"They're not burning up in the atmosphere," Alex said curiously.
A few minutes later they were gone leaving only the barely visible trails of smoke across the stars. People were chattering and theorizing what had just happened as Alex stood staring up at the sky, still wondering.
"It was a sign," the High Priestess declared, "the spirits are with us tonight."
There were voices of agreement as they headed to their feast, but also a few that disagreed. There were murmurs about signs of the apocalypse, as well as some whispering about evil spirits coming to cause trouble. But none of them shirked their responsibility to consume mass amounts of food for the ritual.
"Why is everyone so quiet?" Alisha asked after everyone had gotten their food and found seats, but none were actually eating yet.
"Shhhh!" someone hissed at her.
Alex whispered in her ear, "It's a silent supper. You're supposed to eat in silence as you remember those who have died, or are otherwise no longer with us."
"Oh, sorry," she whispered back.
After the meal, however, everyone seemed to make up for the silence with excess talking. And apparently second helpings didn't count as being silent, either. Alex marveled at the fact that Alisha actually managed to remain quiet throughout the meal, except for her one unintentional interruption. He hadn't thought that she could keep from talking for so long.
Alex and his friends stayed to help clean up after the event was over. There were plenty of leftovers, much of which was given to the less fortunate members of the coven who had trouble affording food on a regular basis. But the food that had been set out for the spirits remained untouched, and would remain there until the morning when someone from the coven would come and clean it up.
"That was amazing," Karen said when they were back at the house.
"You could really feel the energy flowing," Shannon sighed.
"We do rituals every month," Kris said, "and you are more than welcome to come to any of them, though they're not usually as grand as this one was. Samhain is a very special time for us."
"It's amazing how much a symbolic act like that is able to make people feel better," Tony said.
Alisha, still attached to Alex's arm, said, "I've never experienced anything like that before."
It was after one in the morning, but the after-effects of the ritual had everyone full of energy. JJ turned on the television hoping to find a good sci-fi show, but there was only news on every single channel that he tried. Finally he settled on a channel and watched to see what was so important that it was on every station.
"... Los Angeles, New York, Dallas and Chicago have all been hit," the smartly dressed young man reported. "The blasts were large enough to outright destroy a majority of each city, and cause significant damage for miles around. Casualties are currently estimated to be over four million. and nearly twice that many wounded."
They all stood stock still, staring at the TV in utter disbelief. Kris began to sob as tears of anguish made trails down her beautiful face.
"Early reports suggest that similar attacks have taken place in large population centers all around the globe. London, Paris, Tokyo and Moscow are but a few of the reported targets. Experts first believed that these were the result of nuclear attack, but other than the direct damage, no other signs of radiation or nuclear fallout have been detected."
"Jesus Christ," JJ breathed.
Images of the cities replaced the reporter's visage. The first video was low quality an unsteady, obviously recorded from a cell phone camera. The New York skyline, the Empire State Building clearly visible, lit up like a Christmas tree in the night-shrouded city.
Suddenly a blinding light blossomed to the left of the iconic tower, and the image went completely white for a few seconds. When the cityscape returned into focus, a wall of fire was tearing across the city line, expanding rapidly, as tall as the buildings. Every structure it touched exploded, throwing burning debris streaking through the air until the entire skyline was nothing but a massive field of fire. the unsteady image suddenly turned to static.
The next image was just as bad, showing an unending plain of burning buildings, with a tag that read Chicago. After that was a picture of the Eiffel Tower, still mostly intact though blanketed in flames from the ground to the top of the spire. Burning pieces fell intermittently from it's height.
The final image was of Los Angeles, the black veil of smoke rising to form a thundercloud over the burning remains of the cityscape. No intact structures could be seen, nor any moving vehicles or people. Hungry flames were the only moving things remaining of the previously thriving metroplex.
"Shutters," Alex said. Everyone looked at him in puzzlement except JJ.
"I'll get the upstairs," he said as he raced towards the stairway and Alex went out the front door, Alisha hard on his heels.
"Wait," Karen called, bringing them back to the TV, "look."
At the top of the video image, the smoke cloud grew darker, nearly pitch black. The darkness began descending downward, forming a vaguely rectangular shadow, distinctly darker than the surrounding smog until it was stationary, well above the ground.
"What the hell is that?"
A momentary swirl of smoke revealed the glint of metal. A startling surge of blackness resolved into a flock of aircraft, obviously Air Force, swarmed away from the massive shadow just before the image blinked out.
The camera returned to the reporter, who was pale and shaking, "Nobody seems to know what caused these explosions..."
"Let's go," Alex went back outside, followed by the waitress like a lost puppy.
The sound of metal clanging against the side of the house brought the rest of them up short as the two men closed the shutters over the windows; shutters they had replaced with metal instead of wood. The feeling of being locked in a cell passed over them.
"I think I'll stay here tonight," John said woodenly, "if you don't mind."
