Earth 2.1.2
Chapter 10
A/N: Mea culpa for the awful, awful cliffie. I'm a bad, bad person, and this chapter is worse. But hang in there, okay? I love you all—I mean it. I'm desperately trying to get Chapter 11 to look more like "Guys and Dolls" Marlon Brando and less like "The Score" Marlon Brando. That's turning out to be harder than I'd hoped. But I promise, no later than Friday, okay?
"They what?" Devon said, climbing out of the rail and trying to make sense out of what Rick had just said.
Julia stopped cold as she reached for her med-kit. She turned back to look at Rick, her face white, gripping the roll bar of the ATV like a lifeline.
"Took her?" Danziger said. "What do you mean, took her?"
Rick took a deep breath. "They came in first using their crossbows, and somehow one of them got up on the rocks behind the camp," he said. "That's how they got Paul. He was up on Dome Two standing watch, and they shot him in the back." His jaw clenched.
"Rick—" Devon began.
"Phoebe got hit in the leg, and Rob took her over to the med tent. Then they pulled back, and we thought we were okay." He shook his head. "But they weren't done. They came again, this time with mag-pros, and one of them got through and went straight for the med tent."
"Wait, they had mag-pros?" Danziger said, but Rick wasn't listening.
"That Terrier came out of the med tent carrying her. She wasn't moving, and…there was blood running down the side of her face," Rick said. "I made everybody hold their fire—I didn't want to risk hitting her. She—she's gone."
Devon turned and put her hand on Julia's arm.
"I'm okay," Julia said almost inaudibly, but she didn't move for a moment.
"Julia," Alonzo said, coming up behind her, with Helen and Bill following.
"Phoebe said Rob tried to stop it, and it hit him," Rick said. "Yale's working on him. God, Julia, I'm so sorry," he said. "I should have done more—"
Julia blinked, then shook her head like she was trying to clear it. "I need to go help with Rob and the others," she said, touching Devon's hand, and started for the med tent.
"Help me," Artie said, trying to get out of the rail. "I need to go see Phoebe." Alonzo helped him out of the rail and they started after Julia, Artie's arm around Alonzo's shoulder.
"Where are the kids?" Danziger asked Rick.
"In Dome One," Rick said. "Alonzo got them in there during the first wave. But I think Tru saw part of what happened in the med tent. She was pretty shaken up. Tosh is with them, but she's doing almost as bad as Tru. God, John, you should have seen her—Todd tried to stop the one going for the med tent, and it knocked him flying. Tosh stood over him and took out three Terriers all by herself, but once they were gone, she fell apart. We almost couldn't get her to let us take Todd to the med tent."
Danziger swallowed and nodded. "Devon, you take Rick inside and get the rest of the story from him," he said, taking command of the situation till Devon could get her bearings. "And check on the kids for me, okay? Helen, you and Bill take a rail out past the river—find a good spot to keep an eye out. I want to know sooner if they're coming. But if you see 'em, just call it in and bug out, got it?"
"Okay…" Helen said, looking almost as shell-shocked as Rick.
"I sent Sergei after them in the other rail," Rick said, and Danziger looked sharply at him. "Just to see where they went. He called in just a few minutes ago. They went east a ways, and then went up through the foothills to the south."
Danziger turned to Helen. "Get on out there and call Sergei. Get him the hell back here. I don't want anybody out there alone."
"Right," Helen said, and turned towards the rail, then looked back. "Let us know if…what's going on, okay?"
"You got it," Danziger said. He glanced over at Devon. She was still looking over at the med tent. "Devon," he said quietly, and she jumped. "Get inside. It's too cold to just stand around out here. Go find Uly."
"Right," she said absently, then looked over at him. "Yes, okay. I'll take care of Tru for you."
Danziger smiled at her. "Thanks."
Devon looked over at Rick, then took him by the arm. "Come on, Rick," she said, and they headed for Dome One.
Danziger turned to look at the rest of their defenses and saw Paul's body, still slumped against the side of Dome Two. Inez was kneeling next to him, holding his hand.
"How is he?" Julia said, coming into the med tent and slinging her med kit on the ground by the lab table. The inside of the tent was a mess—the back side was half-collapsed, and Rob was lying on the ground at the base, an oxygen mask over his face. The lab table had been knocked over, and her equipment was strewn everywhere. Todd was lying on the ground near the back entrance, unmoving. Phoebe was on her cot, one hand over her eyes.
Yale looked up from where he was scanning Rob with the diaglove. "He was having trouble breathing, and his O2 sats were low, so I put him on oxygen. But he is bleeding internally."
Julia looked over his shoulder at the scans and winced. Multiple broken ribs, lacerated spleen, lacerated lung. Oh, Rob. She glanced over at Phoebe, who was lying on Melanie's bunk. "Okay, hang on one second—I want to be sure Phoebe and Todd are okay before we start surgery."
Yale nodded.
Julia pulled her diaglove from the med kit, went over to Phoebe and started scanning her. Artie came in, with Alonzo helping him through the tent flap.
"What happened?" Artie said, coming over and grabbing Phoebe's hand. Alonzo grabbed the knocked-over camp stool and helped Artie sit down.
"They came in so fast," Phoebe said as Julia studied her scan. "By the time we knew the perimeter alarms had gone off, they were already on top of us. Paul didn't have a chance. They shot him before he even got a shot off. I watched him fall off the platform. He just landed on the side of the dome and slid down."
"Damn," Artie said quietly.
The wound in Phoebe's right thigh wasn't that bad, and the sutures were neat and clean. You did good, Mel, she thought, fighting back tears.
"Next thing I knew, I had an arrow in my leg, and they were running off," Phoebe was saying. "It wasn't till later that I figured out why they didn't just nail me with a mag-pro."
"Wait—they had mag-pros?" Julia said as she turned to look at Todd's unconscious form, and what Rick had said finally registered.
"Yeah," Phoebe said tiredly. "And they used them in the second wave. Rob got me down here to the med tent, and Mel was working on me when they came around again." She shook her head, not meeting Julia's eyes. "They hit us the first time to find out where the med tent was."
"What?" Julia said. "But…wh—?" But even as she said it, it was already clear to her why. Mag-pros. They had mag-pros. They're working with the Council. Julia closed her eyes for an instant, trying desperately to hold back the wave of guilt that threatened to overwhelm her. Oh, god, it's all my fault. For a moment, she couldn't breathe, but then she thought of Rob. Not now. You have to help them. Deal with it later.
