Edgar Poma stepped out into the early darkness, his huge form wavering slightly. His knees ached in the cold morning air. They bothered him more as the years went by. He had injured them in college, collapsing four feet down onto a cement pad as he carried a man out of a burning building. The fire had been well under way; a torch spraying into the night sky. Edgar had been returning from studying late at the library. He was drawn to the blaze, thinking he could write an article for his school newspaper. To his horror, he realized there was no crew, no ambulance on hand; just a tattered group of onlookers. He could still hear the man screaming.

The experience had been horrible. He had limped away that night on his battered knees, but found out later that the man he had carried out over the burning timbers had died in the hospital.

Edgar had never told anyone about the rescue. He didn't like to think about it. Today. however, he was a little down for other reasons. He was generally cheerful in the morning, but yesterday had been his birthday. He was forty-nine years old. His family didn't do anything special for him. He had tried all day to veil his disappointment, but, now that it was over, and he was alone, he could no longer control his emotion.

He shuffled over to a hulking white van which was hunched in the driveway. He opened the door, climbed in, leaned his head on the steering wheel, and wept. Forty-nine! The day had passed so quietly, so unnoticed. It had sneaked by him, just as the years had.

A moment later, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a handkerchief and blew his nose violently. He sat still then, sniffing, looking out the window at his darkened house, thinking about the day's work ahead.

The Mirror Bail Meteor was going to be an interesting story. Something a little different, anyway, apart from the usual art festivals and university activities which Boulder had to offer. He hoped that he could get a good look at it. He was glad to be going with Isabel. He had seen her work; and he thought she had talent. She deserved a break.

He took a deep breath, turned the key and the van roared into motion.

***

"Let's go! He's here!" Isabel called from the front window.

"Coming!" Kelly said, yanking on a battered tennis shoe. She looked up and surveyed her friend, noting the yellow stirrup pants and oversized pink sweater. "Hey, Izzy, you're not wearing THOSE shoes, are you?"

Izzy looked down at her spiked heels. "Oh. Good point."

She walked over to the closet and rolled the door open. Her muffled voice said, "I've got a pair of normal shoes In here somewhere... Aha!"

She triumphantly held up a pair of red and green high top sneakers.

"You call those normal?" Kelly said.

"Hey, gimme a break. I'm still in the fledgling stages of normalcy." Izzy sat on the couch, flung her boots across the room, and pulled on the sneakers.

"Come on," she said, standing up. She grabbed a huge camera bag from the floor beside hen "Hey, don't forget your camera."

They left the apartment and trotted down the flight of stairs outside Izzy's building.

"Oh, I guess this is what they meant with the expression, 'bright and early'! Is it really morning?" Kelly peered around In the darkness and pulled her jacket more tightly around her. From the dimly lit street, a man approached them.

"Kelly, this is Edgar," Izzy said.

Kelly squinted at the dark,massive silhouette before her. She reached out toward it with her right hand. "Hi. Pleased to meet you."

Her hand was immediately swallowed by an envelope of warm flesh. "Hi there. How are you?"

He turned to Izzy and jerked one thumb parked in the shadowy street. "Um-- Car's in the shop. Had to bring the Dinosaur. You better follow me. I'm not even sure this hunk of junk can climb that canyon road."

"No problem," Izzy said. "We'll follow you."

Hints of morning sun cast soft pink highlights on the jagged rocks as the two vehicles crept along the dark, winding road. Izzy laughed, "Man, he's really dogging It! I keep having to downshift just to drive this slowly!"

Kelly smiled, watching how her friend's knees banged against the steering wheel. Izzy sat bent over with her spiked hairdo pressing against the ceiling, and her elbows nearly touched her thighs.

"Izzy, this car is too small for you. You look like a grasshopper!"

"Tell me about it. I got a good deal on it though. But I do need something I can fit into better. I've had my eye on a used Grand Am. Hey, you wanna buy this one? I'll sell it to you for three hundred bucks."

Kelly hesitated. "Well, I'd have to talk it over with Joe."

