The Complete Season (Supernatural)

Episode 1: The Ways of the World

I sat on my sofa in my cozy little apartment, watching netflix on my computer. It was loud through the headphones. I had an old knitted blanket thrown over my legs, a glass of Sprite on the coffee table, and my cat curled up in front of the portable heater. It was my favorite show- a crime procedural that had been on way too long in most people's opinions, but was providing a great marathon for my currently lonely nights.

My cat, Mildred, got up at some point and began stalking back and forth in front of the lone living room window. I ignored her- Mildred was always being strange, this was nothing new. The cat meowed louder and louder. "Mildred, you know I don't let you out." I frowned, pausing the show and getting up to go look out one of the windows. There was nothing but black outside.

The single light in the parking lot of the apartment building had been burned out for months, so all that I could see was the reflection of my dimly lit room staring back. Still, the darkness seemed oppressive tonight, and I double checked my locks and closed my curtains against it. Deciding that maybe watching a drama about murder and sex crimes wasn't a great idea for that particular evening, I shut off the computer, double checked the doors and windows, and headed to my room. After a quick shower, I took two of my sleeping pills, read for a while, and eventually dozed off. Soon, I was in a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

"BAM BAM BAM!"

I jumped at the sudden noise. Light drifted lazily into the room through thin curtains, and I swung my legs off of the bed and got up. Someone was pounding and shouting at the door.

"Miss Miles, are you in there? Are you all right?" A male voice shouted, followed by more pounding at the door.

"Yes, yes, I'm here....." I peered through the peephole and saw two officers, a man and a woman, standing at my door. They looked visibly shaken. I opened the door but left the security screen closed. "I'm fine. What's the problem.." I trailed off, opening the door and stepping out onto the walkway. "What the fuck?" I whispered. The apartments in front of my own were demolished, completely flattened. I spun around. Every apartment in the complex was destroyed, utterly and completely, except for mine. Even the one on top of mine was just... gone.

I looked at the officers. They both looked visibly shaken. One was a small but robust looking Asian woman, and the man was tall, with dark skin and short cropped hair. "What the fuck happened?" I asked them. "My neighbors? Are they all right? Did any of them escape? Was it an earthquake?"

"Calm down, Miss Miles. We... aren't sure what happened. But as you can see, the fire department is doing their best to clear this and find survivors. We... we need you to come down to the station with us, please." The female officer, Officer Liu, spoke gently to me. I nodded.

"Okay, okay, of course. But... why?"

"Well, Miss Miles... as far as we can tell, you're the only survivor." Officer Liu looked sad.

"Oh my God." I wandered back into my house, but the other cop, Officer Benson, stopped me.

"Miss, we can't guarantee the structural integrity of your apartment. We can't let you go back inside.

"My cat's in there. And my clothes... and my purse and phone. I..." I trailed off.

"I'll go get your things. Do you have a cat carrier?" Officer Liu asked.

"Liu, you shouldn't go in there either." Benson warned her.

"Jesus Christ, Benson. The building stayed up all night while God knows what was happening. It'll hold a few more minutes." She clapped him on the shoulder and went inside, returning minutes later with a set of clothes, toothbrush, purse, and a very upset cat in a carrier. "Let's just go."