Free The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester

looked around for it.
    “That’s the computer voice,” Dr. Hellion explained. “You can speak to her just like a normal person and she’ll respond.”
    “Golly!” Piper looked up as though expecting to see the computer above her.
    “Go ahead and try.”
    “Uh, computer, do cows have feelings?”
    The computer did not respond. Several strange blipping sounds came from the overhead speakers.
    “That’s a great question, Piper, but the computer can only help you with questions that are more specific,” Dr. Hellion coached, gently.
     Piper thought about it for a moment before trying again. “Computer, does my black-and-white cow got feelings?” Yet again Piper had flummoxed the computer and the blipping sounds increased.
    Dr. Hellion politely coughed. “Try asking the computer our current location, Piper.”
    “Where am I now?”
    “This elevator is approaching level one in—Three. Two. One second.” On cue the elevator emerged out of the darkness and descended into an incredible underground world. Turning around so that she faced the glass wall behind her, Piper’s eyes snapped wide and then impossibly wider still, and yet somehow could not take in all the mind-boggling sights that lay before her.
    “Elevator, pause,” Dr. Hellion commanded, and they immediately came to a stop.
    The elevator hung directly in the center of a cavernous man-made well. The facility was approximately the size of a mini Grand Canyon, but instead of rock it was all steel, and glass curved in a big sweeping circle around the elevator, which dangled in the middle. In an unprecedented feat of engineering, bridges extended from the curved sides to connect with the elevator, yet appeared to be supported by nothing and were nonetheless completely stable.
    Everything was shiny and white and illuminated by blue glowing light. Huge glass walls made it possible to see exactly what was going on inside each floor from the elevator, while at the same time allowing the inhabitants to look down over a central atrium which was at the very bottom of the well.
    “Holy cow,” Piper squealed and reached for something to steady herself. “As I live and breathe, I swear I couldn’t imagine up a place like this even if I tried all my days and nights. Look how them walls is all curved! Like we’re in the center of a glass circle. It’s so shiny, it near hurts my eyes to look at it.”
    The lights of the facility were reflecting off of the glass of the elevator onto Dr. Hellion’s face, and her excitement for the place was palpable. Indeed, Dr. Hellion suddenly seemed to be a girl herself and looked at the facility as though she were seeing it for the first time too.
    “I remember when I made my first trip down here and I knew right away that I’d found not just a home but a whole world that were special. It’s so clean and bright and everything makes sense here.” Dr. Hellion pulled her eyes away and smiled at Piper. “Every time I leave I can’t wait to return. Doesn’t it take your breath away?”
    “It sure does,” Piper agreed.
    “There are many extraordinary things here, Piper.” Dr. Hellion smiled. “That’s why you’ll feel right at home. Starting on level one, we have single-celled organisms, and as we descend you’ll notice that each level has more and more complex life-forms. On level two we have horticultural specimens and plant life. Level three, insects. Level five, marine life. Level seven is the aviary, and so on and so on. Everything you can imagine, we have it. Unparalleled facilities, cutting-edge technology, and the best minds in the world all under one roof.”
    Dr. Hellion placed her hand on Piper’s shoulder. “I hope that you’ll be as happy here as I am, Piper.” Sighing, as though she wished they could stay looking down at the facility forever, Dr. Hellion finally tore her eyes from the glass. “Watch carefully. There’s so much