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1~~ The Biggest Day Of My Life… So Far.

I was stressing out. There, I said it.
If I was honest with myself, I'd been stressing out since this morning, but I'd only admitted to it now, standing on the side of this lap pool of lap pools. I'd been dreaming about being here – literally dreaming about it for a week – and now that I was here in Colorado's premier university, I knew I should've felt giddy or working off of an extreme adrenaline rush. But all I could feel was stress. There was a lot more people here than I'd counted on. Sure this was the state finals for the woman's swim meet, but I'd assumed that it wasn't really a big deal for the public. I guess I'd been wrong.
There were two tiers of bleachers that made a horse shoe shape around the pool, and most seats were already taken. Unsurprisingly, the majority were young boys, all wanting to see girls in swimsuits before winter rolled around. The volume of noise was already deafening, and the event hadn't even started yet.
Friends and rivals were gathered together on ground level, all bantering back and forth playfully. Two news crews were already broadcasting off to the side, and they were talking with whoever they could sink their claws into.
For that reason, I was purposefully on the other side of the pool from them.
This was my first time in such a place, too. Though I'd prepared for it with my coach, the amount of activity, excitement and people in general was still just a little overwhelming.
I was the underdog, the rookie, the black horse, along with whatever other nicknames there were out there.
Coming from a school with only a lackluster swim program and average academics, I was considered to be a Cinderella story by news teams and an "arrogant bitch" by veteran swimmers in my division. These were people that came from the best schools in the state and had plenty of money to throw around for anything they wanted. They could deal with each other in their shallow ways. I was the one that upset that balance.
Then again, I wasn't swimming because I wanted to be the best. I swam because it was the only thing that made sense to me. Being in the water, feeling it resisting me, feeling the subtle little currents run down my body… It made me feel like I had purpose. It made me feel alive.
I was focusing on calming myself down when I heard my name called by the announcer.
"… and we have the underdog coming up next, Rachel Myers!"
"Rachel, huh?" muttered a girl standing close to her friend. They were both wearing swim suits. "Sounds like a ditsy blonde. Who wants to throw a mirror into the pool?"
"Stop that, Abby," whispered a slightly shorter girl. "I heard she's really good."
"Yeah," added another girl who had her cap off, letting loose her short brown hair, "I bet you're just mad she beat your time."
"I had a cold!" Abby practically shrieked in an undertone. It was sort of like hearing the grate of metal dragging across rock. "And I bet she paid off the judge!"
"Good grief," the brown haired girl said, rolling her eyes in exasperation.
"You'll get your chance soon enough," the shorter girl chirped. She kind of reminded me of a little fluffy chick bouncing up and down, peeping energetically.
"Yeah," Abby said, nodding. "I'll put this cow girl in her place."
I sighed and walked past them. "You're going to be late," I told Abby to her back.
She spun around, and caught sight of me for the first time ever.
Let me put it this way; Abby must've been slightly above average in height. I'd ballpark her at about five ten, give or take an inch. I was a towering six-four.
I didn't pause to wait for Abby's reaction to clear as I continued towards the pool.
As soon as I took my position and got ready to launch, I heard whispering all around me.
"Who's that?"
"That's Rachel."
"Seriously?! She's huge!"
After a moment I tuned them all out. I was just tall… If I'd been a guy, no one would be commenting like it was hot gossip.
But now I had to focus. They could talk all they wanted; it wouldn't affect me in the least bit.
I tensed my muscles, ready to spring…
The pop gun went off, and instantly every muscle in my body uncoiled, launching me clean off the pad and into open air. I seemed to hang there for a second, the only sound I let myself hear being the massive haul on my lungs and my thunderous heart. In the next instant, I was underwater.

I was told once that I moved through water like it wasn't there. But the truth was that being underwater made the world make sense to me.
Even the once chaotic cheer of the fans and families now sounded almost harmonious and choreographed.
And also, I made sense. I could feel every curve of my body as the water was forced around it. I could feel every muscle surging with effort. Parts of me that I never felt on land were suddenly very real and present.
Down here, my stress meant nothing. My anxiety meant nothing. Finally, I felt what I should've been feeling all along; unbound excitement.
I reveled in every second of it, but like every time, it was over before I knew it.
With one last burst of energy, I hauled my upper torso out of the water and drew in a new breath of fresh air.
One whole second later, the first runner up burst from the water, her jaws set in a furious snarl. It was Abby.
She yanked off her goggles and positively glared at me. "What are you grinning about?" she shot.
I turned away. "Nothing."
I didn't do drugs. I didn't need to. Being underwater was the only high I'd ever need. Period.
So people would mistake my overjoyed expression for arrogance at winning the race. It never bothered me how these shallow rich kids thought about me. Besides, if I tried to explain it, I'd fail miserably. So I'll give them someone to hate, it didn't bother me.

From that moment on, everyone began trying to beat my time.
I was starting to hear my name everywhere, though it was said with a different kind of emotion now. They sounded awed, even amazed. It made me feel pretty embarrassed. Of course, the other swimmers ranged from incredulous to borderline hostile. Abby was the worst, but I paid very little attention to her. That made her angrier, though.
"Look at that bitch," I overheard her muttering once. It was in the middle of a heat, so no one was paying attention to her. "She wins one little race, and now she's suddenly miss superior. Does she really think she can ignore all of us?"
"She's just ignoring you, Abby," the brown haired girl said indifferently. "Besides, Rachel's always like that; cold as a glacier. I've only ever heard her voice once, and that was when she was telling you to hurry up."
"Whose side are you on?" Abby hissed. The other girl just shrugged in an "I give up" sort of way.
I raced three more times that afternoon, and in each heat my time got shorter and shorter, if only marginally. I even noticed some talent scouts eyeing me appreciatively. I reminded myself to turn them down should they come up to offer.
At the end of the day, I walked away the overall winner, my best time still way up on the board, completely uncontested. However, it was Abby that walked away with the most awards, like second place, best form, so on and so forth.
I feel I should also mention that her father was on the judge panel.
So, even though my victory came as an amazing upset and broke several records, it was Abby that ate up the spotlight. Fine by me, though; I'd probably be too nervous to say anything if one of those cameras popped up in my face again. So, while the fans trickled out until there were only a few people left talking in the stands, I slipped out. No one noticed me leave except my coach, who clapped me on the small of my back and stifled back his tears. He offered to give me a ride home, but I declined; my mom would be waiting to gush over me, as usual.
I headed to the locker room, took a nice warm shower, changed, and then headed for the door.
Why did I think it would be that simple?
Four girls met me in the hallway, and in their center was Abby. They all had that dangerous, hormonal look in their eyes.
I finished shaking out my hair and stopped a little ways away.
Abby cocked a grin. "You've got some nerve, walking off on everyone," she said in a bitter sweet voice.
I just looked at her as I put a clip in my hair to keep my bangs out of my eyes.
"What exactly is this to you?" She shot again. "Do you think this is some fun time down by the ol' swimmin' hole?"
One of the girls giggled.
"This is serious business, you know," Abby shot. She took a few steps up towards me. "There's a way things are supposed to be done, you know, and you just stepped all over every single one of them!"
I hefted my bag into a more comfortable grip, and then I began walking.
The other girls stood up straighter. One stopped leaning up against the wall and came to stand closer to Abby.
I stopped with maybe half a foot in between the two of us. Abby stared up at me, challenging me to do something that would give her the chance to bury me.
"Move."
Abby blinked, taken off guard. "Wh-what?"
"You're in my way," I said, letting my low voice sink in. "Move."
"Who do you think you are?" Abby spat at me, now outraged.
I narrowed my eyes. That simple action made two of the girls back off a bit, looking nervous.
"You got the spotlight, didn't you?" I asked Abby. "Would you like me to go take that, too?"
Abby's eyes flashed dangerously, and with one quick motion she brought up her hand and swung it at me.
And I grabbed her wrist. She stared at me, shocked, like she couldn't believe that I dared to touch her.
I stared at her for a second, and then twisted her wrist around, forcing her to step aside. With that, I strode away, leaving Abby traumatized against the wall.
Her backup made no effort to impede me. All of them just stared at me like I was some kind of freak of nature as I passed.
Abby would find some way to turn this on me, I knew, but I didn't care. People like her had their own place in the world, and it wasn't near me. Give it two weeks, maybe three, and she'd be obsessing over the latest fashion and gossip. I'd be a little bug sized blip on her radar.

