A Story Beginning...

Jack was no longer aware of the explosion by the time it had begun rippling through the Earth's core. Within a few minutes, the chain reaction caused tremors that were felt from Key West to Hong Kong. The earth's core resonated and became still before the last blast, a huge concussion that shattered the crust and sent clouds of magma, quickly cooled into rock and dust, drifting into space.

Of the larger pieces of the Earth that remained after the blast, three were large enough to support life. The smallest chunk left the core at the greatest speed, but by unfortunate chance struck the moon, whose "orbit" had now become extremely erratic. Dust covered the rock, choking whatever may not already be dead. The next piece was propelled almost directly toward the sun, and soon it contributed its own mass to that of the great, seething furnace that once sustained it. The final portion, which was the largest by far, was also thrust at the slowest speed. It drifted quietly, almost apathetically away from the sun, and if anyone did manage to survive the earthquakes and atmospheric changes, they did not long survive the cold.