Moonfall

TRANSGLOBAL SPECIAL REPORT. 7:20 A.M.

"This is Shannon Gardner in downtown St. Louis. I'm only a few miles from where it all started, in Valley Park, one week ago today when a young woman spotted a comet during a solar eclipse. Since that momentous afternoon, countless people have died, the nations of the world have been ravaged, there are trillions of dollars in property damage, and the worst threat of all still hangs over our heads. In the background, you can see looters. There are few police left here now to stop them. With less than twenty-four hours to go before the Possum is scheduled to impact in Kansas, everyone who can get out of the city has done so, and the only ones left are those who have no money, or no hope.

"The buses that were brought in by the city, and by various civic organizations, are gone now. The highways around this abandoned metropolis are locked tight with dead vehicles. The only way in or out is by air. Or on foot. We'll be abandoning our sound truck when we go to the airport. Maybe, if we're lucky, and the president's task force of space planes does what they're saying it can do, we'll be able to come back and get our truck. Maybe-

"Hey, what are you doing-?"

(Harsh voice off-camera.) "Up yours, bitch-"

(The camera image leaps skyward, but viewers hear sounds of struggle, screams from reporter.)

(Cut to Bruce Kendrick.) "We seem to have developed technical problems with our mobile unit in St. Louis. We'll be going back there as soon as we reestablish contact. Meantime, let's switch over to Jay Hardin, who's standing by at ground zero, in Chase County, Kansas."