by Lisa Medley
They hadn’t blown up.
“How do the heat shields look?” Tessa asked.
“From what I can see? Intact. I don’t know how, but we just dodged another bullet.”
Tessa looked ahead at the quickly approaching ground. “I don’t think we’ll be dodging that bullet.”
“If it’s not the fall that kills you. It’s the landing,” Noah agreed, reaching out his hand for Tessa’s.
Relenting, she took his hand in hers.
“Now, Cole! Release the chutes now!”
Chapter Eight
Gravity had returned to the ship. Cole pulled the lever and felt the ship shift as the chutes shot out behind them. Relieved to have accomplished at least that much, he quickly made his way to the jump seat by the hatch airlock. He strapped in moments before the ship lurched, snapping his head against the hull as the chutes opened. As fast as they were decelerating, the chutes would likely be torn to shreds. The ship’s design allowed them to land like an airplane. The chutes worked more along the lines of a nitrous race car’s chutes, slowing the ship and allowing them to land on a shorter runway if necessary.
No telling where they were about to land now, but Cole didn’t think any official runway was a possibility, and landing would be a generous description for what was about to go down. Since the ship was powerless, the chutes were their Hail Mary. The ship shuddered and shook, and the last thing he heard before impact was Tessa praying loudly in Spanish from the helm.
A great kathunk sounded as the ship met the ground, and a screech of metal and tearing filled his ears as the ship’s cuff shredded away from the cargo bay. One thin layer of ship remained before he would become a human tomato, an unrecognizable lump of flesh wrapped in metal. They’d have to excavate his remains from the wreckage.
His teeth cracked together as the ride across the surface continued. How far had they traveled already? And why was he still alive?
Screeching of metal on metal ate at him, and he closed his eyes tightly, resigned. Forward acceleration halted suddenly, and his body heaved forward against his restraints, whipping his head forward and then back against the hull yet again.
Stars filled his vision, and he struggled to breathe against his now bruised ribs. He closed his eyes again as the ship creaked and moaned around him. Air hissed from a hose near his head, and the airlock disengaged then swung open of its own accord. He turned to look through the gaping doorway. The outside airlock and the plank were gone altogether. A bright ray of light filtered in through the roil of dust that found its way inside to him. Coughing, he struggled with the buckles, trying to escape the cloud of dirt and now smoke that swirled inside the remains of the ship.
Grasping the handrail above his head to steady himself, he pulled his bruised body upright and peered into the cabin toward the helm. Cole hoped against all logic Noah and Tessa had somehow survived as well. The return to gravity and a flood of adrenalin turned his legs shaky and heavy, like he was walking through deep snow all the way to the helm. The helm’s observation windows were cracked, a spiderweb of fissures racing in all directions. Tessa’s hair had come loose and dangled from her oddly canted head. Noah leaned forward against his restraints, chin on his chest. Neither of them was moving.
Cole grasped the back of Tessa’s seat and pressed two fingers to her carotid artery, feeling for a pulse. His heart lurched when he felt the steady thrum beneath the surface. He reached across and did the same to Noah.
“What? I’m up? What—where—” Noah startled awake.
“Thank God,” Cole said, turning his attentions back to Tessa.
He saw no visible injuries, save a small cut across her forehead. He slid up between the captain’s chairs and held her face in his hands. “Tessa.”
No response. Cole slid his thumbs along her cheekbones.
“Tessa!” he said more loudly, giving her a little shake.
Her quiet moan stirred him in ways entirely inappropriate for the situation.
“Tessa.” He tried again, more gently this time.
Her long black lashes fluttered, and her eyes opened, wide and frantic, as she attempted to make sense of what was before her.
“Welcome back, precious.”
“We’re alive?” she asked, incredulous.
Cole smiled. “It appears so.”
Noah unbuckled behind Cole. Reluctant to leave Tessa, Cole lingered then unbuckled her belt as well. He stifled a coughing fit as the cabin continued to fill with smoke and dust.
