"Hurry up!" Jamie shouted.

The boys pedaled even more laboriously. The sky was now dark as coal and the sudden thunder brought more dread into the boys' hearts. There was no moon that night, so it was pitch dark in the heavens above, except for the cute twinkling of tiny stars. It was eerily silent around them after the loud boom of the thunder. The crickets and creepy crawlies stopped their music, allowing the blow of the cold breeze to send disturbing echoes around them.

"Did you just hear that?" Bogart asked. His heart beat wildly in his chest, as if exploding each fleeting second. "It was frighteningly loud!"

"It was the loudest thunder I heard in all my life," Tonton seconded. Like him, he was scared by the earlier sight of the haunted house and the sudden thunder.

From out of nowhere, flashes of lightning appeared in the sky. They were random and their bright yellow and white streaks cut across the sky. It was nothing they expected since it was a fine bright day earlier.

The four stopped and stared at the wonder. They had never seen such a thing in Subangdaku. Lightning alternately flared in random patterns, and the once dark firmament glowed in marvelous lights. The contrast of bright flashes against the black clouds was overwhelming.

"It's beautiful!" Bogart bellowed.

"And scary at the same time," Kiko objected. "This has never happened before."

The boys continued watching and after another loud thunder, the lightning exploded into one final burst of radiance. It was like a magnificent show of fireworks in the sky, except it was not colorful. It was awe-inspiring but at the same time, disturbing and worrisome. The sky once again turned pitch black, covering Subangdaku with darkness like seconds before. It was silent again.

"Wow, that one is the loudest ever!" Bogart exclaimed excitedly. He just could not believe what he had witnessed.

"How did that happen?" Tonton asked curiously. He quickly tried to process the science of everything inside his head, but his tired mind and frightened spirit could not make out the perfect reasons.

"Is there a storm coming?" Kiko uttered. Similarly, he wondered how such a thing could happen to their district. "It's not in the news."

"It's actually weird," Jamie said. "Those thunder and lightnings are too close. They were like firework displays but grander and brighter. Yet, there could be no fireworks today because there is no festival or celebration."

"But we can't deny it, guys," Bogart spoke up with smile in his lips. He was ironically beaming. "That was magnificently beautiful!"

The three looked at one another and the boys instantly laughed. Bogart was right; it might be frightening but it was fun to watch the display. For a while, the air lit up and they relaxed.

"That was a crazy thing," Kiko said. "I hope someone has taken a photo of that."

"Or photos," Tonton agreed. "Science books will kill to have those images. Publishers will pay millions to have those."

Once more, they all laughed in unison. After a few seconds, they began their bicycle ride again and despite the sudden peals of thunder and lightning, the night was not as cold as they expected. In fact, the air began to warm again. Passing by the haunted house and seeing the atmospheric showdown did not bring enough chill; the boys were sweating hard. Their wet shirts began to stick to their bodies.

"The sky is clear again," Jamie finally broke the silence. He could not believe the suddenness of the phenomenon. "I thought it would rain after that, or at least some colder breeze."

"Don't you think it's beautiful?" Tonton voiced out. He was surreptitiously glancing up at the sky as they were traveling. "The stars are incredibly brighter and clearer."

"Yes," Bogart agreed. He smiled to himself. He was ever the happy boy in the group. "I can see the Big Dipper."

"We can actually stop for a while and look at the stars," Kiko suggested. He was already tired, and a little break would not hurt them.

"It is late already," Jamie said matter-of-factly. He wished to go home already but a voice whispered differently. "But I kind of like that."

Jamie chuckled and stopped his bike. The three boys also did the same. They looked at each other, and despite the darkness, they could see happiness on their faces. Bogart immediately jumped into the lush grass and the others followed.

"It's lovely!" Jamie whispered.

"It is magnificent!" Kiko agreed in a loud voice. It was refreshing to see the night sky.

"It's the Little Bear!" Bogart pointed at the brightest object in the sky.

