A red SUV sat parked at the Green Mountain trailhead, its frame dwarfed by a fire lookout tower stabbing into the night. On the platform above, three figures—a tall Black man, a Black woman, and a shorter Black man—stood silhouetted, their eyes locked on the horizon.
"There!" the woman cried, her voice crackling with awe, pointing skyward. Her eyes gleamed, catching a celestial flare.
A shimmering ribbon of light slithered across the heavens, pulsing bright then dim, a cosmic tapestry woven through the stars. It flared and faded, a hallucinatory dance in the dark.
Then, with a ferocious burst, the aurora erupted, drenching the valley in unearthly hues. Trees and earth shimmered, painted in colors too vivid for reality.
"This is it," the woman breathed, her face glowing with wonder, a smile breaking wide. Her hand found the tall man's, her warmth anchoring him in the chill night air. He squeezed back, the moment binding them.
"Yo, snap a pic, man!" the tall man called, his grin slicing through the night.
"On it," the shorter man replied, pulling out his phone. He jabbed the power button, but his brow creased. "What the—? Dead?"
"Forget to charge it?" the tall man chuckled, tossing his own phone over. "Use mine."
The shorter man caught it, pressed the button. Nothing. "Yours is dead too."
The tall man's smile vanished. He snatched the phone, stabbing the power button. No response. "No way. I charged this before we left."
The woman dug her phone from her bag, fingers swift. She pressed, waited, then shook her head. "Mine's out too."
Silence crashed over them, their eyes meeting in shared unease.
"Something's off," the tall man said, his voice low, edged with suspicion.
Crack. Crack.
A sharp noise snapped their heads upward. The tower's surveillance camera twitched, its lens glinting ominously.
Zzzzt.
A spark flickered inside, the air souring with the acrid stench of burning plastic. Before they could react—
Bang!
A blinding flare burst from the camera, its sparks dancing against the aurora's glow. Shattered plastic rained down, the casing splintered. The camera swayed, grinding out a metallic groan.
"Why the hell did that thing blow up?" the shorter man shouted, scanning the darkness.
"Could it be the coronal mass ejection?" the woman's voice trembled, her eyes darting skyward.
"Forget the CME—move!" the tall man grabbed her hand, bolting for the ladder. His boots clanged on the rungs as he descended.
The shorter man scrambled after him, stealing a glance at the still-sparking wreckage of the broken camera. "Yo, man, you think this place might catch fire?" he called out anxiously.
"It's steel, it won't burn! Get down!" the tall man's voice echoed from below.
They piled into the SUV, hearts racing. The shorter man slid behind the wheel, slammed the gearshift, and stomped the gas. Nothing. He froze.
"Wait—I didn't kill the engine."
"Start it!" the tall man barked, his arm around the woman.
"Got it!" The shorter man twisted the wire in the ignition, the screwdriver clicking.
Clunk.
The engine shuddered once, then died. The dashboard flickered wildly, lights strobing like a failing pulse.
"Come on!" he growled, wrenching the screwdriver.
Clunk-clunk-clunk.
Each attempt teased life but delivered nothing. The air thickened, their nerves fraying. Beneath the chassis, a silent threat grew.
The fuel pump whined, straining. A seam in the fuel line wept.
Drip… drip… drip…
Gasoline pooled, a dark stain spreading.
Above, the camera sparked again.
Pop!
A jagged metal shard, trailing embers, arced through the air and hit the fuel slick.
Hiss.
A faint flame ignited, snaking along the gasoline, a venomous glow racing toward the fuel tank.
Time froze. The fire licked the undercarriage, hungry.
Then—BOOM!
A deafening blast tore through the night, the SUV erupting in a savage roar of flame and steel. The explosion hurled the chassis skyward, debris scattering like shrapnel. Fire consumed the wreckage, a pyre against the aurora's eerie dance.
——
Justin Maddox jolted awake, his skin slick with sweat, beads rolling down his temples, soaking the pillow. His chest heaved, each breath a battle against an invisible chokehold. The explosion's roar echoed in his skull, sharp and real.
Huff—huff.
He forced air into his lungs, his pulse hammering. Sunlight poured through thin curtains, flooding the room with a warmth that clashed with the ice in his veins.
Arf!
Sasha, his husky, vaulted onto the bed, tackling him with slobbering enthusiasm. His tongue swiped at the sweat on Justin's face.
"Get off!" Justin grunted, fending him off halfheartedly. The dog persisted.
"Sasha, enough!" He shoved the husky back. Sasha sat, tail thumping, eyes bright with mischief.
Justin grabbed his phone from the nightstand. The screen glowed: October 13, 12:25 PM.
He dragged himself out of bed, Sasha bounding behind. At the door, sunlight blazed through, forcing him to squint. Sasha shot outside, tearing across the yard like a loosed arrow.
"Don't stay out too long!" Justin called, shutting the door.
In the bathroom, he twisted the faucet. Icy water hit his hands, sharp and grounding. He splashed his face, the chill slicing through the fog. In the mirror, his reflection stared back—haggard, water dripping from his jaw, silver-gray hair mussed from sleep. He smoothed it down, the motion mechanical.
His phone buzzed. He pulled it from his pocket. Jessica flashed on the screen.
"Hey?" Justin answered, his voice rough, uneasy.
"Justin, it's me," Jessica said. Her voice suddenly rose, laced with tension and panic. "It really exploded!"
Justin froze, the image from his dream flashing through his mind. His voice trembled. "What exploded?"
"SpaceY Starship One!" Her words spilled out, frantic. "It exploded. Just like you said it would!"