The first thing the people of Falmouth heard was the sound.
Not church bells.
Not warning horns.
Not galloping horses.
It was something deeper.
A heavy thudding noise echoed from the sky, growing louder every second until it rolled across the city like distant thunder.
At first, nobody understood what they were hearing.
Merchants near the market slowly looked upward. Children stopped running through the streets. Guards standing on the walls turned toward the northern sky with confused expressions.
Then someone shouted.
"Something's coming!"
People started pointing upward.
Dark shapes appeared above the clouds.
Small at first.
Then larger.
Then impossible to ignore.
Three Black Hawk helicopters descended from the sky, their rotors beating the air so hard that the sound shook windows across nearby streets. The noise spread through the city like a storm arriving overhead.
Loose banners snapped violently in the wind.
Dust and paper flew through the streets.
