When Aliens Weep Read Online Free Page A

flight reflex paralyzed her with fear. The sound of her rushing blood flooded her ears.
    The burning smell became more intense. Ginger Mae started with panic as strange, nebulous figures hovered over her helpless body, the sparkling waterfalls becoming clearer. Her terror rocketed through the roof as the metal alongside her head snapped and clamped down on her forehead. She was fully immobile, only her eyelids dancing with anxiety as she continued to try to clear her sight.
    Thankfully for Ginger Mae, as one of the hovering figures reached behind her neck, the dark came rushing in like a long-lost lover, embracing her with its own benign anesthetic to which she gratefully surrendered.
    ***
    Ginger Mae regained consciousness slowly, the darkness threatening to overwhelm her with its perilous mystery. She realized the hard floor of her enclosure had been softened by a pad of some sort on which she lay. Trying to reach up to her face, she found the weight on her wrist still oppressed her. Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth, swollen and dry along with her throat. She knew she must have water soon. Her stomach growled with a fervor that caused her to question how long she’d been out.
    She fumbled around, raising her good arm to her face and discovered an obstruction covering her eyes.
    “Oh . . . erm . . .” Her tongue floundered; a feeble lump in her mouth. She patted the obstruction down then tried to find some slack to gain purchase with which to rip it off. The material clung to her like plastic; there wasn’t a single seam or slack spot to give her a chance to slip a finger under. Her fright increased as she realized she must be a captive somewhere and was clearly not alone. But where was she? And where were Hud and Peter?
    Her fear so paralyzed her that she couldn’t call out, even if she’d been able to make her useless tongue function. She tried to swallow; her mouth was parched and her throat raw and abused.
    The helplessness of her situation hit her like a locomotive. Who had put the infernal blockage over her eyes and why? What didn’t they want her to see? I need information and now. Rocking her body to and fro, she found no aches and pains. The nausea she remembered upon her first awakening was gone, thank the Womb. Womb . . . now where the heck did that come from?
    Reaching out with her good arm, she felt around the floor of her enclosure, smashing her hand against something hard that tipped over and leaked moisture over her arm. She raised her arm to her nose and sniffed. She tentatively brought it to her mouth and sucked. Water . At least she thought it was water but then realized it had a chalky aftertaste.
    Scrambling as best as she could, she maneuvered her body over to the spot where the spilt water lay on the floor. She powered through a wave of dizziness and managed to lower her mouth to the floor to lap up the remaining moisture.
    Convulsively, she searched for the container with her good arm. In her scramble to get to the water, it must have rolled away. The longer her questing hand roamed over the floor, the more frightened she became. Locating the water container had become a representation of control. She must regain a semblance of control if she was going to survive this. She tried to push away the thought of breaking down completely. She could feel tears slipping from her bound eyes.
    Suddenly exhausted, she rolled back to her pad and huddled, her tears now coming in sobs that soaked into the obstruction across her eyes.
    Not being able to tell if her eyelids were open or closed was maddening. Overwhelmed with worry about Hud and Peter, she fell into an exhausted sleep, only to be awakened by a pervasive burning smell that signaled terror.
    She feigned sleep as the smell became stronger. She thought she heard a yelp but, as she strained to hear more, the only sound she identified was the sound of bees buzzing; louder then softer, rising in pitch then fading.
    She froze at the sound of