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  It was what anyone would do in their tight-knit community, at least before the impact. Was it smart to go running off into the night, leaving the love of his life by herself? What if the fire spread? What if more rocks fell? What if? Still, looking in her eyes again, he knew what she would say if he even suggested it wasn’t a good idea to leave her. In fact, he was almost certain she’d get to her feet and go track down Roger on her own if he didn’t do it himself. “I will. Take care of Ethel.”

  He kissed Susan on the forehead, to remain proper in front of their guest. Then he stood up and hobbled across the yard to tear open the cardboard box and retrieve his medical supplies.

  “And get some dry clothes,” Ethel yelled after him, like a good neighbor from a bygone era.

  Ezra laughed, but only for a moment.

  Roger lived about five houses away.

  He couldn’t remember if it was one of those on fire.

  Chapter 6

  Yellowstone

  Grace leaned up against the truck, content to savor being free of the forest fire for a few minutes. Her heart had been running almost as hard as the truck’s engine, and she needed some time to decompress before getting back behind the wheel. The guy stood nearby, desperately brushing off his ruined gray suit pants and stained white shirt. “So, somewhere on our escape from the alpine hut from hell, you said your name was Asher, right?”

  He laughed a bit. “Yes, Asher Creighton. I’m a doctoral candidate from MIT.”

  She was taken aback. “What? Are you for real? How did a smart guy like you get caught up in that fire?” She pointed up the gravel road. The fire was now ten miles away, but it had so much energy its glow was still visible through the branches and leaves overhead.

  Asher coughed up phlegm from deep in his lungs, then shocked her by pulling out a pack of smokes. He pulled one out and sparked it with a small blue disposable lighter. After taking a long drag, he blew smoke out and seemed to relax. “I got lost on the other side of the pass while doing some field work. I’m a geologist.”

  “Geologist, huh? Do geologists normally wear suits while out in the field?” The release of anxiety after the rescue made her get a little less formal with the stranger.

  Even though it was fairly dark, she saw him roll his eyes. “This week I had to work out of the office in Bozeman, up in Montana. For me, the place is a backwater field assignment. I drove down to Yellowstone because it was in the path for the meteor storm, and I wanted to be right under it. Then, when I got out and hiked up the trail a little way, I, um, got lost.” He took another pull on his cigarette.

  She resisted the urge to laugh. Most of her probationary experience as a park ranger dealt with lost visitors, which was easy for them to do given the size of the national park. “So, you made your way up the pass and hit the emergency locator beacon in the alpine hut. Where did the fire come from? You said someone caused it?”

  “Didn’t Smoky the Bear tell you where it originated?” he asked with what might have been sarcasm.

  She did a double take, surprised down to her boots a man so near death would hit her with a joke. After a short pause, she replied. “Smoky is Forest Service. Yellowstone’s mascot is Biggy Bear, the lovable rascal who can’t stop knocking over coolers left by careless campers.”

  They both studied each other for a few moments, and she thought for sure he would challenge her on the made-up mascot, but Asher continued with a straight face, as if he’d used up all his humor. “I work for a powerful man. I think he tried to have me killed with a flamethrower or something. How else can you explain a fire breaking out at the exact time I was out there?”

  She had a lot of questions, but the relevant point should have been obvious, even to a lost hiker. “You know some of the meteorites came down from that storm of shooting stars you mentioned, right? One even landed in the lake where I was giving my nature talk. Didn’t you see it start?”

  He shook his head, sucked in more fumes, then put his back up against the truck a few feet to her right. He exhaled smoke as he spoke. “You wouldn’t know this by looking at me, but I’m not in great shape.” He hacked again, as if he was unable to clear his lungs. “I’d been hiking for a long time before I made it to the hut, and I fell asleep when I sat down at the table up there. I only woke up when smoke filled the place, even though the fire was still miles away.”

