"So let me get this straight, you're saying that the Edenberry plants have
become carniverous, and that their grabbing people and taking them to this cave
to be cocooned." Kendle lowered her eyes, "Pris, I think the pressure may have
gotten to you."

Carter was being looked over by Foster back at the infirmary tent where she had
recounted what had happened with the transport tube, the vines, the cave, all
of it and was now being met with sheer disbelief.

Lennier stepped forward, "I saw it myself, there were cocoons all over the
place, being hung from the ceiling, with tubular vines comming from them to the
walls."

"The walls?" Kendle asked, "Why? What was on the walls?"

"I did not see, I was busy fleeing."

"I saw," Carter said, rubbing her neck, "they looked like little buds."

"Buds?" Kendle still looked doubtful before waving her hands with
skeptisism, "Look, Pris, I don't know what you saw, but the Edenberry plant was
genetically egineered, it couldn't turn carnivorous unless it was in the
design."

Foster, though, looked open to the possibility, "It is possible, Amelia, if
this was a mutation. The plant was designed to survive under any condition,
maybe its something to do with the environment.." he stood there in thoughtful
silence for a few moments before saying, "if I could get a speciman, I could
examine it and see if I can find what caused the mutation, and if there's
anyway of killing them."

Carter looked faintly worried, "Are you sure you want to do that?"

Huntington perked up, "I'm sure he'll be fine, after all, if what you said was
true, I think those boys'll be well-fed for awhile!"

Carter looked unsure, but Foster said, "Pris, you know that we're going to have
to kill those things in order to get out of this. We're cut off completely."

She still obviously didn't like it but nodded her consent anyways. Foster
grinned and left the tent to get his speciman, and in a few seconds she was all
business again.

"Right," she said getting up and holstering her pistol, "First, we need to move
the wounded, their like sitting ducks out here in the open."

Huntington nodded, but Kendle looked puzzled, "Ah, where are we gonna move'em
to?"

"To the cave."

Kendle cried out in protest, "Wait a minute! That's just as bad as outside! I
mean, we just had a major quake and the whole thing almost came crashing down."

"I know but-"

"What if there's an aftershock? We'll be trapped!"

"I know," shouted Carter, finally losing patience, "but if we stay out here,
we're plantfood! Now I don't like it either, but we are out of options!"

She and Kendle stared at eachother for several seconds, neither one of them
flinching, until Huntington couldn't take it anymore. He bent down and gently
grabbed Kendle's arm, "C'mon Dr. Kendle, let's get moving." She got up with his
assistance, and with her krutch and they left the tent.

Carter rubbed her eyes, looking very tired and irritated. After her outburst,
Lennier was begining to worry that she might be suffering from exaustion and
her judgement was being affected. It was therefore several seconds before he
spoke.

"You realize," he said, very carefully, "that the vines are able to penetrate
the rock and so we won't be nessesarily safer in the caves."

She looked up and stared at him for awhile before nodding, "yeah, I'm aware of
that, but they deserve every chance."

Lennier fell silent again, deep in thought when she spoke again, "There may be,
one place they can't get into."

He knew immediatly what she was talking about, "It's possible," he said, "but
we haven't figured out how to open the door."

"Mmm, I know," she sighed, "oh well, just a thought," then she chuckled, "too
bad that bastard didn't leave any instructions besides, 'Find the path home'."

He nodded his agreement, and thought about what he'd found in the book to see
if there was anything he missed. Then something hit him.

"Oh," he said, going wide-eyed.

Carter looked up at him, "Oh what?"

"Do you have a star-chart?"


Foster collected his speciman without any issues. As he got up and headed back
to the research tent, he stopped and looked at the strange plants. They didn't
move or anything, and it was hard to believe Carter's claims, but he had known
her long enough not to question her when she was this sure.

Shaking his head he went back to camp, where the wounded were being shuttled
into the caves...