Impact (Book 1): Inbound

by Isherwood, E. E.

  “Susan, this is Butch. The young man I mentioned. Butch, this is my wife, Susan.”

  “Pleased to meet you, ma’am.” Butch towered over Susan as he briefly shook her hand. He gave the rest of the men a wary once-over, then held out his phone. “You guys are going to want to see this, I think.”

  The video on his piece of tech began playing. “That’s Gracie,” Susan gasped.

  Grace was with a man in a suit, and they were obviously in Yellowstone based on the hot springs bubbling in the background. It appeared as if she and the guy were putting on a presentation for tourists. The person holding the video also showed part of the crowd of onlookers.

  The men of the roadblock had gathered to watch as well, though Babs stayed where she was. As Grace talked about Tikkanen Kinetic Mining, the cameraman moved to the front of the crowd to get a better perspective. Then the man introduced himself as Asher Creighton, and he went on to explain how the meteorite was coming down over Canada, but that pieces could fall on the US of A. It was exactly what she’d told him on the phone.

  Then, when the video ended, it cut to a second scene set on a busy street. It showed a beat-up National Park service truck heading for the camera as someone fired a gun at it from behind. The scene played out like an action movie; the driver hunched low behind the wheel as the car sped by. He immediately recognized the wild blonde hair.

  Butch’s display transitioned to show a newsroom. We can confirm this video is authentic. We are told this woman, a Grace Anderson, is a National Park Service ranger. She and her accomplice, Asher Creighton, are wanted in connection with a series of vandalisms and hoaxes. If you have any information…

  Babs cackled with glee.

  Ezra was shocked but kept his wits. “Butch, can I use your phone? I have to call my daughter.”

  Chapter 19

  Yellowstone

  “How far is it?” she asked while checking the rearview mirror for the hundredth time. Misha’s blue truck was still a few cars behind, although someone had pulled over to the shoulder, helping the gunman gain a position on them.

  “It doesn’t look like it’s very far off the little road where you found me,” Asher replied.

  “The road to the alpine hut? I don’t remember seeing this.” She allowed herself some leeway in her recollection since it was dark during the drive last night. Still, there were always signs in the park for any feature, no matter how tiny. Some named hot springs were smaller than a bathtub, yet they had markings. She hadn’t seen any signs on her drive up.

  “It’s there, about a half-mile from this paved road. You know that guy is going to follow us, right? How do we get rid of him?”

  She’d been wondering the same thing the whole time, but, even with the added pressure, nothing came to mind right away. She couldn’t outrun the other truck on the busy two-lane roadway. She had no gun to force him to back off. There were no other rangers around, and even if there were, they might get shot before she could explain who was after them.

  Her phone meowed, interrupting her thoughts.

  “Hello?” she said without letting it ring twice.

  “Grace, it’s Dad.” She knew by his tone of voice something was wrong.

  “Daddy? I’m driving again.”

  “I know,” he replied. “We saw you on television just now. We saw the speech about the asteroid coming down, too.” She listened as he explained how he’d seen her speech and hasty escape. It made her proud to know her plan had worked. All she wanted was for the tourists to record her and spread the word. That was why his follow-up statement took her aback.

  “The news says you two are crackpots bent on vandalizing the park and putting park visitors in danger.”

  “What? They’re supposed to listen to our warning. I saw people running for their cars after we talked to them. Dad, I know they understood my message was real.” The gunfire and daredevil driving could have sent out mixed messages, but the alternative was for them to stand there and get executed.

  “I believe you, honey.”

  “I’m scared, Dad. These people want Asher dead because he’s not supposed to tell the world who’s responsible. And it’s even worse than what I said in that speech. The path has changed. Now it’s going to hit America head-on.” She was torn on whether to tell him she was in the crosshairs, but she had to warn him. “A bunch of pieces are supposed to come down in a line drawn from western Canada south to Alabama. Dad, you have to hide from it.”

