Chapter 1- Falling

Cassandra hauled her bicycle out of the garage like she did every day. Today she had her work jeans on so she wouldn't dirty her new school clothes on her trail ride. She knew better than to wear anything nice out, as her family was poor, and they could not afford to replace clothes once dirtied like the other families.

Her bike had just been replaced as she had outgrown her old one. It was thick framed with wide wheels to accommodate her regular trail rides. The shiny black bike was adorned with bright yellow accents and a simple home done basket to store her treasures in that she found while she was out.

She peddled down her usual path a few miles out from her home. It was heavily used by other local bicyclists, resulting in her finding the usual dollar bill or various other pocket items. Today she came across something a little different. A small branch laid in her path. Nothing too large, but big enough to toss the unsuspecting cyclist over their bars.

She came to a halt and laid her bike down on the side of the path. It was unusual for her to find anything other than the odd pinecone or nut. The path was cleaned by other cyclists early in the morning, so this branch had to of fallen within the last hour. She knelt down and picked it up, it was still green and covered in fresh spring leaves, there was no reason it should have fallen.

As she went to toss the branch off the trail, a loud cracking of wood erupted behind her. She feared that a tree was falling her way. She turned to see the top of a perfectly healthy tree snap and fall into the forest.

"Holy shit." She whispered to herself in astonishment. The branch she was holding fell from her hands as she stood in awe. The tops of the trees in front her had been taken off by what looked like something falling from the sky. A straight line went through the trees to the bottom of the hill she was looking down. She could see full trees laying down in the distance. Whatever fell was close.

She hopped over the branch and tied her bike to a tree so no one would steal it while she was away. She had no idea how long it would take to get down that hill, let alone get back up it. She had to see what was down there. It could be a once in a lifetime thing, should couldn't miss it. A meteor is just a hunk of rock, but what if it was something else? A plane, maybe someone was hurt. Maybe a satellite fell from orbit.

She was halfway down the hill before she knew it. Her heart was beating out of her chest with excitement and fear. She cleared a fallen tree with a huff. Whatever it was, it sure made a mess. Dirt had been strewn everywhere when the object hit the ground. Clumps where plastered to trees and rocks; they were still falling like snow as she made her way to the bottom of the hill.

A huge mound of dirt came into view as she ran towards the chaos. She climbed the mound with all the might she had left. In front of her was a mile-long chasm carved by the object that had fallen. She breathed deeply as she gauged the walk ahead of her. She had to find out what was at the end of this. She slid down the mound and into the chasm beyond her better judgement. She knew she shouldn't be here. She should go home and call the authorities, but she was just too curious.

Cassandra jogged through the seemingly never-ending chasm. Inch by it grew deeper. Whatever hit the earth was going fast and massive. As she approached the end she slowed to a walk. Light smoke rose from the empty crater left behind. She glanced around. Where was it? It couldn't of just walked away, it fell from the sky! The dirt where the object had rested was charred. Heat radiated from the area; it had to of come from space.

Slowly she climbed out of the hole. It was deeper than her now and it took a few tries before she was able to get a solid grip on the grassy earth above. She hauled herself up and rolled onto her back. A cool breeze blew over her hot skin as she stared up at the clear blue sky. Maybe whatever fell had already been taken.

She laid for a few more moments before sitting up and rubbing her eyes. She had no idea how long she had been following this trail, but it was going to be a long way back. Cassandra stood and eyed the landscape around her, hoping for a clue as to what happened to the object that fell from the sky. Everything looked normal, well, except for the smoking hole in the ground.

A sudden movement in her peripheral vision caused her to jerk sideways to look. Something large moved behind a thicket in the distance. She cocked her head and slowly walked towards it. Was this what fell? She noticed large weeds flattened in patches in the open field she was walking. They seemed to come from the hole and lead to the movement in the woods.

She stopped. Fear overwhelmed her. Did she really want to see what fell? Was it that important? For all she knew, it could be some government experiment gone wrong. If she didn't see, though, regret and wonder would haunt her for her entire life.

She pressed on, slower this time. She didn't want to run up on something and get herself killed. She breathed slowly to control the shaking that ravaged her body. It's just your imagination, she thought, there's nothing here. Her voice cracked as she tried to speak.

"H-hello?" She looked into the woods. Large bushes and weeds shrouded her view. "Hello?!" She yelled louder. Her investigation seemed to be a failure. This is stupid, there's nothing here. This was such a waste of time. She looked down at her now ruined clothes. Mom is going to kill me. She sighed and turned around. Whatever had been here was long gone.

Branches cracked and crunched behind her as she walked away. Probably just a deer, she thought as she tried to ignore her heart beat. A loud thud shook the ground behind her causing her to freeze. Another thud sounded off; it was coming towards her. With shaky breaths she managed to turn around. A large metal figure at least two stories tall stood before her. It felt like time stopped as she stared up at its human like face. Was it, alive?