I had my mom's Subaru in sight and was closing in when another pair intercepted me. This time, it was two men, one dressed in a sharp business suit. I recognized the more casually dressed of the two as one of the talent scouts from the meet.
"Rachel, could we speak to you for a moment?"
Not wanting to be impolite, I pulled to a halt and faced the two. Even though they were both middle aged, I was still taller than both of them, and I could tell the angle they had to use to meet my face was a little unfamiliar to them.
"First off, I wanted to congratulate you on today's win," the talent scout continued.
"It was mostly Abby's day," I replied. "You should talk to her."
The scout looked a little surprised. "But I'm talking to you," he said, sounding a little bemused.
"I'm sorry," I sighed, "but I must turn down your offer."
"You haven't even heard it yet," the scout pressed.
I shook my head. "My family comes first. They need my help back home."
I could tell that the scout was disappointed with my answer. "Well… if that's the way you feel," he said. Then he offered me a rectangular piece of paper, which I took. "Use that number if you ever change your mind," he said kindly. He flashed a smile, and then turned to walk off.
"You should consider Abby," I said to his back.
He looked over his shoulder at me. "Is that a recommendation?"
"It's logic."
The scout hesitated for a moment, and then he chuckled. "You're an interesting girl, Rachel. Well, see you around."
"Bye."
As he walked away, I inspected the business card.
It sure looked fancy. It had the indented letters and everything.
It read "Michael Felix, Athletic Association of California."
Beneath it was a regally printed phone number.
California, huh…?
As I pondered the implications of what I'd just been handed, my midriff was suddenly struck by something human-shaped.
"You did it, honey!"
I smiled a little and did my best to return my mom's hug. It was kind of hard to do when I was nearly twice as tall as she was. Her head only barely cleared my elbow.
"To think, you've made it to the nationals in only your first year of college! Oh, I think I'm going to cry!"
I was glad she had her face buried in my chest, because she didn't get to see how my face screwed up a little. The national woman's swim meet… how could I forget about something like that?
Finally, she pulled away from me to look endearingly straight up into my face.
If someone looked at us right now, they probably wouldn't be able to see the family resemblance at all. My mom was short – maybe four six – and had a very rosy complexion. Her hair, too, was different from mine. Hers was wildly curly and the same color as pine tree bark. Mine was slightly longer than jaw length, tousled, and corn silk blonde.
Our facial structure was nothing alike, either. I looked like I should've been born on the opposite side of the world from my mother. I reasoned that it was all just recessive genes mounting a surprise attack all at once.
"You looked like you were having fun," my mom commented when we were safely inside the Subaru and beginning to pull out of the parking lot.
"I didn't see you in the stands," I said, suddenly confused.
"The meet was being broadcasted at the diner," she giggled. "The announcers sure liked you."
I turned away a little. I could feel my face warming.
"So, did you meet anyone you liked?" she asked conversationally.
"Not really," I replied indifferently.
She knew I had trouble with strangers. I wasn't the kind of person people warmed up to right away. All the same, she would always ask, always hoping, perhaps, that someone would 'make it past my walls' as she'd put it once.
"Yeah, that one girl looked like she didn't like you," she continued, still sounding conversational. She must've been talking about Abby.
"It doesn't matter," I said indifferently.
My mom looked at me, her face clearly disapproving. "I know what you're trying to say, Rachel, but people could easily misunderstand you if they heard that. They do misunderstand you."
"Yeah," I sighed, leaning back a bit, "I know… I'll try to work on it."
"But," my mom admitted with a sigh, "maybe you're right. Maybe you won't see her again, so it won't matter. But don't count on that happening."
I nodded, and then carefully reclined my chair.
There was a moment of silence, and then, "I'm very proud of you, Rachel. I knew you could do it."
I smiled as my eyes closed. "Thanks mom. That means a lot."
Swimming all day had worn me out. Within a second of closing my eyes, I was out like a light, lulled to sleep by the vibration of the car and the weariness in my body.

I dreamed that I was sitting on an island in the middle of the ocean. The little spit of land was only thirty feet across and ten feet long and completely made from loose golden sand. The ocean was calm, almost glassy. There were only a few clouds in the sky that were small and fluffy.
A light breeze played with my hair and washed my face with the tangy smell of the ocean.
Carefully, I got to my feet, my eyes on the lapping crystal clear water just a few feet away, and started to walk towards it.
The beach began to grow. For every step I took, the waterline moved back a foot.
Suddenly panicked, I broke into a run. The ocean started flying away until it was only a blue crest on the horizon.
I fell to my hands and knees and screamed my frustration to the sky.

