1.   And then you watch as the child nearly topples over while trying to take in the entire stretch of this monster that is seemingly piercing the sky.

2.   He pierced the skies with pinpoint iron shots.

3.   Suddenly, a lightning bolt pierces the sky, striking one of the giant electric towers that stretch high-voltage lines through the Ponderosa forest.

4.   Suddenly, a line of white light pierces the sky.

5.   The tall chimneys of the steel mills and glass factories pierced the sky.

6.   They pierced the skies with pieces composed with high-powered searchlights.

7.   A burst of gunfire erupts later and the whistle of another incoming rocket pierces the skies.

8.   In a valley outside this town freshly taken by Muslim-led government forces, artillery and small-arms fire pierced the skies Friday.