[center][h3]Day 1 - Nadia & Dylan[/h3][/center]

When Nadia sinks into her seat in the powerful aircraft, the armed men pile back inside as well, barking out an instruction to buckle up and hold on tightly. Dylan is already strapped in. As the helicopter rises into the air once more, there is a sense of urgency on-board, though none will say what it is.

Just as the tension reaches a pitch that is so high, the air seemingly crackles with it, a screaming sound pierces through even the eardrum-piercing scream of the helicopter's rotors. Red lights inside the cabin begin to flash, a universal warning sign embedded into the psyche of the human race. "Brace!" calls the pilot, banking hard to the left just as an explosion flares into life, back in the opposite direction in which the helicopter now flies - back near Dylan's homestead.

The helicopter is battered by abusive winds as the sonic wave of the blast eventually hits them, sending the helicopter tumbling through the air like a toy. "Hold on!" shouts the red-faced pilot, the gunmen white-knuckled and silent as they cling to the supports overhead to keep from being pitched from their seats, restraints or no restraints. Through some miracle, the helicopter straightens itself, flying onward and forward, and for a time, the red lights cease their flashing. Scarcely enough time to catch their breath passes before the whistling begins again, and the pilot warns, "Brace!" once more.

This time, the detonation is louder, closer, harder - the helicopter is hit so hard that the sound of splintering can be heard as the titanium alloy used to form the slick, black outer layer of the aircraft is creased and crumpled by the impact like a cheap soda can. The helicopter goes tumbling once more, a door ripped off the hinges, hurtling away into the wind-buffeted abyss outside. Along with the door go two of the gunmen unfortunate enough to be holding to the door for support. Through the open doorway, it isn't hard to miss the detonation site: Nadia's home, and everything within a 2 mile radius - is no more.

"An unavoidable tragedy," comes the voice of one of the tactical team members. "Someone knows where we are. Someone knows that our mission is to collect the Black Dawn applicants. They missed us the first time, and very nearly got us this time.We'll need to consider reevaluating the plan to stop for the next pickups, or I fear we may not survive the encounter." When he speaks, the other men with the guns look at one another, then finally one speaks.

"The two of you must decide it together. Do we pick up the last entry, or do we abandon them and head on to Black Dawn?" Seven pairs of eyes look between Dylan & Nadia, pressing this weighty decision onto their shoulders amidst the chaos of the recent bombings.