SquidgeWorld Archive

Alonzo stomped his foot on the brakes and in a cloud of swirling red dust the ATV came to a halt. He pulled the bandana that covered his mouth and nose away from his face and used it to wipe the sweat from his forehead. He grimaced at the caking of dust it left on the cloth. Leaning over, he grabbed a water flask from behind his seat and took a long sip. The bottle was almost empty and the warm water tasted slightly stale; he had been away from camp for a long time.

Overhead, the sun beat down mercilessly on the lone man, as it had done for days. Behind Alonzo, the rolling plain of red dirt stretched out to the far horizon. Only a few high buttes and thin spires jutting up into the sky broke the monotony. It was a strange landscape, with an otherworldliness that reminded him once again he was on an alien planet, light-years from home.

Alonzo's eyes moved over the metal frame of the ATV and he frowned at the sight. A thick layer of dust coated the vehicle. Danziger would never believe that he had taken it easy on the car; the sheer amount of dust would reveal him a liar.

Alonzo shrugged. He had been in a hurry. And when the group learned about the things that had happened during the scout, Danziger would surely forget about having his hide for the mistreatment of the vehicle.

Putting the bottle back behind his seat, Alonzo pressed down on the accelerator and resumed his course at a more moderate pace. He knew he would find the camp behind the next mesa. And in the camp, there would be Julia. He smiled at the thought. He had missed her.

* * *

"Any sign of him yet?" John asked Julia as he walked over to where she was sitting on the edge of camp.

"No, not yet," she said. "I wonder what he was so excited about?"

Danziger shrugged. "Who knows? Don't know why he insisted on waiting to tell us until he was back at camp."

Julia smiled and shook her head. "Maybe he just wanted to drive us all crazy with the anticipation."

"Well, it's working," he said, grinning. "At least in Devon's case."

"Has she stopped calling him?" Julia asked.

John laughed. "Yes, but not by choice. Yale took her gear set away from her."

"He didn't!" John nodded in confirmation and Julia broke out into giggles. "Oh, my. I take it she didn't like that very much?"

"Not one bit," he said. Julia bit her lip, trying to get her giggles under control. Doctors were not supposed to giggle. Especially genetically enhanced doctors. "It probably didn't help that I found the whole situation very amusing," John said. Julia laughed, knowing that by 'very amusing' he
meant he was laughing outright at Devon. "Honestly, she reminded me of True trying to find out what I'd gotten her for her birthday."

That set Julia off again. She finally got control of herself and asked, "So let me guess. She threatened to kill you and that's why you're out here with me."

He grinned at her and sat himself down on a nearby rock. "Of course."

"You know, one of these times she really is going to try to kill you, and then where will you be?" she teased.

"With Devon's temper?" His grin widened. "Probably in the med tent."

Julia shook her head. "You enjoy baiting her entirely too much. And now you've tricked Yale into helping you."

"Tricked? Yeah, right," John said. "Yale does not do anything he does not want to do."

"I suppose that's true," Julia said, glancing out at the horizon. She jumped up when she saw the cloud of dust approaching. "He's back!"

John picked up the jumpers and focused on the dust cloud. "Yeah, that's him." He lowered the jumpers and passed them to Julia. "He'd better have a good reason for pushing the ATV that hard." She didn't even blink at John's grumbling. They had all gotten used to it by now. "I'm going to go let Devon know he's on his way," he said. He waited until Julia nodded and then headed back to camp.

She stood for a few minutes with the jumpers, watching Alonzo get closer to camp. Then she lowered the jumpers and tapped her foot impatiently. She just wanted him home. He had been gone on the scout for three whole days. By himself. He had said something about wanting to get away from it all, and somehow had managed to convince everyone that a one-man scout was a
good idea. Everyone except her. Yes, he had called every few hours to check in, but still. He finally pulled up and stopped beside her. She hesitated before going to him, but that hesitation vanished when he leaped out of the ATV and ran for her.

"I missed you so much," he said, holding her tightly.

