(no subject)
It was like nothing She had ever experienced before. One moment she had been There, completely entranced by the music around her, and the next-- something caught at her, gave a mighty tug, and then she was falling.
~*~
"----!!"
"What the Hell?!"
Rian Mitchell gaped at the northern sky, watching the meteorite fall from the Heavens in a southeast trajectory, appearing, impossibly, like a comet hundreds of thousands of miles away, rather than a mere mile or two, or less, overhead.
"Is it an asteriod?"
"No, stupid. Asteroids are in space."
"Or on your ass," joked another of the students.
"Those would be hemorrhoids."
"Then it's a meteor, right? It's entered the atmosphere."
"It cant be." Rian rubbed at his eyes. "Meteorites burns red when it falls through the atmosphere. I've never heard of anything that burns blue like that except for a comet, but those wouldn't burn the same in atmosphe--"
His words were cut off as, with a flash of light, the 'comet' exploded, sending red flaming shrapnel in every direction, save for the core, which hurtled into the low hills between their astronomy viewing point and Mt Hood. The night creatures went eerily silent at the moment of impact, and Rian covered his ears, waiting for the approaching shockwave to knock him over.
The shockwave hit him with a blast of cold air that merely staggered him, when he should have been laid flat. The expected 'BOOM' was conspicuous with its absense. Rian lowered his hands and shook his head, thinking he'd been deafened, but he could hear a faint sound.
A telescope some meters away crashed loudly to the ground, drawing attention to Micha Daniels, who was the one member of the class who had not joined the conversation about the falling object. The reason was simple: Micha Daniels was deaf, and at night, he could not read lips.
"Micha?" Rian queried, then kicked himself when he realized the other man would not be able to answer.
Micha clutched his chest and sat abruptly where he stood. His ragged sob choked its way from his throat. He shook his head sharply, then again, like a child attempts to shake water from their ears. He batted at his ears.
"Micha?" Rian took a step toward the man, unsure why he continued to speak when the man's back was turned to the group.
Then Micha stiffened, turned his head, and made a startled sound that caused him to grab his throat in shock.
The astronomy students gasped. "Micha? Can you hear us?"
Micha gaped and nodded, then hiccupped another sob-- and barked a laugh a moment later.
Rian froze, then, as he realized that Micha, born deaf, could suddenly hear. And what would the man hear, besides the students all chattering at once, now?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The night creatures were silent. The wind, which had kept the students comfortably cool on the balmy night, had not stirred until, it seemed, the moment Rian registered that something was amiss.
In a reflection of the shockwave that came before, the air rushed silently back toward the impact -- which he now realized had left no crater-- with a whisper that bent the trees from its force but stirred in his bones more than it put off his balance.
All of it, absolutely everything that had happened from the moment that-- whatever it was-- had struck the atmosphere and drawn Rian's attention away from his south-oriented telescope, was impossible. Meteorites did not fall like that. They did not burn blue like comets. And the explosion in midair, as well as the impact, should have knocked the astonomy class off their feet with the force of them.
The shockwave should have deafened them all-- but instead, Rian was left with the strong urge to go to the impact site, with the indescribable feeling that what he would find would not be what should belong in a meteorite impact crater. And as he stared out over the low hills between Larch Mountain and the massive, glacier covered Mt Hood, he felt the wind pulling him toward the impact site and heard a faint whisper urging him to go there.
He was listening so closely, trying to rationalize what was going on, that he did not register the gentle pattering of snowflakes upon his arms.
~*~
"----!!"
"What the Hell?!"
Rian Mitchell gaped at the northern sky, watching the meteorite fall from the Heavens in a southeast trajectory, appearing, impossibly, like a comet hundreds of thousands of miles away, rather than a mere mile or two, or less, overhead.
"Is it an asteriod?"
"No, stupid. Asteroids are in space."
"Or on your ass," joked another of the students.
"Those would be hemorrhoids."
"Then it's a meteor, right? It's entered the atmosphere."
"It cant be." Rian rubbed at his eyes. "Meteorites burns red when it falls through the atmosphere. I've never heard of anything that burns blue like that except for a comet, but those wouldn't burn the same in atmosphe--"
His words were cut off as, with a flash of light, the 'comet' exploded, sending red flaming shrapnel in every direction, save for the core, which hurtled into the low hills between their astronomy viewing point and Mt Hood. The night creatures went eerily silent at the moment of impact, and Rian covered his ears, waiting for the approaching shockwave to knock him over.
The shockwave hit him with a blast of cold air that merely staggered him, when he should have been laid flat. The expected 'BOOM' was conspicuous with its absense. Rian lowered his hands and shook his head, thinking he'd been deafened, but he could hear a faint sound.
A telescope some meters away crashed loudly to the ground, drawing attention to Micha Daniels, who was the one member of the class who had not joined the conversation about the falling object. The reason was simple: Micha Daniels was deaf, and at night, he could not read lips.
"Micha?" Rian queried, then kicked himself when he realized the other man would not be able to answer.
Micha clutched his chest and sat abruptly where he stood. His ragged sob choked its way from his throat. He shook his head sharply, then again, like a child attempts to shake water from their ears. He batted at his ears.
"Micha?" Rian took a step toward the man, unsure why he continued to speak when the man's back was turned to the group.
Then Micha stiffened, turned his head, and made a startled sound that caused him to grab his throat in shock.
The astronomy students gasped. "Micha? Can you hear us?"
Micha gaped and nodded, then hiccupped another sob-- and barked a laugh a moment later.
Rian froze, then, as he realized that Micha, born deaf, could suddenly hear. And what would the man hear, besides the students all chattering at once, now?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The night creatures were silent. The wind, which had kept the students comfortably cool on the balmy night, had not stirred until, it seemed, the moment Rian registered that something was amiss.
In a reflection of the shockwave that came before, the air rushed silently back toward the impact -- which he now realized had left no crater-- with a whisper that bent the trees from its force but stirred in his bones more than it put off his balance.
All of it, absolutely everything that had happened from the moment that-- whatever it was-- had struck the atmosphere and drawn Rian's attention away from his south-oriented telescope, was impossible. Meteorites did not fall like that. They did not burn blue like comets. And the explosion in midair, as well as the impact, should have knocked the astonomy class off their feet with the force of them.
The shockwave should have deafened them all-- but instead, Rian was left with the strong urge to go to the impact site, with the indescribable feeling that what he would find would not be what should belong in a meteorite impact crater. And as he stared out over the low hills between Larch Mountain and the massive, glacier covered Mt Hood, he felt the wind pulling him toward the impact site and heard a faint whisper urging him to go there.
He was listening so closely, trying to rationalize what was going on, that he did not register the gentle pattering of snowflakes upon his arms.