I unpacked my chairs and blankets at a spot near the lake. The view of the water and the waves reflecting the moonlight was a sight to see. It was almost 10 pm, and there was no sign of Isa yet. I pulled out my phone to ask where she was, but knowing how reluctant she was in the first place, I decided against it.

"Oh! Oh! Look there!" A little girl shouted.

Everyone craned their necks to look at the night sky. However, it was almost impossible to see anything because of the bright light posts surrounding the parking lot.

"Hey, is it possible to turn off the light?" Someone shouted. "You can't even see the stars right now."

The crowd muttered in agreement, but no one moved. It's not like that would help much. Most of the light pollution is coming from the city either way.

Someone tossed up a blanket and managed to cover the lamp. The crowd began to cheer and continued to cover the rest of the lights.

"d.a.m.n, where is she?" I thought aloud.

I decided to text her. Almost immediately, three dots popped up, then nothing. I slumped in my chair and felt restless. Calm down. She's probably just stuck in traffic.

Trying to avoid negative thoughts, I kept my eyes peeled on the sky so that I could spot a meteor. Oh, there's one! This is my first time seeing a shooting star, and it left me in awe. Not even a minute later, another streaked through the air. You could only see each one that pa.s.sed by for just a split second. The only thing you can hear at the lake was the soft murmurs of amazement. About every five minutes, another meteor would pa.s.s by. Every now and then, someone would mistake a satellite for one.

As the night went on, the large group gradually got louder. Probably from all the beers they were drinking earlier. Typically, all the noise would have bothered me, but it was my first time seeing a crowd this large belligerent, and I was enjoying the meteor shower. I wondered if Isa would show up, but I immediately stopped myself. If she wants to come, then she will. It's as simple as that.

I didn't realize how long I had been sitting there, but as the time between each meteor started to take longer, people began to leave. I checked the time; it was 1:14 am. I'll wait to see one more. The next one should be coming soon.

"Ah, there it is," I admired as the last meteor arrived.

It was noticeably brighter than all the other ones I had seen earlier. That's an excellent way to end the night. I marveled at how big it was. Then, I realized that the past meteors came and went in the blink of an eye, but this one was still there.

Wait, why is it still there? And why does it look like it's coming my way?

I shot up and twisted my head over to see the group of people that were still there. All of them were standing with their phones out and were taking pictures and videos of the strange meteor. I calmed down after seeing no one reacting to it the way I did. I sat back down in my seat and continued to watch the sky.

A few seconds pa.s.sed by, but the meteor was still visible. I could hear people's voices start to rise in concern.

"What's the deal with that one? Doesn't it look like it's getting faster?"

"I think so?"

"Doesn't it look like it's coming towards us?"

"There's no way it- Wait, it is!"

The once quiet atmosphere exploded in hysteria. Everyone began tossing all their stuff into their cars. Strangers were pus.h.i.+ng each other to the ground as they all tried to stay with the group of people they came with. While the chaos worsened, I quickly folded the chairs and grabbed my blankets.

Everyone turned back to look at the sky, and the sound of children and car engines sputtering embodied mayhem. I sat in my car, unable to move. A stampede of adults and children blocked my exit. My hands trembled to the point where I was fumbling to put my key in the lock. I looked back at the sky again, and the meteor was closing the distance between us rapidly. I reckoned that we only had a couple of minutes left before it crashed into us.

BANG

I jerked my head towards the sound of cars cras.h.i.+ng into each other and the fences. Everyone was feeling desperate, and any regard for other's safety was out the window. I watched as cars would ram into each other as they wrestled with creating their own paths out of the parking lot. I finally managed to start my car.

As I steeled myself, getting ready to join the fray, I spotted a woman trying to carry her unconscious husband into the car. His legs looked like they had been run over since he was limp below the knees. I can't worry about them. I need to go.

I started to drive ahead, but as I inched forward, I felt guilty. Looking back up, I saw that I only had four or five minutes left to leave the area. The meteor was bigger than I ever imagined it would be.

Even if I lived, I couldn't possibly live with myself, knowing that I could have helped. I stopped the car, jumped out, and ran over to the woman.

"Where's your car?" I shouted over the noise.

"Over there," she nodded towards a nearby location. "It's the black SUV."

"Okay, go start your car and bring it over here. I'll lift him in," I told her as I got into position to lift her husband up.

"Thank you," she gasped.

"Hurry! We don't have much longer."

She ran off to her car while I knelt down and lifted the small man. The black SUV was right next to us before I knew it. I walked to the pa.s.senger seat and somehow managed to get him in.

"Get in!" the woman shouted.

Not wasting any time, I went to the backseat door and-

Thud.

Before I could react, a driver who lost control of their car slammed into me from behind and pinned me in between them and the SUV. I felt my knees shatter, and the fragmented bones go into places they shouldn't. I felt like a folding table as my back was into an angle it never should be. When the driver who hit me backed up and sped off, I tasted blood pooling in my mouth. I collapsed onto the ground, and I saw through the half-open door that the woman I helped was looking at my broken body.

We both looked at the sky and saw that there was less than a minute before the meteor crashed. I saw her look back at me with tears in her eyes.

"Sorry," she mouthed as she sped away.