She hugged him back, not caring that he was covered in red dirt and that she would be, too. "I missed you too." He pulled back so he could look at her, and she held his gaze until it became too intense for her and she looked away. "We'd better get into camp. Devon is waiting to hear what you found."

"I'll bet," Alonzo said, climbing back into the ATV. "She stopped calling after awhile, what'd John do, take away her gear?"

Julia climbed on the back of the ATV. "No, Yale did," she said. Alonzo laughed. "What did you find out there?" she asked.

Alonzo glanced back at her. "A cargo pod," he said, his eyes sparkling. "An unopened one."

Julia's laughing eyes turned serious. "Really?" she breathed. If this was the case... and there were things of use... their difficult lives could be made a little simpler.

Alonzo nodded earnestly and Julia missed the glimmer of amusement in his dark eyes. "Yep, it's full of beer, and potato chips... and back issues of girly magazines... just what we guys need." He couldn't keep up the joke; her face was so serious as she looked at him. He giggled inanely.

"I'm pulling your leg, Querida," he said, reaching out a hand to stroke her face gently. "It's full of mainly medical supplies, but there's a number of ration packs as well. I brought some stuff back with me, but it is jammed full to the brim with stuff. How it got there, I don't know - but I'm glad it did."

He turned to the ATV and began hauling out a number of aforementioned medical supplies. Julia breathed sighs of relief... there were basics such as antibiotics and painkillers that were always in short supply. Greedily, she loaded her arms up and began carrying the stuff towards her tent. She could stock take everything properly once she got there. Glancing over her shoulder, she called to Alonzo. "I guess you should tell Devon about this - we'll need to send out another vehicle to bring everything back."

Alonzo nodded and grinned at her as she disappeared beneath the canvas of her tent. She was like a kid on Christmas morning. It made him feel good that he had brought that smile to her face. He considered this as he turned back to contemplation of his little hoard. When he was totally sure that Julia was well out of sight, he pulled from under the driver's seat, the little statue. It had been lying, seemingly abandoned, near the unopened cargo pod. Alonzo had caught sight of it as the sun bounced off its extraordinarily beautiful silver finish and had picked it up, studying it almost in wonder. It was in the shape of some sort of animal, but Alonzo neither recognized nor could place it. It was, however, a piece of artistry truly beautiful to contemplate. It had captivated Alonzo as he had stood out there in that lonely plain, turning it this way and that, marveling at the way the sun caught it.

How it had come to be here, on this planet, in the middle of nowhere, of course, was a mystery. But Alonzo had been so enraptured by the thing that he had simply picked it up, with the intention of showing it to Julia. But now... now a selfish streak was running through him and he didn't want to share the booty with anyone. Tucking it away neatly under the driver's seat, he turned back to walk towards Devon's tent.

* * *

"Alonzo, that's WONDERFUL!" breathed Devon as the pilot gave her the news of his find. "We have to get out there right away. I take it you can still remember where it is?"

"Of course I can," he replied, a little indignantly. "I'm not COMPLETELY hopeless, you know."

"Just mostly," spoke up Morgan Martin, who had been in talking to Devon, presumably about something totally trivial. Alonzo shot him an icy glare that would have reduced anyone who cared to jelly. Morgan, naturally, turned his attention away at just the wrong moment, and Alonzo's death-stare dissolved harmlessly.

"I will go with you," said Devon, keenly. "I think we should take someone else, too... how about..."

"I'll come," offered Morgan, but the look that Alonzo and Devon turned on him was so withering that he visibly quailed. "Er... OK, actually, I think there's something I need to do..." He backed out of the tent and almost ran across the camp to tell Bess the news. Devon sighed. The man could spread gossip faster than a forest fire. She knew that within the hour, the entire camp would know about the find.

"Let's take Yale with us," she decided.

* * *

Yale strode across the camp; the news hadn't taken long to spread and he already knew that Devon wanted his presence on the little expedition back to the cargo pod. However, Yale wasn't so sure he wanted to go. While he was happy and grateful to hear of something that would obviously help the group, there were other people who would much rather be part of the exploration.

