24 HOURS AGO

Anne checked the e-mail again.

To: Paul Drake

Cc: Anne Drake

Subject: Everard High School Ninth Grade Class Excursion

Dear Mr. Drake,

As part of our developmental program, we will be conducting the ninth-grade class excursion on August 15th, 2080, which your child is eligible to participate in. The excursion will be to the Stephen Hawking Museum, Tanisport, and will be a full day program.

The schedule for the trip is as follows:

Time

Activity

7:30 to 8:30 am

Student pickup from home via school bus

9:00 am

Arrival at the Stephen Hawking Museum

9:30 am to 10:30 am

Ultrahumans Memorial Hall

Exhibits detailing the life and achievements of notable heroes and villains

10:30 am to 12:30 pm

Great Battles of the Alien War exhibit

Historical significance of key battles fought against the alien invaders

12:30 pm to 1:15 pm

Lunch Break

1:15 pm to 3:30 pm

Fortress Skyguard Exhibit

The Stephen Hawking museum has built the first and only mock-up of the interior of Fortress Skyguard in Tanisport, a realistic rendering of the actual infrastructure of the space station. Please note that students will be allowed to enter the exhibit in batches of no more than seven (7) at a time due to museum regulations.

3:45 pm

Departure from the Stephen Hawking Museum

3:45 pm to 4:45 pm

Return home via school bus

Students are to carry the following and ONLY the following during the trip:

Packed lunch Smartphone School-approved tablet for taking notes, with stylus One (1) schoolbag or carrying case not more than 1 kg in weight, for holding of the above items

We request you to kindly ensure that your child is prepared in all respects for the school excursion and to make the most of this valuable learning opportunity.

Sincere regards,

Doris Davies

Vice-Principal

Everard High School, Tanisport, Florida

Okay, so her lunchbox was packed, the smartphone was charged, and the bus was fifteen minutes away. Time to check on Dad.

She walked into her father’s room. Paul Drake was tying a tie. Actually, he appeared to be wrestling with a red-and-gold tie, which showed every sign of winning the contest.

“Dad,” Anne sighed. “Let me get that.”

“I’ve got it, Anne. Don’t you have to be ready for your school trip?”

She ignored him. “Here. That’s how you do it. Much better.”

Paul Drake stepped back and sighed. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Anne.”

“Not wear ties, that’s for sure,” she replied. “What’s with the get-up, anyway? You haven’t worn a tie since Mum’s….” She stopped at the word ‘funeral’.

A wince of pain flashed across Paul’s face, gone in an instant. “Big meeting today.”

“I thought the Association meetings were all blue jeans and T-shirts.”

“Funny. No, the Construction Workmen’s Association is getting a chance to meet Mayor Aldiss and talk about the new housing program.”

“Wow, Dad! That’s good news. Congratulations!”

“Thanks, dragonfly.” He smiled. “It’s been a long road getting here. Aldiss is a good man, though, and he genuinely wants to do something for the parts of the city that are run down - Selleck Street, the old warehouse district, all of them can be torn down and turned into low-cost housing. It’ll solve a lot of problems.”

“And create a ton of jobs for the Association.”

“And create a ton of jobs for the Association. I’ve told you this before, haven’t I?”

“Only six hundred times.”

Paul grinned. “Let’s get you on the bus, smart girl.”

Anne spotted Avra Hirsch the minute she got onto the bus. Her best friend had grabbed a window seat and waved her over.

“Looking forward to the exhibit?”

Anne nodded. “I really want to do the Skyguard walkthrough.”

“So do most kids,” replied the other teen. “It’s the nearest we’ll ever get to actually setting foot on the station.”

“Unless you turn out to be an ultra yourself,” Anne grinned.

“I’d be an improvement over the current crowd,” Avra replied haughtily. “Queen Avra, ruler of the winds and the seas.”

“Neither of which is in space, so why would you be on Skyguard?”

“Don’t annoy Queen Avra. I’d bring the wind and the seas to outer space.”

Anne giggled. After a second, Avra joined in.

“You two okay?” a third voice interrupted. “Or did a villain release laughing gas while I wasn’t looking?”

Anne looked up to see her friend Shyam grinning down at them.

“We were just discussing the importance of respecting Queen Avra,” replied Anne.

“Duly noted, Your Majesty,” Shyam acknowledged. “Is this going to be like your ninth birthday party when we all had to wear those fairy gowns and bow?”

“They were elf gowns, and you need let that go.”

“I will, the day you get my sister to delete the video recording. Or at least stop embarrassing me about it.”

Avra sniffed in disdain. “Where’s your annoying friend?”

“Marty’s at home. Allergy attack.”

“Good.”

“He’s not that bad once you get to know him.”

“I’m sure he isn’t, but if he hits on me one more time, I’m going to hit him.”

