Chapter 4: Aftermath
The countdown had come and gone, but no one heard a thing. No crash. No boom. Not even a pop. It was nine o'clock, so the meteor certainly would have hit by now, and they definitely would have noticed it. Bewildered, people wondered what was going on. Had they been tricked? That was quickly rejected due to the fact that if it were a fake, the town would not have gone to the trouble and expense of building a shelter. Then one thought hit everyone at the same time.
Maybe that rock didn't hit us after all, they thought. The mere notion sent morale through the roof. Slowly, the mayor opened the door. Everything was exactly as they left it. Nary a thing was out of place.
Relief swept over everyone in town, but it was tainted with curiosity. What had happened? That question would be answered in three days, when Gwen Mezzrow decided that she had recovered enough to try watching television. To her amazement, there was no picture. The sound was out, too.
Word got around quickly. All television in Hazelnut was wiped out. There was a perfectly good explanation, but officials had to draw a crowd. That was not a problem. Once everyone had gathered, they offered their theory.
"The only explanation we can come up with is that the meteor hit a satellite that supplies us with television, both knocking it out and throwing the meteor off course. Apparently, it missed the earth entirely."
It made sense, so everyone swallowed it. No one cared because everything was back to normal, or at least it would be after a while. Not surprisingly, everyone slept easy that night.
FIFTH AND FINAL CHAPTER COMING SOON!
The countdown had come and gone, but no one heard a thing. No crash. No boom. Not even a pop. It was nine o'clock, so the meteor certainly would have hit by now, and they definitely would have noticed it. Bewildered, people wondered what was going on. Had they been tricked? That was quickly rejected due to the fact that if it were a fake, the town would not have gone to the trouble and expense of building a shelter. Then one thought hit everyone at the same time.
Maybe that rock didn't hit us after all, they thought. The mere notion sent morale through the roof. Slowly, the mayor opened the door. Everything was exactly as they left it. Nary a thing was out of place.
Relief swept over everyone in town, but it was tainted with curiosity. What had happened? That question would be answered in three days, when Gwen Mezzrow decided that she had recovered enough to try watching television. To her amazement, there was no picture. The sound was out, too.
Word got around quickly. All television in Hazelnut was wiped out. There was a perfectly good explanation, but officials had to draw a crowd. That was not a problem. Once everyone had gathered, they offered their theory.
"The only explanation we can come up with is that the meteor hit a satellite that supplies us with television, both knocking it out and throwing the meteor off course. Apparently, it missed the earth entirely."
It made sense, so everyone swallowed it. No one cared because everything was back to normal, or at least it would be after a while. Not surprisingly, everyone slept easy that night.
FIFTH AND FINAL CHAPTER COMING SOON!