“We need to get out of here.” Cole pulled Tessa to her feet, and they sidestepped between the captain’s chairs.
Noah stood. Tessa seemed even less steady than Cole as they struggled to exit the cabin and out through the cargo hold. The bright light from moments earlier faded fast as they tried to disembark. Noah followed, reliant on the gravity handholds to make his way through, now useful for an entirely different reason. Cole paused where the plank had once been to stare down at the five foot drop to the ground.
“Sit, Tessa. Wait here a minute.” Cole said.
He sat on the edge then eased himself down, dropping to the ground on all fours. Once his strength began to return, he reached up for Tessa.
“Let me help you down.”
Still in shock, Tessa didn’t argue. She reached forward and gripped Cole’s forearms as his hands closed around her waist. He lowered her smoothly to the ground, and she stumbled against him, pushing him away from the ship’s wreckage a bit. He held her there, his arms wrapped around her so tightly he felt her heart hammering against his own chest, not sure which beat was his or hers.
Noah dropped from the hulking wreck as well. The three of them looked out across the desert, entranced by an impressive sun setting between two rocky ridges. While beautiful, what appeared about forty-five degrees, directly above the horizon had them gaping. A whirlpool of white lights swirled slowly, its tail disappearing into the darkening sky like a reverse tornado. Cole looked hard at the ridge directly to the right of the swirl, pinched his eyes closed, and looked again. It was the same ridge they’d sat on to watch the sunset together just last night.
And in between the ridges sat the alien spaceship, illuminated by the last dying glow of the day’s sun.
They were back in New Mexico.
And they weren’t alone.
***
Tessa tried to make sense of what her eyes were seeing, but her brain couldn’t put it all together yet. Her head was foggy. She pressed two fingers against her pounding temples. Probably a concussion, her common sense told her. Still, that same brain didn’t have any explanation to offer her as to how she was alive and back in the desert, when, less than an hour before, they had been tethered to an asteroid.
Nope. That didn’t compute at all.
From where they stood, the SpaceXport should have been visible.
It wasn’t.
Instead, the alien ship sat a football field away from them, seemingly undamaged from the landing. Its metallic spider-like legs had withdrawn into itself, but it appeared to be sitting upright. Bits of the asteroid they’d been tethered to dotted the desert around them. The mining bot lay in a mangled lump within view as well. One rather large chunk of asteroid still smoked within their reach.
“‘I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore,’” Cole said.
“Fifty dollars for Wizard of Oz,” Tessa replied robotically.
Cole’s gaze never left the alien craft. He unzipped his coveralls and pulled out the Colt.
“You brought a gun into space?” Tessa asked, her tone indicating her disproval.
“I think we’ve already had this talk, precious.” Cole continued to stare ahead. “Depending on what does or doesn’t come out of that ship, you may be real glad about that.”
They didn’t have long to debate. A door slammed open on the top of the alien ship, banging against the hull, and a creature ascended. Pale and glistening in the failing light, the being perched on its haunches upon the ship’s oute
r hull and seemed to consider them. Humanoid in shape, with two visible arm and leg-like appendages, its egg-shaped head perched pointy side down. Two large black eyes stared back at them. So far away, it was impossible to make out minute details, but it appeared smooth-skinned and unclothed in any way.
“Get back into the ship, Tessa,” Cole said, leveling his weapon on the alien.
“Not on your life,” she replied.
The creature took a tentative step forward just as the sun beamed a dying shaft of light across the desert floor, illuminating the beast. Smoke began to rise from the creature’s skin, and an unearthly cry rang out across the expanse between them. The alien fell from the ship to writhe on the ground, covering itself in dust, then turned and raced on all fours, preternaturally fast, across the desert toward the mesa in the distance.
Caves honeycombed the mesa, and the beast scaled the side of the rock formation, disappearing into one of them as the sky turned shades of red and purple.