  “We’re working on it, Gracie, don’t worry about us. Just get yourself to safety. The fall line crosses Wyoming; I’m sure of it.”

  “It does. I’m heading for safety at this moment.” She was relieved to warn him, but that wasn’t the only thing on her mind. “Hey, is…Mom there?”

  “She’s here. Do you want to talk to her?”

  “Yes.” With a gun at her back, and a giant spray of space rock about to drop on her head, she believed her time might be running short. Her argument with her mom seemed like a scene from a dumb TV show, not her own life.

  “Hello, honey,” her mom gushed a moment later. “I love you so much. I’m so sorry for chasing you away.” She sniffled on the other end of the line. “Please tell me you’re somewhere safe.”

  “I love you, too, Mom. I—” Grace choked up and for a short time was unable to continue. She glanced over to Asher; he’d set the map on his lap and watched her with kind eyes. He’d entered her life and brought nothing but trouble, but she was doing the job she’d always wanted. Protecting the national parks was the kind of career she hoped would make her parents proud. “I’m fine. Me and my friend are heading to a…good, solid cave. We’ll be well protected if it falls around us.”

  “You’re with Asher Creighton?” her mom asked with a that-bad-boy-from-school tone of voice.

  “You saw the video, too? He works for TKM. Mom, his sister works for them in mission control or something. She knows all the juicy stuff. She told us to keep our heads down. I want you to do the same, okay? I told Dad.”

  “We’re on it,” Mom replied dryly. “I want you to get away from that boy as soon as you can, all right? He must deal with some bad people if he’s getting shot at out there. I don’t want you tangled up in things you can avoid.”

  Grace laughed to herself. If her mom had any idea how wrapped up she was, she’d be a lot less calm about the whole thing. She fought the urge to divulge all her problems and ask her mom for help fixing them. The cold truth was she couldn’t count on anyone on Earth at the moment, except for Asher.

  “I’ll do my best,” she said carefully. “Mom, I want you to know: I really do love you. I never, ever, meant to harm you. I only wanted to come out here and experience nature like you and Dad always did.”

  A shooting star caught Grace’s attention as it briefly flared and then fizzled.

  “It’s fine,” Mom said in a hurry. “Look, Dad and I have to go. Some things are happening here that I can’t go into right now. Know we both love you very much, and the second we’re able, we’re going to drive right out to Wyoming and be with you. Do you hear me?”

  Her jaw dropped. “You’re still coming? I figured you’d stay home with all the trouble. I could come to you.” Would Misha chase them all the way back to Kentucky? Surely, no one was that dedicated to murdering her.

  “We’ll be there,” her mother said in an adamant tone. “Count on it.”

  A sob formed in her chest and wanted to come out. Having her parents around would be comforting after everything that had taken place, but it broke her heart imagining them getting to Yellowstone only to find her dead. For all their sakes, she needed to come up with a way to keep such a sad ending from happening.

  “I can’t wait. I’ve got to go, too. This time, tell Dad I love him.”

  “He’s listening,” Mom replied.

  “I love you, Gracie,” Dad chimed in.

  “Bye, guys.” She hung up the phone.

  The truck was still back there.

 
Kentucky

  When she hung up the phone, Susan was on the verge of tears, so he ignored the situation around him at the roadblock and gave her a smothering hug. “I’m glad you talked to her, honey,” he said softly.

  “I am, too.” Her voice sounded muffled while she planted her face in his chest.

  Finally, after too short a time, he glanced at some of the men from his neighborhood. He’d known a few of them the entire time he’d lived in Happy Cove and they were generally good people. Sure, they had their bad qualities and sometimes did bad or boneheaded things, but overall, they were all right.

  “Listen. That was my daughter. You may not believe her, but you saw her video. Someone is after her, and it isn’t the police. Do cops normally shoot people for charges of vandalism, or fling bullets while dozens of tourists are standing nearby?”

  Some of the men shrugged.

