Generations
"Michael! Where are you?"
Where is that awful child?
"Here, mother!" Michael ran over from the circle of boys outside the small brick house.
"Ah, there you are, you child. What did I tell you about playing with those boys?" his mother scolded. "And besides, you still have to refill the water pail, fetch the firewood, and wash the dishes."
The boy sighed. "Yes mother."
"Now, I don't want to have to tell you again, you hear me child?"
"Yes, mum."
His mother disappeared inside the house. He ran over to the boys and said he had to go. They exchanged a few quips and that was it. At the back of the house, he grabbed the pail and started along the path to the river, the pail clanking all the way. The route was familiar, as was the routine. Chorse in the morning, a little free time after lunch, some more chores, a little more time with friends, then dinner, and off to bed. He was young, but old enough to know that these days wouldn't last long. Then there'd be school, and possibly sent off to one of the merchants for apprenticeship, and all sorts of responsibility. He intended on making the most of the moment.
A loud thump sounded as something streaked from the sky and struck the ground. Michael jumped up, but being the curious little boy he was, soon overcame his fear. He crept near the small crater slowly, as if he were trying to catch a frog. When he finally caught sight of the object, it ended up being an egg of magnificent design, much like an Easter egg. He reached forward tentatively, gave one last look around to be sure no one was looking, and touched the egg. There was a bright flash as Michael disappeared with the egg.
Izzy unpacked for camp, carefully setting his laptop on the desk, along with all the technological paraphernalia he'd been able to bring along. His cabin mates were doing the same, though they brought items most children would consider normal—little trinkets and tools for the forest, as well as notebooks, magnifying lenses, and the sort. He finished his neat and orderly unpacking, and after giving everything a last look over, went outside to join the others.
He walked out and picked out his friends from among the mass of children. "Hey Tai!" he called. Tai waved him over as he jogged up to them. "Where's Kari?" Izzy asked.
"Oh, she got sick," Tai replied.
"Too bad," Izzy said.
He looked around the circle, spotting Sora, Mimi, Joe, T.K., and Matt. "School reunion?"
"So it seems," Matt responded.
Mimi frowned. "They'd better not make us take one of those long hikes," she said. "I'd hate to ruin my shoes."
"How about your feet?" Joe pointed out.
A look of dread came over Mimi's face. "I suppose they'll be hurting too!"
A light snow began to fall. "Snow?" Joe said, astounded. "In summer?"
"Maybe it's the elevation," Izzy said.
The snow picked up pace. "Not like this," Sora said.
"Snow in summer," Tai repeated, shaking his head. "Who knows what's next."
"Jerry, you got those specs?"
Alex ran another pass with the scanner, but still could not find the problem in the engines of the Starscream. "Alex," Jerry began, "let me remind you I'm doing you a favor."
"Oh, yeah. Of course. Sorry," he apologized.
Jerry sighed. Alex always was prone to break things. This time, he'd overheated the engine on his starship. A little young to be owning one, but then again he'd scrapped up the money himself. Strangely, it still didn't prevent him from being reckless. He picked up the welding torch and let down the mask to cover his face.
"When will y'all be ready?" Sara trotted over gaily, donning her pilot's helmet. "Ready to blast some targets!"
"Could you lower the volume there?" Brian called over. "You know we're not allowed into the asteroid field." He had his own ship too.
"Yeah, yeah," she waved off. "They're just being adults."
"I still think it's a bad idea. Too much risk," Brian repeated stubbornly.
"Where's your sense of adventure?" Alex called over from his console.
"Hey gang," a voice called from the door. Alex, Jerry, Sara, and Brian spared a glance at John and his younger brother Jack. "John!" Alex called. "Just the man I want to see. You know they sold the ship for twelve thousand?"
"What?"
Alex smiled at him. "Don't do that!" John said, still feeling the shock.
"Alright guys!" Jerry called. "Ready to go."
The six kids split up, three and three, into the two ships, and headed out of the hangar. They darted quietly out of the space station, following a precise route that smugglers used to evade the station's scanners.
"Hey, uh, you guys picking up something funny?" Jerry called.
"Yeah, bearing one six point five?" Brian said.
"That's the one."
"Probably just a nav buoy or something. Like the ones they use to mark the training field."
"I dunno," Alex said, over the radio from Jerry's ship. "I say we check it out."
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt."
The two ships made their way to the coordinates, which resided within the asteroid field. A small glowing sphere, like a star, stood there. They observed, remaining silent for long moments. They were about to turn around when suddenly six lights, each a different color, shot forth from the sphere to reach the children. The next moment they were gone.
Alex felt a headache. He had blacked out. As he opened his eyes, he saw the figure of a strange creature. "Hey Alex!" it was calling to him. "I've been waitin' a long time for ya!"