Page 6 of Eclipse Bound
Eclipse ignored them both, focusing on the rapidly approaching ground. The ship's landing dampeners refused to deploy, and the steering controls felt like they were filled with comet dust. Harris kept hitting buttons that made everything worse, including one that triggered a screaming music track to play through the speakers.
"What are the odds we will survive this impact?" Solar yelled over the noise.
"Pudding," Harris declared, his translator still malfunctioning. "We die like brides!"
"We're not brides," Solar shouted.
Eclipse yanked the controls hard to avoid a particularly tall red spire. The ship responded by spinning, giving them all a nauseating view of ground-sky-ground-sky in rapid succession.
"If we survive," Lunar said calmly, "I really will kill Bob and Gary. Harris will die from his own ineptitude."
"Squish like pizza," Harris answered.
"Not if I get to them first," Solar swore.
Eclipse didn't try to mediate their argument. He was too busy watching a group of humans in strange spacesuits scatter from the docking area below. Most of them had thin, colorful mats rolled under their arms as they ran.
"Remember," Gary announced cheerfully, "the local culture welcomes unusual events. They will think this is entertainment."
“Pudding!” Harris cried out.
The ship clipped a rock formation, and something important-sounding tore away from the hull.
A new alarm joined the chorus. This one sounded distinctly like a countdown.
"Brace for impact!" Eclipse ordered, though it was unnecessary. They'd been braced since entering the atmosphere.
The ship overshot the docking lot like a meteor, bounced once, twice, three times before skidding sideways. Solar's restraints snapped. He slammed into the ceiling, trailing sparks of indignation, before falling against the back of Eclipse’s head. Eclipse tried to grab hold of him, but Solar was flung out of his reach.
"Stop glowing," Lunar growled. "You're making the systems worse."
The ship finally ground to a halt, tilted at an awkward angle. The viewing screen remained dark. Solar illuminated a soft light from his place on the floor, allowing him to see more easily. Green smoke filled the ship’s interior with a strange smell.
An automated voice announced, "Warning. Atmospheric seal compromised. Emergency protocols initiated."
"What emergency protocols?" Eclipse demanded.
“Beautiful stinkbug?” Harris responded.
The ship creaked, and then, suddenly, their restraints released and the floor dropped out from under them.
"Pudding!"
Chapter
Three
Rowan stood frozen in the parking lot of the yoga center, watching the distance where the supposed alien spacecraft landed. She’d seen it all in her time working at the retreat. Drones. Strange artifacts found in the desert. Cave drawings. Animal carcasses that were meant to be alien autopsies. People who spray painted themselves green and meeped, “Meep. Meep. Meep.”
But this? This was…
Someone grabbed her arm. "Did you get it on video?"
Rowan frowned, turning to a woman in bright pink spandex. All around her, sound came rushing back to pull her from her shocked state. When she found that Rowan held a walkie-talkie instead of a camera, the woman moved on to the next closest person.
Rowan walked through the parking lot. Several cars had cracked windshields.
"Was that real? That can’t be real.” A woman clutched the man next to her.