  “Forest fires can move fast, and they get faster going uphill. It was great you found the hut and tripped the warning, bad how it caught you.” In her training videos, she learned forest fires could move with the speed of a fast human runner. Grass fires can spread faster than humans can run. Still, her words didn’t seem to comfort him.

  “It wasn’t an accident. The mining company was after me. They want me dead. What better way than a huge forest fire? No one would ever find my bones.”

  It was her turn to roll her eyes. “Asher, didn’t you see any of the big honking meteor shower? You said you came to Yellowstone specifically to see it.”

  “So I did,” he offered.

  “Well, did you?”

  He leaned forward, then slammed back against the truck, like he was upset. “I guess I slept through that, too, though I thought I heard a faint booming sound at some point. So, you’re saying some of them came down?”

  She laughed. “One of them was the size of a skyscraper. It flew right across there.” Grace pointed to the approximate part of the sky where she saw it cruise by. As she traced the line and went to the southeastern edge of the horizon, she saw a faint glow out that way, like there was still something going on with the meteor, even though it should have been long gone.

  “A big one?” He stood up off the truck and flicked away the half-burned cigarette. “Neither of the first pieces were the size of a skyscraper; they weren’t supposed to hit the earth, Either. Where did it go? Did it touch down somewhere? I have to know.” He sounded panicked.

  She walked over and stepped on his discarded butt. “Smoky the Bear does not approve.” She’d said it to be funny. He didn’t take it very well, so she kept talking. “I have no idea where it went. I can’t even ask. The radio isn’t working. Here, see—” She reached in through the open front door and picked up the CB radio handset. “Bay Bridge HQ, this is Grace Anderson calling in. Come back.”

  A voice replied right away, coming strong through the interference. “I hear you, Grace, go ahead.”

  She shared a glance with Asher, before replying to Cindy’s voice back at Bay Bridge campground. “Cindy, good to hear you. My radio wasn’t working before. Hey, I have a rescue here who I’m taking to the Mammoth visitor center, since it’s so close. He’s asking about the bright light that passed over the park a couple of hours ago. He wants to know if it touched down somewhere.”

  The radio static played for a few seconds before Cindy replied. “It did come down; I’m surprised you haven’t heard.” She was quiet for a second. “The news says the meteorite created an airburst above the city of Paducah, Kentucky. Aren’t you from around there?”

  Grace dropped the handset.

  Kentucky

  Ezra recovered some of his strength, but the smoke and dust in the air stole whatever pep was left. As he ran toward Roger’s house, he dodged lingering hot spots still burning from the big explosion. As he took it all in, he realized not every tree was on fire; some appeared almost normal. Some houses were fine, too, as if the fire affected some elements of the environment, leaving others unscathed.

  Roger’s house wasn’t on fire, though a good part of the garage collapsed in on itself as a result of the shockwave of air. His Jeep Cherokee and Honda Civic were under a pile of boards and the remnants of the two metal doors. It wasn’t even possible to get in there and go through to the inside; he needed to go around the back of the house. “Roger, buddy! You in there?”

  The sliding door was open; it looked like it was where Ethel had slipped out. Inside the house, everything seemed strangely normal, as if the wind left the interior alone.
There were no fires burning in there, either, which encouraged him to proceed inside and yell louder, “Anyone home?”

  Roger and Ethel had been on the lake for decades and the interior of their home looked like what you’d expect from lake dwellers. There were artsy pictures of water scenes, photos of their kids and grandkids at the lake, and an endless supply of vacation-themed trinkets and antiques on shelves all around their first floor. Ezra trotted into the sky-blue kitchen and immediately saw Roger in the shadows near the steps.

  He ran over and knelt down, but his first impression wasn’t good. It looked as if he’d fallen down the steps and broken numerous bones.

  “Roger, it’s Ezra, you okay?” He didn’t dare move the guy. “Your wife said I’d find you here—she didn’t tell me you’d fallen.”

