Quote:
The Meteor Shower (9) : One of the hallmark features of the Star Festival is the week long meteor shower that kicks off at the beginning of the celebrations. The first night is usually a little slow, and it picks up more on the second and third evening, but tonight is different. Within the first hour of the first visible falling meteor, something hits the ground with enough force that the ground trembles and power is lost for a few seconds. The impact can be heard throughout the city and the news reports that a small meteor made impact--only, they don’t report that they can’t find any damage and have no idea where it landed. Maybe that’s enough to convince some people, but anyone who knows about this powered war might expect that nothing good ever comes from space.
Eliot wandered the festival at night, eyes open in wonder at how the city had been transformed. Everything was just so pretty. It made him feel really nice in a way he hadn't felt in a long time. He pondered over what the feeling was, trying to put a word to it, as he walked past the celebrations, booths hocking their wares, children running around with sparklers... It all just felt so...
Peaceful. Even with the hollering and all that. Every part of it just seemed to suffuse him with peace. Jesus, how long had it been since he felt safe enough to be at peace to have forgotten what the hell it felt like? He wasn't sure. God, wasn't that just a depressing thought, huh? He shook his head, trying to dispell the thoughts. He didn't need to ruin his first peaceful night in who knew how long by being a depressing b*****d over the fact that it was his first peaceful night in who knew how long. It wasn't fair to himself, and he needed to take the time to enjoy that.
He happily continued to wander down the streets, every once in a while stopping to glance curiously over the wares displayed in the booths. He couldn't really afford anything, but it was nice to look, anyway. So many pretty things were out, and a lot of them handmade. Which made them more expensive, and rightfully so, given that it was a craft, and honestly, it was so rude of people to try and argue down the prices, the artists deserved so much better than that—right. Peaceful. He inhaled deeply, trying to get himself to stay calm and just enjoy the night.
Then the sky lit up. He looked up in fascinated glee as a meteor shower started. The first one he'd ever seen in his lifetime. He bounced on his feet a little as he watched, unable to stop grinning as they streaked across the sky in pretty patterns. This was certainly much better than any fireworks display, in his opinion.
Of course, the peace of it couldn't last too long. Not when one of the meteors was streaking right towards Earth. Heart in his throat, Eliot felt rooted to the spot as it barrelled towards the planet and struck—somewhere, he wasn't sure where, but it was close enough to knock him off his feet and kill the power in the city for several seconds. Oh, holy s**t. He had no idea what he was doing, as he got up and started running towards the crash site (at least, what he thought and hoped was the crash site), but he had to make sure that people were okay. He could not just lay there and do nothing. Especially not when he had Thorite. Glancing around and ducking behind a tree, he powered up with a thought and then kept running. He had to help, if there was anyone to help.
(500 words)