"When they came through the second time, that one must've come right for us," Phoebe was saying. "Rob tried to stop it, and—" She broke off, blinking hard. "He wouldn't stay down. That Terrier hit him with the butt of the mag-pro right in the chest, and that boy got up again to try and keep them away from Melanie. She was screaming at it, and she tried to hit it with a hypo, but it clocked her, and she went down hard. It hit Rob again, then grabbed Mel and took off." Phoebe looked up at Julia. "I'm so sorry, Julia. I tried to get up, to help, but—"
"It's okay," Julia said, and her voice sounded like it was a million miles away. "Look, you just need to rest. Is the painblock working okay?"
Phoebe nodded, a stray tear running down her cheek. Julia patted her shoulder, then turned to look at Todd. Just a concussion, though it was serious. But there was really nothing more she could do for the moment.
Rob was another matter. Her initial scan of him left her shaken. She glanced at Artie and then turned to Alonzo. "Listen, this is going to be pretty bad," she said quietly. "I need you to take Artie back to Dome One, okay?"
Alonzo swallowed hard, then nodded. "C'mon, Artie, you gotta let Phoebe sleep," he said.
"I'll be fine, baby," Phoebe said, clearly fighting a losing battle to stay awake. "You go on now." She squeezed his hand.
Artie glanced up at Julia, and she tried to smile reassuringly, but she knew immediately from the look on his face that she'd failed. She turned quickly back to look at Rob and heard Alonzo helping Artie into the entryway to Dome One. "Yale, I'm going to need your help," she said. "I need to go in and repair some of the internal damage, and I'll need you to keep a continuous scan going and let me know if any of his vitals drop." She glanced up at him, and he nodded, but he looked tired. "Are you up for this? It's going to take a while."
"I will be fine, Doctor," he said. "And Rob cannot wait."
Julia nodded, and started in on Rob. But even as she tried to keep her focus on the surgery, there was a part of her mind running over everything Phoebe had said. They came right for the med tent, she thought sickly. This is all my fault. Melanie…
"But why would they target the med tent?" Devon said after Rick had told them all he knew, and then Tru had given them her account of what had happened inside the med tent. "It doesn't make any sense."
"It does if the Council sent them," Valerie said grimly.
Devon turned sharply to look at her. "You don't think—?"
"Devon, they had mag-pros," Valerie said. "Where else would they get them?"
"They could have picked them up from another Council scouting group," Devon said, trying desperately to find another explanation.
"And just magically figured out how to use them?" Valerie said. "No, Devon, you know I'm right. And you know why they went after the med tent, too."
"They were after Julia," Alonzo said, coming into the entryway from the med tent with Artie's arm over his shoulder. "I knew it the minute that second wave came in, but I couldn't—" He stopped, looking shattered.
"But why?" Devon said.
"Revenge," Valerie said, as if it was obvious.
"No," Devon said, shaking her head. "They're vindictive, but there has to be more to it than that. They've been trying to kill all of us, and they probably could if they get enough Terriers together. No, they wanted her for some reason."
"Maybe they were after both her and Mel," Helen said. "That'd leave us without a doctor."
"Who cares why?" Tru said furiously. "Shut up and go get her!"
"Oh, Tru—" Devon began.
"Devon, you have to go get her! I was right there, and I couldn't—" She stopped, breathing hard. "But you can!"
"She's right. We can figure out the whys later," Danziger said. He knelt in front of Tru and took her by both shoulders. "Don't you worry, Tru-girl. We'll get her back." He stood up and turned to look at the others. "Valerie, you and Rick get three of the mag-pros and meet me by the rail. Suit up for cold weather." He started for the door. "Tosh," he said as he went, "we're going to need—"
"No," Devon said, raising her voice. "Danziger, everyone, stop."
"What?" Danziger said, turning back to look at her in surprise. Alonzo helped Artie sit down at one of the tables, then turned to give Devon a questioning look.
"We're not going after her," Devon said evenly.
"What?" It came from several of the people surrounding her, but not from Valerie. She was looking at Devon with a look of utter shock.
"It's too dangerous," Devon said. "Between the storm coming in and the possibility the Terriers could come back…no, I just can't allow it."
"You can't allow it?" Valerie said, and her voice was colder than the air outside.
"Valerie, please," Devon said.
"You can't be serious!" Valerie continued. "We can't just abandon her!"
"I'm not abandoning—"
"Devon, we have to go," Alonzo said, stepping up close to her. "We have to! You know what this will do—" He stopped himself, but his glance toward the med tent spoke volumes.
"No," Devon said. "Nobody is going anywhere." Come on, Danziger, she thought desperately. Back me up here. You know this is the right thing to do, you know it! But she wouldn't let herself look at him. It had to come from him, without her prompting, or there'd still be those questioning it. She held her breath.
Alonzo stared at her, appalled.
After an eternity of silence, Danziger sighed. "She's right," he said, sounding like the words were being forced out physically. "God knows I hate to say it, but she's right."
Devon sighed in relief.
"But Dad—!" Tru began.
"None of us is going to do Melanie any good if we get ourselves killed trying to get to her," Danziger said. "The only safe way to do it would be to go in force, and that would leave the camp wide open for another attack. Never mind what anybody going out would risk with the weather." He shook his head. "She's right. It's too dangerous."
"She's still alive," Valerie said, looking horrified. "Devon, please."
Devon took a deep breath through her nose, trying to hold the tears at bay. "Yes, she's still alive. That's exactly what I'm counting on. If they wanted her dead, she'd be dead, wouldn't she? As soon as the storm passes, we'll start sending out scouts. Everybody who's had methohex will go on rotation. If we can reach some of the friendly Terriers, we can ask them for help." She stepped close to speak directly to Valerie. "Valerie, I'm not abandoning her. I'm not."
Valerie shook her head, clutching the mag-pro like she wanted to hit someone with it, and for a moment Devon was afraid she might. But Valerie turned on her heel and stalked off toward the door to the outside, flinging the mag-pro to the floor as she went.
"I'll talk to her," Toshiko said, though even she looked angry.
"No," Devon said. "It's me she's angry with, and she has every right to be." She turned back to look around at everyone. "If anyone else wants to take a swing at me, I'll be right here or…" She broke off, then took a deep breath. "Or in the med tent. The rest of you, see what you can do with clean-up. The storm's coming in fast, and we can't afford to let anything blow away. Those of you who saw what happened, work with Rick to do what you can to shore up our defenses. I don't want them getting through to Dome One again. Got it?"
