Full Body Inflation

The brisk fall air cooled Morgan’s cheeks. The sun, when it peeked through the canopy, was warm and inviting but the shade was not too cool. A bright red or gold leaf dropped here and there, lazily floating to the ground.

Maya stepped off the bus. Ahead of her was a dirt path that led to the empty field where the test was being conducted. She was dressed like she was going to a job interview, white pantsuit with black casual pumps. She headed down the path.

“Hey!” Seta screeched at the oncoming car that had just coasted out of the campus parking garage, and her instinct was to try flying over it. With an angry buzz of four stubby, oval-shaped wings, Seta hefted herself into a hover, just enough for the beegirl to come plunking down on her knees on the hood of the dark green sedan as it squealed to a standstill.

Louis slipped quietly into the small pub as the afternoon sun drew long shadows across the beaten-dirt road. Even by the dim light of the smudged oil lamps, he could see the place was mostly empty. Set back in the shadows, at a table in the far corner, he spied the person he came to meet. He crossed the vacant hardwood floor, trying not to draw attention to himself.