The silence of the night was broken by a distant rumbling that steadily grew louder. It was a sharp hiss that reminded Brant of hot iron being dipped in water. The sound continued to grow in intensity until it began to echo off the mountains surrounding the valley where he was camped. Suddenly he saw it, a light, moving incredibly fast, soaring over the mountains to the west. The ball of fire flew in an arc, trailing smoke and descending rapidly, casting light on the pines and rivers of the valley as it passed.
The explosion was like nothing he had ever seen. The object slammed into the earth with enough force to shake the ground where Brant was camped over a mile away. For a few seconds a flash of light illuminated the whole valley as bright as if the sun was shining overhead. Rocks and trees were thrown into the air with the initial impact as dirt was pushed before the object like a tidal wave of earth. A massive blast of sound boomed in Brant’s ears followed by cracking trees and crashing boulders falling back to the ground.
The valley fell into silence. Brant looked around and realized he was standing, heart pounding and hands clenched into fists. Whatever had hit the ground was little more than a mile down from his campsite, a faint glow emanating from the area it had landed. He hesitated; looking from the warm fire to the darkness beyond the trees. Then he grabbed his gear and disappeared into the woods.