There was a long moment of sullen silence, then Rick nodded. "Andy, you and Nick, come on. I have an idea."
"Danziger," she said, looking over at him. "I want to see Hardy."
He looked at her for a long moment, then nodded. "Yeah…okay. I'll go get him."
Devon turned and headed for the back entrance as Rick rattled off orders, feeling the stares through her back as she walked. She got inside the entryway leading to the med tent, turned to lean her forehead against the bioplast wall, and let the tears come.
Rob's surgery went remarkably well. The damage to the spleen had been the worst, and Julia had been worried she might have to remove it, but it looked like it was going to hold up. Phoebe had fallen asleep sometime during the first hour. Julia sent Yale over to scan Phoebe once she was through the worst of the work, and then she started closing.
"Dr. Heller," Yale said, "come over here."
"What is it?" Julia said hoarsely, glancing up.
"It's Phoebe," he said. "Her color is strange, and she seems to be having trouble breathing."
"What?" Julia said, finishing her last suture. "How long?"
"Only for a few moments," Yale said. "No more than ten seconds."
She grabbed the diaglove from Yale and started the scan, but she already could tell what was happening. Phoebe's lips were a grayish-blue. The diaglove showed her blood pressure was dropping fast, already below 50. Oh, god, Julia thought, it's an embolism. But she was on anticoagulants! She read the rest of the scan. There was definitely a pulmonary embolism, and it was massive. Julia turned to her dispensary. Desmoteplase, where the hell is it? She grabbed it, slammed it into a hypospray and injected it directly over the site of the embolism.
Come on, she thought, come on! But the blood pressure was still dropping. The diaglove started the whine signaling no pulse.
"No," Julia said. "Come on, Phoebe! Stay with me!" She set the diaglove to defibrillate. "Clear!" she said in case Yale was in contact with her. Phoebe's body jolted as the shock passed through her. The whine continued. She grabbed a hypospray and slapped in another vial, this time adrenaline. She injected it, then defibrillated again. Still the whine continued. "Come on!"
"What's going on?" Alonzo said, coming into the tent from outside. "Julia? What's—?"
Julia began heart compressions. "Yale, bag her," she said. "O2."
"Bag—" he said, and then looked around.
Julia grabbed wildly for an oxygen mask attached to a plastic bag lying on the ground near the entrance to the dome. "Plug the tube into the O2 canister there," she said, shoving it into his hands and pointing. "And put it over her mouth. Then squeeze the bag twice between heart compressions."
Yale did as he was told, and Julia returned to heart compressions. She continued for several more seconds, then set the diaglove to defibrillate again. "Clear!"
Yale reared back, and Alonzo watched as Phoebe's body jolted again, but the grating whine from the diaglove continued.
"Come on!" Julia ground out. "It should be working!" She ran the scan again, and was horrified to see that there were even more embolisms appearing, and the original one showed no change. It's like her blood is all clotting at once, she thought. The anticoagulants and desmoteplase were having no effect at all. She let out a breath, looking from the scan to the dispensary and back again.
"Julia," Yale said gently, reading the scan from where he stood, "there is nothing more we can do."
"No!" Julia snapped. "There has to be—!" But she stopped, looked down at the scan again, and let out a ragged breath. She bowed her head, closing her eyes, then shut down the diaglove alarm, took off the glove and laid it next to Phoebe.
"What happened?" Alonzo said. "I thought she just got shot in the leg! She was fine!"
"It appears to be some sort of enzyme," Yale said, studying the diaglove readout. "It must be something from G-889. It caused her blood to clot too quickly for the anticoagulants to control."
Julia was staring at Phoebe's body. "I hate this planet," she whispered.
Yale picked up a blanket from behind the cot and draped it over Phoebe. "Perhaps we should check Rob to be sure the enzyme is not present in his system," Yale said.
Julia looked up at him blankly for a moment, then nodded. She took the diaglove back from him, studied it for a few seconds, then turned to where Rob was sleeping peacefully. She ran the scan over him and sighed in relief. "He's okay," she said. "No sign of the enzyme. I've done all I can for him at this point. Keep an eye on him, Yale. If anything changes, even slightly, call me on gear. I have to go tell…" She stopped, swallowing hard.
"Yes, Doctor," he said gravely.
Danziger came into Dome One with Hardy in tow. He looked around for Tru and spotted her sitting next to Uly on his bunk, and she glanced up at him. She smiled a watery smile, then the smile disappeared as she looked over at Devon. She was sitting at one of the tables, lost in thought.
"Wait here," he muttered to Hardy, left him by the door and headed over to Devon. "Now you know the other reason I didn't try to take over after O'Neill died," he said.
Devon looked up at Danziger and smiled without humor.
"It's the right call, Devon," he said, sitting down next to her and putting his arm around her shoulders. "Don't beat yourself up about it."
Devon brushed with one hand at a stray tear running down her cheek. "Yeah, like I can stop that."
He smiled wryly. "You can't blame a guy for trying," he said. He squeezed her against him. "We'll get her back. It'll just take a little while, that's all."
"How long does she have, John?" Devon whispered so Uly and Tru wouldn't hear. "What if—?"
"Hey," he said and reached around with his free hand to turn her face towards him. "Don't go gettin' all glass-half-empty on me, Adair."
There was the sound of the back door opening, and then Julia came through the inner door, Alonzo at her heels. Devon whirled to look at them, and her breath caught as she saw Julia's expression.
"Aw, damn," Danziger breathed.
"It's Rob, isn't it?" Devon choked out.
Julia shook her head. "Phoebe," she said quietly, glancing over to where Artie lay sleeping on one of the bunks.
"What?" Devon said, shocked. "But she was—"
"Something must have been on the arrow that hit her," Julia said, her voice barely audible. "Some sort of enzyme. She started throwing clots, and…" She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then continued. "It happened really fast. I don't think she felt a thing."
Devon put her face in both hands.
"But Rob's going to be okay," Julia said quickly. "It took some doing, but unless he has some major complications, he should recover. It will take a while—there was damage to his spleen and—" She stopped and took another breath. "It was bad, but he's going to make it."
Devon didn't respond.
"Devon, I'm so sorry," Julia said, stepping closer to the table. "I tried—I really—"
Devon looked up at that. "Oh, Julia, I don't—it's not your fault," she said. "It's just hard to take in right now."