Such as Morgan. It was taking time, but gradually Yale was becoming able to read the faces of all members of Eden Advance. He surmised that everyone was experiencing similar revelations: after so long together now, in such close quarters, it was inevitable that they would become as close as a family. Not everyone, there were those who were quiet and innately shy. But Morgan...now he was so often an open book.

And it was more than obvious that Morgan wanted to go to the cargo pod. When he'd told Denner, Magus and Yale about the find, he'd seemed quite upset that Devon and Alonzo had reacted so negatively to his suggestion. "I thought we were past all of that," he'd said, quietly.

Yale had taken him aside. "Perhaps the excitement of the discovery caused them to become less than tactful for the moment." Because Yale agreed with Morgan, Eden Advance as a whole were past condemning Morgan for every word he said. And of all the people of the group, Devon was the most likely to listen to and respect someone, and Alonzo had been the first person to call Morgan a friend.

Shaking his head, Yale returned his thoughts to the present. He was making something out of nothing. Everyone had their bad days. Now it was time for him to present his own bad day to Devon, not that he would manipulate her, rather he would make suggestions and hope that she would pick up on the implications. After all, it had always worked in the past thanks to her insurmountable faith in him.

* * *

"Alonzo, you're not just taking off again are you?" Julia was visibly upset and Alonzo gently stroked the side of her face.

"I have to, Julia. I told you there's a whole lot of stuff that is gonna be so useful and don't we need all the help that we can get?"

Frowning, Julia granted, "I understand. I should go with you."

For some strange reason, the suggestion filled Alonzo with irrational panic. He couldn't risk it, not someone so close to him, because what if she found out about the statue? It was something he had to protect....

"Alonzo? Are you there? Alonzo?" She was actually waving her hand back and forward in front of his face. "Now I *know* that you shouldn't be going on this mission. You're probably dehydrated from the scout, overtired, you need to rest."

"No!" he protested, almost violently. Julia looked taken aback.

"Then can you delay the trip."

"I can't do that. Listen, Devon and Morgan are going to come with me, they'll make sure that I don't suddenly keel over or anything like that."

Frowning, Julia said, "I thought Yale was going with them."

"Yale says he's getting too old for adventure." Alonzo met Julia's eyes, willing her to listen to his words.

"Too old? That's not possible, his implant is supposed to regulate his aging..."

As Julia murmured to herself, Alonzo was grateful to see that he'd managed to distract her from her original purpose. As surreptitiously as he could he began to back towards the tent door and then finally slipped through it as she rummaged in a box, presumably for something that would help Yale.

For the moment, Alonzo was safe.

* * *

The travelers assembled at the edge of camp, gear sets firmly in hand. Devon had finally managed to retrieve hers after promising not to hassle Danziger about Uly while she was away. Alonzo seemed much more reluctant about carrying his gear with him and frowned at the device. Julia caught the frown, and then grimaced right back at Alonzo.

For some reason, no one looked very happy at all. There was an undeniable tension in the air.

Bess was the first to speak about it. "Morgan, honey, I don't want you to go."

"Why, Bess?" he asked as he slung his pack into the back of the 'Rail. "It's going to be fine, and," he dropped his voice to a whisper, "who knows what's in that pod? Maybe I'll find something really useful, after all, he who finds the treasure..."

"Gets the rewards," she finished for him, knowing her husband too well. "I know, Morgan, I just can't help but remember what happened last time you went away on a scout looking for a pod."

Morgan put his arms on her shoulders, looking into her eyes. "That time we didn't know how far we were going. This time, Alonzo's already been there! And we both know that Alonzo doesn't get lost. We can trust him."

Bess still looked scared. "I just have this terrible feeling that something's going to happen."

"I always have that feeling," Morgan admitted. He smiled at her. "And I'm still here!"

She suddenly embraced him, fiercely. "Be careful," she finally whispered before Morgan softly kissed her.

"I will," he promised.

"Morgan, we don't have time for this!" Alonzo already sounded annoyed and he was drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. "We have to get going, now!"

