Big Sky Chill

George floated through the sky. Anna Jane held out her arms and threw back her head.

“Whee!” she shouted. Vivian rolled her eyes.

“Really?” she asked.

“Let her be,” Logan said. “I think it’s cute.” Anna Jane giggled to herself.

“Whatever,” Vivian muttered, rolling her eyes. Anna Jane let her mind get lost in her own imagination. It’s been a few hours. They passed many clouds. The weather was so clear. Destination estimation would be in three hours.

“You okay, George?” Anna Jane asked.

“Meep!” the creature said.

“You hungry?” she asked.

“Meep!” he said again. The little girl smiled.

“Okay,” she said. “Hang on.” Anna Jane reached into his belly. George let off a whizzing laugh as he shook.

“Oh,” Anna Jane said. She dug around again. More laughing followed. His body jiggled and shook.

“Cut it out!” Vivian shouted. Anna Jane looked up.

“Hm?” she asked.

“Did you forget we’re on this weird creature?” the geisha asked. Anna Jane looked around.

“Oh,” she said.

“Yeah,” Vivian said, nodding. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to fall off.”

“But he’s hungry,” Anna Jane wailed.

“He’ll have to wait,” the geisha said. George whimpered.

“Shut up,” she hissed. The younger girl sat back and sighed.

“Fine,” she said. She looked down at George.

“Sorry buddy,” Anna Jane said. The floating creature whimpered again.

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-Fort Davis-

Another busy day on the ground. The soldiers were getting ready for afternoon exercises. One of the officers looked through the telescope. Something caught his eye.

“What the…” he said. The man ran over and rang the bell. Everyone looked up.

“UFO! UFO!” the guard shouted. “Everyone get into position!” The soldiers rushed around on the ground.

----------

Anna Jane leaned over the edge. So many clouds floated by. She reached out to touch one.

Suddenly, her radio crackled to life. Everyone looked up.

“Hello?” Logan asked. More crackling filled the air. The children looked at each other. Anna Jane crawled over to her radio.

“Hello?” she asked. A voice came through the crackling.

“2496, do you read?” it asked. “2946, do read? Over!” The kids looked at each other.

“Uh… yeah,” Anna Jane said. “Who is this?” There was a pause.

“Who is this?” the voice asked. It sounded like a man.

“We’re looking for Fort Davis,” Anna Jane said. Another pause came.

“Why are you looking for our fort?” the man asked. The kids looked at each other.

“We are looking for a lost city,” Anna Jane said. “Where are you?”

“On the ground. We can see you. Are you an enemy?” the man asked.

“No,” Anna Jane said. “Can we land now?” A long pause came. And then crackling through the air.

“Hello?” Anna Jane asked. “Are you still there? Hello? Hello?” The radio went silent. She turned to her human companions.

“What happened?” she asked.

“Dead air,” Logan said. Anna Jane frowned.

“So… what do we do now?” she asked. Logan and Vivian started. The cowboy shrugged.

“I guess we don’t have a choice,” he said. Anna Jan struggled to get up.

“Then we’ll land,” she said. Vivian tilted her head.

“Where?” she asked. The younger girl shrugged.

“In front of the fort,” she said. “We can at least to be close.” Vivian sat backwards. Anna Jane turned to George.

“George,” she said. “You can start landing now.”

“Meep!” the creature said. George started floating downwards. Everyone held on tight. The drop increased in speed. The human companions’ ears began to hurt. Screaming wasn’t an option. They closed their eyes and held on tighter.

Then it all stopped. Anna Jane, Vivian, and Logan opened their eyes and looked up. The dust around them settled.

“Where are we?” Vivian asked.

“Look!” Anna Jane said. Her companions looked up. Everyone saw the iron gates of their destination, Fort Davis.