Are you ready for a new story? Sure you are!
MacGyver has to deal with the paranormal, unexplained, and supernatural once again after a freak accident. Read on to find out what happens!
Second Strike Part One
Rated: PG
“Tell me why I agreed to come with you on another hike, MacGyver,” Pete said, stopping and panting heavily. “I’m exhausted!”
MacGyver stopped and turned to look at his friend, smiling. “Aw, come on, you’re having a great time,” he said.
“Sure, for a guy who’s about to drop dead.”
“It’s good exercise. Besides, the scenery is worth it, isn’t it?”
Pete looked around. They had an almost panoramic view of the mountain peaks as if they were soaring high above them, and they seemed almost endless, so vast that it felt as if they were the only people left on earth, the immensity of the forest swallowing them.
“All right, I’ll grant you that,” he said, smiling.
Thunder rumbled in the distance. A dark, billowing, anvil-shaped, threatening cloud began to roll across the sky, blocking the sun and giving the land an almost twilight appearance. Pete looked up at the sky in dismay.
“Oh great, just what we need,” he said. “There wasn’t any thunderstorm in the forecast.”
“Well, you know, meteorology isn’t always an exact science,” MacGyver said, studying the ominous cloud.
“Yeah, tell me about it.”
Lightning slashed violently across the sky, splintering into branches that looked like veins in a human body. It was a dazzling, blinding display, and the crackle of energy it produced was equally impressive. They could almost feel the heat from it as it arched overhead, the hairs on their arms standing on end.
“We’d better get out of here,” MacGyver said. “That was pretty close.”
The wind began to pick up, kicking up swirls of dust. Heavy rain began falling soon afterward in sheets, pelting them and drenching them thoroughly in seconds.
“Where are we going to go to find shelter? We can’t exactly hide under the trees with the lightning,” Pete shouted to be heard over the constant, loud rainfall. “Maybe if we reached lower ground…”
“No, that won’t do it,” MacGyver said, zipping up his jacket to protect himself from the sudden chill the rain produced, although it did little to help, the fabric soaked. He made a mental note to bring his rain resistant jacket the next time, but for this journey he didn’t think he would need it. Like Pete, he wasn’t expecting the arrival of such an abrupt, violent storm. “There really is no way to protect yourself outdoors from a lightning strike.”
“Oh great, just what I want to hear,” Pete said, pulling his hood over his bald head.
“Look, we’re just going to have to run as fast as we can and avoid the trees as best as possible. Maybe we can make it back to my jeep.”
“Mac, that’s miles away at the foot of the trail!”
“I know, but the jeep’s the best shelter we could have in a lightning storm like this. It’s made of conductive material that could protect us from any potential strike, kind of like a crude Faraday cage.”
“Plus, the rubber from the tires would help,” Pete said, showing he vaguely understood what MacGyver was referring to, but in such an urgent situation he didn’t have time to ask his friend what on earth a Faraday cage was. “What happens if we can’t make it back to the jeep?”
“I saw a park ranger’s cabin awhile back. We could wait the storm out in there, although there’s no guarantee we’d be protected from lightning strikes in there, either. I could fashion a lightning rod when we get there, I suppose. It could divert the current of any strike. I would just need some conductive metal like copper. I’m sure I could find some.”
As Pete looked up at the rain, the cloud that produced it seemed to grow even more menacing, the thunder rumbling louder, sounding like barrels being dropped and rolled across the sky. Lightning zapped one of the nearby high peaks, and he watched mesmerized as it glowed with its terrible, fierce, and powerful beauty. He turned and looked back at MacGyver.
“We’d better do it,” He said. “It’s only getting worse. Let’s go.”
They began running, attempting to evade the storm and locate the best shelter they could as quickly as possible. The ground was already sodden, heavily saturated with the large amount of rainfall, slowing their progress slightly, making it slippery, muddy, and treacherous. Pete slipped and landed hard on his back, knocking the wind out of him.
“Pete, are you all right?” MacGyver asked, approaching him and trying to help him stand.
“Yeah…I think so,” Pete said, gasping, trying to regain his breath.
MacGyver helped him up and Pete brushed the slimy mud off his jacket as best as he could. As they stood there, Pete trying to restore his shaken senses, another thick, strong bolt of lightning raced passed them, this time so close it struck a tree only a few feet away from them, the massive bolt slicing the tree in half. Sparks flew as the branches crashed to the ground. Smoldering, blackened, smoky remains were all that were left behind, revealing the extent of the damage caused by such a powerful electrical force. The jolt of the blast sent them to the ground, huddling against each other for the minimal protection it could provide, shielding themselves from the intense brightness of the bolt. For a moment in the strike’s aftermath, all either of them could do was stare at the charred tree, stunned. Their ears rang with the loudness of the thunder that exploded with it, and once again they felt the heat and incredible energy of the lightning radiating on their dampened skin. They trembled, more out of fear, awe, and adrenaline than any cold that the rain had created.
“Are you all right?” Pete asked, still staring wide-eyed at the destroyed tree.
“Yeah,” was all MacGyver could mutter, his voice barely audible.
“We were lucky. That tree could have been one of us.”
MacGyver nodded grimly. “I’ve never seen a lightning strike so closely before,” he said, watching the smoking tree in fascination, impressed by the level of damage caused. “Amazing.”
“Yeah well, we’d better not stick around too much longer to witness another one,” Pete said. “That was much too close for my liking. We’d better keep going and try to get out of here, before another one decides to zap one of us.”
“You’ll get no argument from me,” MacGyver said, “but haven’t you ever heard that lightning never strikes the same place twice?” He attempted a slight smile, looking at Pete.
“I’ll tell you Mac, I’m not so sure I believe that old expression.”
“I know. I’m not, either.”
“Well, that’s a comfort.”
“Come on, let’s just focus on getting away from this storm. What do you say?”
“Sure, but I say we avoid the area around the tree, just in case.”
“It’s probably harmless now.”
“Yeah, but still…call me superstitious.” Pete couldn’t explain why, but he had a strong feeling that something was about to go wrong, the splintered tree a bad omen of some significance.
They continued running, the storm growing worse with each minute. They began to pass the tree, the site of so much devastation, the ground even blackened around it. Pete kept his distance from it, but MacGyver, curious to see the effects of the lightning on the tree up close, ran closer to it. He paused for a moment to catch his breath, examining the remains. Pete had continued running, unaware that MacGyver had stopped until he looked back and noticed he was no longer near his side. Frantically, he searched through the rain to find him, the drops falling so fast and hard that it was difficult to see through them. Once he managed to find him, he saw him standing by the tree, staring at it with the childlike wonder of a small boy.
“MacGyver, come on!” He shouted. “Leave it alone! It’s too dangerous!”
“I just want to see it, Pete!” MacGyver shouted. He broke out into one of his trademark, boyish, charismatic grins, even laughing slightly at his discovery. “It’s incredible!”
After he said those words, another lightning bolt raced toward the ground. It happened so quickly that Pete didn’t have a chance to warn MacGyver. For a brief second, it appeared as if it would strike close to where MacGyver stood, but it would miss him. Pete’s hope that this was true was short-lived. The lightning struck MacGyver’s body directly, sending him collapsing to the ground, smoke and sparks surrounding him just as they had when lightning struck the tree. Pete watched in horror, knowing it was likely his friend was dead.
“No!” He shouted. “MacGyver!”
To be continued…
"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer."
--Henry David Thoreau
brains+brawn+beauty+personality=MacGyver
Boy, what a cliffhanger.
)) 
Can't wait for part two! 
