Thor by Elizabeth Rudnick

Author:Elizabeth Rudnick
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction - Young Adult
Publisher: Disney Book Group

A STRANGER’S ARRIVAL

The desert air was dry and still. In the small town of Puente Antiguo, New Mexico, the stores were closed for the night, and the houses were quiet. The local residents were tucked inside, eating dinner or watching television. Parked on the only street that led in and out of town was an old, beat-up Pinzgauer utility vehicle. A young woman sat in the driver’s seat, staring out at the desert just beyond, while next to her, an older gentleman read through various papers on his lap.

The van started up and headed out of town into the dark desert. For a while, there was only the sound of the wind through the open windows and the occasional beep from the computers.

Finally, about twenty miles outside town, the van came to a stop. They had arrived at their destination.

In the back of the Pinzgauer, Jane Foster sat in front of a row of computer monitors and a variety of other scientific equipment. Most everything in the Pinzgauer—including the utility vehicle itself—had seen better days. The monitors were held together by duct tape, and some of the equipment was generations behind the most recent models, though Jane did manage to sneak in some very high-tech machines. As an astrophysicist who studied the stars for signs of spatial anomalies, she didn’t have a lot of people pounding down the door to give her funding for research or equipment.

But that would change soon enough. She was sure of it. Her work in New Mexico was getting her closer and closer to actual findings. And if tonight’s readings were any indication, something big was about to happen. Something very big. Popping her head over the front seat, she looked at the young woman who was driving. Darcy Lewis had just joined the team as a college intern but so far, she seemed less interested in science than in surfing the Internet. Still, she was a good driver. “Thanks for the ride, Darcy,” Jane said now.

Turning to the older gentleman, she smiled. “Hold on to your seat, Selvig.”

Erik Selvig smiled but didn’t say anything. Dr. Selvig was a colleague and friend of Jane’s father, and he knew that her potential was limitless. He just wished she had chosen a field of study that was more easily accepted by the rest of the scientific community. While he had always believed in her, he feared her ideas might be too far ahead of their time for the rest of the world. Selvig’s thoughts were interrupted by the beeping from one of Jane’s computers.

The beeping increased, and Jane opened the large sunroof. Stepping up on the bench built into the vehicle’s side, she raised herself up and into the night. In her hand she held a magnetometer. With it, she could calibrate the position of the stars. A digital display read 00:00:19, and it was counting down.

“Here we go…” she said, excitement in her voice as she stared up at the sky. Selvig joined her. “In three…two…one…now!”

Nothing happened.

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