Page 5 of Zinnia and the Zombie (Alien Abduction #26)

CHAPTER FIVE

T he landing ramp closed with a groan that matched the sinking feeling in Zinnia’s stomach and she shivered—they were actually going to attempt to escape in this dilapidated vessel.

It’s better than the alternative , she reminded herself, remembering the guard’s cruel hands.

Her zombie’s fingers moved across the control panel with reassuring confidence, and lights flickered on and off in response. The engines finally stuttered to life with a concerning wheeze, but at least they were running.

“Should we strap in or something?” she asked, glancing around for anything resembling a seat belt.

“Yes. Take a seat.” He gestured to the co-pilot seat. “There should be harnesses.”

She found the straps hanging limply from the sides of the chair and pulled them across her body, clipping them together with a satisfying click. The seat felt as if it might collapse beneath her at any moment, but at least she was secured to it.

The ship gave a sudden lurch and began moving towards a massive door at the far end of the repair bay. She held her breath, waiting for alarms to sound, for crew members to rush in and stop them.

“Won’t they notice us leaving?” she whispered as the door opened to reveal another set of doors behind it.

“Their systems will indicate that the outer door opened.” He shrugged. “They may or may not notice immediately. The Ithyians are not known for their discipline. Hopefully by the time they notice, we’ll be gone.”

The outer doors began to open, revealing the blackness of space beyond stars scattered across it like pinpoints of light.

She’d always found the night sky beautiful, but she’d never appreciated just how large the universe was until this moment.

She shivered again, suddenly wishing they’d stayed in the relative safety of the cargo hold.

“Will the ship make it?” she asked, forcing the words past the lump in her throat.

“Of course.”

His calm tone helped, but the engines were making an alarming clattering sound and the entire vessel was vibrating.

“What’s that noise?”

“Nothing to worry about. It’s just the engines.”

“It doesn’t sound like nothing. What’s wrong with them?”

“I don’t think there’s enough fuel in the system to power the thrusters. We should be fine once the propulsion drives kick in.”

“I guess it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve driven something when the gas tank said it was empty,” she muttered.

“Hold on,” he warned.

The engines whined in protest as he accelerated, and the little craft shot forward through the opening. The sudden acceleration pressed her back into her seat.

“I can’t believe we made it,” she breathed as the vibrations eased.

“We’re not safe yet. They will pursue us if they notice our departure.”

As if summoned by his words, alarms began to blare from the control panel. He glanced at them and frowned.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“The navigation system is failing,” he said.

His golden skin shimmered in the dim light of the cockpit as he worked, pulling up a star chart on one of the few functioning screens. She watched him, still processing the fact that her statue—her zombie—was now a living, breathing being beside her.

“How did you… come alive?” she asked, unable to contain her curiosity any longer.

His amethyst eyes flickered to her briefly. “I was never not alive. I was in stasis—a healing state for my species. Your presence… helped me break free.”

“You heard everything I said?”

“Yes. Every word.”

Her cheeks flushed hot with embarrassment. She’d told him everything—her hopes, her fears, her most private thoughts.

He must have sensed her discomfort because he added, “Your words kept me company in the darkness. They helped me remember who I was.”

“Umm. Who are you, exactly? You know all about me, but I don’t know anything about you.”

“My name is Jaxx – Commander Jaxxlariat t’Semon. I am – was – the commander of a Zathix exploration vessel.”

Before she could respond, the ship shuddered violently, and his attention snapped back to the controls.

“The Ithyian ship undoubtedly has long range scanners. We need to get out of range as quickly as possible.”

His fingers flew across the control panel again, and the engines screamed as he pushed them harder. The golden glow of his skin seemed to dim slightly, and she noticed a subtle tremor in his hands.

“Are you okay?”

“The stasis… takes a toll,” he admitted. “I’ll be fine.”

She wasn’t entirely convinced. The brilliant gold of his skin was definitely dulling, fading to a paler champagne color.

He continued studying the star chart, his expression grim. “There,” he said, pointing to a blue-green sphere. “Veridia Prime. It’s the only habitable planet within range.”

“What’s it like?”

“I don’t know. This region is unfamiliar to me. But it’s our best chance. We don’t have enough fuel or life support for a longer journey.”

She nodded, trusting his judgment. “Then let’s go there.”

