The residents in the sleepy area of America that the meteor was heading to went back to their nightly routines, most went to church but others stayed to prepare tea and settle down for a night in front of the television or radio in some cases.
Jerry Clark was out playing in the woods not far from his home in the backwater town of Kecksburg, Pennsylvania. Jerry was nine; he had dark brown hair and sharp blue eyes. He enjoyed the outdoors and was busy riding his bike up and down the mounds in amongst the trees; he had already fallen off several times and was sat resting when he first heard it.
Sonic booms rang out as the fireball headed earthwards. The young boy craned his neck skywards to catch the glowing fireball streak across the sky. It headed downwards but then suddenly looked like it changed direction slightly. Jerry rubbed his eyes in a mixture of shock and excitement; he grabbed his bike and peddled as hard as he could in pursuit of the fireball.
Jerry weaved in between the trees as he kept his eyes peeled skywards. The fireball was now a red and purple haze that descended towards the heavily wooded area. Jerry kept his eyes locked on his target; he watched in amazement as the fireball seemed to slow its descent.
The object struck the ground and the trees that blocked its path splintered and fell. As the fireball hit the ground the haze changed to a sharp blue that blinded the young boy for several seconds. When Jerry shook his vision clear he noticed smoke filling the area. An intense heat washed over the impact site and finally fear got the better of the boy and he sped off towards home to raise the alarm to his mom.
An elderly couple was sat listening to their favorite radio show when a shockwave caught the old man’s attention.
“Did you feel that love?”
“No Brian, I didn’t feel a thing. Like most nights for the last five years!”
Brian ignored the snide remark and slowly eased himself out of his leather recliner, the fabric made an uncomfortable squelching noise as the old timers skin peeled away from the chair.
Brian shuffled over to the window, muttering as he went.
“Definitely felt a vibration definitely did.”
Doreen rolled her eyes and returned to dosing on the sofa. ‘Stupid old goat!’ She thought before she fell asleep.
Brian peeked out of the curtain; he liked to keep an eye over his sleepy town. A crowd of people had begun to form outside and a few of the younger men were just getting into their vehicles. There was a fair bit of commotion for a town that normally kept things to themselves, people were pointing into the direction of the woods where smoke appeared to be rising.
The old man turned to his wife but he held his breath, she was snoring away on the couch; Brian allowed himself a tiny smile. He shuffled into the hallway and then out onto his front porch.
A commotion was starting to develop next door as that nice young lad Jerry was tugging on his mother’s arm, pulling her forward while excitedly pointing in the direction of the woods.
Brian waved and shouted, “What’s going on Pat? Why is the youngin so excited?”
Patricia Clark was a young mother at twenty-nine, she had Jerry when she was only twenty. She was a tall pretty woman with long slender legs. Her vibrant green eyes locked onto the friendly wrinkled face of her neighbor.
“Hi Brian, I don’t know. Jerry thinks something crashed in the woods and as I looked out of the kitchen window I could see blue smoke rising from the trees just over there.”
“Not crashed mom, landed in the woods now come on I want to show you!”
“Jerry ssh I am talking.”
Patricia smiled, “Sorry Bri I better get Jerry in for his tea.”
Brian laughed, “No problem love, I would hop in the car with the other lads if I were ten years younger.”
“Don’t worry Bri, we will keep you updated with any news when we get back.” A man in his early thirties shouted out of his truck window as he drove off towards the strange smoke.
Brian watched as Patricia struggled to get her excitable son back into the house for some dinner.
The ever-growing plume of blue smoke caught the eye of local farmer Donald Ernest; he pulled up on the edge of his large field, his tractor’s engine ticked over on idle as he scratched his head.
‘Thought I heard something hit the ground. Hope it wasn’t a plane going down, better go check it out, someone may need my help!’
A steady stream of vehicles started to head into the woods behind the sleepy town. Young men chatted feverishly and a few of the local teens showed off in front of their girls.
First on the scene were two members of the local fire department. They had bought their radios in case an emergency response was needed. Cautiously Michael Harris and his colleague and friend, Raymond Nelson approached the smoldering area. They had followed the plume of smoke until they had got closer and then the splintered, charcoaled trees gave away the crash site.
Immediately they could feel the heat radiating through the air as they walked gingerly into the clearing. Plumes of blue colored smokes drifted skyward from a large crater.
“Clearly something has come down here Ray!” Michael said.
“Yeh but what? The crater looks too small for a plane crash!”
Not enough debris scattered around either.”
Ray nodded, neither of them had actually seen a plane crash before but being in the local fire department they were the self-appointment experts.
“Fancy braving the heat to take a closer look?” Michael gestured to Ray.
“Yeh sure Mick, you lead and I’ll follow! But take it steady for Christ sake Mick, don’t want to have to save your ass again.”
Michael just shook his head and then got back to the task at hand.
The two men gingerly approached the crater, which appeared to be about fifteen-foot wide. As they got closer they could see the soil in the crater appeared to be cauterized and the smell of burnt dirt assaulted their noses.
“Maybe it was a meteorite?”
“Yeh Ray I expect the Clark lad has a wild imagination!”
“Like we all did at that age hey.” Ray nudged Michael on the shoulder.
Both men let out hearty laughter.
A twig snapped to their left and the bushes parted. Both men swung around ready to face the intruder, they pointed their torches and the handheld radio in that direction.
Donald Ernest appeared through the bush and at the sight of the two firemen immediately raised his hands above his head.
“Don’t shoot me with your lights boys.” He laughed.
The two mean relaxed, “Don how you doing buddy?”
Donald relaxed and strode over into the sweltering area.
“Bit toasty here isn’t it boys?” He panted.
“Yeh mate but you get used to it, what you doing ‘ere anyway, curiosity get the better off ya?”
Don laughed, “You could say that Mick, I thought a plane coulda come down so I came to see if anyone needed my help.”
Ray nodded “Good man but I think it was probably just that meteorite they were talking about on the tv.”
“Guy’s!” Michael said as he peeked over the top of the crater. “That don’t look like any meteorite I have ever seen.”
“What are you talking about Mick?” Ray said as he turned to his colleague.
Michael waved the two men over. “Look, its gold and… looks metallic?”
The two men shielded their eyes from the heat haze rising from the crater. At the bottom was a gold object glinting with an exquisite shimmer, it looked smooth and undamaged from the intense heat that was created from smashing through the atmosphere.
“What is that?” Donald asked.
“I..I’m not sure Don, its big though.”
“Yeah could be about the size of your car.” Don said