  Roger’s skin was already thin and sallow, and now it had become almost ghost-white. The odd shadows and mis-colored nighttime sky made him seem even more injured and uncomfortable. His voice was a husk of the rich timbre it usually was. “I’m glad she made it, Ezra. You’re a good man to come back here. It seems like we’ve suffered through a nuclear strike, so none of you will probably live long…”

  “It wasn’t a missile, Roger. I think it was a meteorite. It hit somewhere to the north, possibly Paducah.”

  The man craned his neck. “Is that better or worse than a nuke?”

  It caught Ezra off guard. One nuke from a rogue state might wipe out a town or cause an EMP; a falling star of a certain size could wipe out the whole world. At the same time, an EMP delivered by an enemy could start a world war. The impact of a big rock might bring countries together.

  “I have no idea.”

  They both laughed a little, then Ezra got to work with the first-aid box. He set it next to Roger’s head and popped it open as he squatted next to his friend. While he did, the old guy made a mighty effort to push the gear away. “Can’t you see I’m a goner, Ezra? My back is broke, and I can’t feel my left arm. Save your supplies for someone else; save them for Ethel. I think she was hurt, too.”

  “Roger, I told her I would come over here and save you, not leave you to the wolves. I’m going to do what I said I would.” He reached over for the kit again.

  The old man didn’t fight him. His breathing was shallow and rapid, suggesting he had internal issues, too. He looked up to the ceiling while he laid on the floor, and he spoke deliberately. “Ezra, listen. You’ve always been a good neighbor, and a good friend. Wasn’t pleased at all to see you packing those boxes to leave us. Now, none of that matters. Go back home and promise me you’ll get Ethel to safety, okay? Find FEMA or the National Guard and make sure she gets there. You can use anything I own to make it happen. Take my Range Rover. Just get her the hell out of here!”

  He didn’t have the heart to tell him about his garage. “I might have to bring her back here for a short time, Roger. My house is cinders.”

  “Live in my house; I don’t care what you do with it, as long as you promise me you’ll take care of her.”

  Ezra knew what he was agreeing to. If their situations were reversed, he would say the exact same thing to Roger. They weren’t only neighbors, but twenty-year friends. As such, he’d make good on his promise if it killed him. “I promise.”

  Air drained from Roger’s lungs, and he didn’t gasp for more. The suddenness took Ezra by surprise, but once he realized his friend had died, he sat back on his haunches and looked at the broken man.

  “I’ll protect her as if she were family.”

  Texas

  Howard knocked on his door once again. It wasn’t how he normally conducted his interactions with his staff; usually, everyone went through his secretary. However, Howard had become so important over the last few days, he’d informed his assistant to let him pass unhindered. When the security man came in, he stood in front of Petteri’s desk like a dutiful soldier.

  “Sir, we have confirmation Asher Creighton is alive. We intercepted a CB radio transmission from a park ranger. She didn’t use his name, but she said she’d rescued a man from a forest fire near an alpine hut. The mystery person immediately asked about the location of the piece of rock which fell. Plus, we now know they are headed for the visitor center at Mammoth Hot Springs.”

  “Hmm,” he replied, stroking his chin like he was a Bond villain. Despite all his attempts to put on a good face in front of most of his staff, he found himself indulging the militaristic attitude of the security agent. Just as it suited his ego to deliver an autograph to a secretary, he played the part of noble leader while in front of Howard. “That doesn’t sound like something a normal person would say if they’d been found in the woods.”

  “No, sir. With your permission, I’m going to send both of my men to Mammoth so we can intercept the targets before they get to safety. I still haven’t heard from my man at the trailhead, but when he comes back, I’ll send him to assist the others. You know, to make absolutely sure we get him.”

  Petteri grinned. “Good work, Howard. I approve of your plan. Get this off our plate so we can deal with more pressing issues, all right?”

  “Yes, sir. I’ll keep my eye on this to make sure it gets done.” Howard continued to stand there.

  “Is there something else?” Petteri asked when it became clear he wasn’t leaving.

