Earth. It floated in the inky black soup of the universe like a little fly. It was just a matter of time before someone picked it out and made a scene, refusing to pay for the meal.

Scordatura had no objections at all to the earth being blown up, he just didn't know why he had to do it. Why not just blow it up the old fashioned way? But orders are orders and it could be really good for his career if it went well.

It simply wasn't done anymore to just blow things up. It had to be executed perfectly so that it fit with the lore of the planet. Head office wanted a clean job. Last time they blew up a planet there were so many complaints from the inhabitants. "What's a meteor? Can't we go around it?" Meteors were considered lazy and uninspired now. A research trip was the only way ahead. The formalities were through and he finally had his funding. He gathered his unbodily essence and whooshed towards the planet.

It was a calm night. A little too calm. The sort of night on which you know that there's trouble on the way. The sort of night before the day a hurricane and an earthquake don't check each other's schedules and end up in the same place at once and the awkwardness is the worst because no one can decide who should leave and come back later. It was Thursday night.

The street was empty. A garbage can stood next to a broken street lamp. Their shadows mingled into a slightly darker dark than the rest of the dark. The surrounding shadows leaned in too, a little shadow bush, the shadow of the footpath on the road and even the shadow of a small creature that wanted it back. They bent in towards the darkest dark till they swirled in and took the shape of a man. Another moment of darkness and the shadows retreated.

A mild looking man emerged. He was a little on the short side. His battered hat and glasses made him look like an escaped accountant. That is to say, someone who had tried their hand at accounting and given up perfectly on time. His dark brown coat folded itself around him like a crumpled paper bag. He blinked around owlishly and set off looking for lore to end the world.