“You’re gonna to need a bigger gun,” Noah said.
Chapter Nine
Cole followed Noah and Tessa around the ship, assessing the damage. As far as he could tell, it was a total loss. The shredded cuff lay several hundred feet from the hull, and every heat shield had been loosened or destroyed completely. Even if all of that had somehow been salvageable, which it wasn’t, the cracked and compromised observation glass sealed the deal. The ship was grounded. Permanently.
Tessa stood, hands on hips, her lips pressed in a grim line, and stared in the direction the SpaceXport should have been. The base should have been lit up like Christmas but it was nowhere to be seen. Nothing but sage and tumbleweeds.
“What the hell is going on here?” she asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine. Let’s gather up whatever might be usable, and then we can go exploring. I’d have liked to climb up that mesa for a better view, but, considering our pale friend is in there, I’d advise against that.”
“Do you think it’s dead?” Noah asked, studying the rock formation.
“It sure didn’t seem to enjoy the sunlight. Maybe that’s in our favor,” Cole said.
“Except it will be dark in a few minutes. What if it comes back for us?” Tessa asked.
Cole patted his weapon. “I have at least six reasons it shouldn’t.”
“We don’t even know if that would kill it,” Tessa crossed her arms.
“Let’s hope we don’t have to test it,” Cole said.
“It’s going to get cold tonight out here. We need to gather up whatever we can find and build a little shelter. I don’t think we should sleep inside the ship with all the smoke,” Noah said.
“Agreed. What about the chutes?” Tessa asked. “Maybe we can use them to make a tent?”
Noah nodded. “Works for me. Let’s go cut them loose. Those chutes saved our lives once already.”
“There’s a light inside the doorway of the cargo hold. A utility knife, too. I’ll get them,” Tessa said, turning toward the ship.
Cole grabbed hold of her arm. “No. Let me.”
He held on just a little too long, which forced her to make eye contact with him for the first time since they’d exited the ship. He waited for the fire to return to her eyes. Instead, he found confusion. She shrugged out of his grasp and turned away.
“Fine,” she said.
“Here,” Cole held the butt end of his .45 out to her.
“No, thanks,” she said.
“Noah?” Cole asked.
“I think you’d better handle that thing.”
“Then wait here. We don’t need to be splitting up with that creature out in the night somewhere.”
“Fine,” she said again.
Cole pulled himself up and back into the ship, wincing when his ribs protested. He rolled into the cargo bay and tried to stay low, out of the smoke, while he retrieved the knife and light. Noah and Tessa waited outside, talking quietly. It was going to be a long, cold night and the likelihood that any of them would get any sleep was slim. Even as exhausted and sore as he was, his mind raced, trying to figure out exactly what had happened to the SpaceXport. There was no mistaking that damn mesa. No way there could be two identical. Right?
He lowered himself out the cargo hold again and landed with a hard thud this time. He was spent.
Clicking the flashlight on, he handed it to Tessa. “Let’s do this.”
***
They cut away the chutes and folded them into large pieces. One they could put on the ground for insulation and the other they tied to the ship’s wreckage, pulling it taut and using some nearby boulders to stake it out. It was primitive, but it was some shelter. It wouldn’t protect them should the alien decide to attack during the night, but Tessa wasn’t sure anything could protect them from that possibility.
They really had no idea what they were up against with the creature. In fact, they weren’t even sure it was hostile. The sun had definitely caused it physical damage. How much was the question. And what would it do when and if it healed?
Tessa wanted to take first watch, but Cole insisted she rest. As much as her head hurt, she wasn’t too sure that was possible. With the high probability of a concussion, Noah was tasked with waking her every hour to check on her as it was. It seemed pointless to even try to sleep really, except her body grew heavy as soon as she lay down, betraying her intentions.
It was a miracle they were alive. Any of them.
