Hey buddy,You have to be in the Christmas spirit

CHAPTER TWO — THE FIRST MINUTES

The shockwave slammed into the community center like a tidal wave made of air.

Windows burst inward. Posters ripped off walls. Tables skidded across the floor. For one sharp, ringing moment, no one was sure if they were screaming or just hearing the building scream around them.

Norther was the first to hit the floor, covering his head the way every drill had taught him. “DROP—COVER—HOLD!” he yelled, voice cracking.

Cornball dove under a table and dragged Untitledgoober with him, saving them from a rain of glass.
“I’m not even supposed to be heroic,” Cornball muttered, half panicked. “This isn’t my role!”

Goober, shaking hard, clung to him. “I don’t—I don’t like this kind of chaos!”

Curator grabbed Mewo’s arm and pulled her behind a pillar as debris fell from the ceiling. Shira and Corpse.Bride crawled behind an overturned booth. Randomiser tripped over a chair, got up, tripped again, then finally threw himself behind a vending machine.

Toady moved fast—surprisingly fast—shoving Nobleranger beneath the edge of the stage just before another blast of pressure rattled the building.

The second shockwave didn’t hit as hard as the first, but it was enough to send a low groan through the rafters. Dust poured from above like dirty snow.

For a moment, there was silence except for everyone’s uneven breathing.

Mewo was the first to speak.
“…Did that actually just happen?”

Norther pushed himself up, eyes wide behind dust-covered glasses.
“That was a nuclear detonation,” he said in a voice so calm it became clear he was absolutely not calm. “It had to be. Nothing else is that bright.”

Shira peeked over the booth. “Are we…are we dying?”
Her voice trembled—not in fear, but in the terrifying way of someone trying hard not to be afraid.

Curator answered quietly, “Not yet. But we have to move.”

Outside, the world was still rumbling, like the earth itself hadn’t decided whether to settle or break apart completely.

Toady stood up, brushing off dust.
“There’ll be more waves,” they said flatly. “We need to get into the basement. Now.”

Corpse.Bride blinked. “Since when do you talk this much?”

Toady didn’t answer—they were already scanning the room for a stairwell sign.

Nobleranger crawled out from under the stage. “Okay—okay—everyone stick together. If we split now, we’re screwed.”

Randomiser staggered up, shaking glass from his hoodie.
“I swear I manifested this by waking up today. This is my fault. It has to be.”

Cornball grabbed his arm. “Dude, no offense, but you’re not powerful enough to cause nuclear war by existing.”

The lights flickered once more—weakly, like they were gasping their last.

And then, in the distance, a new sound began.

A low, rolling hum. Not mechanical. Not natural. Almost like a storm, but thicker, heavier.

Norther’s eyes widened.
“That’s the fallout cloud forming.”

Mewo cursed under her breath. “We’re not gonna make it to a real shelter in time, are we?”

Toady found the stairwell door and shoved it open. “Basement. NOW!”

One by one, they ran—stumbling, coughing, grabbing each other’s sleeves when someone tripped.

The sirens outside wailed louder. The sky dimmed again, but this time not from light.

From shadow.

From dust.

The fallout had begun.

And the thirteen friends had only seconds to get underground before the world above turned toxic.