"Rachel, we're home."
My mom's voice shocked me back into reality, making me jump a little. "Honey, are you okay?"
I looked around, and found my mother looking at me with confusion.
"Bad dream," I said breathlessly. Of course that hadn't been real, though it'd felt so vivid. But of course water wouldn't recede like that, unless there was a monster wave on the way. But whenever I remembered it… for some reason it made me want to cry.
I pushed back the irritating feeling furiously and looked around.
The sun had set in the time I was asleep, though the undersides of the clouds overhead were still orange. Tall fir trees hid the nearby foothills from view, though there was a single mountain peak I could see set against the darkening sky, presiding over a glassy lake that was just visible some distance away from where we'd parked.
And sitting in front of me, looking like it'd grown from the earth itself, was a large house. My father's father had spent most of his time after he'd retired drawing up plans for this house. He'd always wanted to live in the mountains, my dad would say. Unfortunately, it was his son that had to carry on with the project. It'd been in my father's care ever since, and he was insanely protective over it.
As I climbed out of the car, I just made him out along with my older brother, Kyle, working on the gutters.
"There she is!" my dad called as he started making his way down from the roof.
Kyle flashed me a welcoming smile, which I returned with a wave.
In this light, it was hard to tell the two apart. Both had straight black hair, though Kyle's was a little prone to curling. Both were below average in height and very well built. They were muscular from taking care of the horses and managing the garden. The only difference between the two was my father's wrinkles.
That, and Kyle's fashion sense. He always had on a black T-shirt with a different metal band's logo on the front and back, and since he was working he had on his usual tattered blue jeans that looked like wolverines had gotten a hold of it once or twice. Some people called it fashion. I called it getting his money's worth.
Despite his choice of clothes, however, Kyle was a very nice person. He even had a girlfriend named Megan, and there were rumors flying around that they were talking about getting married. I'd kind of already reached that conclusion, considering how he always looked at her like everything in the world had coalesced into a single, beautiful person, and she looked at him with open gushiness.
Of course I'd never think she was good enough for him, but she was as close as he was probably going to get.
"Yo!" he called over to us. "How'd it go?"
I shrugged. "Pretty good."
Mom elbowed me and pulled up my trophy for the others to see.
"I told you she could do it!" Kyle laughed boisterously. Dad just stared at the trophy, looking amazed, and then he ran down the drive and hugged me tightly.
"That's my girl!" he cried.
I returned his hug clumsily, and then gave Kyle his high five as he walked up.
The door to the house flew open, drawing everyone's attention, and my younger brother came running outside, calling our names.
He was as reckless as usual. He'd barely gotten out onto the gravel when he tripped. Luckily, I was right there to catch him, like I did so many times.
"Nice save!" Kyle laughed.
"Jason!" my mom shrieked as she ran over.
"I'm fine, mom," he said, though he sounded embarrassed.
Jason was like a loose firecracker. When he went off, there was no telling where he'd go, and more often than not there was collateral damage. For a ten year old, he was amazingly destructive. He'd barely recovered from a broken arm from when he'd run out in front of a car. The car had taken more damage than he did, amazingly.
"One of these times I'm going to let you fall," I said flatly as I put him back up on his feet.
"He could use the character building," Kyle said approvingly.
Jason stuck his tongue out at him. "Rachel's too nice for that."
"Good point," Kyle admitted. "Maybe I'll trip her up next time."
I cocked an eyebrow at him. "If you dare."
"Right," Kyle laughed. "Megan wouldn't like it if I got put in the hospital."
"Megan wouldn't?" asked my mom anxiously.
"Well, parents go without saying," Kyle said, still grinning. "It's like nature's law or something."
"Nice save," dad said, clapping his son on the back as he carried my pack into the house.
"I love you mom," Kyle added, hugging her around the neck.
"Oh get in there," she snapped, though she was smiling. Kyle threw a solute and then marched after dad.
Jason was glued to his side, as usual, so mom and I followed the three up into the house.

After that, we all sat around the oven baked pizza and talked about the swim meet.
Luckily for me, my mom did most of the talking. After all, the cameras had caught a lot more than I had.
"You know, the announcers just couldn't get their fill of that Abby girl," my mom said. "It was always Abby can do this, Abby will do that."
"And then Rachel came and stole her thunder," Kyle finished for mom with a sloppy grin.
Mom nodded. "Yes! Her first time blew Abby's out of the water, so to speak."
Jason and Kyle shared a snicker over the figure of speech.
"And then it was all about Rachel! She became the highlight of the event!"
"I wish I could've seen," dad said wistfully, "but the TV guy hasn't been up yet. Seems like a lot of people in the area are having reception problems too."
"That's nothing new," Kyle grumbled as he rolled his eyes. "Old man Benedict was blaming it on the aliens again. That guy probably thought ET was a documentary."
"Benedict is just old," mom scolded. "I heard his granddaughter is coming to take him to an assisted living home in a few days."
"I pity her," dad said fervently. "That guy won't leave without putting up a fight."
"I bet that Abby girl didn't like you," Kyle suddenly put in. Now that the deviation was over, the conversation was back on track.
"She's just got an issue with losing," I said, shrugging.
"Oh, I know that look," Kyle grinned. "She was a spoiled brat, wasn't she?"
"Like you wouldn't believe," mom cut in.
I left out the bit where Abby had tried to corner me after the meet, though. In my mind, it wasn't really considered a detail. She'd thrown a hissy fit and I'd dealt with her. End of story.
"Oh well, she'll probably get a new car or something," Kyle drawled, "I believe that's the customary appeasing offer for kids like her."
Everyone laughed a little.
"So," dad started, "Will we have you for a while this time or are you going somewhere soon?"
"The nationals are a few months away," I said, eying my plate. "I think they're being held after the New Year in Texas."
"Is that all?" dad asked. I nodded.
"Yay!" Jason cried around a mouthful of pizza, "Rachel's staying home!"
"The nationals…" mom said excitedly to herself. "Ooo, I can't believe my baby's in the nationals!"
And here was the gushing I'd been anticipating.
"Wait until your grandmother hears about this! Oh, this is so exciting!"
Kyle shielded his face so that only I could see him roll his eyes.