  “Sir, there’s a visitor outside I think you should know about…”

  His stomach turned to stone. “Who is it?”

  “The government is finally here.”

  Chapter 7

  Yellowstone

  “I do love a good sunrise, especially after a night like ours.” Grace’s voice was hoarse from smoke inhalation and yelling, but being behind the wheel—without fire on both sides of the road—helped settle her greatly. Still, after all the action of the night, she and Asher didn’t talk much on the drive to the nearby Mammoth Hot Springs visitor center. He smoked several cigarettes and seemed lost in his thoughts. Her mind had been reeling since Cindy told her about the possible disaster in Paducah and she was dying to learn more.

  I survived the night. Did Mom and Dad?

  It helped that she didn’t have to drive him to the more distant Bay Bridge campground; she was already running on empty from the long night. Her shift should have ended after her campfire talk. Instead, she was still on the job, so seeing the sun come up as she neared her destination only made her more bleary-eyed.

  “Is it normal for tourists to come out so early?” he asked. Cars and trucks crowded the approach to the giant hotbed of springs, which was both a major attraction and a tourist village. To get to the visitor center, they had to pass through the springs area, which was packed with tourists jostling for parking spots alongside the roadway. The delay gave her a moment to perk up and appreciate the natural wonder.

  “Yeah, people like to watch the sun rise over the springs.” The hot springs didn’t look like much from the road; she couldn’t even see the namesake pools of spring water at the top. Instead, all that was visible from below was the half-mile-long wall of white rock terraces formed by deposits of calcium carbonate. It was a lot like driving by a thirty-foot hillside shaped and colored like a wedding cake with a thousand layers, one on top of the other, building to the top. Wooden walkways and stairways crisscrossed the sides to help visitors reach the scenic overlooks, but also to keep them off the fragile rocks around the scalding hot water.

  They rounded a corner and drove into the tourist village; it looked like a cross between an army barracks and a nineteenth century frontier town. Stately three-story gray-brick houses lined the main street, with tall trees all around to throw shade on their sloped red clay roofs.

  “Jeez,” she remarked, “I didn’t expect this many people here. Not at this hour.” The quicker she could hand him off, the sooner she could learn more details about the disaster in Paducah.

  He blew smoke out the window. “You said one of the meteorites hit the park, right? Maybe there are lots of injured, or they’re looking for answers
.”

  “Maybe. We won’t know until we get inside the visitors’ center.” She pointed to what looked like a stone Victorian mansion on the corner, which had about fifty tourists on the front lawn waiting to get inside. At least a hundred vehicles parked along the shoulder of the road, making it likely they’d have to park a good distance away and walk in. Today, she was too tired to play by those rules, so she found a gap in the row of parked cars, drove through, and went on to the lawn. A few tourists stepped out of the way as she guided the truck between two houses before shutting it off. “And…we’re here.”

  Asher glanced at her like she was nuts.

  “What? I didn’t want to scratch the paint. Those tourists open their rental car doors and don’t care what they hit. I, however, care a lot about maintaining this vehicle.” Grace rubbed the dashboard and cracked up at how silly it sounded. Her goofy attitude stemmed from the belief she’d already sealed her fate with the park service. If they were going to fire her for destroying the truck, rolling on the grass wouldn’t even get a mention. Asher laughed, too, as they both got out.

  The crowd parted as she walked forward, though numerous people shouted questions which she ignored for the moment. Asher followed her up the steps, but she stopped on the front porch before going through the doors. The interior of the house was loud and claustrophobic, with at least another fifty people stuffed in there.

  “I wanted to say good luck to you, and goodbye, before we get in the chaos. When we get inside, I’ll find a senior ranger and hand you off to him. Then, I’m going to discover everything I can about Paducah.”

  She held out her hand to shake his. He reached out to accept, when a troubled look passed over his face, like he’d seen an apparition out on the road. “They’re here. How did they find me?” He turned back and peered into her eyes. “Did you tell them I’d be here?”