As he looked into Alonzo's eyes, Morgan suddenly lost the courage to give a rude retort. Instead, he met Devon's sympathetic glance and hoped that whatever was wrong with Alonzo it would pass soon.

And as the 'Rail drove away from camp, no one noticed the tiny statue glittering in the back.

* * *

"Julia."

The Doctor turned around startled. She'd been watching as the 'Rail disappeared from sight and hadn't noticed Bess come up behind her.

"Hi Bess. Is something the matter."

"No. Well maybe."

"OK. Follow me to the Medtent and I'll run a diagnostic."

"Not that kind of problem. Did Alonzo seem different to you?"

Julia was about to reply negatively when she remembered his strange, almost violent reaction to her suggestion that he not go back to the cargo pod.

"Why?"

"This is going to sound really silly. But I have this feeling of dread that I can't shake. It started when Alonzo got back to camp. And when Morgan got into the 'Rail and drove off it was like all my senses were screaming at me to stop him."

Julia let out her breath in relief. "Bess, you always worry when...."

"No Julia. You're not listening. This feeling started the second Alonzo got into camp."

"I tell you what. I'll get my gear and call Devon." Julia smiled reassuringly.

She walked over to the Medtent, Bess trailing behind her anxiously. She found the gear and called Devon. To her surprise, there was no reply.

"She's not answering. Her gear must be turned off."

"This is Devon we're talking about. She'd never turn it off in circumstances like this. We have to get Danziger."

* * *

After trying to contact Devon for himself, Danziger agreed to take the ATV to check on them. They followed the direction the 'Rail had taken. They had just passed the point where the camp had lost sight of the 'Rail when Baines spotted the 'Rail lying on its side. A closer look showed a huge dent in the underside as if a battering ram had hit it from beneath. When they reached the overturned 'Rail they found Morgan on the blindside, both legs trapped under the machine.

There was no sign of either Alonzo or Devon.

"Damn. We'd better get Julia out here. You go back for her. I'll stay with Morgan. And bring Zero."

"Where the hell are Alonzo and Devon? If they came back for help we should have passed them."

"We can't worry about that now. " Danziger knelt at Morgan's side one hand on the injured man's neck. "His heartbeats really erratic we need to get her here quickly. I don't want to try and move him until she's checked him over. Leave the gear with me."

Baines ran to the ATV and headed back to the camp.

* * *

Devon came back to consciousness slowly, every muscle protesting the concept of moving. Not to mention the killer headache pounding behind her eyes. It took a while but she managed to get herself to a seated position. She was in a small cave lit by a campfire. As her eyes became accustomed to the half-light she saw Alonzo sitting in the corner a small metallic object cradled in his hands. She shook her head to clear her vision as, for a split second, Alonzo's figure morphed into a creature she'd never seen before.

From behind her came the sound of something moving toward her. A shuffling noise accompanied by a breathy whistling almost like Uly used to make when his breathing was impaired.

* * *

As Alonzo contemplated what to do with Miss Nosy Adair now that she had discovered his secret, his silver pretty, he was startled out of his musings by the approach of... something. He glanced up, the realization hitting him that they were not alone. Damn, he knew he should have checked the cave out better.

The creature approached slowly. It was tall and man-shaped, walked on two legs with two graceful arms hanging at its sides. Beneath the leather it wore for clothing, its body appeared to be covered in a silky looking golden fur. It's eyes were the most amazing color of green that Alonzo had ever seen, like an emerald glittering brightly in the noon day sun. The creature smiled at him. It seemed friendly enough, but Alonzo's hand strayed to the homemade knife he had tucked in his boot anyway.

Alonzo blinked as he felt something caress his mind, the words ~You may return the summoning device to me now~ suddenly forming in his thoughts.

Alonzo snarled and jumped to his feet, hugging the silver object close to his chest. Growling, Alonzo said, "No, it's mine."

The creature cocked its head to the side, contemplating Alonzo for a long moment, then it too blinked. And that was all the warning Alonzo had. The creature moved with amazing swiftness, harshly pushing Devon out of its way to grab a handful of Alonzo's dark hair in its clawed hands. He dropped the little silver statue in the ensuing struggle.