Julia nodded. "Look, I think Rob's stable enough for me to leave him in Yale's hands," she said, and then took a breath like she was preparing for a fight. "I want to go with the team going after Melanie. I know what you're going to say, but Phoebe said she was injured, and I—" She stopped, frowning questioningly at Devon's stricken expression.
"Doc, we—" Danziger began, but Devon put out her hand to stop him.
"I made the decision not to send anyone after her until after the storm passes," Devon said, and braced herself.
Julia looked blankly at her for a long moment, then glanced over at Danziger, but he was looking at Devon. "You made the decision," Julia said finally, looking back at Devon, and there was ice in her voice.
"Yes, Julia," Devon said. "It's too dangerous. The storm is moving in, and we have no idea how many Terriers we'd be up against. I can't take the risk."
"I can," Julia said, squaring her shoulders. "I'm going. Don't you dare try to stop me."
"Ease down, Doc," Danziger said, looking appealingly at Alonzo.
"Julia," Alonzo said, "just listen—"
"No," Devon said quietly. She stood up, shaking off Danziger's arm, and looked steadily at Julia. "Stay out of this, both of you. Julia, you know I can't let you do that."
"Devon, they targeted the med tent deliberately," Julia said, her voice rising. "You know why. It's my fault they took her! You have to let me go!"
"No," Devon said. "Why they took her doesn't matter. It doesn't change—"
"It changes everything!" Julia shouted.
Alonzo winced, looking over at Danziger. He was looking at Tru, who was sitting with Uly on his bunk, a stricken look on her face.
"What's goin'—?" Artie said, sitting up and looking over at them, but he broke off when he saw Julia's expression. "Oh."
Julia leaned over the table, staring Devon in the face. "Devon, you can't be that cold!"
"I can't let you go, Julia," Devon said, her voice as even and quiet as it had been.
"Would you say that if it were Uly?" Julia said savagely.
Devon looked like she'd been slapped. She looked away from Julia, swallowing hard. She turned to glance at Uly, who was sitting in his bunk, his knees pulled up against his chest, his head bowed against them and his arms wrapped around his head as though he were trying to shut out everything. Tru had her hand on his shoulder, but she looked like she wanted to be anywhere else at that moment. Devon sighed, then turned back to look Julia in the eye. "I don't know," she whispered, her voice like shattered glass.
"Liar!" Julia snarled, her eyes almost black.
"Julia, don't," Alonzo said, coming close and whispering. "Uly's right over—"
"Can you seriously say to me that you wouldn't do anything to get Uly back if it were him? That you wouldn't claw through steel to get to him? You did it once already, and I was right there with you!"
Tru made a tiny sound and ran for the door of the dome. Danziger stood up, looking like he was about to go after her, but he hesitated, then turned back to look at Devon.
"You were," Devon said, "and you kept me from diving right into the river after him. It was the right thing to do, even if I couldn't see it at the time."
"I'm not talking about diving into a river!" Julia snapped.
"No, but this storm could be just as dangerous. Maybe even worse," Devon said. "Julia, we're going to need everyone to make it to New Pacifica, you most of all. And we have to get there to warn the colony ship, or we could lose all of those families. I will do everything I can to get Melanie back safely, but I can't risk losing any more of us trying to do it. When the storm is over, we'll try to reach the friendly Terriers—"
"By then it could be too late!" Julia pleaded. "We have to go now, while they're still close! She's too important to us. Devon, I need her!"
"And if it came down to a choice between one person and the entire colony ship, would you really sacrifice all those children?" Devon said.
This time it was Julia who looked shocked, pulling back from the table and away from Devon. After a long moment, she looked down at the ground. "I would for Melanie," she whispered.
Devon stood up and came around the table. "Back on the stations, all those families whose children weren't healthy enough to come with us, I made you tell them because I couldn't face making that decision," she said. "That wasn't fair to you. I know that, now more than ever. This is my call, Julia. Mine. And if you want to hate me for it, I—" her voice broke, "I'll understand. But I can't let you go."
Julia finally looked up at her, and she looked utterly betrayed. Then she turned and ran for the back door, knocking Alonzo aside as she went.
"Julia!" Alonzo called, running after her. "Wait!"
Devon sank down onto the bench. "I can't do this anymore," she whispered, leaning over and wrapping her arms around her head, looking so much like Uly it almost broke Danziger's heart. He put his arm around her shoulders, wishing he knew what to say.
"I used to know a guy, when I was working Port Authority at Station Five," Hardy said, coming up.
Devon looked up sharply. She hadn't realized he was even there.
"A captain, one of the good ones. Worked his way up through the ranks from non-com. Remember the Centauri flu epidemic? There was a ship about to dock. They'd called a medical emergency, and they had fourteen cases in the crew. They wouldn't stand off, and one of the Port Authority guys was telling them to come in, against direct orders. There hadn't been any cases on Five yet, and this captain told the ship that he'd shoot them out of the sky if they didn't stand off. Their captain finally backed down, and they ended up with twelve dead when it was all over. But nobody on Five ever got Centauri flu." Hardy smiled humorlessly at her. "My boss asked the cap how he could sleep at night. Know what he said?"
"What?" Devon said faintly, wondering where he was headed with this.
"Scotch and sedatives," Hardy said.
Danziger barked a laugh.
"She'll get over it," Hardy said, glancing back at the door to the med tent. "Sooner or later."
Devon stared at him, and he shrugged, looking a little sheepish. "I know. Like I told Danziger, my dad always said I had a thick skull. I just—I was wrong about her." He stopped, clenching his jaw. "I saw somebody else look like that once. You can't fake that." He shook his head. "I wouldn't want to be the Council guy who has to face her. But I'd love to be there to watch," he added, a savage undertone to his voice.
Devon shook her head. She'd been prepared to blame him, she'd even been talking herself out of strangling him with her bare hands, but she couldn't seem to make herself say anything.
"Listen," Hardy continued. "I know what happened. It wasn't me, but I wouldn't blame you for thinking it was. And if I could trade places with Phoebe or Melanie, I would." He took a deep breath. "But I can't. So I guess the next best thing is letting you do whatever you want to me." He looked at her steadily. "I won't argue."
And just like that, all of Devon's anger towards him evaporated. But somehow, that wasn't the relief she'd thought it would be. The anger had been something she could hold onto, something that kept every other emotion at bay, and now…
Devon barely noticed when Danziger took her in his arms as she sobbed helplessly.
Julia tore through the flap to the med tent, and Yale jumped, startled.
