The first fire started just after dawn. Flames leaped up unexpectedly in the center of Hunk’s junk emporium.
No one saw the fire start or knew what started it. Hunk and his assistant put the fire out and continued to get ready to start the workday.
A neighbor passing by the emporium thought he saw something large moving out of the corner of his eye. He jerked his head in the movement's direction but saw nothing and moved on.
For a few hours after that, nothing unusual happened.
Then a breaking news update flashed onto every screen in the city. A reporter told the citizens that a resident had encountered a large predator on his property and fled for his life. No one believed this. After all, they had spotted no predators of any kind in or near the city for over 30 years.
However, not long after this, residents received a text alert informing them about multiple large predatory animals being spotted in different neighborhoods throughout the city. It provided no specific details.
The alerts urged the citizens to remain calm and stay in their homes. If, for any reason, this wasn’t possible, they were told to find shelter wherever they could and report any other sightings using a secure encrypted voice and text line that was included in the message.
More time passed with no incidents or reports. However, the damage was done. Hares all over Habiun stayed glued to their taptaks and screens in case more information came through. They inundated the secure line with false reports and rumors.
One hour later, three buildings in the center of town spontaneously burst into flames, and they dispatched firefighters to extinguish the blaze. The firefighters arrived at the scene and then abruptly broke off all communications. Finally, half of the crew made it back to the fire station, wounded and too terrified to explain what had happened to them.
Suddenly, the ground shook with a tremendous explosion, and the city went dark.