Chapter 3
Walking toward the Bradys was a familiar African-American reporter in a blue suit, white shirt, and blue necktie. In his right hand, he carried a silver microphone. Behind him was another man with a large camera mounted to his right shoulder.
The reporter smiled at the Bradys. "Hello, there. I'm Ken Jones – reporter for KTTV." He then glanced at Marcia and smiled. "I do believe that we met before a few years ago."
Marcia smiled and nodded. "I remember," she said.
"Oh yeah," Greg said. "I remember what happened after that…" the seventeen-year-old said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "That whole Frontier Scouts thing."
Ken turned his attention to Mike and Carol. "Anyway, there have been numerous reports of sonic booms and lights in the sky all over Los Angeles. We got word that the meteorite landed in this neighborhood. Is that right?"
"You bet it is!" Bobby exclaimed – startling Ken as he almost dropped his microphone. "It landed in our yard!"
Ken's eyes bulged as his attention shifted to Bobby. "Wow, really?" Bobby nodded enthusiastically. "Boy, that sure is something." Ken looked at Bobby's parents again. "Would it be okay if we interview you and get footage of the meteorite to air on KTTV?"
Mike and Carol looked at each other – both with slight smiles on their faces – before looking at their offspring. "Kids?" Mike asked. Almost immediately, the six other Bradys cheered and jumped up and down. Mike and Carol laughed a little as they looked back at Ken – who was laughing a little himself. "I think that answers your question!"
"Great!" Ken said. "Is the property safe right now?"
"The police said so," Carol said.
"We'll chat with them a little ourselves to make sure," Ken said. "How long have they been here?"
Mike shrugged. "Maybe five…ten…fifteen minutes."
Ken nodded. "We'll be back in a bit." With that, Ken, the cameraman, and a few other people walked toward the police officer who had just spoken with the Bradys. While the news crew talked with the officer and a firefighter, the Brady kids were all grinning.
"We're going to be on TV, Marcia!" Jan exclaimed.
"I know, won't that be groovy?" the fifteen-year-old agreed.
Bobby looked at Peter and Greg. "I'd like to see what that meteorite looks like!" He then looked at his parents. "Mom? Dad? Can we check it out now?"
"Well, hold on, Bob, let's just wait a little while," Mike said. "We don't want to get in the way of the firefighters and police." Bobby stared mournfully at the ground.
Carol then placed her fingers under Bobby's chin and tilted up his head. "Hey, don't worry, Bobby – we'll all get to see the meteorite soon."
The Bradys turned their attention to members of KTTV – still talking with the police officer and firefighter. Occasionally, they glanced at the Bradys and the crater in the backyard. However, after a few minutes had passed, it seemed that Ken was not going to interview the Bradys anytime soon. Bobby, Peter, Jan, and Marcia frowned as their spirits dampened. It almost seemed like something was wrong – other than a meteorite landing in their backyard. The police, firefighter, and KTTV members weren't smiling at all, and at times, the tone in their voices sounded almost as if they were talking about a dead body. Even stranger was that one of the KTTV members went to the news van – walking by the Bradys without even looking at them or saying a word. The firefighter who had been talking with the police and KTTV members walked to his truck in a similar manner.
Suddenly, the Bradys heard someone running across the pavement and looked to their right. Smiles again spread across their faces as they saw Alice running toward them with open arms.
"Alice!" Mike cried. The other Bradys and he ran toward Alice and pulled her in for a big group hug.
"Oh my gosh, are you guys okay?" Alice cried – tightly hugging every member of the family. "I take it you all heard those big booms earlier," Alice said – her attention briefly turning to Jan.
The thirteen-year-old nodded. "We sure did."
Alice stared gravely at the Bradys as Sam approached from behind. "I was so worried about you guys. Apparently, people all over Los Angeles saw a light or heard booms. That's when Sam and I felt that we should come back and check on you guys."
"And by the look of things around here, something must have happened!" exclaimed Sam as he turned his head left and right.
"Just what in the world is going on here?" Alice asked with fear in her voice.
"Apparently, a meteorite landed in our yard," explained Greg. "We're okay, and it doesn't seem like there's any major threat right now, but the way the emergency workers are acting is a bit concerning."
"Oh dear," Alice said.
Several more minutes passed, and the firefighter returned from his truck – approaching the Bradys, Alice, and Sam. All ten looked at the firefighter in anticipation.
"Okay, folks, here's the thing," the firefighter said flatly as he tilted up his helmet. The ten frowned a little – fearing the firefighter's words. "We've contacted some researchers, and in a few days, they would like to talk with you about the possible meteorite and examine it. More importantly, for the time being, they have advised that you all stay away from the crater for the time being since there could be dangerous cosmic rays. We don't know yet, so they're advising that you stay away for now to be safe."
A few of the Bradys slumped and frowned more deeply. "Aw, man, I wanted to check out the meteorite!" Bobby said.
"Well, not to worry, son," the firefighter said with a lighter, more optimistic tone suddenly in his voice. "You folks can look inside the crater for a brief second with the cameraman. After that, you should stay away until further notice."
Bobby and Peter looked at each other and grinned. "Yes! We're going to see the meteorite after all!" Peter exclaimed.