"Julia, listen, I'll talk to Devon," Alonzo said, following her. "We'll figure something out. We'll get her back. I swear."
"Leave me alone, Alonzo," Julia said.
"I know it seems bad right now, but—"
"I said, leave me alone," Julia said, her voice so completely controlled it was like she was a different person than she'd been moments before. She leaned over the lab table, staring blindly at it.
"Julia—"
Julia took a deep breath. "Alonzo, right now, I want to do something, anything, and I have no options," she said tightly. She looked up at him. "Don't give me one by staying in this tent. I don't want to hurt you, but I will. You have to go."
Alonzo nodded slowly. "Okay," he said quietly. "I—I'll talk to Artie." He looked at her for a long moment, then turned and headed back into the dome.
Yale cleared his throat gently after a long moment. "Rob is still stable," he said very quietly.
Julia nodded, then noticed that he had set the lab table back up and had begun replacing the items that had been on it. And then she saw the empty bunk. "Where's Phoebe?"
"I asked Rick and Andy to take her to Dome Two, where they have Paul. They will be safe there until we can bury them."
"Thank you," Julia said tersely. She reached out and picked up the little six-legged figurine Melanie had gotten Danziger to carve for her. Yale had set it in the center of the lab table. One of the little horns had broken off.
"What do you need, Julia?"
"I need Melanie," she ground out. She looked over at him. "Can you do that for me?"
"I truly wish I could," he said.
Julia looked back down at the lab table. "Devon needs you more than I do right now," she said tonelessly.
Yale nodded and started toward the dome, then hesitated at the tent flap. "Julia, you will not do anything…foolish, will you?"
Julia looked up at him and smiled bitterly. "Devon has made it perfectly clear where my responsibilities lie. I'm not going anywhere."
Yale left the tent without another word.
Julia knelt and carefully placed the figurine inside one of the storage cases, then stood up and violently swept everything on the lab table to the floor again. Melanie's tablet flew across the tent and landed face-down underneath Rob's cot.
Artie took the news of Phoebe's death hard. Alonzo glanced over to where Toshiko was holding him in her arms, rocking him gently as he sobbed quietly, and had to blink back tears of his own. It isn't fair, he thought. None of it. He looked back at the entryway to the med tent for what had to be the thousandth time, wishing he could go in and help Julia somehow, and knowing it would only make things worse.
No one was talking, even though nearly everyone was inside the dome. Rick and the others had decided to abandon Dome Two for the time being, leaving it empty except for Phoebe and Paul.
"The way the storm's going," Rick had told Danziger over the gear, "I think it's safer to have everybody in one place."
He was right about the storm. It was howling loud enough now to be heard faintly even through the dome. Danziger had called in Bill and Helen, figuring it was bad enough out there that another attack was unlikely. They'd arrived with their cheeks and noses bright red with the cold.
The outer door banged open again, the wind ripping it out of Danziger's hands as he came in. He managed to push it shut again with both hands, then shook his head, sending wet snow flying around him.
"How is Tru?" Devon said as he came over to where she sat.
Danziger shrugged. "She's not talking right now," he said. "I figure she'll be fine in the Transrover. Heck, that heater might even keep her warmer than we are."
Devon nodded and then went back to staring at the table.
"Listen," Danziger said, "I was thinking about what you said about getting the Terriers to help. We're gonna be stuck here till this storm blows over. Why don't a few of us go ahead and get dosed with that metho-whatever stuff? The more of us who have it, the better the chances of us finding help, right?"
Devon nodded again. "Who did you have in mind?" she said.
"Helen already volunteered," he said. "And I'm up for it. To tell you the truth, I'd just as soon sleep through a few hours of this." He looked around at the sullen and depressed group, then smiled humorlessly at Devon. "I'm betting we can find a few more volunteers."
Devon smiled faintly back at him. "No kidding," she said. "Hell, I wish Mel hadn't already—" She stopped and closed her eyes. She swallowed hard. "Would you go talk to Julia about it?" she said finally.
"Sure," he said. "Listen, if I'm gonna be out of it for a few hours, would you mind checking in on Tru for me? Make her come in if the storm gets worse."
"Are you sure she'll want me to?" Devon said hesitantly. The last thing she wanted was to go through with Tru what she'd already been through with Julia.
Danziger shrugged. "I figure the sooner you talk to her about it, the better she'll be," he said. "I think what really upset her was having the two people she respects the most yelling at each other." He smiled wryly. "She doesn't want to be mad at you, Devon. She likes you too much."
He headed for the med tent, and Devon watched him go, hoping he was right.
A few minutes later, Julia came in with Danziger at her heels, holding a wobbly-looking Todd by one arm. Toshiko made a tiny noise and flung herself into Todd's arms, holding him for a long time before she helped him over to a bunk.
Julia walked over and spoke quietly to Yale, handing him a hypospray and two small vials. She turned and headed back into the med tent without another word to anyone.
Yale got Danziger and Helen settled in their bunks, and dosed them with the methohex.
Devon didn't think it was possible, but the silence in the dome got even worse once they were asleep. And the howling wind outside only emphasized it. Devon looked up at the skylight of the dome, but all she could see was snow whipping past the clear bioplast. It did look like it was getting dark, but she couldn't tell if that was because night was falling or the storm clouds were that dark. She glanced over at the chronometer above the entryway to the med tent. It read just past seventeen hundred.
It had only been four hours since they'd gotten back to camp, she realized. It seemed like far longer.
Tru hugged her knees to her chest, but even with the heater going in the Transrover, it was getting too cold to stay there, and the wind howling outside was starting to get frightening. Maybe things are better in there by now, she thought, but she doubted it. Julia had been so angry, even more angry than she'd been when she went after Morgan right after the crash. At one point, Tru was worried she'd take a swing at Devon. But worst of all, Devon had looked like she felt like she deserved it.
Tru felt bad for abandoning Uly like that, but she just couldn't stand to watch everyone fall apart. It was almost as bad as watching her mother dying, and she felt just as helpless to do anything about it.
She sighed, then scrubbed at her face with the sleeve of her jacket, sniffling. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to know how upset she'd been. She looked out at the wind whipping the snow around, and braced herself, then opened the door.
It was bitter cold, so cold she almost couldn't breathe. She ducked her face into her jacket and climbed down, struggling to keep the door open against the violent force of the wind. She got to the ground and turned towards the dome, trying to orient herself by the faint light from its glow. It was already getting harder to see it as the wind shrieked at her, blowing the suddenly heavy snow into her eyes.