* * *

The creature dragged Alonzo, by his hair, behind him through a dark, dank, twisting tunnel that seemed to go on forever. Alonzo cussed in two languages. He kicked at the creature's legs and it just extended its arm so he couldn't reach it. Alonzo clawed at its arms, dug his nails into the
hand holding his hair. "Let me go!"

~Do be quiet Young One, ~ the creature mind spoke, pulling Alonzo closer, its reward being getting kicked in the shins. Hard. The creature sighed, kicked Alonzo's legs out from beneath him and pulled a leather-looking cord out of pouch it had slung around its neck, and sat down on Alonzo's derriere. As it tried to catch Alonzo's arm, it said ~Give me your arms. I'm going to tie you up. You should be happy it was me that found you.~

"What the hell are you?" Alonzo demanded, trying to keep his arms away from the creature's hands.

~All in due time. Now give me your arms or I'm going to kiss you.~

Alonzo said something extraordinarily rude in Spanish.

With a sigh, the creature delivered a sharp slap to the back of Alonzo's head. It wasn't hard enough to hurt him or knock him unconscious, but it was enough to stun him into stillness. The creature grabbed the now immobile arms, pulled them behind his back and tied them at the wrists. It checked to make sure the bond wasn't too tight, then rolled Alonzo over onto his back. To its surprise, it got a knee in its side, hard enough to make those amazing glittery eyes water. The creature slapped Alonzo hard across the face and frowned as those dark eyes lost focus for a moment.

~Stop struggling! ~ the creature hissed in Alonzo's mind. ~I'm not going to hurt you.~ Then it took Alonzo's chin firmly between its hands and kissed him.

The struggle came right back to Alonzo. He shuddered and bit down on the tongue that invaded his mouth. The creature once more grabbed a hold of his hair and pulled hard. Tears filled Alonzo's eyes, but the creature didn't release his jaw. Their eyes locked. The creature gave in and let Alonzo go. He rolled to the side and spit the blood out of his mouth, grimacing at the taste.

The creature got to its feet, jerking Alonzo up with it. It absolutely hated when the new ones struggled.

"Untie me. I have to go back." He turned sideways and held his wrists out.

~No.~ The creature grabbed a hold of Alonzo's bound arm and dragged him along through the tunnel once more. When they reached an apparent dead end, the creature let go of Alonzo's arm and reached up for a cleverly hidden lever. Alonzo turned and ran as fast as he could.

The creature let out a slow breath and reached into its pouch. It took aim at Alonzo's back and flicked its wrist, the small object hitting Alonzo in the back, sending a small pulse of some sort coursing through the pilot's body. Alonzo gave a small cry and went. The creature walked over, grabbed Alonzo by the back of his shirt and dragged him through the doorway it had opened.

* * *

Baines brought the ATV to a halt next to Julia, Bess and Zero 200 meters from camp. They had started walking the moment Danziger had contacted them in order to shorten Baines' trip, for every second was precious. Bess carried a magpro, even though she knew Danziger had one with him back at the rail.

"Bess, I don't have the room!" Baines said as Julia climbed in.

Bess fretted for a moment, but it was obvious the ATV could barely hold the robot and two people, and she knew both Zero and Julia were necessary for Morgan's survival. "I'll follow on foot," she found herself saying.

"They're actually only half a klick away," Baines said as he swung the ATV back the way he'd come. "But I think there's something seriously strange going on, and you need to get back to camp as fast as you can."

"I'm not leaving my husband!"

"Bess, please," Julia said. "Baines is right. Go back to camp, stay with the others. Uly will need some help, because I'm sure he's worried about Devon."

"And take that magpro with you," Baines added. "I don't like the idea of you being alone between here and camp."

Bess nodded, realizing it was truly what she needed to do. She trudged back to camp, saying a prayer for Morgan. Behind her, the ATV tore off in a cloud of dust.