  “The answer is no. Most of you know Gracie. Seen her walk to the bus stop right here at the top of our street. She’s been a straight-A student. Never got in trouble. Do you think she’s the type of person who’d do what they say? Vandalism? She’s a park ranger, not a gang member.”

  More of the men nodded in agreement, which prompted Babs to get out of her chair and come closer.

  “She said the man she’s protecting knows things about the company he works for. You know them as TKM. The same company who brought the asteroid into orbit up there.” He pointed to the dusky sky; it seemed darker than it should have been due to all the smoke drifting in from Paducah. “They want him dead to stop him from telling the truth. Well, you’ve just heard it. That asteroid was blown up and the pieces are heading this way.”

  Babs seemed to have had enough. “I don’t see any explosion up there, do you?” It was her turn to point to the sky. It wasn’t quite dark enough to see the stars, and it was hard to tell if the dust cloud would even make it possible, yet her motion was understood. “I’ve heard some tall tales in my day, but this has to be a record.”

  “It’s not a lie,” he replied, quelling his anger at her relentless harassment. He gave his reply while looking at his neighbors, not the miserable woman. “If my daughter says it’s true, then I believe her. Full stop. If you want to go on thinking everything is peachy, be my guest. If you call her a liar, you’re calling me a liar. After twenty years of living here without causing any trouble, I hope you’d be willing to give me the benefit of the doubt when I say I’m trying to save your lives.”

  Susan gently pushed herself off his chest and turned to the small gathering. “If anyone wants to call my Gracie a liar, you’ll have to go through me. Babs, if you say another word, I swear on the Bible I’ll punch you in the face.” She raised a fist to show she meant business.

  Ezra had never been prouder, though Babs didn’t seem impressed. “See? This outburst of violence proves they don’t belong here with us. Happy Cove is exactly that: happy. We don’t suffer gun-toting malcontents like you.”

  She laughed, and the others seemed to hesitate about doing the same. At almost the same moment, a streak of light shot across the sky from the northwest. Ezra could do little more than watch it with his mouth open in wonder. It was like an everyday, run-of-the-mill shooting star, but bright enough to be seen through the hazy skies.

  He glanced to Babs. She’d seen it too.

  “It doesn’t prove anything,” she said a bit defensively.

  “Yeah, but—” he said.

  “But nothing!” she barked.

  A second streak appeared. Then five more. Much like the start of a rain storm, the trickle grew in intensity before everyone’s eyes. The streaks all came out of the same region of the sky, like the night before.

  “That’s it,” he said as he walked into the line of men. “As I said before, I’m going over there to talk to those people. I’m then going to lead them to Roger’s basement, where they will have minimal protection from whatever’s coming at us.” He pointed straight over his head. “If you want to save lives, all you have to do is move aside. However, if you have any plans to stop me, then you’re going to have to shoot me dead. Otherwise, get out of my way.”

  He waited a few seconds, then resumed walking. All the men gave him room to go through, so Babs scampered over and blocked his path. It presented a problem for him; he would have scuffled with any of the men, but not with Babs, a woman.

  Susan touched his arm. “I got this, babe.” Without any warning, she grabbed Babs’s arm and dragged her to the side of the street. Neither of them were large women, but Susan’s anger made her a force of nature.

  “This is the last time you order my husband around! Sit in your chair and watch how things get done when people work together, instead of against each other. If anyone dies because of your petty delays, that’s on you.” She wasn’t violent with her, but Susan manhandled the pink-loving woman until she was back in the lawn chair.

  The guys on the roadblock looked at Susan with approval; many smiled.

  “Butch, we can’t save everyone up and down the road. Will you help me gather some of the closest people together? I can take about fifty, max. We can save more, if my neighbors will take some.” He waited for it to sink in, certain his longtime acquaintances from Happy Cove wouldn’t turn their backs on the stranded residents from the next county over, before he continued. “We can put small kids in my truck so they don’t have to walk down the hill.” The Jeep Cherokee sat at the top of the street with its back hatch still open. He could fit ten kids in there easily.