Several hours passed, and finally things were calming down.
Jason was in bed, mom and dad were a few minutes away from being in their own, and Kyle was in his room, saying goodnight to Megan over the phone.
I was standing outside on the back step, watching the sky. The stars were all out now, including the crescent moon. The air was getting crisp already, a sure sign that winter was on its way. The wind was rustling the tree tops for miles around, creating a breathtaking sigh across the forest.
The wind was just loud enough to move the sounds of the nearby highway to the background. I could easily focus on nature's serenity.
The trees around me never changed. Only the sky moved, day by day, like the stars were taking turns trying to see me. The ones that disappeared always came back eventually, given time. Some even made shapes in the sky.
It was a testament to how quiet it was when I heard the glass door behind me whisper open.
"Do you ever get tired of that?" Kyle asked, sounding honestly interested. When I glanced back at him, he merely gesticulated towards the speckled sky.
"How could I?" I replied, looking back up. "I'll never be able to memorize them all. Even though they barely move, it always looks like something different every time I look up."
"You're weird," Kyle chuckled. He stopped beside me and tilted his head back to stare at the stars. "Any of them have names?"
"Probably," I said as I looked back up at the stars, "But I don't know them."
Kyle laughed a little. I turned to look at him. "What?"
"I was just thinking," he chuckled, "You hardly ever speak your mind. You only do when you're either swimming or stargazing."
"Because I feel the most at ease," I said.
Kyle didn't reply.
"It's rare that I feel comfortable," I continued slowly. "I don't know what it is. It's like I'm on a camping trip. Things are familiar, yet… not for me, I suppose."
"You feel out of your element," Kyle deduced.
I nodded. "But there's just something about the water and the night sky that erases my insecurities. It makes me feel… I can't describe it."
"It's okay," Kyle chuckled as he clapped me on the back. "I get what you're saying. I'm the same way with Megan. I feel like I'm on an alien world, and then when I'm with her everything simply clicks –" he snapped his fingers "—just like that."
He turned around like he was going to head back inside. "I'd tell you that you would get over it, but since I'm still in the same boat as you, I'd say you should just stick with your vices."
"Thanks," I said quietly. "Yep," Kyle said, smiling broadly.
I felt like I was seeing him in a new light tonight.
A new light that was getting brighter.
To my surprise, Kyle blinked and looked around. "Did someone just start up a fire?"
The light wasn't just a figure of speech anymore. It was a literal orange light that was getting brighter. It was already bright enough to cast shadows on the side of the house.
"Fireworks, maybe?" I asked, puzzled. The angle of light was all wrong for a fire.
I looked around baffled, but initially couldn't find anything. It wasn't until I turned my eyes upward that I felt my eyes pop out. Turns out I'd gotten it half right.
It wasn't a Firework. It was a Fireball.
It was streaking towards the ground at an incredible speed, faster than anything I'd seen before. Parts of it were flying off of it, causing them to rain down on the forest below.
But the main body was angled towards us. It was close enough now that I could see the comet tail of smoke, illuminated by the fire. Perhaps strangest of all, however, was the fact that it wasn't originating from some point on the ground, but rather from some place further overhead.
And then, unexpectedly, it dipped.
"Watch out!" Kyle bellowed, just as the comet hit the crest of a ridge with an earth shattering ka-boom.
Both Kyle and I flung our arms across each other's chests and pushed backwards, both trying to be the hero at the same time, just as a massive chunk of burning debris launched in a high arc, ejected from the impact, and crashed back down to earth less than ten feet away.
The explosion was incredible, to say the least. I felt like I'd just been punched in the chest by a prize winning boxer. The sound was easily the loudest thing I'd ever heard before in my life.
A rock roughly the size of my head flew within inches of my right ear and sailed straight through the sliding glass door, and judging by the sound of more breaking glass, made it clear out the other side of the house.
As abruptly as it started, it was over. The roar of the explosion was replaced with the piercing sirens of several car alarms, including mom's Subaru. Other than that, all I could hear was the ringing in my ears.
Before I could even stand up, mom and dad had appeared, dad armed with a baseball bat. How he could've mistaken that for a burglar was beyond me.
"Oh my – Rachel! Kyle!"
"We're fine, mom," Kyle responded breathlessly as he got to his feet. I carefully got up as well, and was pleased to find myself in one piece.
Kyle had a cut along his right cheek where a pebble had passed by. I followed the trajectory and saw the tiny rock lodged securely in the wooden front door, on the other side of the living room from us.
"What the… what happened?" dad asked. His eyes peeled off of us and moved towards the burning thing now buried in a gash across the back yard.
Whatever it was, it was clearly mechanical.
"What… is that?" mom hissed nervously.
I carefully moved forward, one arm in front of my face to shield it from the searing heat. The front of the thing was glowing bright red and was hissing angrily against the icy ground. I crept forward as far as I could bear the heat and squinted through my fingers towards the top of the crashed wreck. Something was there… something identifiable…
"Mom, do you have the phone?" I called over.
"Y-yes."
"Call nine-one-one," I instructed, though I thought it was a pretty obvious decision.
"What is it, Rachel?"
I turned to look at the other three. Jason was coming down the stairs now, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.
"It's a satellite," I told dad.
Call me crazy, but I didn't think satellites were supposed to crash into someone's back yard.
I moved aside as dad and Kyle both came up to inspect the shredded machine.
Most of it had been obliterated from the first impact and reentry, but there was still a drier-sized chunk of it left, and stamped across its top was a television company's logo; the same one we were signed up to.
"Well, that explains why there was no reception," Kyle said, sounding almost matter-of-fact.
"I wonder why it fell," dad pondered aloud.
"The answer's probably between here and way over there," Kyle replied. He was pointing far off towards the distant ridge that had gotten in the way of the satellite. It now had a huge section blown clean out of the top.
"Awesome!" We all looked around in time to see Jason make his appearance before mom grabbed him by the arm to stop him sprinting out onto the grass.
"Solar flare, you think?" dad continued to muse.
"Nah," Kyle said dismissively. "I heard NASA has safety measures for that. Could've hit something."
"Could have…"
"Something like that?"
Both dad and Kyle first glanced at me, then at my pointing finger, and then up at the new object in the sky. Another fireball was streaking towards the ground, though it was aimed farther away than the first. But… there was something off about this one. Was it just my imagination, or did it seem to be going slower than the other? It definitely wasn't disintegrating, however. Nothing was separating from the main body like it had with the satellite.
Within only a few seconds, however, it sailed behind a hill and disappeared. We heard the dull thump of the impact clearly enough.
And then we all jumped as an even louder explosion rocked the area.
We didn't have to search long for a source. Out front, the water was still falling from where something had struck the lake several miles downhill from us.
"What's going on?" mom asked, sounding frightened, just as two more blinding points of fiery light appeared in the night sky.
Two more satellites were plummeting down to earth far out in the forest. One actually struck the side of the only mountain we could see, sending a plume of fire and burning debris into the sky. The other broke apart with a muffled thump that we could hear all the way over here. It shattered into a million pieces that vanished into the dark before it could even reach land.
"That's not good," Kyle muttered, just as the sound of emergency sirens became audible. I could just make out flashing lights flying down the highway towards our neighborhood.
Kyle was right. One satellite plummeting to earth could be seen as an accident. Five, on the other hand, was downright freaky.
While everyone scoured the skies for more fireballs, I returned to the back to look at the piece of the satellite lodged in our yard.
What had made it fall? Had it been that other thing, the one that hadn't fallen apart as it fell? But how could it make four others fall, all coming from different directions? It didn't make sense to me, but deep down in my gut I had a very, very bad feeling.