It arrived beside the dunerail minutes later and they hopped out. Julia ran around the rail to find Danziger still comforting Morgan, who was now awake and staring at the sky in shock. Beside them both was the beginnings of a crude stretcher, made from a blanket that Danziger had pulled from the back of the rail, tied between two long poles.

Julia got down on her hands and knees to inspect the damage and to give Morgan a quick pain block, the strongest she dared. Taking in his situation, she could understand why Danziger had requested Zero. Two people could normally lift the dunerail, but Morgan was lying on a rise, with his head facing downhill. The rail was lying on top of him at such an angle that if anyone tried to lever it up off of him, it would probably end up hurting him more.

"Doc," Morgan breathed, not looking at her. "Please help me. Please tell me I'm going to live."

"Morgan," Julia said, signaling Zero to come over. "I've got bad news for you: you're going to live, and you're going to be fine." She gave him a smile. Morgan smiled weakly in return.

Zero stood beside Morgan, bent down and slowly lifted the entire dunerail straight into the air. He carried it to the top of the rise and set it down just as gently, turning it upright as he did. Julia was instantly checking over Morgan with her diaglove and scanner. "One kneecap shattered, lots of
internal bruising," she said. "Nothing permanent."

Since Zero had greater precision than a human, he took one end of the stretcher. Danziger took the other, while Julia and Baines maneuvered Morgan onto it. Together, they lifted him into the back seat of the rail and Baines climbed into the driver's seat. "Are you coming back with him?"
he asked Julia.

"No," she replied. "Devon and Alonzo are still out here somewhere, and they may need my help.

"Morgan," Danziger said quietly, leaning over him, "can you tell us what happened? Where are Alonzo and Devon?"

"I don't know," Morgan said, shaking his head and squeezing his eyes shut. "I don't even know why we flipped over. It was like Alonzo hit the biggest, worst rock he could find. That's all I know."

"Okay, buddy, take it easy," he said. Then he looked up and grimaced. "Baines, I don't like the idea of you taking Morgan back without protection, but I got a feeling that Julia and I are going to need the magpro and Zero more than you will."

"I think you're right," Baines said. "Don't worry about us. We'll be okay. You just find the others."

"Well, you take care," Danziger said, glancing back at the hole in the ground next to where the dunerail had toppled over. "And stay sharp. I don't know what's going on, but it doesn't look good."

Baines followed his gaze. "That's not a natural hole," he said quietly, and Danziger nodded. "And I can't see Alonzo driving over something like that on purpose."

"Yeah," Danziger agreed. "Something coming out of the ground like that would feel like a hitting a huge rock, which matches what Morgan says."

"You think the Terrians have turned against us?" Baines asked quietly.

"After all this time?" Danziger replied. "I certainly hope not. Not just when I'm beginning to like 'em. I suppose it's possible that we were about to enter some kind of territory they didn't want us on, but they're usually pretty good about contacting us before attacking us." Morgan groaned once
in the back seat. "Go on, off you go. Get him back."

"Keep your gear on," Baines said as he pulled out. "Tell Bess I'm on my way."

"Zero, run a resonance scan, two klick radius," Danziger said, then he swung his gear around and called Bess. Julia bent to examine the strange hole where the accident had occurred.

After filling camp in on the situation, Danziger joined Julia on the ground.

"The earth has been displaced, just like when the Terrians travel," she said. "Sometimes."

"What do you mean, 'sometimes?'" Danziger asked.

"I mean, sometimes the Terrians leave a distinct depression in the earth when they descend into it, and sometimes they don't. I have no idea why."

"Do you think this was made by Terrians?"

"Perhaps," she said thoughtfully. "Maybe by two or three Terrians, or one big fat one. Or by something we've never seen before." She looked at the place where the rail had lain on Morgan. "But the terrain here is otherwise perfectly fine. So whatever caused the accident, it was either an attack or extremely poor driving by Alonzo."

"Yeah, and with Alonzo and Devon missing, I bet I know which one it was." He flicked a switch and the magpro hummed into life. The expression on his face was grim.

"It's just that..."

"Yeah?"

"Alonzo was acting strangely. Bess noticed it, and I kind of did, too, but I ignored it at first."