He quickly plotted a course although she noticed the tremor in his hands growing more pronounced. The ship lurched forward again, accelerating toward the distant planet.

“How long will it take?” she asked.

“At our current speed, approximately six hours. But—” He was interrupted by another alarm. “Damn. They’re deploying long range scanners.”

“Looking for us?”

“Perhaps,” he said grimly. “But it could simply be a routine check. I’ll try to get us out of range.”

The tremor in his hands was impossible to ignore now. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his breathing had become labored. When she reached out to touch his arm his skin was cool, not warm as it had been before.

“You are not okay,” she said.

“It’s… normal,” he managed. “Post-stasis weakness. The energy I absorbed from the guard is wearing off.”

The energy he absorbed? Maybe her name for him was more accurate than she’d realized.

“You fed on his…” She couldn’t quite bring herself to say brains.

“His energy, yes.” He looked down at where her hand still rested on his arm. The gold in his skin had brightened slightly where she touched him. “Your touch helps as well,” he added.

She almost snatched her hand away again, but she didn’t feel any ill effects from the contact. Perhaps it wasn’t much different than the way his skin had warmed when she touched him while he was in stasis.

Keeping her hand on his arm, she asked, “What can I do?”

“Just… stay close.” The ship lurched again, and he grimaced. “I need to focus on evasive maneuvers.”

For the rest of the trip she stayed by his side, watching in growing concern as he grew visibly weaker.

At one point he told her that they should be beyond the range of the scanners but the ship required his constant attention to remain on course.

His skin continued to grow dimmer, but it still brightened again at her touch.

After what felt like an eternity, the distant blue-green orb of Veridia Prime grew larger in their viewport. It resembled Earth from a distance—swirled with white clouds, vast oceans, and large landmasses—although the oceans were more purple than blue and the landmasses a darker green.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered.

“Yes,” he agreed, his voice alarmingly weak. “Let’s hope its inhabitants are friendly.”

Inhabitants? Damn. She hadn’t even considered the fact that they’d be facing more aliens.

Another alarm shrieked through the cockpit. This one sounded different—more urgent, more final.

“What now?” she asked.

“Engine failure.” The words were clipped, his energy clearly fading.

“Can we fix it?”

“No time.” His skin had faded to a dull, matte finish, almost like tarnished brass. “Need to… make… emergency landing.”

The ship began to shake violently as they approached the planet’s atmosphere. Warning lights flashed across every functioning panel. The temperature in the cockpit rose dramatically as friction heated their hull.

“Jaxx?” Panic edged into her voice as she gripped his arm tighter.

“Hold on,” he managed as he fought with the controls, trying to force the dying ship into a controlled descent. “Trying to… find… clearing.”

Through the viewport, she could see they were plummeting towards the planet but the ship was spinning too much for her to make out what was below them. Fire streaked past the windows as the atmosphere burned around their hull.

A mechanical voice came over the speakers: “Warning. Critical system failure. Impact imminent.”

Jaxx struggled to keep the nose of the ship up, but his movements were becoming sluggish. The gold of his skin had faded almost completely to a flat, pale champagne.

“Jaxx!”

He turned to look at her, his amethyst eyes dull and unfocused. “Zinnia,” he whispered.

She grabbed his face between her hands. “Stay with me!”

For a moment, color flooded back into his skin where she touched him, but it wasn’t enough. His eyes slid closed, and his hands fell away from the controls. She lunged for them, trying to imitate what he’d been doing, but the ship was still plummeting, the ground rushing up to meet them.

“Warning. Critical system failure. Impact imminent,” the mechanical voice repeated.

“I don’t fucking care!”

Bracing her feet against the edge of her chair, she fought with the controls.

“Come on,” she pleaded. “Hold together. Just a little longer. Please!”

The ship jerked as something broke free, and she cried out in panic. The nose started to dip again, but somehow, she managed to regain control.

“Warning. Critical system failure. Impact imminent.”

“Not. Helping,” she gritted.

Through the viewport, she caught a glimpse of something that looked like a tall spire. The ship clipped the top of it, sending them into a violent spin. She was thrown against her harness, the breath knocked from her lungs.

The last thing she saw before squeezing her eyes shut was Jaxx’s face, peaceful despite their impending crash. His final conscious thought had been of her—she knew it as surely as she knew her own name.

Then the ship collided with the ground with a deafening crash.