Description
1~~ The Biggest Day Of My Life… So Far.

I was stressing out. There, I said it.
If I was honest with myself, I'd been stressing out since this morning, but I'd only admitted to it now, standing on the side of this lap pool of lap pools. I'd been dreaming about being here – literally dreaming about it for a week – and now that I was here in Colorado's premier university, I knew I should've felt giddy or working off of an extreme adrenaline rush. But all I could feel was stress. There was a lot more people here than I'd counted on. Sure this was the state finals for the woman's swim meet, but I'd assumed that it wasn't really a big deal for the public. I guess I'd been wrong.
There were two tiers of bleachers that made a horse shoe shape around the pool, and most seats were already taken. Unsurprisingly, the majority were young boys, all wanting to see girls in swimsuits before winter rolled around. The volume of noise was already deafening, and the event hadn't even started yet.
Friends and rivals were gathered together on ground level, all bantering back and forth playfully. Two news crews were already broadcasting off to the side, and they were talking with whoever they could sink their claws into.
For that reason, I was purposefully on the other side of the pool from them.
This was my first time in such a place, too. Though I'd prepared for it with my coach, the amount of activity, excitement and people in general was still just a little overwhelming.
I was the underdog, the rookie, the black horse, along with whatever other nicknames there were out there.
Coming from a school with only a lackluster swim program and average academics, I was considered to be a Cinderella story by news teams and an "arrogant bitch" by veteran swimmers in my division. These were people that came from the best schools in the state and had plenty of money to throw around for anything they wanted. They could deal with each other in their shallow ways. I was the one that upset that balance.
Then again, I wasn't swimming because I wanted to be the best. I swam because it was the only thing that made sense to me. Being in the water, feeling it resisting me, feeling the subtle little currents run down my body… It made me feel like I had purpose. It made me feel alive.
I was focusing on calming myself down when I heard my name called by the announcer.
"… and we have the underdog coming up next, Rachel Myers!"
"Rachel, huh?" muttered a girl standing close to her friend. They were both wearing swim suits. "Sounds like a ditsy blonde. Who wants to throw a mirror into the pool?"
"Stop that, Abby," whispered a slightly shorter girl. "I heard she's really good."
"Yeah," added another girl who had her cap off, letting loose her short brown hair, "I bet you're just mad she beat your time."
"I had a cold!" Abby practically shrieked in an undertone. It was sort of like hearing the grate of metal dragging across rock. "And I bet she paid off the judge!"
"Good grief," the brown haired girl said, rolling her eyes in exasperation.
"You'll get your chance soon enough," the shorter girl chirped. She kind of reminded me of a little fluffy chick bouncing up and down, peeping energetically.
"Yeah," Abby said, nodding. "I'll put this cow girl in her place."
I sighed and walked past them. "You're going to be late," I told Abby to her back.
She spun around, and caught sight of me for the first time ever.
Let me put it this way; Abby must've been slightly above average in height. I'd ballpark her at about five ten, give or take an inch. I was a towering six-four.
I didn't pause to wait for Abby's reaction to clear as I continued towards the pool.
As soon as I took my position and got ready to launch, I heard whispering all around me.
"Who's that?"
"That's Rachel."
"Seriously?! She's huge!"
After a moment I tuned them all out. I was just tall… If I'd been a guy, no one would be commenting like it was hot gossip.
But now I had to focus. They could talk all they wanted; it wouldn't affect me in the least bit.
I tensed my muscles, ready to spring…
The pop gun went off, and instantly every muscle in my body uncoiled, launching me clean off the pad and into open air. I seemed to hang there for a second, the only sound I let myself hear being the massive haul on my lungs and my thunderous heart. In the next instant, I was underwater.

I was told once that I moved through water like it wasn't there. But the truth was that being underwater made the world make sense to me.
Even the once chaotic cheer of the fans and families now sounded almost harmonious and choreographed.
And also, I made sense. I could feel every curve of my body as the water was forced around it. I could feel every muscle surging with effort. Parts of me that I never felt on land were suddenly very real and present.
Down here, my stress meant nothing. My anxiety meant nothing. Finally, I felt what I should've been feeling all along; unbound excitement.
I reveled in every second of it, but like every time, it was over before I knew it.
With one last burst of energy, I hauled my upper torso out of the water and drew in a new breath of fresh air.
One whole second later, the first runner up burst from the water, her jaws set in a furious snarl. It was Abby.
She yanked off her goggles and positively glared at me. "What are you grinning about?" she shot.
I turned away. "Nothing."
I didn't do drugs. I didn't need to. Being underwater was the only high I'd ever need. Period.
So people would mistake my overjoyed expression for arrogance at winning the race. It never bothered me how these shallow rich kids thought about me. Besides, if I tried to explain it, I'd fail miserably. So I'll give them someone to hate, it didn't bother me.

From that moment on, everyone began trying to beat my time.
I was starting to hear my name everywhere, though it was said with a different kind of emotion now. They sounded awed, even amazed. It made me feel pretty embarrassed. Of course, the other swimmers ranged from incredulous to borderline hostile. Abby was the worst, but I paid very little attention to her. That made her angrier, though.
"Look at that bitch," I overheard her muttering once. It was in the middle of a heat, so no one was paying attention to her. "She wins one little race, and now she's suddenly miss superior. Does she really think she can ignore all of us?"
"She's just ignoring you, Abby," the brown haired girl said indifferently. "Besides, Rachel's always like that; cold as a glacier. I've only ever heard her voice once, and that was when she was telling you to hurry up."
"Whose side are you on?" Abby hissed. The other girl just shrugged in an "I give up" sort of way.
I raced three more times that afternoon, and in each heat my time got shorter and shorter, if only marginally. I even noticed some talent scouts eyeing me appreciatively. I reminded myself to turn them down should they come up to offer.
At the end of the day, I walked away the overall winner, my best time still way up on the board, completely uncontested. However, it was Abby that walked away with the most awards, like second place, best form, so on and so forth.
I feel I should also mention that her father was on the judge panel.
So, even though my victory came as an amazing upset and broke several records, it was Abby that ate up the spotlight. Fine by me, though; I'd probably be too nervous to say anything if one of those cameras popped up in my face again. So, while the fans trickled out until there were only a few people left talking in the stands, I slipped out. No one noticed me leave except my coach, who clapped me on the small of my back and stifled back his tears. He offered to give me a ride home, but I declined; my mom would be waiting to gush over me, as usual.
I headed to the locker room, took a nice warm shower, changed, and then headed for the door.
Why did I think it would be that simple?
Four girls met me in the hallway, and in their center was Abby. They all had that dangerous, hormonal look in their eyes.
I finished shaking out my hair and stopped a little ways away.
Abby cocked a grin. "You've got some nerve, walking off on everyone," she said in a bitter sweet voice.
I just looked at her as I put a clip in my hair to keep my bangs out of my eyes.
"What exactly is this to you?" She shot again. "Do you think this is some fun time down by the ol' swimmin' hole?"
One of the girls giggled.
"This is serious business, you know," Abby shot. She took a few steps up towards me. "There's a way things are supposed to be done, you know, and you just stepped all over every single one of them!"
I hefted my bag into a more comfortable grip, and then I began walking.
The other girls stood up straighter. One stopped leaning up against the wall and came to stand closer to Abby.
I stopped with maybe half a foot in between the two of us. Abby stared up at me, challenging me to do something that would give her the chance to bury me.
"Move."
Abby blinked, taken off guard. "Wh-what?"
"You're in my way," I said, letting my low voice sink in. "Move."
"Who do you think you are?" Abby spat at me, now outraged.
I narrowed my eyes. That simple action made two of the girls back off a bit, looking nervous.
"You got the spotlight, didn't you?" I asked Abby. "Would you like me to go take that, too?"
Abby's eyes flashed dangerously, and with one quick motion she brought up her hand and swung it at me.
And I grabbed her wrist. She stared at me, shocked, like she couldn't believe that I dared to touch her.
I stared at her for a second, and then twisted her wrist around, forcing her to step aside. With that, I strode away, leaving Abby traumatized against the wall.
Her backup made no effort to impede me. All of them just stared at me like I was some kind of freak of nature as I passed.
Abby would find some way to turn this on me, I knew, but I didn't care. People like her had their own place in the world, and it wasn't near me. Give it two weeks, maybe three, and she'd be obsessing over the latest fashion and gossip. I'd be a little bug sized blip on her radar.

