Zed the Double Zero

Part One, Innocence is bliss

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I - Particularly close Encounter

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Kaelyn was on the CA-4E highway heading back to her father's house in Concord, California. The teenager had just dropped off her best friend Shamari in the suburbs of San Francisco. Now the giant city was sprawling out under a blanket of dark skies with fading scintillating stars behind her.

The girl took a sip of her cold White Chocolate Mocha when a message notification chimed on her smartphone, it was conveniently lodged upright in one of the center console drink holders.

Sigh, I bet she forgot something, she thought as she gave a look at her backseat, expecting to find a yoga mat, or a notebook left behind. But nope. Backseat empty.

"Hmm...."

As she was touching her phone screen to unlock the message, a giant bright flare on her far right hand side caught her eye.

"Wow..."

A second later, a large explosion occurred a distance closer. She instinctively slowed down and looked in her rear view mirror to see if any other driver had potentially seen it happen as well.

The few other stragglers driving on the same portion of the road at this late hour had not seemed to notice anything or didn't seem to care as they kept on in the night. She caught the reflection of her tired green eyes briefly looking back at herself in the rearview mirror, slightly confused. She then stared down at her phone screen where the notification light was still blinking.

It was indeed Sham in a text, reminding her to bring her Spanish book for the morning class. She smiled and expertly texted back "Ok. Will let you know when I leave. 'Nite-nite". She thought about waking up early, realizing the time on her locked screen. 11:17pm. Oh crap, it was that late.

But not a major worry for her, especially when curiosity was now dominating her mind. No one would be home to reprimand the young lady about nowadays teenage women do's and don'ts.

She was an eighteen year old who practically lived alone, if not for Rosalita, the nanny who had been with the family for ever. That interesting fact about the girl had its perks. Like staying really late at a friend's house whenever she wanted. As long as she'd be home early enough for her Aunt's daily check up, visiting on her morning runs.

Kaelyn's attention had been briefly taken by the text message but now it was back on the flash and boom she had just witnessed. She pushed open the panel of her moonroof to check the skies. Quiet clear night, no sign of lightning strikes or potential meteor shower.

She took the first exit out, a light frown on her face, her mind set on investigating. Because, why not? Nothing interesting ever happened in Concord. This would be a pinch of spice in her daily boring teenage life and a potential video to post if it turned out anything close to interesting. Mhm... Mocha. She took another sip.

A new explosion thundered closer, then a few more, like ricochet. They were happening by a huge industrial complex in construction not far off the highway. The location was to become the new site for a new automated car assembly line for Tesla. The whole town was talking about it, and how it wouldn't bring new jobs because of those stupid robot assembly lines.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a thick red laser-like shard of light appeared through the roof of the main building and cut the dark of the night in half in a large semi ark before disappearing just as quickly.

Two more followed with different intensity, angles and directions, like a laser show, answered by some sort of blue clouds of electricity.

Then nothing. Complete silence.