Chapter 3: The Fall

After Mike's visit, the day passed quickly as Ryan worked on the vehicle he left behind. Focused on the intricate mechanical and electronic problems of the Land Rover City Cab, Ryan barely noticed the hours flying by. The afternoon finally ended, and as the sun began to set, painting the sky in orange and red hues, Ryan decided it was time to wrap up the day's work.

Exhausted but satisfied with the progress made, he entered his house and headed straight for the shower. The hot water helped relax his tired muscles, and for a moment, Ryan could forget all the day's fatigue. The shower was a brief respite in his usually hectic routine.

Then, after the shower, while wrapping himself in a towel and heading to the bedroom, his cell phone beeped with a message. Curious, Ryan picked up the device and unlocked the screen, seeing that it was a photo sent by his sister. In the image, she and her friends could be seen in the middle of the college campus, a joyful cluster of students around. Several students could be seen scattered across the lawn, with telescopes and binoculars ready, all turned towards the darkening sky. "Ready to watch the show," she wrote in a message accompanying the photo.

Ryan's heart warmed at seeing the photo, a mix of joy at seeing his sister happy and a twinge of longing for not being able to be there with her.

Replying to the message, he put away the cell phone and headed to his personal workshop. Entering, the lights turned on, with Aiden's enthusiastic voice. "Hello, sir."

"Hello, Aiden." He laughed.

Sitting down again near the exoskeleton, he began to use his tools to calibrate the exoskeleton. After yesterday's failure, some pieces were misaligned, and he needed to fix them before any new tests.

While he worked meticulously on the exoskeleton, adjusting each piece with precision, Ryan remembered his sister's warning about the meteor's passage. The idea of missing such a spectacle made him pause, and he decided to enjoy the moment, even from his workshop. "Aiden, can you turn on the TV? Let's see if we can catch the live broadcast of the meteor's passage," Ryan requested, without taking his eyes off his task.

"Of course, sir. Turning on the TV now," Aiden responded with his calm, mechanical voice. Moments later, the sound of the TV filled the space, and the image of an excited reporter appeared on the screen. She was in a field full of people, all with their eyes turned to the sky.

"This is Michele Wells, from news XXX, broadcasting live from Central Park," she began, her contagious smile capturing Ryan's attention for a moment. "We are here awaiting the meteor's passage, along with dozens of people and their families who chose Central Park to have picnics and prepare their telescopes for the meteor's passage."

"At this moment, the meteor can already be seen with the naked eye." The camera, following her instructions, moved towards the dark sky, where a small ball of fire could already be seen tracing a bright path, becoming ever larger.

Ryan stopped his work for a moment to watch the phenomenon. Even through the screen, the sight of the meteor cutting through the night sky was impressive. He felt a bit of regret for not being outdoors watching it in person, but knew that in some way, he was sharing this moment with his sister and the many other people who were looking up at the sky that night.

Turning his attention back to the exoskeleton, Ryan continued his work, now with the TV broadcasting live images of the meteor. The celestial event served as an inspiring soundtrack for his night of work.

While he worked, the reporter continued her report with the meteor approaching Earth ever closer.

At that exact moment, Ryan's cell phone rang, capturing his attention and making him stop working. Seeing Mike's name on the call, Ryan answered, already laughing. "Are you already missing your little monster?" he expected a playful response, typical of Mike.

However, instead of the animated response he expected, all he received was the anxious voice of Mike on the other end of the line. In the background, Ryan could hear the noise of helicopter blades, as Mike shouted to be heard. "Ryan, listen carefully," he began, the urgency in his voice making Ryan's heart beat faster.

Mike quickly explained: "The meeting with my father wasn't about business, it was an emergency evacuation."

"Scientists and the government have discovered various anomalies in the genetic material of plants and animals all over the world for some time now. But they were hiding the issue, while preparing for a bigger disaster," Mike revealed, his words rushed.

And he continued, palpable anxiety: "And the meteor's passage won't be a show, it'll be a disaster. It's going to pass too close to Earth, and fragments will be launched onto the planet."

Ryan exclaimed, startled, still trying to process the information. "But how is that possible?" he asked, incredulous.

"There's nothing more we can do, you need to prepare," Mike insisted, and then, the voice of a soldier interrupted, saying he had to enter the shelter now.

"We are at a military base in Las Vegas," Mike said quickly, his voice tense. "I'm sorry Ryan, I wanted to have warned you sooner, you have to stay safe-" Before Ryan could respond or ask anything, the call suddenly was cut off, leaving him with the phone in hand and a whirlwind of thoughts in his head.

Ryan was paralyzed for a moment, trying to assimilate the avalanche of information. The reporter on the TV continued talking, oblivious to the revelation that had just shaken Ryan's world. Automatically looking at the screen, he saw the meteor, now a beautiful spectacle in the sky, under a new and terrible light.

"Elena!!" he shouted. Despite being scared, his first thought was of his sister and how she was completely unaware of what was going to happen.

