You guys are free to come if you want."

She then stepped out of line and started down the hall toward the parking lot.

Whatever was going on here, a "bug" definitely didn't explain it. But Hydro offered an empathetic smile, and apologized when Hattie said that her head hurt. His eyes settled on Amira as she offered Hattie headache medicine. He had known her for years and never known she got migraines. The struggles of others were really never to be assumed. "I've been really thirsty all day." He said, before realizing how minor his symptoms sounded. "Like, Impossibly thirsty. I've probably had three gallons of water since I woke up and I feel like I've been walking through the Sahara."

Somehow that still didn't feel adequate but what more could he say? He listened as Amira made her suggestion, and it honestly made sense. What was getting in trouble for skipping class in the face of a potential epidemic?

"Yeah let's go. Even if we get to the front of the line, what can the school nurse really do?"

Hanini didn't have a car, so this ride would probably be his one opportunity.

"You coming Hattie?"

2:05PM

Jayce sat in the back corner of her History Class with her shades on and earplugs in. History was usually her favorite class, learning things that she could plug into what she already knew and unfold it into something else, but today the information was almost overwhelming.

The topic was workers rights, and the Great Molasses Flood, but every word the teacher said sank into a pattern that she was creating in an effort to figure out what had happened last night.

She had been rushing home from the Collegiate Chess Club meeting at the library, and decided rather than taking her usual wandering path though the neighborhoods, to cut along the docks. Just as she was about to step back into the warehouse area just off the docks, there was a rumble, a shake of the earth that nearly made her fall down, and massive plumes of bright purple smoke burst into the air and surrounded her.

Jayce did not run...ever...but somehow her feet and legs got a different message and propelled her towards the residential areas and out of the smoke. As the air cleared, she stopped, panting heavily.

"Whatt. The. FUCK. Was. THAT??" she rasped out to herself between breaths. Looking around, she noticed that most of the houses were still dark, as if they hadn't noticed.

She slowly finished her walk home, and exhausted after her jog, cleaned up quickly and fell into her bed and a deep sleep.

The next morning, she quickly watched the news to see if there was any mention of an incident at the docks, and her brief flash of surprise, there was not. She nodded, did her morning routine, and headed to school.

Over the hours, the information she picked up began making her feel like her head was swelling with every year of knowledge that had gone into the discovery. By mid-morning, she was wearing her darkest sunglasses. After lunch, she put in her earplugs. Now, she was in the corner, her eyes closed as she tried to not hear anymore of the faint droning of her teacher. Her head was splitting, and she knew that if she stayed in class any longer, she would start crying.

"Ms. Ecoh? I think I'm getting a migraine - can I be excused?"

Her teacher barely paused to nod her approval, and Jayce quickly packed her things and headed to the school nurse. The nurse had a supply of her headache meds - they were considered a controlled substance, so she couldn't carry them in school. She slowed as she reached the floor the nurse was on, looking around in shock at the line of students waiting.

"I'm going to the hospital." She overheard another student saying. "You guys are free to come if you want."

She turns to see a student she barely knew starting to walk down the hall and away from the line and reached out to her -

"Hey! Amira!!" she called out. "What's going on?"

Amira had just gathered her keys, and was about to head off when she heard her name. She turned around to see it was Jayce, trying to figure out what was happening, much like everyone else. Amira didn't know Jayce well. They definitely didn't walk with the same crowd. But Amira kept up with the accomplishments of many girls in the school, and made it a point to always treat them well. Jayce was no exception to this. She had a brain that would take her places, and Amira admired that. She smiled to the girl,

"Whatever is breaking out here, the Nurse can't handle it all. We were going to go to the Hospital and hope it's not worse there."

She looked Jayce over curiously. "Are you having weird symptoms too? You can come along if you like!"

Jayce rubs her face, settling her glasses on a little more securely.

"Weird,,,,symptoms? I mean - I get migraines all the time, but today - yeah - I feel like my head is about to explode. I was headed to the nurse for my meds but - looking at that line, it'll be time to go home before I can get them."

She sighs and presses her thumbs into her temples.

"Yeah, getting out of here sounds great - I'd appreciate a ride...."

Jayce strongly doubted that the hospital would give her even a spare dose - but it was better than staying in this noisy chaotic space.

Just as they were preparing to take off, another girl approached. It was turning out to be quite the party! A sad, sickly party, but a party nonetheless! Hanini had seen this girl before, but he couldn't place her name. He tried to recall where he knew her from. They didn't have any classes together... Eventually he gave up though.

"I'm Hanini" He said, keeping his voice low in acknowledgement of her headache. "Wish we could have met under nicer circumstances."

He followed Amira to the car, and got into the back seat, allowing shotgun for anyone who would prefer it. He couldn't help but feel like things wouldn't be any better at the hospital, but at least they would be better equipped...

She smiles weakly as she replies "Hey - I'm Jayce. Weird, I've never met you" she continues as she follows their little group out to Amira's car. "I thought I'd at least seen everyone who goes here once or twice..."

She follows Hanini into the back seat, and at his glace, shrugs a little. "There's less sunlight back here..."