"Why?"

"Well, you know, we pool our funds together. I don't think he'd let me get a car."

"So you have to rely on him to drive you around? That's crazy!"

"I know it. I guess that's what we'll do until we can afford another vehicle. He doesn't seem to mind doing it. Sometimes I do wish I were a little more Independent, though." Kelly sighed and looked out the window at the rock wall they drove beside.

"Oh, I'm sorry Kel. It's none of my business. I can't seem to keep my big mouth shut, especially when it comes to him. Let's change the subject. What time Is it, anyway?"

"It's already getting close to five thirty," said Kelly, squinting at the lighted dial on her watch. She looked over her shoulder. Behind them, a string of headlights followed, curving along the canyon walls like a sequined necklace. "Izzy, did you see that?"

"What? Oh, them? Yeah. Everybody wants to see this thing. This is the biggest thing to hit Nederland since -- well, since Danny Fogelberg lived here, I guess. We should have been here earlier. Well, I guess we would have if Edgar had a reliable vehicle to drive. Hey, here we are!"

They topped the hill overlooking the small town. "Oh my gosh!" Kelly gasped. "It's lit up like Christmas!"

Before them, lights shined brightly, flashing red and blue. Police cars, fire trucks, ambulances and military vehicles jammed the streets. The lake just below them appeared striped in bright colors, a reflection of the blazing activity.

On the road ahead there were cars lined up. People milled back and forth in the headlight beams. The air was filled with the sound of talking, yelling and laughter.

Edgar's van rolled to a stop before them. "Damn!" Izzy said. "We were afraid It would be something like this."

She stopped the car and turned the engine off. They watched as a man in military garb approached Edgar's van. He stood for a moment, obviously in deep discussion. Izzy rolled her window down and strained to listen. "I can't hear them."

Finally, Edgar got out of the van and came over to them. He bent down, his huge form filling the window. "I'm really sorry. They say the press can only bring two people in, and that means me and my photographer. I'm sorry, Kelly."

Izzy whirled and looked at Kelly. "Edgar, this sucks! She's come all this way."

"I know it," Edgar sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "It stinks. But my hands are tied; okay?"

"Kel," Izzy said. "There's a pretty good view from here. You could stay right here and watch It, you know?"

"Urn -- Not a good idea," Edgar said. "They don't know where It's going to hit." He nodded toward the crowd in front. "If these kids were smart, they'd get out of here. Kelly, you should go back down the canyon a ways."

Isabel opened the car door and climbed out. "Here. Take my care"

"Do you want me to meet you someplace?" Kelly asked.

"No; I don't know how long this will take. Just take it into town, to the office, and you can leave it in the parking lot. I've got an extra set of keys on me." She paused. "I'm so sorry, Kel. I'll make it up to you. I'll buy you dinner."

She waved, turned, and got into the van.

Kelly climbed into the driver's seat and started the car. She put it In reverse, looked over her shoulder, and tentatively began to back up. A horn behind her blared out Its resentment. She jumped, and then yelled, "Oh, shut the hell up!" through the still-open window.

"My god," she said softly. "I've been hanging around Izzy too much!"

She inched the little vehicle into the road, and managed a complete U-turn. Driving slowly back down the canyon road, she noticed the sky to the east turning a pale peach color. She looked over at the vehicles she was passing, with the dim faces inside beginning to appear in the gray dawn.

She drove on, following the canyon, finding around each bend that the string of cars continued. Faces now turned to stare at her; faces young and old, male and female. They all seemed to be plain; no emotions, no thoughts. No one smiled at her. They just stared.

To her surprise, she felt a tear run down her cheek Driving along the ledge, she looked down at the creek, washing over the stones, far below her. How easy it would be, to just turn the steering wheel and let the car fall. It would be so simple, so effortless, and certainly effective. As If playing a game with herself, she began to veer onto the shoulder, and then back again.

"What if I just -- No. Can't do that. It's Izzy's car."

She kept driving along the road, following the twists and bends through the dim light. Suddenly, the line of cars ended. She went around a corner of rock and realized that she was alone.