"How strange?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Short-tempered. Cagey. It was Bess' notice of it that caused us to try to contact Devon in the first place."

"Sir," Zero said, "I have a reading from the resonance scan. It is faint, but it could be the heat trace of a human."

"Let's go," Danziger said.

They followed Zero to a nearby hill and began climbing. About halfway up the hill, Baines called on gear to say that he and Morgan had safely reached camp, and Bess was looking after him.

About ten minutes later, Zero led them to a cave. "I am detecting movement within," he said. "One biped creature. I shall investigate."

"Use infrared if it gets too dark," Danziger said. He and Julia both activated their gear to see whatever Zero saw, but they never got the chance.

"Biped approaching," Zero announced. "Arrival, imminent."

"Zero?" came a weak voice from inside the cave. "Is that you?"

"Devon!" Danziger rushed forward to hold her. She was stumbling along with one hand on the cave wall for support. He led her out into the sunlight and sat her down on a rock.

Julia ran the diaglove over her. "How do you feel?"

"Terrible. My head hurts something awful."

Julia gave her a pain block, and Danziger asked, "What happened?"

"I'm...I'm not sure," Devon replied. "The last thing I remember was riding in the dunerail. How did I get up here?"

"That's what we'd like to know," Julia said. "Did someone attack you?"

"I don't know. I don't know where the others are. I think...I think Alonzo was with me inside that cave, but it was all so hazy. I felt like I was dreaming about really weird creatures. Am I the only one you've found?"

"Morgan was injured in the accident," Danziger said. "He's already back at camp. We don't know where Alonzo is."

"You've got a lot of cuts and bruises and a wicked bump on the back of your head," Julia said. "I want you to rest."

"I'm all right," Devon said. "We need to find Alonzo."

"No, you only *feel* all right because I just gave you a pain block. But you're not fit to do anything right now."

Devon was silent for a moment. "Are you the only two who came looking?"

"Yeah," Danziger replied. "We figured it was better to keep as many people together as we could back at camp."

"So if I'm going to rest, you either need to stay here to guard me, or you need to take me back to camp," Devon said. "Either way, that will prevent you from searching for Alonzo. And I know you're not going to split up and have only one person search. That would be too dangerous."

Danziger sighed and glared at Julia, as if to say, "See what a stubborn wench she's being?" Julia just shrugged and raised her eyebrows at him.

"Fine," Danziger said. "It's your funeral. Zero, do another resonance scan, see if you can pick up any trace of Alonzo."

"I have already done so, sir," Zero said. "The resonance scan does not show any signs of life we recognize."

Danziger thought for a moment about Devon's supposed dream of "weird creatures," and the strange hole by the dunerail. "What do you mean, 'life we recognize?'" Danziger asked.

"The scan did read residual heat traces from within this cave, the patterns of which match those of a wild animal, or possibly a Grendler. But nothing indicating the presence of Alonzo Solace."

They all looked at each other, the same thought in their minds. Everything they had seen thus far could *almost* fit the pattern of a wild animal bringing prey back to its lair to eat: the apparently motiveless attack on the dunerail; leaving the person who was trapped and dragging the remaining
two back to the cave; leaving one of those people untied and unguarded, perhaps thinking she was dead, while the other was eaten right away.

"Anyone got a lumalight?" Danziger asked, cursing himself for not thinking to bring one just because it was still daylight.

"Here." Julia pulled one out of her pack and handed it to Danziger.

"Come on," he said grimly, leading the way into the cave. "Zero, you keep scanning ahead, let me know if you sense anything potentially dangerous."

"Yes, sir," Zero replied. They filed into the cave after Danziger.

They followed it back almost 30 meters before Zero said, "I am detecting a strong heat source ahead."

Another 20 meters brought them to a dying campfire. The smoke wafted up through a large hole near one side of the cave. Although no light came from that hole, Danziger could only assume it was a (natural?) chimney leading to the surface. The fire had not been tended in some time.

"I was here!" Devon exclaimed, the memories returning. "Alonzo was sitting right here, just looking at me. And then this other creature came along and took him away!"