Shyam winced.

Anne smiled, drawing an irritated look from Avra. “You think it’s funny? We’ll see when it happens to you.”

“Nobody’s going to hit on me,” Anne said. “You’re the pretty one.”

“Aw, don’t be like that, Anne,” Shyam said, sliding into the seat behind them. “You’re beautiful where it counts.”

Anne gave him an annoyed look. “Okay, what do you want?”

“Your English notes.”

“Fine, but save the cheesy pickup lines for your girlfriends.”

Shyam shrugged. “Don’t have any. Don’t want any. Hey, got any good games?”

“No space for games on my phone.”

“Huh? How come? Don’t you have, like, forty terabytes of memory?”

“She’s got this massive set of files that she can’t get rid of that takes up most of the space,” interrupted Avra.

“It’s not mine,” replied Anne quietly. “It’s some stuff my mom left. I got this phone from her.”

“Oh, sorry,” Shyam said as the bus rolled to a stop. “Yeah, I get why you don’t want to change it.”

The door opened and Wanda Mears climbed onto the bus. As usual, she shot Anne a hate-filled glare.

“Ignore her,” Avra said.

“It’s not that easy,” muttered Anne. “She’s had it in for me for a while.”

“She hates me, too,” muttered Avra. “She’s a bit… unhinged, I think. Hates everyone.”

“I wish I knew why, though.”

“I might know have an idea. A friend of a friend that she and Brad Meadows are an item.”

Shyam made a gagging face. “Meadows? Pretty boy Meadows?”

“Yeah, the one who looks like a boy band reject.”

Anne looked puzzled. “What does that have to do with me?”

“She heard you went to Brad’s house.”

“What? No! It wasn’t like that!”

“You mean you actually went?” Shyam made a pained face.

“My dad and Charlie Meadows are both in the Association, that’s all. He swung by to hand over some work stuff the other day, I was in the car, Brad walked over and said hi. That’s all.”

“I heard minus his shirt,” Avra grinned wickedly.

“He was mowing the lawn.”

“I got the memo, but Wanda didn’t. Bet she thinks you’re after him.”

“Should I care?”

“Don’t worry, Anne,” reassured Shyam. “We’re with you. Your valiant defenders.”

“Heaven help us,” grumbled Avra.

The Fortress Skyguard exhibit was hosted in a massive hall. Outside, a 3-D hologram of the station gave the first-time visitor a look at the space station that had guarded Earth for twenty years.

The station’s central saucer-shaped section was surrounded by seven rectangular ‘legs’, each a massive hulk of metal larger than anything mankind had built in space. Tiny blue lines snaked out from the station, meant to represent the planetary shield.

“The actual shield’s invisible,” whispered Shyam. “Otherwise, we’d see blue lines crossing the night sky.”

Avra rolled her eyes. “Everyone knows that, doofus.”

“I’m just saying.”

“Last group for the Skyguard tour,” called Mrs. Delft. “Anne Drake. Avra Hirsch. Bennie Grunberg. June Foyle. Shyam Mishra. Wanda Mears. Line up for the exhibit, please.”

"Did we have to get stuck in the same group as her?" muttered Avra, as Wanda shot them another glare.

"Quiet in line," ordered Mrs. Delft. "You have a maximum of twenty minutes in the exhibit before we have to rejoin the bus, so use your time well."

Anne followed her teacher into the hall. The long corridors were painted steel grey, like the actual walls on Skyguard, and decked with green lines. Up ahead, they walked into a room with flags of more than a hundred nations on the walls.

"The Hall of Nations on Fortress Skyguard," explained Mrs. Delft, "is meant to represent the unity of all countries in the face of the alien invasion. Each flag represents a country whose heroes have served on Skyguard."

"What about the stars on that wall?" Bennie asked.

"Those stars, Mr. Grunberg, represent those ultrahumans who have sacrificed their lives defending Earth from alien attack."

The group walked through another hall and then up a flight of stairs. "Don't they have elevators in space?" grumbled June.

"Not on the real Fortress Skyguard, Miss Foyle. Mr. Mishra, please put those props back.”

“But they look like real laser pistols!” exclaimed Shyam.

“They’re props, Mr. Mishra, and I want them down now.”

Shyam quietly complied with the teacher’s instructions.

Mrs. Delft pointed to the window. “This is a mock-up of the Skyguard Observation Deck. You can see the glass panes from here overlooking the city. On the real Fortress Skyguard, they overlook the Earth.”

“We’re on the top floor,” whispered Avra to Anne.

Mrs. Delft continued. “Ever since the superhero Bastion stepped on to Fortress Skyguard in 2063, it has been the headquarters of Earth’s defence against the invading aliens we know as the Hierarchy. The Observation Deck is the location of many historically significant events, including the signing - via videoconference - of the Skyguard Charter, and the induction ceremony of new members of Fortress Skyguard’s crew of ultrahumans is carried out here.”