She remembered Sharon's advice about depression.

"If you get sad," she had said, "Find something to do that you like to do. Something that keeps you busy. Expend some energy. Exercise. It will be very difficult, because you won't feel like it. But it works."

"Oh, shut up!" Kelly said aloud. She giggled. What could a shrink know about depression anyway? She made a hundred bucks an hour! The last thing Kelly felt like doing right now was going jogging!

The thought came back again, nagging, persistent; "It will be difficult; you won't feel like it..."

"Damn!" Kelly said. "I hate it when she's right!"

A driveway veered off to the left, cut into the hillside. She pulled the car over onto the left shoulder, turned up the driveway and bumped around a curve. She looked around. There was nobody in sight. The driveway continued on up the hill, twisting toward some unknown residence. Kelly turned off the engine.

"It's going to be a nice sunrise," she murmured to herself comfortingly.

She got out, and began to climb the hill next to the road, carrying the Ricoh with her. Walking between the trees, higher and higher she climbed. Her breath came in smooth, even gasps, the way she had taught herself while hiking. Breathe in three steps, breathe out three steps. In three, out three. As she walked, she imagined a rhythmic little chant, "I hate shrinks. I hate shrinks."

Though she could not help but feel a little rejected, she didn't mind being away from the crowded mess that was Nederland. "If I climb up here a way, I might even see the meteor," she thought.

The birds were murmuring softly to each other, above the distant din of engines echoing through the canyon. The breeze whispered through the pines. She came to a ridge on the hill and looked eastward to see the sun beginning to peek over the canyon wall, a big tangerine In the sky.

The canyon air sliced through her lungs as the sunlight painted bright lines against the rock edges. Above the sheer, cracked walls, the sky was striped in pink. She adjusted her camera, aimed, and snapped a picture.

She heard a scream in the distance, and paused. It continued, a desperate wail, growing louder and louder. She held her breath, confused, looking around her. In the split second she realized what was happening, it had changed to a deafening roar. Then, on the slope above her, she saw a huge ball of fire slam into the ground with an explosive bang. She looked up and saw a thick column of smoke rising.

On impulse, she began to run toward it. Her breath came in quick gasps; her heart pounded in her chest. She topped the ridge in minutes and there it was.

Before her, through the veil of smoke, she saw an object the size of a washing machine partially submerged In the ground. She instinctively glanced up at the sky, as if to see where it had come from.

The pod had travelled unknown miles, hurtling through the silent void known as space. It had been an insignificance in the enormity surrounding it; a tiny shape in the Infinite blackness smattered with stars. Its round metallic form resembled a golf ball, its surface covered with small hollows. Spinning, whirling, it had flashed, brilliantly reflecting the light of a distant sun.

Its destination had been a shining blue jewel with swirls of white over its surface; like an opal against black velvet. This planet was surrounded by others, each different, but all swept Into the same never-ending dance around the blinding light which sustained them.

It had come a long way, this pod: an unspeakable distance. Now it lay, a blackened image of Its former self, after its glorious burning finale through the atmosphere of Earth. It had plowed up hills of fresh dirt. It was perfectly round in shape, with a big split down the middle and some shattered pieces lying about on the charred grass.

Among the fragments was a cube; a blue box-like object that was flung open. Kelly walked over to examine it.

She bent down, and noticed that inside the box was a ream of thin sheets that resembled tinfoil. On the top sheet were rows of angular designs. She started to touch them, then thought better of it when she noticed some glowing embers on the ground. She touched a corner of the box hesitantly, and found to her surprise that it was cool. She lifted the edge of the top sheet. She found a sheet beneath It etched with a similar design, and then the next, and the next.

"My god! This is a book!"

She stared, awestruck, for a moment. "Oh, am I stupid!"

She grabbed her camera which was still hanging around her neck, and began to take pictures. In the distance, she heard men's voices. She hesitated for a moment, wondering what they would have to say about her discovery. She picked up one of the small pieces of the outer shell that had fallen on the ground. It was an oblong, knifelike shard that lay light as a feather on her palm. After briefly examining It, she put it into her coat pocket.

