I hastily assembled my equipment before ducking out of the door. Social media reported a meteor landing several kilometers deep in the woods, approximately ten kilometers from the edge of town. I knew I had to move fast. The government wouldn’t be far behind, and beyond them, the media. 

In one hand I held a small cooler filled with all the instrumentation I could afford, while in the other, I carried a radiation detector. One couldn’t be too careful. Still, I was determined to get...