"It's the Polaris!" Tonton echoed.

A moment of silence ensued as the boys absorbed the beauty of the sky above. That was life.

"The grass smells fresh and makes me feel sleepy," Bogart said. He let out a loud yawn that felt infectious to others.

"Yes," Jamie agreed. "I'm also feeling tired and lazy. Maybe we should better get going now."

The two were about to rise when Kiko jolted and pointed at something. "Hey, guys, look! That could not be a star. It is moving way too fast."

The other three followed his finger. Indeed, there was something very bright moving in the sky. It was even brighter than Polaris. Actually, it was now the brightest thing in the dark sky.

"It is just a plane," Tonton said uninterestingly. He was losing energy already.

"It can't be," Bogart countered, his brows frowning in disagreement. "It is not blinking at all."

"It is!" Tonton insisted, still sounding indifferent.

"But it does not blink the same way planes do," Jamie finally said, agreeing to Bogart. "It is not red or yellow."

"It seems very far," Kiko spoke up, "but it moves really fast. Very fast, I think."

"It's a meteor," Bogart voiced out, his voice beginning to tremble. "Is there a meteor shower tonight?"

"Nope," Kiko answered strongly. "It's not in the news and it is not in the books."

"Could it be just a random meteor?" Jamie asked, but no one answered. Everyone had some doubts now. "Come on, guys, let's go home."

The other boys rose up, but Kiko remained seated on the grass, fixated on the sky.

"Come on, Kiko, let's go. " Bogart said. "Why are you still staring at the sky?"

"I think it is getting bigger, guys," Kiko answered. "It seems like it is moving towards us."

The three looked up again and stared in silence. Indeed, the "shooting star" seemed to grow larger, from a mere little dot like the tip of a pencil to a bigger round like the tip of a board marker. They gaped and blinked their eyes several times to make sure they were seeing the right things.

"Whoa!" Bogart gasped. "I think you are not mistaken."

The "meteor" was now obviously brighter than the surrounding stars; it was five times larger than Polaris. Seconds passed by and it grew much even bigger.

"Something's not right about what we are seeing," Tonton finally shattered their reverie. He lost his coolness, replaced by panic and worry.

"This is really very wrong," Kiko agreed.

They continued to gaze in disbelief as the "thing" took on a much larger size. It was now like the size of a baseball, and it grew bigger at a much faster pace.

"I'm beginning to get scared," Bogart muttered under his breath.

In just a few seconds more, it grew to a basketball with blinding brightness. Neighboring stars were swallowed by its radiance and the once eerily dark sky gradually shone.

"It is coming towards us!" Jamie shouted after realizing that the meteor would probably fall into the village.

As if on cue, the boys quickly rode their bikes and began pedaling. It was harder this time, and they were sweating more than before even though the night breeze had already become colder. In panic, Kiko turned around and his eyes grew with what he saw.

"Oh no!" Kiko shouted. "It will hit us."

The three turned around and were almost thrown on the ground. The bright thing was now almost a meter wide. It was closing on them, eating everything on its way. As it approached the village, loud thunders were heard again. Their hearts started to beat loudly again. Why were such things happening? And why in Subangdaku? Are they doomed?

"Faster!" Jamie barked.

The boys moved faster while the light and thunder intensified with each passing moment. There was no escape but they needed to move. Bogart turned around again.

"This can't be!" And the boy tripped over.

"Bogart!" Tonton yelled and immediately stopped and ran toward his friend to assist him. He was crying now. The other two also halted.

Kiko looked at the sky again and the meteor was covering at least half of the sky. Its white light was glowing profusely. "It can't be happening."

They shielded their eyes, afraid that the extreme brightness would blind them. The peals of thunder grew more deafening as the light engulfed the entire sky. It was a moment of fear and chaos, and in the heart and mind of the four boys, the end had come.

In the blink of an eye, the thunders blasted one last time as the sky exploded into blazing brightness. The Biker Brothers were all thrown away....