Ryan quickly dialed his sister's number, and after a few agonizing rings, finally Elena's voice came through, cheerful and carefree. "Ryan! We're here ready for the meteor, it's incre—"

But Ryan cut her off, his voice laden with urgency silencing any enthusiasm she might have had. "Elena, you need to listen to me very carefully now. Find a safe place and take shelter. Immediately," he said, the words coming out in a rushed flow.

Elena, sensing the seriousness in her brother's voice, was instantly frightened. "Ryan, what happened? Why are you speaking like this?" the concern evident in her voice.

"There's no time for questions, Elena," Ryan insisted, trying to remain calm so as not to alarm her further, but the urgency of the situation made it nearly impossible. "Mike called me. He and his family have been evacuated to a military shelter. The government has been hiding this, but the meteor will pass very close to Earth. Fragments of it will hit the planet. You need to protect yourself," Ryan explained, the weight of his words heavy on him like a ton.

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and Ryan could almost hear his sister's thoughts racing, trying to grasp the gravity of the situation. "But... everyone here is so excited to see... this can't be happening," Elena finally responded, her voice trembling slightly.

"I know, I know, but it's true. Please, Elena, you have to believe me. Look for a shelter, something underground if possible. Talk to your friends, do this together. Just... stay safe," Ryan pleaded, feeling a knot forming in his throat. The thought of something happening to his sister while he was so far away was unbearable.

"Okay, okay, I... I'll do that. I'll talk to them right now. Ryan, and you?" Elena's concern now included her brother.

"I'll be fine. I need you to take shelter, the college should withstand any initial impact, just choose a good location." He said.

"As soon as possible, I'll come to you," Ryan assured.

"Alright, brother. You need to stay safe," Elena said, with concern.

"I will. Now go!" he urged.

After hanging up the call, Ryan remained standing, holding the phone in his hand, the worry for his sister and the anxiety for what was to come filling every thought. He turned his attention back to the live broadcast on television, where the reporter, Michele Wells, continued to report, her voice once full of enthusiasm now carrying a hint of uncertainty.

"Here is Michele Wells, once again live from Central Park," she began, her expression starting to show concern. "At this very moment, the meteor is passing by Earth, and as you can see," she paused, pointing to the sky, where the camera captured a large fireball crossing the darkness, "it's a truly impressive sight."

However, her demeanor quickly changed, a glimpse of fear passing through her eyes as she watched the meteor pass much closer to Earth than anticipated. The camera, following her gaze, captured the moment when several fragments separated from the meteor, descending towards Earth's atmosphere. The reporter, unable to hide her shock, exclaimed upon seeing the fragments heading towards Earth, a looming shower of meteorites threatening the night sky.

There were many fragments, more than anyone could count, spreading across the sky like shooting stars in a terrifyingly beautiful spectacle. Ryan's heart raced uncontrollably, fear mingling with admiration for the celestial event. But then, something unexpected happened: the fragments, one by one, began to explode before reaching the ground, forming a kind of red rain that lit up the footage, staining the sky with apocalyptic colors.

The reporter, recovering from the initial shock, began to speak rapidly, trying to remain calm as she explained. "The meteor fragments exploded before hitting the ground, spreading a kind of red cloud through the atmosphere." In the background, the footage captured the panic of the people around, families running in search of shelter, the previous excitement transformed into fear and confusion.

The camera continued to show the red cloud spreading quickly through the atmosphere, turning the night even darker as the stars were covered by the cloud. The phenomenon, as beautiful as it was terrifying, transformed the sky into a spectacle of apocalyptic colors that quickly reached various cities, and in a short time, seemed to have enveloped the entire globe.

From within the clouds, electrical discharges began to form, lighting up the red sky with intense and frequent lightning. The released energy was so intense that it interfered with live broadcasts, causing the image on Ryan's television to start malfunctioning and freezing.

Inside the workshop, Ryan stood up, driven by a mix of fascination and apprehension. Through the window, he could see the red clouds and lightning, turning the sky into a vast sea of pulsating energy. The lightning accumulated, growing in intensity, and a sound similar to a pulse being charged began to echo, growing louder and louder. There was a brief moment of silence, a harbinger of the chaos to follow, and then, the sky exploded in light.

A massive electrical pulse swept across the planet in an instant, an invisible but devastating wave. Electronics were instantly fried, airplanes lost control and fell from the sky, and a series of accidents occurred in a chain, chaos unleashed by the electrical force.

In the garage, the pulse passed through the walls with ghostly ease, striking Ryan directly. The impact was so sudden and intense that it threw him against the processor cabinets, breaking several pieces of equipment with his body. The shock of the impact was too much for him, and he lost consciousness almost immediately.

As Ryan lay unconscious, residual electrical currents from the pulse still traveled through his body, jumping between him and the nearby electronic equipment, creating a low hum that filled the silence of the now-dark workshop. The events that followed would remain unknown to him, lost in the darkness of his unconsciousness, while the outside world faced the consequences of a celestial event that turned into a global catastrophe.