Directions:
1. Read the story.
2. Underline five details that establish the setting.
3. Think about how the setting shapes the plot.
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All 793 residents of the Outpost stood together, staring at the cloud. It stretched the length of the horizon, and it was spreading higher, up and over into the clear sky, like a drop of orange food coloring in a glass of water. As it spread, it shrouded the light of the two purple suns that hung over their planet.
To Matheson, the cloud was almost beautiful, but of course it wasn’t. It couldn’t be. He had heard the stories; every child of the Outpost had. That cloud brought nothing good.
No one knew exactly what the cloud was, only that it had plagued the Outpost since the first-gens arrived a century ago. Some said it was alive, that something living traveled inside its orange swirl. If you listened closely, they said, you could hear it speak. Others said it was a natural phenomenon—a brutal fact of life on this planet.
There were regular drills to prepare for the cloud, and everyone had a role to play. Matheson’s dad, a botanist, had to lock down the greenhouse before the cloud poisoned all their vegetables. Matheson’s mom, an engineer, had to haul the generator into the bunker before the cloud shredded it to pieces.
But this was not a drill. This was the real thing.
When the siren blared, the terrafarmers dropped their sonic rakes. The astronomers abandoned their telescopes. And Matheson and the other students ran outside the School Dome, still clutching their tabs.
Matheson’s heart pounded. At last he’d get to see the cloud up close. All his life he’d dreamed about it, this thing that terrified the others so much. If he’d had time to pause and reflect, he would have realized that what he was feeling was not fear. It was excitement—the kind of excitement that comes when a question you’ve had your entire life is about to be answered.
“Anything not secured in seven minutes will be lost!” boomed the mayor’s voice over the loudspeaker.
Matheson and his friend Emma sprinted to the pasture. They had the job of securing the animals. Matheson checked his watch. They now had six minutes to wrangle 27 goats, 39 cows, and 52 sheep.
As Emma herded the animals into the barn, Matheson turned back to stare at the swift-moving cloud. He was only 4 the last time it came, and all he remembered was his dad feverishly sealing the windows of their habitat. But he knew that the cloud had covered the planet for a week, and that after it passed, half the fresh water in the Outpost had been contaminated and most of the food stores had been lost. The Outpost itself almost hadn’t survived.
“What are you doing?” Emma shouted from the barn doors. “Sixty seconds! Hurry!”
Matheson watched the last goat skitter through the doors. As the shields creaked and clanged their way around the barn, he wondered what would happen if he stayed outside. No one had ever tried it...
“Come on!” Emma yanked him inside.
The doors snapped shut.
A second later: tap-tap-tap-tap-tap. It sounded like popcorn popping all over the walls and roof.
“It’s here,” Emma whispered.
Then between the taps of the cloud and the shuffles of the animals rose another sound: maaaaa.
The bleat of a goat coming from outside the barn. Matheson flipped on his solar lamp and counted—all 27 goats present and accounted for. Had there been a birth and someone forgot to update the log?
Maaaaa.
I could make a run for it, Matheson thought. Dash out, scoop up the creature, rush back. He grabbed his goggles and pulled his jacket over his head.
“Matheson, no!” Emma said, realizing what he was about to do.
“I have to,” he replied. He pressed the button to lift the shields. Then he hefted the barn door open and stepped outside.
All around him, diamond-like flecks of dust shimmered on air that was thick with orange powder. Matheson held out his hand. To his surprise, the cloud did not seem to harm his skin.
“Here goat!” he shouted, squinting at the shape he saw moving toward him.
As the shape drew closer, he realized it was not a goat but something more like a human. Except the shape—its arms outstretched—was floating above the ground.
And in that moment, it wasn’t fear that Matheson felt. It was excitement.
Excitement because a question was about to be answered.
Writing Prompt
Write what happens next. Be sure to include details that bring the setting to life for your readers. Send your work to The Cloud Contest. Three winners will each get Greystone Secrets 2: The Deceivers by Margaret Peterson Haddix.
This story was originally published in the March 2021 issue.
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