Louis sat on the bed of his truck cleaning one of the Glock 19's the small, windup, emergency radio next to his left thigh when the Emergency Broadcast system broke the silence with the familiar, ear splitting tone.
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Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep
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"This is the EMERGENCY BROADCAST SYSTEM. This is NOT a test. Repeat, THIS IS THE EMERGENCY BROADCAST SYSTEM, This is Not a test.
The National Weather Service and the National Aeronautics and Space association have issued a meteorite WARNING. REPEAT The National Weather Service and National Aeronautics and Space Association have issued a meteorite WARNING.
Please stay tuned for farther information from your local and Federal Authorities, "
The radio goes silent for a minute, Louis assumes the dead air was because the system was transferring control to another source. Jake stumbles out of the backroom wearing just his boxers as the radio comes to life again.
A man's voice breaks the silence and they could hear murmurs in the background a sure sign that the messege was either live, or recorded live at least.
"Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen, Members of the Press and those tuning in this morning.
We have some very important information to share so please be patient and I will attempt to answer your questions at the end of the conference.
At approximately o3:00am the Hubble telescope and International Space station observed a cloud of debris consisting of debris, rock, and chunks of ice that originated from Asteroid X - 762 when it separated into two separate parts. These remnants range from the size of a household toaster upwards to the size of a midsize sedan. This debris field for lack of a better name, has been orbiting our planet in line with their parent pieces, simply put since X - 762's orbit has begun to degrade, the same holds true for the remaining pieces.
We have begun receiving reports from all over the world stating that the smaller pieces have begun entering our atmosphere.
In an attempt to minimize damage and collateral damage units from the world's military have begun tracking the objects with their own radar systems, our own AWACS squadrons have been put on high alert. As of 05:00am two AWACS will be in the air twenty four hours a day, utilizing their airborne refueling capabilities and when one lands another will already airborne to relieve it.
Since we are dealing with interstellar objects that no doubt will strike the earth with speeds upward of fifteen thousand miles per hour citizens and their families are advised to remain indoors, DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT leave your homes, if you have a storm cellar, or some other shelter below ground be prepared to retreat into it if these meteorites begin falling in your area. Now I realise that you hear fifteen thousand miles per hour you believe the house or basement wouldn't help, but if the house is struck it may slow the speed adding to your chances of survivability.
Those without suitable shelter should proceed to the nearest Military base, large Government building, or similar structure since buildings built prior to nineteen fifty seven when everyone feared a possible Nuclear, Biological or Chemical attack were often built with a heavily reinforced sub basement or specially designed bomb shelter.
Please be aware that the phone systems may be overwhelmed with people attempting to make phone calls, we ask that you refrain from using your landline, or cell phones so that people with severe or dire emergencies can contact authorities.
That is all the information we have at this current time, our time is short so I ask that you remain seated until acknowledged, then you may identify yourself, the Agency you represent then your question."
The first one of the thirty plus members of the Press Corp to be recognized wore a dark blue suit coat and dark khakis. He stood up holding a digital voice recorder that he held out toward the Governor,
"Richard Watkins, Associated Press, Baltimore region.
Governor, from the available information you obtained, when can we expect to see these meteorites arriving on the east coast of the country?"
"That is a good question, based on computer models we expect the first meteorites to start entering our atmosphere with the next twenty-four to thirty-two hours along the eastern seaboard." The Governor responded.
The next speaker to be recognized was a older lady with graying hair.
"Thank you Governor Sir, Elizabeth Deveraux, Washington Post. Have these meteorites made land fall any where else in the world yet, if so what is the damage assessment? "
The Governor inclined his head politely before pointing to a map behind him as he spoke,
The National Weather Service, NASA, and other agencies have been receiving sporadic reports from Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, Germany, Russia, and as far away as Australia. Each country reports wide spread damages, damaged infrastructure, and high casualty counts along with a high death count in highly populated areas likely due to a high population density in a small area. Unfortunately we van probably expect the same."
The Governor spoke up as he looked over the gathering,
"Unfortunately I must attend a meeting with the President so I will take one more question. "
The last member of the Press stood up,
" Yes Sir, Harold Blyth, New York Post. With the size of some of these Meteorites is the anything the Military or scientific community do to at least try to stop the falling objects?"
" Various Military units from around the world have been deployed, those on leave, or retirement still deemed combat effective are being called into service until this crises passes. Operating on a worst case scenario, those units are using Anti-aircraft guns, air to air missiles, shoulder mounted and vehicle mounted ground to air, heat seeking missiles, ship based artillery, and various other means such as energy based, sonic wave, laser and railgun technologies in a effort to redirect the meteorites trajectory away from populated areas or to at least break the larger pieces up into less destructive sizes.
"That being said, please stop at the rear tables and pick up the blue folder, in it you'll find everything we discussed today as well as detailed plans to deal with this emergency. A conference will be scheduled if we learn anything else in the mean time. Thank you for coming."
Louis looked at Jake to see him pulling his shirt on as he spoke up,
"What do you think, could this building survive a strike?"
Jake looked around, his pale eyes roaming over the rounded structure and it's exposed steel beams,
" I think so, but i'd have to either see the blueprint or see what it's made from on the outside. If it's a hardened bunker type then we could be in good shape, if it's just corrugated tin over a steel frame we would be safer down in the tunnels unless....we have a earthquake that is."
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City Of The Dead (#Wattys2016)
Misterio / SuspensoAnd the meek shall inherit the Earth....or what's left Crouched in the shadow of the long unused Concrete storage bin, once it had been used to collect and house what the farmers would have called silage, rotting husks of plant material that was mea...
