Invasion

Chapter 2: Funny Sort Of Meteor

"Mike," Dad began at dinnertime. "Yeah?" I answered from the other side of the dinner table. "You might be interested in this. There's a chance we might catch the Leonid meteor shower tonight." "Cool!" I replied. I am crazy about meteor showers, though I haven't seen any so far. "I'll try to catch some tonight. What time is the peak?" I asked. Dad pondered for a moment. "About midnight." "Goody!" I clapped my hands silently in delight. "Will you be watching, Dad?" "Sorry. I've got to get up early for an appointment tomorrow." "Aw, man!" I cried.
After dinner, I rushed upstairs to my room and set up my camera. "Hey, Mike!" Dad called from downstairs. "Yeah?" I answered. "It's eight o'clock and the shower's at midnight. Could you please help me sort out my papers?" "Sure thing, Dad! Don't start without me!" I raced down the stairs and found Dad in his little cubicle that he had built for himself to work in. I never understood why him, a mechanic, had so many papers. Most of it was all paperwork about the company budgets and and the amount you receive per hour for working overtime and that sort of thing. Others were simply sketches of motors and pistons and combustion engines that Dad drew to help him remember how they worked. "Right. Leave those papers over there for now. Put all my sketches in this file here and you can sort the rest by colour. It was not very difficult, actually. I finished helping Dad in 20 minutes. "Phew! Thanks, Mike! You're the best!" Dad gave me a slap on the back. I smiled. I like it when Dad does that, because it meant he was proud of me. I still had a lot of time to spare. So with Mum's permission, I plugged in the TV. I wasn't really a big fan of television because most of what they blared at me was either advertisements or complete trash! Still, it was the most effective time-killer. So I got rid of a number of hours watching Scooby Doo.
By eleven forty-five, I decided it was time to turn on the camera. I could only wish with all my might for a fireball. If I succeeded in capturing a clear shot of it sailing through the black oblivion, it would be a sheer miracle. I found myself a foldable chair and planted myself comfortably nearby. "Good night, Mike!" I heard Mum say. "Good night, Mum!" I answered. I heard Mum turn off the lights. I was left in nearly total darkness to watch the meteors in space. An hour passed by swiftly. By that time the camera battery was half full. I managed to capture a few meteors but they were not very impressive. There seemed to be little hope of catching a fireball. As I unscrewed the camera from the tripod, a bright light in the inky blackness caught my attention. It was a fireball! I didn't bother screwing the camera back on its stand. I simply turned it on and tried to capture this brilliant streak of white and orange with whatever juice was still in the battery. Then I began to frown. Normally, fireballs do not last more than 4 seconds. They also leave white specks behind it that eventually disappear. Mine was lasting 8 seconds and counting! It also looked more like a giant star than a meteor, leaving no particles or tail. The camera battery conked out, but I continued to stare at the 'meteor'. It suddenly occurred to me that it was falling down to the ground, having survived it's perilous journey through the Earth's atmosphere. The strange object hurled down into the nearby meadow and crashed with a muffled thud that was audible to me even thought it was about a two hundred yards away. I could noy believe what I had just seen! This was not a meteor. It was a meteorite! I was tremendously excited. Kate is going to have a fit when she hears about this, I thought as I dumped the camera on the foldable chair, grabbed a flashlight, and made my way towards the crash site.