I had my mom's Subaru in sight and was closing in when another pair intercepted me. This time, it was two men, one dressed in a sharp business suit. I recognized the more casually dressed of the two as one of the talent scouts from the meet.
"Rachel, could we speak to you for a moment?"
Not wanting to be impolite, I pulled to a halt and faced the two. Even though they were both middle aged, I was still taller than both of them, and I could tell the angle they had to use to meet my face was a little unfamiliar to them.
"First off, I wanted to congratulate you on today's win," the talent scout continued.
"It was mostly Abby's day," I replied. "You should talk to her."
The scout looked a little surprised. "But I'm talking to you," he said, sounding a little bemused.
"I'm sorry," I sighed, "but I must turn down your offer."
"You haven't even heard it yet," the scout pressed.
I shook my head. "My family comes first. They need my help back home."
I could tell that the scout was disappointed with my answer. "Well… if that's the way you feel," he said. Then he offered me a rectangular piece of paper, which I took. "Use that number if you ever change your mind," he said kindly. He flashed a smile, and then turned to walk off.
"You should consider Abby," I said to his back.
He looked over his shoulder at me. "Is that a recommendation?"
"It's logic."
The scout hesitated for a moment, and then he chuckled. "You're an interesting girl, Rachel. Well, see you around."
"Bye."
As he walked away, I inspected the business card.
It sure looked fancy. It had the indented letters and everything.
It read "Michael Felix, Athletic Association of California."
Beneath it was a regally printed phone number.
California, huh…?
As I pondered the implications of what I'd just been handed, my midriff was suddenly struck by something human-shaped.
"You did it, honey!"
I smiled a little and did my best to return my mom's hug. It was kind of hard to do when I was nearly twice as tall as she was. Her head only barely cleared my elbow.
"To think, you've made it to the nationals in only your first year of college! Oh, I think I'm going to cry!"
I was glad she had her face buried in my chest, because she didn't get to see how my face screwed up a little. The national woman's swim meet… how could I forget about something like that?
Finally, she pulled away from me to look endearingly straight up into my face.
If someone looked at us right now, they probably wouldn't be able to see the family resemblance at all. My mom was short – maybe four six – and had a very rosy complexion. Her hair, too, was different from mine. Hers was wildly curly and the same color as pine tree bark. Mine was slightly longer than jaw length, tousled, and corn silk blonde.
Our facial structure was nothing alike, either. I looked like I should've been born on the opposite side of the world from my mother. I reasoned that it was all just recessive genes mounting a surprise attack all at once.
"You looked like you were having fun," my mom commented when we were safely inside the Subaru and beginning to pull out of the parking lot.
"I didn't see you in the stands," I said, suddenly confused.
"The meet was being broadcasted at the diner," she giggled. "The announcers sure liked you."
I turned away a little. I could feel my face warming.
"So, did you meet anyone you liked?" she asked conversationally.
"Not really," I replied indifferently.
She knew I had trouble with strangers. I wasn't the kind of person people warmed up to right away. All the same, she would always ask, always hoping, perhaps, that someone would 'make it past my walls' as she'd put it once.
"Yeah, that one girl looked like she didn't like you," she continued, still sounding conversational. She must've been talking about Abby.
"It doesn't matter," I said indifferently.
My mom looked at me, her face clearly disapproving. "I know what you're trying to say, Rachel, but people could easily misunderstand you if they heard that. They do misunderstand you."
"Yeah," I sighed, leaning back a bit, "I know… I'll try to work on it."
"But," my mom admitted with a sigh, "maybe you're right. Maybe you won't see her again, so it won't matter. But don't count on that happening."
I nodded, and then carefully reclined my chair.
There was a moment of silence, and then, "I'm very proud of you, Rachel. I knew you could do it."
I smiled as my eyes closed. "Thanks mom. That means a lot."
Swimming all day had worn me out. Within a second of closing my eyes, I was out like a light, lulled to sleep by the vibration of the car and the weariness in my body.

I dreamed that I was sitting on an island in the middle of the ocean. The little spit of land was only thirty feet across and ten feet long and completely made from loose golden sand. The ocean was calm, almost glassy. There were only a few clouds in the sky that were small and fluffy.
A light breeze played with my hair and washed my face with the tangy smell of the ocean.
Carefully, I got to my feet, my eyes on the lapping crystal clear water just a few feet away, and started to walk towards it.
The beach began to grow. For every step I took, the waterline moved back a foot.
Suddenly panicked, I broke into a run. The ocean started flying away until it was only a blue crest on the horizon.
I fell to my hands and knees and screamed my frustration to the sky.

