He took a breath, put his hands on the metal ladder, looked up again at the sky.

"Tango Charlie Charlie, end program twelve," he said, his voice soft. "End program twelve."

Nothing happened. The sky was still orange, the stars were still gone.

His voice got louder, almost plaintive in its plea: "Tango Charlie Charlie, end program twelve. End program twelve."

Fletcher shook his head and started climbing back down.

No. It didn't work. It never worked.

But he always kept trying.

Brendan DuBois is the award-winning author of 11 novels and nearly 100 short stories. He lives in New Hampshire, U.S., and can be found online at www.brendandubois.com.