“What’s that light up there?” Bennie pointed to a red bulb on the roof.

“It’s not part of Skyguard,” replied Mrs. Delft. “That’s the museum’s alarm system; if we need to evacuate, it’ll let us know.”

As if on cue, the alarm started to flash. A keening wail echoed through the corridors.

“Oh, neat,” said Bennie, “they turned it on for us.”

“Do they do that in every show?” June asked Mrs. Delft.

The teacher was staring at the alarm with a concerned look. “Bennie, settle down. All of you, quiet. Let me check something.” She pulled out her phone.

“Are you getting a signal?” whispered Avra. “My phone’s not getting network.”

Anne frowned and checked her smartphone. The network showed zero bars.

Network failure?

“I’m on F-Net,” Shyam whispered back, “and they’re down too.”

Mrs. Delft put her smartphone back and gestured to the students. “All of you. We’re going up on the roof.”

“Why?” asked Wanda Mears.

“Because I said so, Miss Mears, that’s why. Now. You will follow my instructions at all times and stick together. No wandering off, not even to go to the bathroom. Is that understood?”

The six students nodded.

“Follow me.” Mrs. Delft headed for the stairwell.

The roof of the Museum was mostly bare open space. A few ducts and water tanks broke up the stark, flat whiteness.

“What do you think’s going on?” Shyam asked quietly.

Avra shrugged. “Beats me. Some sort of emergency, I suppose.”

“I can see smoke,” Bennie announced loudly, pointing at a building in the distance.

Anne squinted. Sure enough, she could see it - and not just from one building. Trails of black smoke rose from several points in the city.

A white flash lit up the sky.

Anne blinked in the aftermath. What was that?

The sound hit them seconds later.

Thunder crashed, and a hot wind blew past them.

“Oh crud,” muttered Shyam.

Anne could feel a chill creeping up her spine. Heat wave? Flashes? Fires in the city?

“Quiet, all of you,” barked Mrs. Delft. “Shyam. Bennie. Come with me. You girls stay here.”

“I’m coming too,” said Avra.

“Be quiet, Mrs. Hirsch, or you’ll be coming to detention tomorrow.”

Anne could hear a quiet whine coming from behind. She turned.

A streak of what looked like white vapour was racing across the sky, heading towards them….

A circular shape. A saucer.

Cold fear settled in the pit of her stomach. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t breathe.

Maybe it would pass overhead….

The saucer seemed to slow down for a second.

Anne ducked behind the water tank as the world exploded in green light.

Heat washed over her in a flash. She felt as if she would burn up.

Then it was gone, as a thousand litres of water splashed on the roof, dousing the fires.

The force of the scalding water smashed into her, knocking her backwards.

She could feel herself sliding, as the water flowed towards the edge of the roof. Her back slammed against the railings.

Pain shot through her. The water flowed past, falling off the edge… but she was safe.

Thank God.

She stood up.

A black crater marked the spot where Mrs. Delft had stood. Along with Shyam and Bennie.

Closer by, she could see two human-like lumps, charred black.

No. Not lumps…. Bodies.

Avra.

No no no no no….

She walked forward. Maybe someone survived…

“Hey,” a voice broke the silence.

Wanda.

The other girl had taken shelter behind a ventilation unit. She seemed unhurt.

“You okay?” Wanda asked.

“I think I got soaked,” replied Anne. “Avra… is she there?”

Wanda shook her head. “There’s nobody else on the roof. That pile…” She gestured at the bodies. “One’s Avra. The other’s June. Take your pick.”

Anne could feel her gorge rising.

She raced to the railing.

Breakfast came up. And out. And all the way down below…

She could hear Wanda walk up behind her. “There, there,” the other girl said. “Look, it’s just the two of us on the roof.” She clutched Anne. “Let it out.”

Anne could feel her breath come in spurts. The smell of smoke and char still filled the air.

“You’re lucky you didn’t go over,” commented Wanda.

“Thank you,” Anne whispered.

The other girl’s grip on her arm and back tightened.

“Luck should go to good people, don’t you think?”

Before she could process what Wanda had said, she felt her body lifted into the air…

And pushed.

She was going over the railing….

She grabbed at something. Anything. Her left hand latched onto an ancient-looking gargoyle.

She looked down.

Far below, the streets of Tanisport beckoned. Empty.

A hundred feet below, and nothing between her and hard concrete.

“Bye-bye, Anne!” Laughter came from above. Wanda. “I’ll tell them the aliens got you! They’ll put your name on a memorial, how about that?”

Anne heard a door slam. Wanda had left the roof.

She was alone.

Sounds came to her. Explosions. Screams from below. Sirens.

Please, she prayed. Someone help. Please.

“Help!”