The Eighth Continent [feat: BTS]

o n e (einer)

On May 5th, a tiny rock fell in the front yard of a dilapidated white house belonging to an 85-year-old lady who lived about an hour and a half from Berlin.

Well, it was tiny in comparison to its parent, which was discovered by NASA forty-five minutes later. It will do much more than turn a front yard into a smoking crater.

I sigh and switch off the television, stretching and yawning in the giant armchair. That happened two days ago, and since then, it's been all anybody can talk about. "So what?" I mutter, dramatically throwing a hand over my face to cover my eyes. "'Tis just an asteroid the size of Washington, DC hurtling at us a few miles per hour short of the speed of light. I don't see why everybody's freaking out like this."

"I know, right?" Kaira replies agreeably. "Just because we've got thirty days left to live doesn't mean you have to go ballistic."

The two of us erupt into giggles like the girls we are. When the laughter fades, my best friend speaks, but this time the teasing is gone from her voice. "You are going to stop it, right?"

She seems quiet, timid, and afraid, for the first time letting a drop of uncertainty leak into her voice. It's so un-Kaira that my mind screeches to a halt. Then I leap from my wonderful, squishy chair onto the couch where she sits, the action almost throwing her up in the air. I grab her shoulders, turning her to face me, and stare dead into her eyes. "Of course I'm going to stop it," I grin. "If there's no Earth, there's no cheese puffs, remember?"

Kaira rolls her eyes but seems reassured. "And when your cheese puffs are on the line, you'll do absolutely everything in your power to save them."

"Exactly."

"You said the other continents all appear as young males?" she asks mischief dancing across her expression.

"Yes. A few hundred years ago, I decided I wanted to at least see what they looked like, and they were guys..." I trail off. I know her well enough to be worried about where this conversation is headed.

She snickers. "Were they hot?"

I sigh in exasperation. "I don't remember. I wasn't really worried about that aspect of things."

"Do you think another continent would form if one of them got--"

One of my hands shoots out to cover her mouth, muffling the rest of her sentence. The other smacks her on the shoulder. Hard. "Seriously, Kaira?"

The blond girl smirks and licks my palm, making me reel back with an exclamation of disgust. "I'm just saying," she shrugs.

My groan is cut off by an insistent tapping at the window. Outside, on the sill, sits a small red hawk with bright yellow eyes and black flecks in his feathers. His talons are covered in blood, and he holds a small scroll in his beak.

I rush over there and undo the latch, sliding the pane of glass upward so he can hop inside. For a second, my ears catch the gentle roar of the waves and a sharp brush of salty wind swirls around my face, then I close it.

"I swear, Filigree seems to like you more than the person who feeds him," I grumble, as the bird flutters onto her shoulder and nuzzles her cheek. I grab a dried grasshopper from the jar on the coffee table and toss it to him. He drops the pale roll of paper in favor of snatching the insect out of the air, and I scoop up the delivery.

For at least the last thousand years, the other seven continents have been communicating using messages delivered by carrier pigeons. It didn't take them long to start sending out doubles, because one always seemed to get lost along the way.

They never even stopped to consider that they might have and still are 'intercepted' instead. With one pale, slender finger, I gently break the wax seal-- which is stamped with a roaring lion with a J on its forehead. I shake my head. So old-fashioned. The scroll unrolls into a very small piece of paper, just a few inches long.

The elegant handwriting is short and to the point:

South America- the others and I have decided on the place in Arabia. You will be there, on the 8th, at ten in the evening. I don't care how hot the ladies are where you are right now, you'll be there. With love, me.

Kaira sees the look on my face as I fold the note and put it in my pocket. "You're leaving, aren't you?"

"Yeah," I said, already starting a packing list in my head.

"Can't you stay just a little bit longer? You only got back from West Island last night."

I shake my head. "I'm sorry, but I'm on quite the time crunch and this is big. Do you think you could help me? I swear, every time I try to get ready on my own, I forget something."

She exhales long and heavy, drawing it out. "Fine. But I want at least one picture of you posing with a cute boy that I can hang on my bedroom wall when you get back, okay?"

With that, we start to throw it together. Kaira has her laptop open on the counter, doing research on the weather in Arabia and occasionally yelling at me as I run all throughout the house. This is far from the first time the two of us have done something similar, and my suitcase and carry-on bag are packed by the time the sun is starting to sink into the thin line of the ocean horizon.

"Stay safe, okay?" She throws her arms around me and buries her head in my shoulder.

I chuckle as I wrap her in an embrace. "I swear you get tinier every day, Kai." She pulls back to give me a glare, but then rushes forward again to hug me one final time.

I'm halfway out the door when she calls out and I stop, twist around to face her. "Eli called, while you were gone," she informs me, hesitantly.

I raise my eyebrows at her.

"You can tell Eli to burn in hell."

Then I'm gone, the wind whipping my hair into a tangled mess. I grip the handle of my suitcase harder and start out purposefully toward the dock, where a small motorboat waits for me. We have this island all to ourselves, a tiny little haven, and so nobody else but the girl pressed up against the window of the nice beach house witnesses me leave once again.

I pull away from the shore and push the throttle into full speed. Only when I'm at least a mile away from 'home' do I let the uncertainty hit me. I tilt my head up to look at the sky, which is starting to streak with brushstrokes of vivid pink. Out of habit, my hand strays to the large ring on my finger, and I start to twist it around and around. I concealed my worries so well in front of Kaira, but the truth is...

I'm probably one of the only people on this planet who can save it.

I have no idea what I'm doing.

I have no idea how to stop what's coming.

And I'm absolutely terrified.

--

Heyyyyy, this is LA here. I want to make some funny joke that'll make you laugh, because Nuggets is always the charming and hilarious one that everybody likes, but my brain is so freaking dead, so here's the chapter, thanks.

Here : (hi this is me, Nuggets tehe)

Why did Tommy's mom die?

Cause she had terminal cancer haha so funny.

Also thanks for reading, those of you that did teehee. Please vote and comment, it really helps. I mean, if you liked it. If you did like it, all I ask is that you don't ghostread lol. Have a bootiful day, and if you ghostread this, I will find out where you live and shit in your mouth. Have a great day :3 - Nuggies

Hey guys! Great job on the work! I'm assuming Kaira is based on me? Just a safe, educated guess... I'm not THAT short LA. Geez -Ivy