24 Reporting Live from the Explosion

The day was filled with endless interviews from the citizens of Subangdaku. They kept saying the same fears and worries. By noontime, Estella and Sonny were getting tired of how their news stories went.

"We need to find new angles," Estella commented. "We can't report the same things over and over."

"Any updates from the Mayor's office?" Sonny asked.

"I'm afraid there's none. The other team has not yet reported any progress."

"That's strange. Several hours had already passed since his speech but it seemed nothing had happened."

"It's really weird. I was hoping the Mayor can tell us about what had been found out in the investigations of the scientists."

"How about we check out the elementary school?" Sonny proposed. "It was the first impact site."

"Good idea," Estella agreed and after realizing that it was already late in the afternoon, she added, "we'd better hurry up before it gets totally dark."

Sonny maneuvered their little black car through the streets of Subangdaku. Compared to last night and earlier that day, the people had already began to relax. It was a tough moment for everyone and no wonder, several had needed medical attention. Many of those hospitalized had experienced hypertension, mostly the aged ones. It was even tougher for the duo as they had to deal with them when delivering their news.

By and by, their car passed the last house of the village. Ahead of them were just woods and grasslands. Estella enjoyed the scenery as the countryside vibe of the surroundings helped ease up the tension in her.

"Do you remember the three white vans we saw last night?" she broke the silence.

"Uhmm? " Sonny tried to remember.

"We were about to sleep when they appeared but instead of coming to the village, they turned around."

"Oh, yes. What about them?"

"I supposed they were the scientists. They could be in the school right now."

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"Maybe, and maybe not," Sonny said casually. "If they are, then I hope they let us cover their investigation. It would be a great scoop."

Sonny turned to Estella and flashed a hearty smile. Estella could not help but laughed in return. Suddenly, an explosion occurred from a distance which stopped them in their tracks. A tall stream of fire danced in the twilight sky.

"Oh, my goodness," Estella uttered in disbelief. "Where is it coming from?"

"I think it is from the grassland," Sonny answered uncertainly.

Through the window of their car, the flame was clear against the dark musky sky. Unlike the usual fire, the flame had some white-blue streaks in it.

"Wow, what kind of fire could that be?" Sonny asked while wiping his eyes, not believing what he had seen.

"I feel something off about this. It is not just an ordinary flare. It could be coming from the meteor debris."

Sonny looked at her hard, admiring her quick analysis and wise guess. Without saying anymore words, he gunned the engine and started moving the car again, into the grassland behind the old haunted house.

Meanwhile, the boys ran as fast as they could. It was the fastest they could do as they were running for their lives. Any minute late and they could also be engulfed in the menacing explosion.

Behind them, the trucks in the camp had also started running. Engines were in fury as drivers and passengers alike were anxious to leave the camp. In the excitement, nobody had thought of bringing plenty of fire extinguishers. Some men attempted using the few they had but the fire was unwavering. Calling the fire department was also not permitted by their commander. Whatever had happened and had been done in the camp could not be known to the public. Anybody who leaked information would put themselves in danger. Hence, the fire continued consuming the truck and was now full and ready to release a gigantic blast.

The boys finally reached the plastic fence and went under. The gap between the ground and fence was wide enough that Tonton and Kiko went together. Jamie and Bogart followed but the later found it hard to wriggle in the space. He successfully did and after standing up, he tried to run after his friends but some grass knotted around his foot. Alas, Bogart fell on the ground.

"Ouch!" he groaned as his burn hurt upon impact.

Jamie immediately went down to him and untied him but the knot was too tangled. The trucks were now loud inside the camp as they slowly departed. The burning truck sent out another spew of bluish flame.

"Oh no!" Kiko exclaimed and quickly helped Jamie.

Finally, the tangle was removed. They stood up and resumed running as the trucks begin moving out of the camp. The grasses were taller than them but they effortlessly pushed them down or tossed aside. Just then, the burning truck exploded one last time. A huge flare of yellow-blue flames lit up the night sky.

From a distance, the news duo saw what happened. It was a scary vision for them. Within a minute, they reached the haunted house. Sonny pushed the car all through the grassland and after finding a safe space and somewhat nearer to the fire, he parked it. Upon stepping out of the car, Sonny rolled the camera while Estella prepared herself. On his cue, Estella reported the incident live.

The blast was strong that the boys stumbled and fell on the ground. They looked back and saw the weird flame swaying in the breeze. Some segments of the plastic fence were also burned and damaged, revealing what's inside the camp.

"Oh my," Bogart sighed. "That was really close."

Upon noticing his bandage, Kiko asked, "What's with the bandage? Were you hurt inside?"

"Yeah, something like that. We discovered a spaceship and I got into an accident, burning my left arm."

Tonton and Kiko looked at him. They could not believe what they just heard.

"We also encountered something inside the camp," Kiko said.

"There is an alien, presumably dead because it was motionless, " Tonton added, and after several seconds of silence, he said gravely, "And the alien looks like the ones in my dreams."

"It's a lie after all," Bogart sighed, "I mean the meteor."

"Did we put ourselves in danger?," Jamie asked dreadfully.

The boys looked at him intently. It was a question they could not really answer, but based on their experience moments ago, it was. In their wandering, they discovered something truly eerie and omenous....