Missile

Clark sighed. His mind should have been
racing with possibilities, trying desperately to find a
connection, an explanation, something.
Instead, all he wanted to do was sleep. He closed
his eyes and listened to the sounds of the wind and the
rain. He felt exhausted suddenly, as though he had the
weight of the world on his shoulders.
He didn't hear the sonic boom from the missile
until after it had already hit him.

***

The explosion knocked Clark back thirty feet and
caused his skin to sting slightly. Fragments of the
missile were already falling to earth and Clark
grimaced as he realized that his suit, already abused,
had been mostly burned away.
Only the parts of the gray business suit which had
been closest to his skin remained unaffected. The rest
was already drifting to earth along with the fragments
from the missile. This left him wearing an undershirt
and a pair of ragged pants. Even his shoes were
singed.

A quick glance showed that the fragments were
going to land in a field, away from anyone who might
be hurt.

A glance in another direction showed two of the
new lethal-looking fighter planes heading in his
direction. They'd obviously spotted him on radar and
had come to take a look.

It stunned Clark to think that they'd launch a
missile without even visually confirming that he
wasn't some sort of a passenger plane.

Pg. 5