“Now, now,” Sable said, trying to lift both their spirits, “let’s not make assumptions! World isn’t what it used to be.” Literally, she added in thought while taking another hit, followed by a long swig of rum.

Still… It was hard to argue with her assessment. Not that that ever stopped her! “I mean, c’mon, look at them,” she said, pointing at the fleet of edgy vehicles growing larger by the second, “clearly they are big Mad Max fans too, so that’s one thing in common! Who knows, maybe they just want us to join their crew or something?” See, unlike her sister Jin, Sable was more trusting of others–

PING!

She was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a bullet slamming into the rock, a few feet to the right of Jin. Immediately her eye began to twitch as smoke curled upwards from the corners of her mouth. See, all of her trust and compassion and understanding evaporated the moment her sister’s wellbeing was threatened.

Now there was only fire and fury.

“I'm gonna head down there and rain an ungodly fucking firestorm down upon you!” Sable shrieked down at the approaching cars, channeling her inner Les Grossman. “You’re gonna have to call the fucking Earth itself and get that cheeky shit to twist the laws of fucking reality all over again just to keep me from fucking destroying you,” she roared, spittle loosening from her lips as an inferno raged behind her eyes.

“I'm talking scorched earth, motherfuckers! I will massacre you! I WILL FUCK YOU UP!”

In her rage, the young woman reached for her holster, not remembering that it was now empty. But in that moment, on instinct, Sable believed her trusty sidearm was where it always was, everyday. Mostly because she was too busy lining up the shot in her mind; too busy envisioning her divine retribution.

She wasn’t even surprised when her hand emerged, firmly gripping her big bore revolver, as it felt so natural for her. Sable didn’t feel it materialize in her hand, didn’t realize she had willed it into being. No, nothing really clicked until she pulled the trigger, and the hand cannon unleashed lead and thunder…

Okay, fine, it was only after she emptied half a dozen rounds at the vehicles and saw one of them burst into flames, launch into the air, and come crashing down into a smoking scrap heap.

“MY BABY!” Sable yelled, her voice softening suddenly as tears welled in her eyes. “Did you miss mama?” She asked the gun, now cradling it in her arms and nuzzling it with a cheek, briefly forgetting her rage and the rapidly approaching fleet, who seemed very angry about their recently deceased friends.

“Can you believe it, Jin!?” Sable continued, beaming as she turned to her sister.

“Could it be…?” Sable dared to hope upon hearing an all too familiar voice calling her name. Spinning back, the woman looked back in a direction she had only just scouted. But now, amidst the vast nothingness, there was suddenly something. Or rather, someone. Standing. No, running, and right toward her too.

“JIN!!!” Sable hollered in glee, catching her younger sister in a warm embrace. Albeit a short one, the woman begrudgingly released her hold when Jin stepped back. “Well, shit,” she responded when asked about their current location, “you took the words right out of my mouth.”

Sable hadn’t the slightest clue what was going on, nonetheless the where. But she took the offered joint and breathed deep all in one fluid motion. Meanwhile, left in Jin’s hand was a bottle of booze; it was a switch one could hardly notice, if not for the difference in weight.

Making alcohol appear was one of Sable’s favorite magic tricks.

“Feels like we’re in the Twilight Zone,” she said with smoke curling up from her nostrils and the corners of her mouth. Still looking at the wasteland around them she added, “And we just got dropped into Mad Max, or… Oh! Into the Badlands!? You remember when we watched that one, right? Danuel Wu as that tatted up kung fu swordmaster…” Sable rambled on before trailing off into a Chef’s kiss.

“And good lord, don’t even get me started on the Widow!” She continued, all fired up as she took another hit despite never having let out the first, “Emily Beecham was sooo badass, and hot. Oh God, please let us be there.”

Crossing her fingers as she spoke those last words, Sable finally exhaled. But it wasn’t a plume of smoke, or even rings, but rather smoky outlines of cartoony hearts. Followed by several arrows to pierce them, and all while still looking over the surrounding area.

Upon locating whatever appeared to be the tallest rock formation around, she looked at Jin, nodded to it, and then began strolling towards it. “By the way,” Sable said, looking to her little sister as she took another big hit, “what did you pick for your, uh, class thingy?”

“Another drink?” Sable asked, looking down at the empty stool across the empty bar. “Oh,” she continued with a huskier voice, “don’t mind if I do.” Pulling out a whiskey bottle, the beautiful barkeep twirled it around like she was trying out for the sequel to Cocktail.

A second later she poured four fingers of whiskey in the chilled glass now resting on the bar before her. And then, another second later, it was down to three fingers. “Mmm,” Sable cooed, “guess a slow day isn’t so bad. More for me, heh.”

Placing the glass back on the bar, she stretched a bit before letting out a yawn. Wondered if she should go have another smoke. But then she felt… Something. Looking down, she noticed ripples across the rum’s surface. “Huh, did I…” Sable started to say, until the entire bar began to tremble.

“... Did I have mushrooms today?” She wondered aloud as she looked around. Pictures were falling off the walls, and the bottles… “No!” Sable cried at the sound of glass shattering as she spun around, catching the next two bottles. And the two after that, but then everything started to unravel.

For some damn reason it looked to her like a sinkhole was forming at the edge of the bar, or else had expanded to encompass it, seeing as the far wall crumbled away and disappeared into it. “Oh, what the fuck!” Sable hollered at the scene, and also in part because it caused her to drop one of the bottles, “that was a good year too, damn it.”

Pulling on her weathered brown duster, and depositing the remaining bottles in its many pockets, Sable vaulted over the bar and sprinted toward the exit as the building crumbled behind her. Dashing outside, she jumped on her motorcycle and brought it roaring to life in a flash.

A good thing too, as the sinkhole wasn’t finished expanding, not by a long shot. No sooner had she pulled away did the parking lot also disappear into the earth. And it was accelerating now too, as the bigger it became, the faster it grew.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Sable yelled as she sped down the street, road and buildings alike crumbling in her wake. Not like what was in front of her was any better, for society itself was clearly crumbling as well. As she rode Sable saw fire trucks, ambulances and police cars alike ignoring everyone else, or even just outright mowing them down, in their own frantic attempts to escape the sinkhole.

Not that she stopped to help anyone, so sure that doing so would mean certain death as she looked at the reflection of grim nothingness in her mirrors. No, she weaved through people and vehicles alike, driving up onto the sidewalk whenever necessary to avoid obstructions. After what seemed like eternity, however, death stopped nipping at her heels; the sinkhole finally stopped growing.

But she didn’t stop or slow down, even when she looked back to the mirror and witnessed a gargantuan monolith rise from the abyss. “Ah c’mon,” Sable groaned, “you gotta be shittin’ me!” Yet she kept going, following the same path she had from the very start; the path that led her home, to her sister.

Skidding to a halt outside their apartment, Sable was halfway up the steps before the kickstand even touched the ground. “Jin! Sis!” she screamed breathlessly, throwing open the door only to be enveloped by a blinding white light from within… “JIN!!!”