Wind whooshed and something fluttered about her head. Morgan felt like she was falling through the heavens, through flocks of birds -- a skydiver whose parachute had failed to open. She reached out blindly for Courtney and Collin but there were no hands and no friends to latch on to. She felt totally and completely alone ... and afraid.

          "Hold on, Morg! Hold on to the railing."

          Morgan relaxed the moment she heard Collin's faint voice and felt her feet land on something solid. But when she opened her eyes, a wave of dizziness wrapped around her. She clutched frantically onto metal as she looked down ... down ... down ... onto a sea of twinkling lights stretching as far as she could see.

          She turned away, terrified by the height, and wrapped her arms tightly around the cold metal framework of a tower that seemed nearly a mile high. Pigeons flocked around her feet and she figured it must have been their wings that she had felt. Flecks of snow caught on her nose, and she shivered.

          "It's cold up here," she said, wrapping her thin windbreaker more tightly around her. "And it's ... it's so high."

          "Yeah! It's cool. You can see for miles!"

          "If you're not afraid to look," Morgan mumbled.

          "You won't fall," Collin said, holding out his hand. Morgan hesitantly reached out and gripped his fingers.

          "Come on," he urged, pulling her away from the railing. "I found some stairs we can go down."

          Morgan took a few cautious steps across the metal platform. Then she stopped and looked around urgently. "Where's Courtney?"

          Looking really frightened, Collin shook his head. "I don't know."

          "You don't think she missed this platform when we landed ... "

          "Don't even think that," Collin said quickly, but he looked over the edge to the ground far, far below. "She's got to be at the bottom waiting for us. I know it. Let's hurry."

          They ran down the metal stairs, careful not to slip on the icy steps. They passed two viewing platforms where people dressed in old-fashioned clothing stood looking out at the lights. Women wore long coats that protruded at the back, as if the dresses underneath had bustles. They wore furry caps and looked rather elegant, just as the men did in their black felt hats and dignified black coats. Morgan figured from the way the people looked that she and Collin must have landed somewhere near the end of the nineteenth century.
           
           
           

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