She turned back to shut the door to the Transrover, but the wind had other ideas. In an instant it had shifted, and what should have been easy suddenly wasn't. The door ripped out of her hands, hit the side of the Transrover, then swung back and crashed into her face with stunning force.
Tru fell sprawling backwards and lay in the snow, blinking vaguely. After several seconds, she rolled over onto her hands and knees. Blood dripped from her nose, staining the snow, though in the dim light it looked black. Get up, she thought. You need to get inside.
She struggled to her feet, but the wind kept pushing at her, and she fell to one side. She made it to her feet one more time, and this time she took a few stumbling steps before she fell again.
Tru made it to her hands and knees again and decided it was safer to stay that way. She looked up, but she couldn't see anything anymore. The snow was so thick, everything was swallowed up in whirling white flakes.
Where's the dome? she thought, looking all around her. But she couldn't find it in the icy whiteness.
The howling of the wind outside the dome intensified so fast everyone in the dome looked up. Suddenly, it was almost a roar even through the thick bioplast dome.
"The storm's getting worse," Bess said unnecessarily, and her voice was a shock in the wake of hours of angry silence. "Maybe we should go bring Tru back in."
"I'll go," Toshiko said, jumping at the chance to get out of the horrible tension, even for a short while.
"Bill, go with her," Devon said. "I don't want anybody outside alone till the storm's over, got it? And take biocord with you and tie it to the dome so you can find your way back. The way the wind is blowing the snow around, it would be easy to get disoriented."
Bill got up and followed Toshiko to the door, grabbing his coat and putting it on as he went. He stopped to grab a length of biocord in the entryway. The sound of the wind grew to deafening levels as they opened the door.
"Somebody should talk to Julia," Bess said after the door shut.
"And say what?" Devon said tiredly.
"I just mean, she should know she's not alone," Bess said.
"She knows," Devon said. "I think she wishes she was."
Bess looked sick at that thought, and the room returned to silence, or what would have been silence without the howling wind.
A few minutes passed, and Sergei looked over at Danziger. "How long till they wake up again?"
"Ten minutes less than the last time you asked," Valerie said tersely.
"This is stupid," Morgan said. "We all hate what happened, but given the storm, I think it's clear that Devon was absolutely right. Does anybody really think we could have found Melanie in this?" He gestured at the roof of the dome, where they could faintly see snow swirling in the wind.
"It doesn't matter who's right or wrong," Devon said. "It'd hurt just the same either way."
The door crashed open and Toshiko came running in with Bill on her heels. "She's gone!" Toshiko said breathlessly.
"What do you mean, gone?" Devon said, her eyes wide. No, not Tru, too. It would destroy us. No!
"I mean, she's not in the Transrover," Toshiko said. "Devon, it's bad out there. The wind is blowing the snow around so bad we barely found the Transrover, and we were feeling our way along the dome."
"We couldn't find any trace of her," Bill said. "We figured it'd be better to get back here and get everyone looking. She couldn't have gotten far." He cringed at the horrified looks he got. "I mean, she couldn't have been gone long. She'd turned off the heater in the Transrover, but it was still warm in the cab. I think she must have tried to come back on her own, and she got lost in the snow."
Devon nodded. "Bill, you and Helen, take the left side, from the side of the rocks, and then sweep back towards the door. Rick and I will do the same on the right. If we don't find her on the first pass, we'll move in by a few meters and sweep back the other way. Got it?"
"What's going on?" Julia said, coming in from the med tent.
"Tru's missing," Valerie said.
"What?!"
"We're going to search for her," Devon said.
"Let me get the med kit," Julia said, starting to head back to the med tent.
"No," Devon said. "I don't want to risk any more people out there than we absolutely have to. We've already got people gearing up to get out there. You stay here and get things set up to treat her when we get her back, okay?"
Devon held her breath as Julia looked for a moment like she'd argue, but she finally nodded.
"Be careful," Julia said to the group. "Don't stay out for more than fifteen minutes. It's cold enough you could easily get frostbite on exposed skin in that amount of time with the wind blowing like this."
"If you find her, get her back to the dome immediately and call in the rest of the searchers by yanking on their biocord," Devon said, and headed for the door. She grabbed her parka and pulled it on.
Bill grabbed her arm. "Devon, there's something else," he whispered, leaning close so she could hear him over the roar of the wind outside. "I didn't tell Tosh, but…I think there was blood on the door of the Transrover."
Devon blanched. "Don't tell anyone," she said. "I'll start from there. If something happened, she's probably close to there."
Bill nodded.
Devon turned to look at the others as they gathered at the door and Bill handed a fifty meter length of biocord to her. "We're going to find her," she said emphatically. "Whatever it takes." She wrapped a spare t-shirt around her face and pulled her hood close over her eyes. She has to be okay, she thought opening the door onto the howling storm. She has to. If anything happens to her, I'll never forgive myself.
I have to find the dome, Tru thought, holding her arms around her middle to try to ward of the icy wind. I have to get back without them knowing I got lost. But she couldn't see anything at all—the wind had somehow gotten even stronger, and it was shifting back and forth, whipping the snow into a blinding white mass around her.
Tru hesitated, trying to decide which way to go, and she knew that if she chose wrong, she'd probably die. And I can't do that to them, she thought desperately. Not when everything is going wrong. She turned around, trying to find something, anything to orient herself by, but there was nothing but snow.
Stay put, she told herself. They'll figure out you're gone, and they'll come after you. But if you go the wrong way, you'll make it harder for them. Just stay put.
"But it's too cold," she whispered, curling up into a ball to try to protect her face from the painfully cold wind. "I can't stay out here like this."
Daddy, I really need you to come find me.
"Dad!" she called weakly. "Help!"
Dear god, Devon thought as she struggled towards the Transrover along the side of the dome. How did this storm get so bad so fast? She couldn't see anything in the whirling snow, and the cold was already making her face hurt, even through her makeshift scarf. "TRU!" she called. "Where are you?!"
"Can you see the 'Rover?" Rick shouted from behind her, and even though she knew he was yelling at the top of his lungs, she could barely hear him over the howling wind.
Tru will never hear us calling for her, she thought desperately. "No!" she shouted back at Rick. "How close do you think it is?"
"We need to get to the cliff side. From there it should be about five meters," Rick said.
