Amy was relieved when everything appeared normal at the outdoor supply store where she and Barb worked. It meant they would get a full paycheck, which they needed more than ever after replacing the food in their refrigerator.

She braced herself for comments about the restaurant fire, but thankfully no one brought it up, not even the Harmans. Instead there was rampant speculation among employees and customers alike about the cause of what everyone was now calling “the Event,” which some were giddy to be at the center of. The atmosphere reminded her a little of the terrorist attacks that occurred when she was in high school, with TVs displaying breaking news and people on edge, half expecting that something worse was coming soon.

One of the three TVs in the store was tuned to a local news channel, which was having almost non-stop interviews with people around the state. It was in the department Amy was assigned, and she just finished serving a long line of customers when a familiar face appeared on the screen.

She turned up the sound as Harvey Howard started answering a question next to his camper in a mall parking lot. “An Air Force sergeant told us that the country is under attack, and not to tell anyone. Don’t believe them if they tell you otherwise!”

The reporter, a woman Amy didn’t recognize, moved the microphone closer to his face. “Why have you waited this long to tell anyone?” she asked.

“He told us to keep it quiet, but my wife and I,” he said, pointing to Toni who was partly visible behind the camper, “we decided it was our public duty after we saw the helicopter fly over, just like the one that almost killed us.”

The camera panned briefly to the reporter’s shocked face. “You were almost killed?”

“That’s right. We were stopped at a little campground I can show you on a map, and this missile flew into the trees and exploded. The helicopter flew over and then it was hit by a missile and exploded. We high-tailed it to a store nearby and that’s where we got the word, after calling the fire department.”

“So the helicopter didn’t actually try to kill you,” the reporter clarified.

Harvey nodded. “But it was too close for comfort when it blew up.”

“Did anyone tell you why?”

“Nope, just what the sergeant said.”

“Was anyone else there?” she asked. Amy held her breath and noticed that several customers had stopped to watch.

Harvey paused. “A police detective and his really nice lady friend were there, and there was this crazy old vet and his daughter who ran the store.”

“Can you tell us any more about them?”

“That’s pretty much all I remember.”

Amy exhaled, thankful that Harvey had respected their privacy.