Chapter Five:

The Fare

Dad freaks out enough for both of us. “Archie!” he yells, running around underneath me. “Grab on to a branch! Quick, before you get higher than the trees!”

I reach out with both arms and legs until I’m able to grab the top branch of the closest tree. The trees on this planet are very tall, much taller than on Earth. I wrap myself around the trunk and hold tight. The suns are pretty bright up here, but luckily I still have my sunglasses on.

“Great job, Archie!” Dad calls, running over to my tree. “Can you climb down?”

I nod. The bark is kind of rough, but when I loosen my grip, I can feel myself start to float again. So I hang on tight and begin climbing down. Around halfway to the ground I’m feeling pretty good about my climbing abilities. A city kid like me doesn’t get many chances to climb trees. I should go to the park more often.

“That’s it, Archie,” Dad calls up. “Keep going.”

Still gripping tight with my hands and feet, I lower myself one more branch. Whoa! I suck in my breath. Six inches away from my face is a large white ball of fur. The ball of fur’s belly is rising and falling with each breath. I don’t dare move. Who knows what a space animal could do to a kid? Drag me back to its cave? Swallow me in one gulp?

The branch creaks. I wince as the creature lifts his head and looks right at me. He has long whiskers, triangle-shaped ears, and bright green eyes.

“Meow,” he says, lazily cleaning a paw with his tongue. As he rolls to the side, I can see a few gray patches of fur on his belly. I had been afraid of a cat! A cat that pretty much looks exactly like a cat from Earth. Bigger and fluffier, but not a scary eat-my-brains-for-breakfast kind of alien by any means.