Guardian (The Tower Saga, Book 1)

Chapter 5 - Breaking news

The next day the news conference was a zoo. Satellite news vans were spread out in long lines along both sides of the Appleton road. There were reporters interviewing anyone they could, farmers, civilians and even some government officials. The U.S. military was also out in full force. The no fly zone was heavily enforced and a pair of jets that did regular sweeps around the aurora of light. The two jets buzzed around the shimmering aurora and chased off several news helicopters that dared get too close.  

Seating for the press conference had been pre-arranged and several rows of ranking military had seated themselves nearest the stage. Between the seats and stage, a row of soldiers had formed a solid line of bodies. They stood in front of a white line painted across the road. Behind them the aurora sat, with its slight haze, in the dawn light. Each soldier in line cradled an assault rifle and stared unmoving into the crowd, their backs to the aurora itself. Ten feet further towards the stage was another line, this one however was painted red. It divided the area before a large raised stage that was equipped with monitors and TVs.  

The Locke's, James, Doc, and Zeus waited patiently in chairs placed across the back of the stage. Joslyn, Jon and several other castle dwellers waited in a small audience to one side of the stage. 

Daniel Locke, Sr. took the stage first. The man stood solemn in front of the podium. When he spoke, his words were carried via speakers to the waiting crowd. 

"Thank you all for coming," he said. "Please hold all questions until after we have finished. I know what you are about to hear may be considered unbelievable. It may even sound like the ravings of a mad man. I assure you it is not. Nor is this a parlour trick. Inside this shimmering aurora of air, you see before you, we have discovered an incredible source of power of unknown origins. We can and will, provide demonstrations and scientific data as evidence of our findings. My team and I are prepared to allow an international community of scientists' voluntary access to any and all artifacts and or technologies we have or may uncover." 

Murmuring grew among the U.S. military personal and the news hounds pressed closer with their microphones and cameras.  

Daniel Locke raised his hands requesting silence. "However new data has come to our attention and must be further analyzed before anyone will be allowed access to any of these uncovered items." Daniel paused as he looked around the stage and held his gaze on Doc Hocking for a moment. "My scientists have determined the area surrounding this valley is encompassed by an energy curtain. This field that we have come to know as the Aurora California. This aurora has grown in power in recent days since the initial discovery several weeks ago." 

"Since that time we have had some rather disturbing news. An incident that occurred late last night has resulted in the possible death of one of my fellow workers. After spending several weeks in close proximity to these artifacts Mr. Hans Gretel decided to leave our valley. When Mr. Gretel passed through the aurora, his body became coated in a sort of crystal. At first, it appeared that he had frozen solid, but upon closer examination, his body was determined to have crystalized. His body is now in the possession of the U.S. military and they are trying to determine exactly what happened and whether or not the crystallization process is reversible."  

"My team, working alongside the U.S. military scientists, have determined that it is incredibly dangerous for any person inside this field to exit through the aurora at this time."