"Rachel, we're home."
My mom's voice shocked me back into reality, making me jump a little. "Honey, are you okay?"
I looked around, and found my mother looking at me with confusion.
"Bad dream," I said breathlessly. Of course that hadn't been real, though it'd felt so vivid. But of course water wouldn't recede like that, unless there was a monster wave on the way. But whenever I remembered it… for some reason it made me want to cry.
I pushed back the irritating feeling furiously and looked around.
The sun had set in the time I was asleep, though the undersides of the clouds overhead were still orange. Tall fir trees hid the nearby foothills from view, though there was a single mountain peak I could see set against the darkening sky, presiding over a glassy lake that was just visible some distance away from where we'd parked.
And sitting in front of me, looking like it'd grown from the earth itself, was a large house. My father's father had spent most of his time after he'd retired drawing up plans for this house. He'd always wanted to live in the mountains, my dad would say. Unfortunately, it was his son that had to carry on with the project. It'd been in my father's care ever since, and he was insanely protective over it.
As I climbed out of the car, I just made him out along with my older brother, Kyle, working on the gutters.
"There she is!" my dad called as he started making his way down from the roof.
Kyle flashed me a welcoming smile, which I returned with a wave.
In this light, it was hard to tell the two apart. Both had straight black hair, though Kyle's was a little prone to curling. Both were below average in height and very well built. They were muscular from taking care of the horses and managing the garden. The only difference between the two was my father's wrinkles.
That, and Kyle's fashion sense. He always had on a black T-shirt with a different metal band's logo on the front and back, and since he was working he had on his usual tattered blue jeans that looked like wolverines had gotten a hold of it once or twice. Some people called it fashion. I called it getting his money's worth.
Despite his choice of clothes, however, Kyle was a very nice person. He even had a girlfriend named Megan, and there were rumors flying around that they were talking about getting married. I'd kind of already reached that conclusion, considering how he always looked at her like everything in the world had coalesced into a single, beautiful person, and she looked at him with open gushiness.
Of course I'd never think she was good enough for him, but she was as close as he was probably going to get.
"Yo!" he called over to us. "How'd it go?"
I shrugged. "Pretty good."
Mom elbowed me and pulled up my trophy for the others to see.
"I told you she could do it!" Kyle laughed boisterously. Dad just stared at the trophy, looking amazed, and then he ran down the drive and hugged me tightly.
"That's my girl!" he cried.
I returned his hug clumsily, and then gave Kyle his high five as he walked up.
The door to the house flew open, drawing everyone's attention, and my younger brother came running outside, calling our names.
He was as reckless as usual. He'd barely gotten out onto the gravel when he tripped. Luckily, I was right there to catch him, like I did so many times.
"Nice save!" Kyle laughed.
"Jason!" my mom shrieked as she ran over.
"I'm fine, mom," he said, though he sounded embarrassed.
Jason was like a loose firecracker. When he went off, there was no telling where he'd go, and more often than not there was collateral damage. For a ten year old, he was amazingly destructive. He'd barely recovered from a broken arm from when he'd run out in front of a car. The car had taken more damage than he did, amazingly.
"One of these times I'm going to let you fall," I said flatly as I put him back up on his feet.
"He could use the character building," Kyle said approvingly.
Jason stuck his tongue out at him. "Rachel's too nice for that."
"Good point," Kyle admitted. "Maybe I'll trip her up next time."
I cocked an eyebrow at him. "If you dare."
"Right," Kyle laughed. "Megan wouldn't like it if I got put in the hospital."
"Megan wouldn't?" asked my mom anxiously.
"Well, parents go without saying," Kyle said, still grinning. "It's like nature's law or something."
"Nice save," dad said, clapping his son on the back as he carried my pack into the house.
"I love you mom," Kyle added, hugging her around the neck.
"Oh get in there," she snapped, though she was smiling. Kyle threw a solute and then marched after dad.
Jason was glued to his side, as usual, so mom and I followed the three up into the house.

After that, we all sat around the oven baked pizza and talked about the swim meet.
Luckily for me, my mom did most of the talking. After all, the cameras had caught a lot more than I had.
"You know, the announcers just couldn't get their fill of that Abby girl," my mom said. "It was always Abby can do this, Abby will do that."
"And then Rachel came and stole her thunder," Kyle finished for mom with a sloppy grin.
Mom nodded. "Yes! Her first time blew Abby's out of the water, so to speak."
Jason and Kyle shared a snicker over the figure of speech.
"And then it was all about Rachel! She became the highlight of the event!"
"I wish I could've seen," dad said wistfully, "but the TV guy hasn't been up yet. Seems like a lot of people in the area are having reception problems too."
"That's nothing new," Kyle grumbled as he rolled his eyes. "Old man Benedict was blaming it on the aliens again. That guy probably thought ET was a documentary."
"Benedict is just old," mom scolded. "I heard his granddaughter is coming to take him to an assisted living home in a few days."
"I pity her," dad said fervently. "That guy won't leave without putting up a fight."
"I bet that Abby girl didn't like you," Kyle suddenly put in. Now that the deviation was over, the conversation was back on track.
"She's just got an issue with losing," I said, shrugging.
"Oh, I know that look," Kyle grinned. "She was a spoiled brat, wasn't she?"
"Like you wouldn't believe," mom cut in.
I left out the bit where Abby had tried to corner me after the meet, though. In my mind, it wasn't really considered a detail. She'd thrown a hissy fit and I'd dealt with her. End of story.
"Oh well, she'll probably get a new car or something," Kyle drawled, "I believe that's the customary appeasing offer for kids like her."
Everyone laughed a little.
"So," dad started, "Will we have you for a while this time or are you going somewhere soon?"
"The nationals are a few months away," I said, eying my plate. "I think they're being held after the New Year in Texas."
"Is that all?" dad asked. I nodded.
"Yay!" Jason cried around a mouthful of pizza, "Rachel's staying home!"
"The nationals…" mom said excitedly to herself. "Ooo, I can't believe my baby's in the nationals!"
And here was the gushing I'd been anticipating.
"Wait until your grandmother hears about this! Oh, this is so exciting!"
Kyle shielded his face so that only I could see him roll his eyes.