She glanced furtively around to make sure no one had seen her. She could hear branches popping on the hill below. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. She remembered how heavily guarded Nederland had been. Perhaps she wasn't supposed to be here. An instinctive fear began to take hold. The hair stood up on the back of her neck.

She glanced down at the pod once more, "Oh, man! I'd better get out of here!"

She took off running wildly for the woods, away from the sound of the approaching voices.

"Hey!" someone yelled. "Come back here!"

She ducked her head and ran between the trees, her breath coming in gulps. Behind her, she heard an expletive as the pod was discovered. She kept running, dodging around low-hanging branches. She could hear heavy footsteps crashing through the brush behind her.

Her chest began to burn. Her eyes teared up, but she kept running, gasping for air. Breathe in three steps, out three, in three, out three. She held the camera carefully, close to her stomach. Shrubs and branches tore at her legs, ripping against the sleeves of her jacket and stingIng slaps across her face. She lunged up a hill, feeling her leg muscles pull and strain. She ducked under a thick bush and collapsed.

Behind her, she heard voices approaching.

"Whoever that was, he sure as hell can run!" one of them gasped.

"We've got to catch him, or the sarge will be pissed."

"Why tell him we saw anybody?"

"We have to. Everyone heard you yell."

Kelly held her breath and didn't move as she saw two shadowy figures approachIng through the dimly lit woods.

"We^tll have to get dogs up here to find this guy," one of them said.

"Let's keep looking. Spilt up. You head on up that way, I'll go this way. We have to make this look good, at least. We can't head back yet."

"Okay. Just be careful, all right? You don't know who this is or If he's armed, or what."

Kelly watched in terrified silence as one of the men approached her. Her stomach seemed to rumble up Into her throat. Nauseated, she swallowed hard and closed her eyes momentarily, wishing she could take a big lungful of air. She lay still as a pair of legs passed three feet from her face. The legs paused as the man stopped to look around. Then they moved on. Kelly listened to the sound of the receding footsteps.

When she could no longer hear anything but her own ragged breath, she climbed slowly out of her hiding place. She felt something scratching her head. She reached up and began pulling leaves and twigs from her hair as she moved llghtIy down the hillside.

She looked around nervously as she made a wide circle around the area where she had seen the pod. There were many voices now; yelling and barking commands. She could hear the crackling of static.

She walked quietly through the tall brown grass. The sun was up now, stretching golden arms through the trees. The birds were quarreling among themselves. A raven flapped along from branch to branch overhead, squawking loudly to reveal her presence. "Here! Here! Here!¹'

She contemplated finding a rock to throw at it, but then decided to ignore it. She moved slowly through the shadows, trying to stay away from the glaring patches of light that fell through the branches.

Finally, she topped the ridge and looked down, and saw Izzy's car parked in the driveway below. Unable to control herself any longer, she skidded down the hill, running as fast as she could. Her arms were flung out to maintain her balance, camera still cradled carefully in one hand. She fell once, sitting down hard on the hillside, but then was up again and running.

Izzy¹s little car seemed to welcome her as she opened the door and leaped inside. She started it up and turned around in the narrow driveway. The little car stalled, coughed and died.

"Come on!" she muttered.

She cranked the key again and the engine sputtered back to life. She drove around the corner, and to her surprise found a whole line of traffic slowly winding its way down the canyon. She waited, feeling a little nauseated as her heart continued to pound.

Finally, a pickup stopped on the road, and the driver motioned for her to go ahead of him. She absently waved an acknowledgment, pulled out in front of him, and joined the chain of vehicles headed back to Boulder.

"Well, bully for you, Sharon!" she said aloud. "I'm not depressed any more!"

Two men stood on the hilltop looking down at the road. One turned to the other. "Did you see that?"

"Yeah. Green two-door Chevette. The license plate said 'IZZY R'. Do you have a pen?"