"And I guess we're still going to be on TV!" Jan said – a smile creeping back across her face.
"TV?" Alice exclaimed – her eyes bulging in panic. She jerked her head to look at the Bradys – and then at Sam. "How do I look? Which is my good side?"
The Bradys, Sam, and even the firefighter laughed. Sam placed his fingers under Alice's chin and tilted up her head. "Every side is your good side!" Sam declared as the firefighter walked away. With that, he pulled Alice in for a hug – and then kissed her.
A few more minutes passed before Ken and other KTTV members walked back to the Bradys. Thankfully, Ken was smiling again.
"Okay, folks, we're about ready to start the interview," Ken said. "Just remember to take only a quick peek at the meteorite inside the crater."
The Brady kids grinned and nodded. "No problem," Greg said.
At last, the cameraman got into position, and Ken stood just to the right of the Bradys, Alice, and Sam and brought the microphone up to his mouth.
"Saturday evening, a meteorite allegedly landed in the backyard of this family from Santa Monica," Ken stated. "Police and firefighters arrived at the scene about ten minutes after the impact took place. A small fire in the crater formed by the meteorite was extinguished, but there was no visible structural damage to the house." Ken then walked closer to the Bradys. "Could you tell us your name, sir?" Ken then pointed the microphone at Mike.
"I'm Michael Brady," answered the architect.
"Can you tell our viewers, sir, what happened?" Ken asked.
Mike started to speak – but then noticed a pleading look in Bobby's eyes. "You know what? I think that my son, Bobby, would be a better person to ask than me. He was outside in the yard when we first heard the booms."
Ken tilted the microphone at Bobby, who grinned excitedly at Peter. "Well, Peter and I were in the backyard – tossing a football back and forth. That's when we both heard this really big boom! And then, our family came out, and we heard another really big boom! That's when our dad told us to go inside for safety. We went into the service porch – thinking we were having an earthquake. But then, our big brother, Greg, came home, and all of a sudden, there was a tremendous vibration that shook our house! Our dad went outside to see what happened, and then, he led us all out of the house."
Ken smiled a little. "That's quite a story!" he said. The reporter looked at Mike. "I understand that you went to a neighbor's house to get him to call for help. Is that right?" Ken pointed the microphone at Mike.
"That's right," Mike said as a firefighter approached the family from behind. "I did that after leading everyone outside to safety. I didn't know what we were dealing with. It looked like a big fire that could have spread to our house."
Ken turned to face the camera. "And right now, we're going to take a look at the alleged meteorite." The firefighter then led the group to the backyard. Bobby and Peter in particular grinned at each other and felt their hearts pounding rapidly as they saw the giant crater – a big, dark hole that stuck out like a sore thumb in the middle of the green AstroTurf lawn – surrounded by other firefighters near the swings. As Ken walked backwards, he faced the camera and said, "We're told that we can look inside the crater for only a few seconds because there could be harmful cosmic rays."
At last, the Bradys, Alice, and Sam peered down into the dark crater, and the cameraman tilted his camera downward. Staring back up at everyone were what looked like several charred rocks – including one that appeared to be about half a foot in diameter. Everyone's eyes popped open in shock.
"Wow!" exclaimed Bobby.
"I'd say that's pretty well done," Sam said with a smirk – prompting the Bradys and Alice to laugh.
After a few seconds, one of the firefighters then guided the group away from the crater, and Ken looked at the Bradys. "What do you folks have to say about this?"
"I can't believe that thing came all the way from space and made this deep crater in our yard!" Peter exclaimed.
"It's so cool!" Cindy added – smiling widely.
"It won't be so cool on my wallet," Mike added – causing Carol to laugh and playfully swat her husband.
Ken turned his attention back to the camera and held his microphone up to his mouth. "Research scientists have not yet verified that a meteorite fell over Los Angeles, but based on testimony so far, it appears as though we very well may have dealt with a meteorite. It's sure not the type of thing that happens to a typical family every summer evening. This is Ken Jones – reporting from Santa Monica."
The cameraman then tilted down his camera, and Ken turned to face the Bradys, Alice, and Sam. Before Ken had a chance to say anything, Bobby asked a him question.
"When are we going to be on TV?"
Ken smiled. "It'll be on TV soon – don't worry." Bobby looked at his siblings and grinned – who grinned in response. Ken extended a hand to Mike. "It's been a pleasure to interview you all."
Mike shook Ken's hand. "Thank you very much," Mike said. Ken then proceeded to shake Carol's hand as well.
"If you folks don't have any more questions for us, I guess we'll be heading back to the station," Ken said. The cameraman and the reporter then walked back toward the street.
Mike then looked at the others. "Well, this has sure been an exciting evening, hasn't it?"
"I'll say," Marcia said.
"I wish we could look at the meteorite more," Bobby said dejectedly.
Mike looked sympathetically at his son. "I know, but you heard what the firefighter said. Besides, it doesn't seem like there's going to be much more going on tonight," Mike said. "We should go back inside and try to settle down for the night."
"Okay," Bobby said. With that, the Bradys, Alice, and Sam walked back inside through the sliding glass doors leading to the kitchen – leaving behind the crowd of neighbors, police, firefighters, KTTV members, and vehicles still gathered outside their house.