Near Topsail Beach, 3 silent, star-sized objects each come to a stop, then one at a time, shoot off to disappear seaward

About October of 1989, my wife and I were at the beach, I believe Topsail, and it was completely dark.  As we gazed at the stars, I saw what looked like a shooting star at first, but then quickly noticed that it did not have a trail, just a star-like object moving from roughly north to south.  
I told my wife, “Look, a shooting star”.  Almost immediately, I noticed that it was not just one, but 3, in succession.  They came to an abrupt stop, all three of them.  Then, one at a time, they shot off from a complete standstill; at an unimaginable speed (like in a science fiction movie) until each one disappeared.  
They went a direction toward the open sea in a southeasterly direction.  I mean, each one took less than a second to just shoot off and disappear, and this was from a complete standstill.  
To this day, I can clearly see that scene and will never forget, nor be able to explain it.
Witness indicates that the date of the event is approximate.  PD