Devon nodded, even though she knew he probably couldn't see her, and continued feeling her way along the dome. Only a few steps farther, she jammed her fingers painfully into the rock wall of the cliff. "Okay, here's the cliff!" she shouted back at Rick.
It took what seemed like forever to make it to the Transrover. Devon felt her way along the vehicle and finally made it to the door. It was still open, but it was banging back and forth as the wind shifted. Devon grabbed at it and it tore free from her grasp as she tried to close it. God, she thought, if it did that to me, what would it have done to Tru?
"TRU!" she yelled, fighting to close the door. She knelt down, feeling along the ground beside the vehicle.
"Can you hear us?" Rick bellowed. "Tru!"
"Come on," Devon said, starting toward the front of the Transrover on her hands and knees. She felt around her as she crawled, praying they'd find Tru soon. There was no way she could stay out here much longer and survive. Devon's face was already numb, and she could barely feel her fingers, even with the gloves.
"Tru!" Rick called again, his voice vanishing in the wind.
There was a faint noise from somewhere in front of them. "Rick, quiet for a second!" She listened, but there wasn't anything more. "TRU!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. "Say something!"
Still nothing. Devon crawled forward another couple of meters and tried again. "TRU!"
This time she heard something, a faint whimper. "Rick, hurry!" she called back, and crawled towards the sound. "Tru, honey, where are you?"
Devon found Tru by nearly crawling over her. She wasn't moving at all. "Tru?" she said, leaning close over her. "Come on, Tru, say something, please!"
"D-don't be m-mad at me," Tru said, her voice barely audible.
"Oh, sweetheart, I'm not mad!" Devon said, scooping her into her arms, the relief nearly overwhelming her.
"Is she okay?" Rick said, crawling up next to them. "You want me to take her?"
"No!" Devon said, knowing it was irrational, that Rick could handle her better, but the idea of letting go of Tru at that moment was inconceivable. "We need to get her inside fast."
"I'll go ahead and pull the biocord so you can follow, okay?" Rick said.
"Good, and get Helen and Bill back when you get there," Devon said. She struggled to lift Tru. "Hang on, Tru, we're almost home."
Tru didn't respond. Devon fought back a wave of fear and felt Rick tug at the biocord. She staggered to her feet and started to follow him. It was a nightmare getting back to the dome, each step a struggle against the wind, and Tru's limp form in her arms driving her to push harder. By the time she got to the door, Helen and Bill had already made it back. Helen grabbed Tru out of her arms, and Devon didn't have the energy to protest. Bill took her arm and helped her inside.
"Over here!" Julia said, guiding Helen over to a bunk. Devon was horrified to see the blood halfway frozen on Tru's face as Julia brushed the snow away. Helen laid Tru gently on the bunk and Julia began running the diaglove over her.
"Sit down," Toshiko said, coming up next to her. "How is your face?"
Devon sank down onto one of the benches, but didn't answer. She couldn't feel her face at all, but all she could think of was what Danziger would do if Tru didn't make it.
"Devon," Toshiko said gently, "she's going to be all right." Toshiko put her hands on either side of Devon's face, and the warmth was a shock, even through the t-shirt. Toshiko held her hands there for a long moment, then helped Devon peel the shirt away.
"Jeez," Valerie said, "you look like one of Bill's tomatoes." She handed her a cup of warm water.
Devon's hands were shaking, so Toshiko helped her take a drink. She could barely stand to swallow the water, it seemed so hot, even though she knew it couldn't be much more than lukewarm. But it felt good once it was inside her, and she started to come out of her haze.
"How are the others?" she said.
"Fine," Valerie said. "Yale says that Helen was on the verge of frostbite on her nose, but she's fine."
"And Tru?" she said hesitantly.
Valerie glanced over her shoulder, then turned back, smiling in relief. "Her eyes are open, and she looks terrified," she said. "You didn't yell at her, did you?"
Devon shook her head. "She asked me not to be mad at her," she said, and had to blink back tears.
Yale came up with a diaglove and ran it over her, making reassuring noises. "You were wise to wear that shirt," he said finally. "You're in better shape than Helen."
Devon brushed him away and stood up, and Yale steadied her. She made her way over to where Julia was working on Tru. "How is she?"
Julia glanced up, then looked back at the diaglove. "Patches of frostbite on her face, and a concussion. And her nose is broken. But she'll be fine."
"I'm really sorry," Tru whispered, glancing uneasily from Julia to Devon. "I didn't mean to—"
"Tru, it's okay," Devon said, sitting down on the edge of the bunk and patting her leg. "I'm not angry. I'm just glad you're safe. We all are, okay?"
"Do you have to tell my dad?" Tru said.
Devon smiled. "I think he's going to notice the broken nose," she said. "But don't worry, I'll make sure he's not mad at you, either."
Julia sat at her lab table, staring blindly at the tablet in front of her. She couldn't seem to focus on anything except replaying every moment of the last twenty-four hours.
Tru had fallen asleep almost as soon as Julia had finished setting her nose and applying neoderm to the patches of frostbite. Devon had stayed by her side through the whole ordeal, which had been an ordeal of a different sort for Julia. She'd tried not to let her anger towards Devon show as she worked on Tru, but Tru had kept looking back and forth between them, her distress nearly palpable.
It had been an enormous relief to escape back to the med tent once Tru was asleep. All Julia could think of when she looked at Devon was Melanie—and no matter how much she tried to stay hopeful, the images flashing through her mind got increasingly grim.
And no matter how obvious it was that Devon's decision had been the right one, Julia simply couldn't find a way to forgive her.
Julia sighed explosively, and then heard someone come into the tent from the dome. "I'm not going to talk to her," Julia said.
Valerie pulled up short. Julia hadn't even turned from where she was leaning over Rob, studying her diaglove.
"I wouldn't ask you to," Valerie said.
"Good."
Valerie walked quietly over to the camp stool beside the lab table and sat down. And waited.
It didn't take long.
"What do you want, Valerie?" Julia said, and the sound of her voice was almost feral. She turned to look at Valerie, and it took some effort for Valerie not to recoil from Julia's expression.
"It felt like I was drowning," Valerie said, suddenly finding her shoes fascinating.
"What?" Julia said, and the savage tone had eased. A little.
"All the time I was with her, I didn't realize…" She looked up at Julia. "I don't know when it happened, but at some point, she had become the air, and when she was gone, I couldn't breathe."
