Page 5 of Black Mamba

I’ve seen videos, been in simulations, but I’ve never seen anything quite like this view.

Farther out to my right, the mountain vanishes into a gorge with more mountains past it. Trees line the front of the ship, but to my left I see a series of forested hills past a meadow of flowery bushes with tiny yellow blooms. Despite the immediate trees around the front, there’s a short distance of grassy land between me and them. It makes their tallness less claustrophobic.

Still shaking, I take a long draw from my bottle and cringe again, forcing the contents down. Feeling lightheaded already, I grip the lip tighter, thankful for the lifeline and for the numbness that is soon to come.

Setting the bottle on the control panel so I don’t accidentally tip it, I move back to the window and lean against the glass to see what’s behind the ship, seeing drifts of smoke.

Something catches my gaze in the opposite direction. Jolting back, the branches from some of the trees shift, and I squint. I move closer, searching the bushes for what could have caused the branches to shake. Something dark slithers across the ground between a cluster of thick bushes. It’s gone when I blink.

I wipe the tears off my cheeks. They continue to fall despite my effort to deter them.

The branches stop rustling, and the leaves go still. Suddenly nervous, I back away from the window after snatching my bottle. I take another chug from it as I head deeper into the ship and to my room.

Before I enter it, I glance out the window once more. Gazing at the mountain, my heart thrums rapidly. Taken by its majesty, tears flood my eyes. Pressure ignites behind them and they descend down my cheeks.

I should’ve tried harder. They should be here to see how beautiful Earth is. Taking another chug, I step into my room and shut the door.

I could’ve tried harder.

What am I going to do now?

Drink. Drink until everything fades away.

THREE

WITHIN MY MIDST

Lukys

My pulse vibrates rapidly and my hands open and close at my sides.

A female, one I could only dream of, is in my territory. Shocked by the sight of her, and taken by her pale features and dark brown hair, my tail coils under me. Tears stream down her face, glistening her cheeks. Disheartened by them, I ponder why they flow, and why she is here at all.

As she peers out the window of her spaceship, I slip deeper into the evening shadows, aware I have alerted her. She freezes and searches for me among the trees, wiping at her cheeks, not realizing I shook the branches on purpose and now she will not find me.

I did not want her to turn away just yet.

Her dark brown hair slips across her shoulders in messy but silky waves, framing a face that appears redder the more I study it. Tilting my head, I notice her tears continue to fall.

I do not immediately see anything that would have made her cry…

Until another realization hits me.

Is she… alone?

Abruptly, she picks up a bottle from a table in the middle of the floor and turns and walks deeper into the ship. She pauses briefly in the very back before she disappears through a door that slides open to the right.

Why was she crying?

Easing farther into the shadows, I wait for her reappearance. After several hours go by, I decide to scope out the rest of her ship and the other two ships behind it. It is dark out now and I cannot see as well as I can during the day. But the darkness will cover my movements. If someone is watching, I will not be easily seen, even out in the open.

Leaving the first ship behind, I enter the meadow and come upon the next ship nearest it. It is smaller in size but only by a little bit. Peering at the third ship that is nearly identical beyond it, they are both still and quiet in the dark. The windows are small and thin and much harder to see into than the first one’s open front dome.

Approaching the second, I peek inside one of the thin windows.

On one side, there is a dimly lit room filled with chairs covered in straps, all facing the same direction. On the other side is a closed door. If there are humans, they are all currently out of sight.

Pulling back, I head to the last ship.