She couldn’t make sense of any of it. Tomorrow, when the sun came up, they would figure this out. They had to. There was no way she was spending another night in the desert, with an alien hiding in the rocks. And why the hell weren’t there helicopters out here circling? And dozens of Humvees filled with men in black? After their spectacular crash? Near freakin’ Roswell for God’s sake? This place should be crawling with UFO hunters, media, government officials, and emergency vehicles. Hell, they were lucky they hadn’t been shot out of the sky upon entering the atmosphere, mistaken for terrorist pilots of some sort.
Yeah, all that, or the lack of that, more specifically, was boggling to a degree she couldn’t accept. Something was terribly, terribly wrong. She just couldn’t figure out what the hell it was.
She hoped they did figure it out before it was too late.
***
Cole watched that mesa like his life depended on it, which he was fairly certain it did. He heard shuffling from the tent behind him and turned to see Noah coming to relieve him.
“Take this, Noah. Just in case.” He pushed the gun to Noah. “It’s basic. Pull back the hammer. Aim. Squeeze the trigger.”
Noah hesitated but relented. “Okay.”
“Wake me in an hour, when you check on Tessa.”
“Will do.”
Cole gave one last contemplative look at the swirling light in the sky between the mesas then climbed into the tent. He wasn’t sure an hour of shut-eye was possible and was positive it wouldn’t be enough for what the day ahead would demand from him. Under the circumstances, it was the best he could hope for.
He lay down on the makeshift parachute ground cover, chilled to the bone. Tessa shivered, curled up under a blanket. Noah had crawled inside the cabin and retrieved a couple of blankets earlier, but they weren’t enough to stave off the cold. It was too hard trying to find kindling in the dark, and with the creature lurking out there somewhere, none of them were keen on venturing out any farther than necessary. Tonight they would suffer through. Tomorrow, they would figure out what the hell was going on.
He stretched out beside her, spreading the other blanket over her instead of taking it himself. Tessa moaned and shifted in her sleep. Cole had an inexplicable urge to wrap his arm around her and draw her near. Despite her harshness earlier, something had broken in her since the crash. Maybe it was the blow to the head or maybe, like him, she was struggling to understand how they had survived and, more importantly, what was next. Either way, he couldn’t deny the strong urge to care for her on a basic level.
The only thing that stopped him was the fear of her wrath if his concern and consolation were unwanted. They still had to get out of this mess, which meant they needed to work together. He couldn’t take a chance of burning any bridges between them just yet. Tessa was the sort of woman who left a fiery trail behind her everywhere she went.
Rolling over, he turned away but snugged his backside up against her. A little residual warmth couldn’t hurt either one of them. Surely she couldn’t fault him for that. The grit and smoke of the day burned behind his closed eyelids. He tried not to rub them. The exhaustion caught up with him, and he faded away.
Chapter Ten
“Cole! Tessa! You’re going to want to see this,” Noah called from outside the tent.
Despite his previous intentions, Cole awoke with his arm snugged around Tessa, her body tucked tightly against his own. Only the blankets separated them. He felt her stiffen beneath his hold and knew she’d awoken as well. Slowly, he extricated his arm from around her, mindful of the consequences of startling a wounded animal.
Tessa wrapped the blanket around her, avoiding his gaze, and slipped from the tent. Cole followed.
“What is it? The creature?” Tessa asked.
“Weirder, if that is even possible. Look up there, on top of the mesa where the alien burrowed.” Noah pointed with the gun then handed it back to Cole.
Cole squinted, trying to make out the shapes as the sky began to lighten with the rising sun. “Are those…horses? With riders?”
“I think they’re Apache,” Noah said.
“From the Mescalero Reservation? That’s a good thirty miles away. Why would they ride so far? What do you think they’re doing up there?” Cole asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine. I think we’re about to find out,” Noah said.
“At least someone came to see what happened out here. I was beginning to think we were invisible,” Tessa said, smoothing her hair back and twisting it into a bun at the base of her head again.