Julia didn't say anything, and Valerie looked back down. "My therapist said it was normal, that it would get better, and I almost hit her. Like I wanted it to get better!" She laughed, and felt bitter bile in her throat. "Every single day, it felt like waking up was a betrayal, because I had told Jamie I couldn't live without her, but there I was, with my heart still beating." She finally looked up at Julia, who was looking impassively back at her. "They put me into protective custody. Two weeks. Lots of drugs, group therapy, talking about our feelings, drawing pictures. I'll never draw another stick figure as long as I live. You know what finally got me out of there?"
Julia shook her head almost imperceptibly, but the look in her eyes was softer.
"Math. My boss sent me a bunch of math puzzles. 'I thought you might be bored,' he said." She smiled at the memory. "I did the first one in five minutes. And it was the first five minutes in almost a month that I didn't hurt. Don't get me wrong, it hurt again the second I thought about it, but for those few minutes…" She trailed off. She stood up, looking down at Julia almost fiercely. "Be a doctor. Use that first-class brain of yours. Figure out how to stop whatever killed Phoebe. Fix Rob. Anything to get through the next few days."
"And then what?" Julia whispered.
"Then we go get her," Valerie said as if it was obvious.
Julia watched her go back into the dome. It would be pretty to think so, she thought tiredly.
By the time the storm finally blew itself out two days after Tru's rescue, nearly everyone was at their breaking point. Bill had come within an inch of decking Morgan when he said something under his breath about Tru, and even Toshiko had snapped at Helen over some minor irritation. Devon was glad that they'd rotated pairs of volunteers to be sedated with methohex—that was two fewer people to be at each other's throats.
Hardy hadn't said another word, though it was clear he was just waiting for someone to go after him. But no one seemed inclined to, much to Devon's surprise. In spite of the irritable sniping, it was like the storm had taken the fight out of everyone. Devon wondered how long that would last.
The snow had eased up a bit after the first night, but the wind had only gotten worse, and it was blowing the snow that had already fallen around so much it was nearly impossible to see more than a meter.
Tru was doing fine, though between the black eyes she'd developed and the neoderm on her cheeks and nose, she looked remarkably like a raccoon. Uly had even teased her about it, trying to get her out of the dark mood she was in, but she barely acknowledged him.
Danziger had been great about the whole thing once he finally came out of the methohex sedation. He'd done nothing but praise Tru for keeping her head and staying put. She was clearly as surprised as Devon, and for a short time had seemed to perk up, especially when Danziger had given Devon a bear hug in thanks for rescuing Tru. But the general pall of depression was still weighing on everyone, and Devon knew there was only one way to change that.
She waited as long as she could stand it to be certain the worst of the storm had passed, but she didn't want to waste a moment of daylight. They'd already lost three full days, and even if the Terriers had taken shelter during the storm, there was no telling how far they'd gotten with Melanie. So once the wind stopped blowing shortly after dark, Devon started making plans for setting out first thing the next morning.
"Okay, everybody, here's how this is going to go tomorrow," she said after Danziger had called everyone together that night. "We'll send out four teams, one for each of the vehicles. There will be one person who hasn't had methohex with each group, and they'll be the ones driving. We'll send three with each rail, two with the ATV. We have ten people who've had methohex now, so I'll send one or two of those with each vehicle. I want to leave four here, and we'll rotate those on sentry duty so we have somebody here ready to talk to the Terriers if they show up."
"Talk to them?" Morgan said, incredulous. "Is that before or after they kidnap somebody else?"
Devon ignored him. "If the same group of Terriers come back, the sentries should have enough warning to get everybody into the dome. Danziger says the bioplast should hold out against quite a few mag-pro blasts. Don't anybody try to be a hero, okay? You'll only have the four mag-pros here, since I'm sending two with each of the scout teams. Between those and the handguns, you should be fine, as long as you don't take any chances."
"So who goes and who stays?" Valerie said, glancing nervously over at Julia, who was staring intensely at Devon.
"I'd like to go," Hardy said quietly, though he didn't look even remotely hopeful.
Devon looked at him for a moment, then shook her head. "Alonzo and Nick will take the ATV. Helen, Bill and Inez will take one rail. Danziger, you'll take one with Valerie and Sergei. Rick and I will take the last rail—"
She broke off as Julia stepped towards her, her blue eyes looking as dangerous as the storm clouds had three days earlier. Devon held up her hand. "Easy, Julia, you're with me."
Julia looked surprised.
"Yale, you'll have to look after Rob while we're gone. Nobody goes more than a half-day's ride out, got it? I want everyone safely back in camp before dark tomorrow. If we aren't able to make contact with the Terriers this time, I'll consider sending out longer patrols, but I don't want to take any chances if this is just a lull in the storm." She looked around at the group. "Understand this: I am not giving up on finding Melanie. We'll get her back, okay?"
It was hard to get a feeling for the reaction to that. There were some hopeful looks, Tosh predictably among them, but most still looked bleak. Julia's expression was unreadable.
"Each team should take a hand scanner," Julia said. "Scan for edible vegetation as you go. We still need to find something to supplement the synthesizers. Try to find some more of those tubers Artie and Inez found."
Devon nodded, then turned to Bess. "You got some training from Melanie on the comm system, right?"
Bess looked surprised. "Well, yes, a little," she said uncertainly. "But—"
"Good," Devon said. "You'll coordinate among the teams. If anybody makes contact with the friendly Terriers, I want you to call back the rest of the teams. We'll let the Terriers do our searching for us, if they're willing. They know their planet, and its weather, and they're used to living in this climate. And hopefully they'll know how to find the other Terriers."
"And if they aren't willing?" Helen said.
Devon looked grim. "We'll burn that bridge when we come to it," she said. "But I want to talk it through before we make any decisions, so whatever the Terriers say, we come back here once we talk to them, got it?"
"They'll be willing," Alonzo said resolutely. "They owe us."
"What if you run into the…other Terriers?" Toshiko asked.
"We run like hell," Devon said tersely. She looked around at the group. "Get some sleep, all right? Tomorrow's going to be a long day for all of us."
Danziger took her arm and pulled her over towards the door. "Are you sure about taking Julia with you?" he said quietly.
"No," Devon said, glancing at Julia as she retreated once again to the med tent. "But I have to give her this, John. She'll tear herself apart if she doesn't get to go. And I have to try to fix things between us. I can't go on like this."
Danziger sighed. "Yeah. Just promise me you'll be careful? Don't let her guilt you into doing anything stupid."
"That's why I'm taking Rick," Devon said. "He'll keep us both safe."