Several hours passed, and finally things were calming down.
Jason was in bed, mom and dad were a few minutes away from being in their own, and Kyle was in his room, saying goodnight to Megan over the phone.
I was standing outside on the back step, watching the sky. The stars were all out now, including the crescent moon. The air was getting crisp already, a sure sign that winter was on its way. The wind was rustling the tree tops for miles around, creating a breathtaking sigh across the forest.
The wind was just loud enough to move the sounds of the nearby highway to the background. I could easily focus on nature's serenity.
The trees around me never changed. Only the sky moved, day by day, like the stars were taking turns trying to see me. The ones that disappeared always came back eventually, given time. Some even made shapes in the sky.
It was a testament to how quiet it was when I heard the glass door behind me whisper open.
"Do you ever get tired of that?" Kyle asked, sounding honestly interested. When I glanced back at him, he merely gesticulated towards the speckled sky.
"How could I?" I replied, looking back up. "I'll never be able to memorize them all. Even though they barely move, it always looks like something different every time I look up."
"You're weird," Kyle chuckled. He stopped beside me and tilted his head back to stare at the stars. "Any of them have names?"
"Probably," I said as I looked back up at the stars, "But I don't know them."
Kyle laughed a little. I turned to look at him. "What?"
"I was just thinking," he chuckled, "You hardly ever speak your mind. You only do when you're either swimming or stargazing."
"Because I feel the most at ease," I said.
Kyle didn't reply.
"It's rare that I feel comfortable," I continued slowly. "I don't know what it is. It's like I'm on a camping trip. Things are familiar, yet… not for me, I suppose."
"You feel out of your element," Kyle deduced.
I nodded. "But there's just something about the water and the night sky that erases my insecurities. It makes me feel… I can't describe it."
"It's okay," Kyle chuckled as he clapped me on the back. "I get what you're saying. I'm the same way with Megan. I feel like I'm on an alien world, and then when I'm with her everything simply clicks –" he snapped his fingers "—just like that."
He turned around like he was going to head back inside. "I'd tell you that you would get over it, but since I'm still in the same boat as you, I'd say you should just stick with your vices."
"Thanks," I said quietly. "Yep," Kyle said, smiling broadly.
I felt like I was seeing him in a new light tonight.
A new light that was getting brighter.
To my surprise, Kyle blinked and looked around. "Did someone just start up a fire?"
The light wasn't just a figure of speech anymore. It was a literal orange light that was getting brighter. It was already bright enough to cast shadows on the side of the house.
"Fireworks, maybe?" I asked, puzzled. The angle of light was all wrong for a fire.
I looked around baffled, but initially couldn't find anything. It wasn't until I turned my eyes upward that I felt my eyes pop out. Turns out I'd gotten it half right.
It wasn't a Firework. It was a Fireball.
It was streaking towards the ground at an incredible speed, faster than anything I'd seen before. Parts of it were flying off of it, causing them to rain down on the forest below.
But the main body was angled towards us. It was close enough now that I could see the comet tail of smoke, illuminated by the fire. Perhaps strangest of all, however, was the fact that it wasn't originating from some point on the ground, but rather from some place further overhead.
And then, unexpectedly, it dipped.
"Watch out!" Kyle bellowed, just as the comet hit the crest of a ridge with an earth shattering ka-boom.
Both Kyle and I flung our arms across each other's chests and pushed backwards, both trying to be the hero at the same time, just as a massive chunk of burning debris launched in a high arc, ejected from the impact, and crashed back down to earth less than ten feet away.
The explosion was incredible, to say the least. I felt like I'd just been punched in the chest by a prize winning boxer. The sound was easily the loudest thing I'd ever heard before in my life.
A rock roughly the size of my head flew within inches of my right ear and sailed straight through the sliding glass door, and judging by the sound of more breaking glass, made it clear out the other side of the house.
As abruptly as it started, it was over. The roar of the explosion was replaced with the piercing sirens of several car alarms, including mom's Subaru. Other than that, all I could hear was the ringing in my ears.
Before I could even stand up, mom and dad had appeared, dad armed with a baseball bat. How he could've mistaken that for a burglar was beyond me.
"Oh my – Rachel! Kyle!"
"We're fine, mom," Kyle responded breathlessly as he got to his feet. I carefully got up as well, and was pleased to find myself in one piece.
Kyle had a cut along his right cheek where a pebble had passed by. I followed the trajectory and saw the tiny rock lodged securely in the wooden front door, on the other side of the living room from us.
"What the… what happened?" dad asked. His eyes peeled off of us and moved towards the burning thing now buried in a gash across the back yard.
Whatever it was, it was clearly mechanical.
"What… is that?" mom hissed nervously.
I carefully moved forward, one arm in front of my face to shield it from the searing heat. The front of the thing was glowing bright red and was hissing angrily against the icy ground. I crept forward as far as I could bear the heat and squinted through my fingers towards the top of the crashed wreck. Something was there… something identifiable…
"Mom, do you have the phone?" I called over.
"Y-yes."
"Call nine-one-one," I instructed, though I thought it was a pretty obvious decision.
"What is it, Rachel?"
I turned to look at the other three. Jason was coming down the stairs now, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.
"It's a satellite," I told dad.
Call me crazy, but I didn't think satellites were supposed to crash into someone's back yard.
I moved aside as dad and Kyle both came up to inspect the shredded machine.
Most of it had been obliterated from the first impact and reentry, but there was still a drier-sized chunk of it left, and stamped across its top was a television company's logo; the same one we were signed up to.
"Well, that explains why there was no reception," Kyle said, sounding almost matter-of-fact.
"I wonder why it fell," dad pondered aloud.
"The answer's probably between here and way over there," Kyle replied. He was pointing far off towards the distant ridge that had gotten in the way of the satellite. It now had a huge section blown clean out of the top.
"Awesome!" We all looked around in time to see Jason make his appearance before mom grabbed him by the arm to stop him sprinting out onto the grass.
"Solar flare, you think?" dad continued to muse.
"Nah," Kyle said dismissively. "I heard NASA has safety measures for that. Could've hit something."
"Could have…"
"Something like that?"
Both dad and Kyle first glanced at me, then at my pointing finger, and then up at the new object in the sky. Another fireball was streaking towards the ground, though it was aimed farther away than the first. But… there was something off about this one. Was it just my imagination, or did it seem to be going slower than the other? It definitely wasn't disintegrating, however. Nothing was separating from the main body like it had with the satellite.
Within only a few seconds, however, it sailed behind a hill and disappeared. We heard the dull thump of the impact clearly enough.
And then we all jumped as an even louder explosion rocked the area.
We didn't have to search long for a source. Out front, the water was still falling from where something had struck the lake several miles downhill from us.
"What's going on?" mom asked, sounding frightened, just as two more blinding points of fiery light appeared in the night sky.
Two more satellites were plummeting down to earth far out in the forest. One actually struck the side of the only mountain we could see, sending a plume of fire and burning debris into the sky. The other broke apart with a muffled thump that we could hear all the way over here. It shattered into a million pieces that vanished into the dark before it could even reach land.
"That's not good," Kyle muttered, just as the sound of emergency sirens became audible. I could just make out flashing lights flying down the highway towards our neighborhood.
Kyle was right. One satellite plummeting to earth could be seen as an accident. Five, on the other hand, was downright freaky.
While everyone scoured the skies for more fireballs, I returned to the back to look at the piece of the satellite lodged in our yard.
What had made it fall? Had it been that other thing, the one that hadn't fallen apart as it fell? But how could it make four others fall, all coming from different directions? It didn't make sense to me, but deep down in my gut I had a very, very bad feeling.