"What did this creature look like?" Julia asked.

The earth exploded around them as three strange biped creatures rose up from the ground. Each was covered in golden fur and dressed in leather, and gazed at them keenly with piercing green eyes.

Devon gulped. "Like that," she whispered.

Danziger sighed. "Well, at least we know it wasn't a wild animal," he said.

He held the magpro on the three creatures, wondering what the hell they wanted. They didn't seem threatening, but appearances weren't worth anything on this planet.

"It's all right."

Julia and Devon gasped behind him, and John almost dropped the magpro when he heard Alonzo's voice coming out of the third creature's mouth. "What the-"

The creature with Alonzo's voice stepped forward. "John, it's all right. They're going to help us."

"Stay back," he warned, lifting the magpro again. He risked a glance behind him at Devon and Julia. Julia was so pale she actually looked worse than Devon.

"Don't be afraid. It's me, Alonzo."

"I don't know what you're trying to pull, but the Alonzo I know isn't furry," Danziger growled.

The creature looked past John to Julia. "Julia, scan me. You'll see."

Julia glanced at Devon and John, and then stepped forward to scan the creature. She stayed as far away as she could while still getting accurate readings for the diaglove. Her eyes widened at the results and she backed away quickly. "It's... it's him. Oh, God, it's him. His DNA is changing,
but it's him."

"John, this is meant to happen. I resisted too, at first, but once the change started, I realized this is the only way for us to survive."

"What do you mean, survive?" Devon asked, finally finding her voice.

The Alonzo-creature spoke again. "The Ferinas have seen the future. We all die from a council plot. Devon is the first to succumb to the illness. When her system starts shutting down, we lock her in a cold sleep chamber, hoping that Julia will find a cure, but she doesn't, not in time. The rest
of us get sick and we all die. Even Uly, and True."

"But the Terrians-" Devon said, her eyes wide with fright.

"The Terrians could do nothing. Or they didn't. The Ferinas are offering us a way to survive." The Alonzo-creature took a step forward. "They will change us, to be like them. We will never have to fear the council, or anything else, ever again."

"Listen, you... whatever the hell you are," Danziger said, hefting the magpro. "We don't want to be 'changed'. We'll take our chances with the council."

The creature gazed calmly back at him and his face twisted into a frightening approximation of a smile. "You have no choice. The process is already in motion."

"What do you mean, the process is in motion?" Devon asked.

"The change in you has already begun," the Alonzo-creature told Devon. "And two of our brothers have gone to camp to begin the change in the others. I told them the way."

"God, no," Devon said. Her frantic gaze met John's, and he knew they were thinking the same thing.

True. Uly.

Danziger primed the magpro and pointed it directly in the Alonzo creature's chest. "Stop them."

"You can kill me, John, but it won't stop what's happening."

Two more creatures sprung out of the ground behind them. The three colonists moved closer together, eager for the illusion of safety it brought with it.

"Oh, God," Julia breathed as they disabled Zero.

"Maybe he's lying, maybe the others are safe, maybe..." Devon rambled as she tried to ignore the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. He was telling the truth about one thing; she was changing, she knew that and she denied that knowledge with every part of her that was still human. "Maybe..." Devon clutched John's elbow.

"The others at camp will stop them. They will," John said fiercely as the creatures circled around them.

The Alonzo creature tilted its head. "No. They won't."

Devon took a deep breath. "Yes, they will," she said. "We have survived everything else that we've encountered on this planet and we will survive you." She swallowed. "We will not give up, we will not give into you."

"Devon, the Ferina only want to help us."

"No!" Julia yelled. "They want to make us into them, don't you see?" There were tears in her eyes as she glared at what used to be her love. "They want to take away our humanity. I will not just accept that! I would die first."

Devon swallowed. "So would I," she whispered. She reached out and gripped Julia's hand.

John closed his eyes briefly and thought of True. He opened them and looked down at the magpro, quickly pressing the controls that would overload the weapon. He looked back at the monster Alonzo had become. "So would I," he said as the world exploded in his hands.