Gaia slipped her arm around Aaron’s waist and waited.
Eventually, Pan edged his way to the apex of the tree where he could get a grip on the web. He pulled hard. The web stretched, but it didn’t break. Then he held onto the tree with his knees pushed together and grabbed another fistful of the web, pulling it in the opposite direction, probably figuring it would split down the middle. Not only did it not split, but he couldn’t hold onto the tree with his knees anymore and fell, landing in a cradle of sticky silk. “What the…”
Gaia looked into Aaron’s eyes. “Are you ready to go home, darling?”
“More than ready.”
Mother Nature snapped her fingers and produced a spaceship. It was small and reminded Aaron of the vipers used by the TV fighter pilots onBattlestar Galacticaepisodes.
I never thought I’d get to ride in one of those!
She swept her hand through the air in an upward motion, and the hatch opened. Holding Aaron’s hand, she floated the two of them over to the shuttle. “Climb aboard,” she said, smiling.
“Ladies first.”
She kissed his hand and said, “You’d better go first, just in case you lose your balance and float away.”
“You wouldn’t catch me?”
“Of course I would—eventually.”
He scrambled down the metal ladder, slid into one of two empty seats, and strapped himself in. She followed right behind him. As soon as they were situated, she waved her hand in a downward motion, and the hatch closed over their heads.
“Do you know how to fly this thing?”
“No. Do you?”
“No.” Aaron’s hand began to tremble.
“Are you cold?”
“I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure this is pure fear.”
She looked offended. “Why? Are you afraid of my driving?”
“I thought you said you didn’t know how to fly it.”
“Not to worry. I borrowed some stuff from a new Tesla. It’s now a self-driving, GPS-equipped vehicle with an automatic braking system.”
Aaron couldn’t help teasing her a bit. “What kind of mileage does it get?”
“We’ll see, won’t we?” She pushed a button, and the ship roared to life. She pointed, and they shot off in the direction she had come from. Aaron gazed with amazement as stars streaked by.
“Gaia?”
“Yes?”
“What are we going to do when we reach Earth’s atmosphere? Won’t we burn up?”
“Don’t worry. I can cast a hard protective shell around the ship.”
Somewhat relieved but always erring on the side of caution, Aaron asked, “And what do we do if once we’re in Earth’s range, we’re reported as a UFO—or worse, shot down?”
“You know that power of invisibility you have?”
“Yeah?”
“Does it extend to objects?”
