The high steel bridge crossed a fluffy white sea. “We’ll take it over the clouds,” the Captain said to the girls. “I was no older than you when I crossed this bridge for the first time. The campsite is just on the other side, down the small volcano. Let’s break here and catch our breath, before the final push.” 

Hungry from the hike, the girls scavenged in their packs. Veronica retrieved a granola bar and Maddy an apple. Together, they rested on some nearby rocks, gazing at scarlet wildflowers as birdsong filled the air.

Veronica heard footsteps. Two hikers approached from the south, a silver-haired man and a blonde-haired boy. The man seemed to be at least seventy years old and the boy no older than twelve.

“Howdee!” yelled the old timer in a thin, high voice. “On the way to Mystery, too?”

“Yes, sir!” the Captain said. “Made our way over Magma Pass. How about you?”

“From New Lava City, thank goodness,” the old man said, with a nod to the angry northern sky. “It’s my grandson’s first time. He has this crazy idea of finding pearls. Kids never change I guess. Me? I’m too old for this. It should be his parents out here. But his father, he never met the boy, and his mother, she lost interest in Mystery years ago. Spends all her time working in some high-rise over yonder, investing in a life she doesn’t live.” 

Set in the shadow of the great volcano, New Lava City was the region’s only metropolis. Its wealthy residents competed for the best view, erecting skyscraper after skyscraper, each one higher than the last. But unlike a normal city, its weathermen not only had to forecast the rain and snow; they also predicted the ash—and how many inches of it would fall each day.