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“Five minutes,” Lily said. She didn’t have to say any more. Jason knew why they were here. They were waiting for the explosion at North Bend. Lachlan had promised a spectacular fireworks display, lots of special effects without any real damage. Jason wasn’t so sure.

Stegmeyer and Vacili crossed the road and hooked up with a local news crew. Jason hadn’t noticed them when they had first arrived. A male reporter stood in front of a camera on a tripod with the baseball diamond directly behind him. Vacili spoke with the cameraman while Stegmeyer moved the reporter, positioning him slightly to one side. They were lining up for the shot, ensuring North Bend was visible in the distance. That explained why Vacili had left his camera in the RV, Jason thought. On this shoot, he was the director.

Lachlan jogged over, holding his phone up and calling out something, but Jason couldn’t make out what was being said. Lachlan pointed up to the sky, but neither Stegmeyer or Vacili turned to look. They kept their attention on the news crew. The cameraman disappeared behind the lens and the reporter began talking into a microphone held up to his chin. He gestured to the baseball diamond beside him as a Learjet roared overhead, screaming past barely a hundred feet above the bleachers.

The roar of the engine was deafening. The RV shook. The crowd in the stands was visibly shaken. Kids and adults alike screamed in fright. Some huddled together, holding loved ones. A few ran. Others stood, pulling out smartphones and taking pictures or recording video as the Learjet screamed down into the valley.

The jet banked sharply. Its distinct shape, with fuel pods at the end of its wings and high set tail were visible in profile for a few seconds as the craft turned, lining up for its approach to the nuclear power plant. The plane was terrifyingly low to the ground, looking as though its wings were about to clip the streetlights lining the distant avenue. Cars swerved. A bus rode up onto the pavement, crushing a small tree.

Jason couldn’t help himself. He couldn’t sit there in the RV. He had to see this out in the open.

“No,” Lily cried as he darted out the door of the RV. She ran hard on his heels.

Jason came around the side of the huge vehicle just as the jet leveled out, heading for the nuclear power plant. Lily came up beside him.

The cameraman across the street followed the path of the jet. Parents stood in the bleachers watching as the Learjet slammed into the side of the distant nuclear power plant.

A blinding flash of light cut through the deepening twilight.

There was no sound at first, which surprised Jason. He watched as a massive fireball enveloped the twenty story building.

Jason found himself wondering how anything could survive the fury of such a blast.

Silence fell as the fireball mushroomed into the sky.

Cars stopped on the road. Drivers stood beside the open doors of their cars, watching what looked like a nuclear explosion roiling into the heavens.

The billowing cloud seethed with anger. In the midst of the black smoke, reds and oranges glowed like the sun.

BOOM!

Jason felt the blast wave pass through him, rattling his bones. Window panes shattered in the fire station behind him. Still, the mushroom cloud rose higher. A long dark column formed a thin stem beneath the fireball. The head of the cloud enfolded upon itself, reaching thousands of feet into the air.

Nobody moved.

People stared in disbelief at the sight before them. Armageddon had come, and they were paralyzed. What could be done? Jason could understand how crippling this sight was for them. Even knowing the impact wasn’t a threat to his safety didn’t stop the helpless feeling from washing over him as he watched the massive explosion unfold.

“Come on,” said Lachlan.

Jason hadn’t noticed the professor crossing the road. Lachlan, Stegmeyer and Vacili were the only ones on the move. Everyone else stood there spellbound, aghast with horror. Vacili grabbed his camera from the RV.

A child screamed, and that seemed to break the paralysis. In an instant, the din of hundreds of people panicking filled the ballpark. People began running, screaming, trying to reach the illusory safety of their cars.

Lachlan led Jason away from the blast and into a house two doors down from the fire station.

Bellum opened the garage, saying, “We’ve been planning every detail of this for the past eighteen months. You’ll find boots, jackets and helmets already in the vehicle.”

As they walked around the large truck, Lachlan explained, saying, “Local fire crews have standing orders for containment at North Bend. Given the size of that blast, they’ll have every appliance in the city there in the next half hour.”

Bellum busied himself, handing out heavy boots, turnout pants and jackets, and helmets.

“You guys will ride in the back,” Lachlan said to Jason and Lily.