Chapter 4

Bobby tossed and turned under the covers of his red and blue bed. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't sleep. Several hours had passed since his family had gone inside, and Bobby hadn't gotten more than two or three hours of sleep. He didn't know the time, but he figured that it was pretty late since the gray, wood paneled room was now dark except for the moonlight that flooded in through the bedroom window. The house was also eerily silent, and the only noise that Bobby could hear was Peter snoring in the opposite corner of the room.

Looking around, Bobby almost felt like trembling. The bedroom felt so much lonelier without his eldest brother. Before Greg got his own attic bedroom, Peter slept directly above Bobby in a bunk bed – only an arm's length away. Now, Bobby was all by himself in this one corner of the room, and Peter's bed might as well have been hundreds of miles away. Even though Bobby once was overjoyed to have Greg move out, he now longed for the old days when he had two older brothers sharing a room with him instead of just one.

Bobby sat up in bed and realized that his blue pajamas were sweaty. He didn't know why he felt so nervous all of a sudden. Maybe it was due to the all the excitement that happened earlier. Maybe it was that – combined with the silence and the moonlight. Whatever the case, Bobby couldn't sleep.

After getting out of bed and walking toward the window, the youngest boy started to feel better. Bobby looked outside at the backyard, which now had a white glow. Aside from the faint sound of cars in the distance, the outside was quiet. Apparently, the emergency workers left at some point.

Naturally, Bobby's attention gravitated to the giant crater near the swings. A smile crept across his face as he thought about this once-in-a-lifetime event. Something from space actually landed in his own backyard! He knew that his father told him otherwise, but he couldn't help but wonder if the meteorite contained some extraterrestrial life – or provided some means to contact such life. Even if that wasn't the case, he wanted to pick it up and keep it. What an awesome souvenir the meteorite would make. He knew that the family had been warned to avoid the crater, but he just couldn't help himself. At the very least, he wanted to look at the meteorite again.

Bobby felt his fear melting away as he walked across the room again. His mattress groaned as he sat on it and bent down to pick up his shoes. After putting them on, Bobby walked toward the door next to his bed – only to trip over a dumbbell. Bobby landed on the floor with a thud – shaking the whole room. The boy groaned, and his muscles ached as he slowly regained the feeling in his arms.

Bobby then heard rustling from Peter's direction. Not surprisingly, Peter slowly sat up in bed – revealing his white pajamas with light brown stripes – and looked at his brother.

"Bobby? What are you doing?" Peter asked tiredly.

Bobby groaned as he stood up again. He then slowly walked toward his brother – careful not to trip over anything else. "If I tell you, will you promise not to tell anyone else?"

Peter nodded. "I promise."

"I was going to go outside and look at the meteorite," Bobby whispered.

A grin slowly crept across Peter's face. "Well, I don't blame you for that. In fact, I think I'll join you!"

Bobby's face lit up. "Great! But let's not make any noise like I just did."

Peter put on his shoes and then joined Bobby in leaving the bedroom. The two then walked down the hall and around a corner before finding themselves at the top of the stairs – from which they could look down on the living room. The two quietly walked down the stairs and through the dark rooms – feeling as though they were spies on a secret mission.

Once they reached the family room, Bobby and Peter tried to exit through the sliding glass doors. Unfortunately, they screeched as the boys pulled them open. The two stood in place for a few seconds – their hearts pounding as they looked around – hoping that the racket hadn't disturbed anyone. After about a minute, the boys walked outside.

Bobby and Peter then walked southwest toward the swings and the crater – the AstroTurf making a crunching sound beneath their feet. The boys then peered into the crater – their eyes bulging at the sight below.

"What's going on?" a voice cut through the silence.

Bobby and Peter shrieked and nearly stumbled into the crater before two hands firmly grabbed their arms and pulled the boys onto stable ground. They turned around to see Greg staring at them incredulously – wearing his usual nightly attire consisting of a green robe and light brown, striped pajamas.

"Greg!" Bobby cried out – only for his two brothers to shush him and cover his mouth.

"What in the world are you ding-a-lings doing up this late?" demanded Greg under his breath.

Bobby was so scared that he couldn't respond at first. Sweat was pouring down his body as his heart pounded. Maybe he didn't want to share a room with Greg after all.

"Peter? Bobby? What's going on, you two?" demanded Greg as he clenched his fists.

"We were coming out here to look at the meteorite," Bobby finally admitted.

Greg's brows bounced up and down as his expression changed from shock to anger. "You guys know we're not supposed to be around that meteorite until they say it's safe!" he chastised as Marcia, Jan, and Cindy walked up from behind. Marcia, wearing a white gown, stood out like a ghost in the darkness. The other two, Jan in her pink pajamas – and Cindy in her white and pink pajamas with floral prints, were less visible and not noticed at first.

"Greg, what's going on?" Marcia asked.

"Yeah, somebody screamed," Jan added. "It scared me half to death."

Greg turned to face his sisters. "These two decided to check out the meteorite."

Cindy gasped. "They could have gotten hurt!"

Suddenly, the family room lit up, and the kids jerked their heads in that direction. Three figures emerged – one wearing a dark blue robe with light blue pajamas, one wearing a light blue gown, and one wearing a dark blue robe with white pajamas and hair curlers.

"Care to explain what's going on out here?" Mike grumbled as he crossed his arms.

"This isn't about that meteorite, is it?" Carol asked.

"I'm afraid it is," Marcia said. "Bobby and Peter went outside to look at it."

Alice turned her attention to the boys and gasped. "You two should know better than to do that when we were warned to stay away from there!"

"Exactly," agreed Mike as he looked at all the kids. "For the time being, all of you need to go back to bed." He turned his attention to Bobby and Peter. "As for you two, we'll discuss your punishment in the morning. Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir," Bobby and Peter agreed.

With that, everyone headed back inside, and the sliding glass doors screeched once more as they were closed for the night.