April 12, 2029.
The night sky was clear at the lookout point in Cimarron Hills, Colorado and Peter Jenkins made sure that he had the best spot for him and his girlfriend. On the way up Heather Lieberman was busy finding a radio station with romantic music. The bend on the hillside prevented good reception. Heather settled on a news broadcast in the meantime.
The reporter's voice blended with wisps of white noise with every turn.
"...impact this time around has been ruled out but the the possibility of the asteroid passing through the gravitational keyhole is still relatively high. With this, the scientific community is still not ruling out an impact on 2036. On other news, celebrity entrepreneur and now astronaut Michael Lee Sanders is scheduled to hold a press conference at midnight prior to the deflection mission launch in Florida. The mission code named 'Omega Priori' is the brain child of State Secretary for Space Research Jacques Devreux, former..."
"Just turn it off Heather." Peter blurted in irritation. He always felt she had a long time crush on pretty boy Sanders. He pushed down on the accelerator.
"Would you cool it off?" Heather sighed as she switched off the radio. "Don't you want to hear about Mike? He is your best friend."
"Was." Peter pointed out. "And I heard enough about him
Silence broke into the car. Heather knew what was up and she decided to just let it pass. She opened a window to let the night breeze in.
"It's so nice out. I'm glad we went out Peter." Heather held Peter's hand on the steering wheel as she looked at him.
Peter did not respond.
"Your mom called today. She said you did not call on your sister's birthday like you promised. She's worried something happened to you and..."
"I'm okay, alright." Peter said sternly. "I don't want you or my mom worrying too much about me."
Peter steered the car into his favorite spot on the lookout. He turned off the engine and gazed up out the windshield.
"I know you're jealous of Mike. I know you think I like him." Heather said suddenly. "There's nothing between..."
"You got it all wrong Heather." Peter cut her off. "You it got all wrong."
Heather looked concerned as she saw Peter's face sadden.
"I spoke to Mike this morning. He wanted to greet us on our 2 year anniversary." Peter looked down as he spoke. "He also wanted to say goodbye."
"Goodbye?" Distress could be heard from Heather's voice.
"He said that with the load of the spacecraft, the fuel will not be enough for a re-entry. He knew about this for sometime now and was asked not to tell anyone."
"What?" Heather was now crying.
"I asked him.. begged him to walk way. He said it was too late. It has always been his dream to become a hero. I was angry. I did not know what to do. I pleaded for him to come home. His mind was set."
"Does his parents know?" Heather's voice broke.
"He asked me not to tell them." Peter paused. "Heather, before the call ended, he did tip me on something. He said it was his present to us on our anniversary. On the asteroid's first pass, he said it will be carrying a number of small meteorites."
Peter got out of the car. Heather followed.
"What time is it?" Peter asked.
Heather looked at her watch. "11:36."
Peter smiled under the tears and pointed to the sky. "Look up."
Heather sobbed and held on Peter as spears of fire blazed into the night.
To be continued.
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