  Ezra spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.

  “Get these people to safety!”

  Overhead, the light show kept intensifying; the comparison with rain was appropriate, he believed. Hundreds of shooting stars emerged from the northwest. Each one seemed to get longer, like the pieces were larger than the ones raining down a few seconds before.

  We’re out of time.

  Chapter 20

  In flight to TKM Pacific Launch Facility

  Petteri had lost control for a brief moment while in front of Howard and the new girl; learning your company was responsible for crashing an asteroid into the heart of the United States was a hard hit to absorb. Now, after a few minutes studying the data sent over by his flight team, he was sure of the one thing that mattered to him.

  “We’re well outside of the impact zone,” he informed the others. Dorothy and Howard sat in the plush chairs on the far side of his flying office. They were probably both thinking of who they might lose in the upcoming disaster, but he couldn’t allow them to dwell on what couldn’t be helped. “Which means you both need to get to work.” He glared at Howard. “You know what you should be doing.”

  Howard displayed a moment of defiance, like he was too important to track down a man in the Yellowstone wilderness, then he did the smart thing by breaking eye contact and dipping his head. “I do, sir. I’m on it.”

  He immediately turned to the young woman. “And you, my dear, have stumbled into the center of my humble empire. You’ve seen some things which would normally get you tossed out the back door without a parachute.”

  She held up a hand. “Can we play James Bond villain some other time? You need me. I can track the data and tell you exactly where this sack of trash is going to land. That will help you, won’t it?”

  Petteri squinted, not sure if he should play along or make good on his threat.

  Dorothy kept talking. “You could warn them, you know? Send advance notice to get people in bunkers. If you knew precisely where they were going to land, it would make you a hero.” Dorothy showed no fear, even when talking about the potential death of millions, including herself. That aside, he was forced to admit she was on to a good idea.

  “How much time do we have?” he cautiously inquired.

  “I’m showing about fifteen minutes, give or take. I’m going off the tracking data coming from your flight center, but I’ve had to clean it up myself. I don’t think anyone is in the control center keeping the triangulation current.�
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  “What?” That got his attention.

  She nodded. “Don’t worry, boss. I told you, I’ve got this. Just tell me who you want me to call with this information. I’ll make sure they get the word out to the population; I’ll be sure to mention a billion times you are the one who saved them. There isn’t enough time to do anything about it, of course, but the records scrawled on stone tablets will show you tried. All I ask in return is that million in gold, plus one percent of whatever you salvage from the wreckage.”

  His mouth hung open in the face of such brazen ego.

  “Oh, yeah,” she continued in a timid voice, “and if it’s all the same, I’d really like it if you didn’t throw me out the back.” Finally, she showed a hint of humility. It was done expertly, like a tenacious pit bull who understood her place inside the pack hierarchy. She was smart enough to know how to play him perfectly; a fact he acknowledged with begrudging respect.

  He pulled out a business card. “Call Mr. Stricker. He’s the Secretary of Homeland Security. Tell him the affected states, name a few big cities in the strike zone, then relay my sadness at how the crew of the Petteri-2 betrayed my trust, and humanity itself, by causing this biblical disaster. The crew was well on their way to putting the rock in orbit when they went rogue for reasons unknown. Mention possible terrorist links. Be sure to use the word biblical; he responds to all things religious.”

  She smiled. “On it!”

  Petteri leaned back in his chair, glad to have his small cadre of allies. Howard appeared at his side a few seconds later. “Sir, my man is following Asher right now. We also intercepted communication between him and his sister. You are never going to believe where she works.”

  “You know I don’t like guessing,” he said with a Sahara Desert level of dryness.

  “Uh, no. She works in the Texas operations center. She has access to the flow of communications between there and the ship. It may not matter, now, since this is almost over, but she’s the leak. She’s how he knows so much.”