SAND OF DEATH
Chapter 11
Eden Project set up camp at the edge of the lake and waited. They soon discovered that Uly was incapable of telling what had taken place on the Dreamplane. Every time Devon or Yale or Julia tried to question him, he became frustrated and upset at his failure to explain and started crying, "The monster in the Earth took him!" It didn't help them much.
Without knowing what happened to Alonzo, there was little they could do. Julia hoped that, given time, he would wake from his coma. The more time passed, the bleaker his prospects became. And the paler Julia's face grew, the more sunken and dull her blue eyes.
"At least we have plenty of water," Baines remarked as he flung a pebble into the blue lake and watched the circles grow wider and wider until they faded.
"Yeah," Magus agreed. She plopped beside Baines and Morgan on the fallen tree trunk and stared out over the lake also. She chortled softly. "Remember that water fight we had? Alonzo would have loved to go another round here."
Walman laughed. "Yeah, he was always good for a practical joke and a laugh."
"You shouldn't say that," Morgan muttered as he pushed himself up. The others looked at him.
"Say what?" Walman asked.
"Would. Was. You're talking about him as if he's already dead! He's stuck on the Dreamplane, that's all. He'll be back." Morgan sincerely hoped so. Alonzo had been the first friend he had on the planet. Well, besides Bess, but she didn't count. She was his wife.
The others exchanged a startled look. Baines looked away. "You're right, Morgan. Alonzo always bounces back."
"Morgan?" Yale's voice interrupted whatever reply Morgan had been forming.
The bureaucrat turned. "Yes, Yale?"
"I need your help." He lifted his robotic arm and pushed a button. An image sprang to life, wavering a moment before it settled. Baines, Magus and Walman gathered around Yale and Morgan, eyes trained on the image.
"What is it?" Morgan asked. The image was a still life of a page full of writing.
"It's a plaque Danziger and I discovered in that tunnel." Yale nodded in the direction of the mountain they had escaped through. "I think it might hold an explanation for what happened here. And maybe it can help us help Alonzo. I need your assistance to translate it."
"My assistance?" Morgan wondered aloud. "How? I don't--" Then his eyes grew round. "The Morganite."
"Exactly."
Morgan contemplated the recording. Without thinking, he rubbed his hands together, remembering the pain of the burns he suffered when he used the glowing stones to break the geolock access code. "You'll get burned," he said. "That stuff is hot. And dangerous."
"Maybe not if it's still part of the planet," Yale said. "When I got my pre-Yale memories back, I was touching the Morganite in the cave wall. The vein was warm to the touch, but not hot."
"How do we know where to find it?" Morgan asked.
"I can help with that," Baines piped up. "We can use the Rover's scanners to run a resonance scan of the area. If we find caves, we're bound to find some of that stuff."
The three men took off for the Rover, Magus and Walman trailing behind. They were anxious to help their teammate recover. Soon half of Eden Project was cluttered around the Rover.
"There!" Baines pointed at a dark spot on the screen. "An underground cavern. It's about three kilometers away."
* * *
"I want to come," Julia said. Her face was drawn and her jaw set with stubbornness.
"Julia," Devon protested. "We need--"
"Devon." Danziger caught her eye and gave a quick shake of his head. He recognized the helplessness that was eating away at the doctor, her sense of failure. He had felt the same when Elle had her accident. It had taken him years to accept that there was nothing he could have done. He didn't want Julia to have to go through the same thing. If it didn't help, at least she would know she had tried.
Devon caved. "All right," she said. "Julia, Danziger, Morgan and Yale. That's it. Nobody else goes."
If the situation hadn't been so serious, Danziger might have laughed. This was one scout where Devon wasn't lacking for volunteers. Everyone had jumped at the chance, however minor, to try to help Alonzo.
"Let's go," Danziger said to the three people Devon had named. He wanted to get out of there before another round of discussions on what to do and who should go started.
They followed him to the Rail that stood prepared and ready, and Danziger got behind the wheel. Julia hopped in beside him, medical bag clutched in her arms and her eyes distant. He peered sideways but she kept staring straight ahead. Danziger gave a shrug and after satisfying himself that Yale and Morgan were settled in the back, he set the vehicle in motion.
It was an easy drive, across a softly rolling landscape filled with green grass and clusters of lush trees. The lake extended as far as they could see.
After a short while they approached the hill that should hold the cave system the scanner picked up. Danziger parked the Rail beneath some tall trees and killed the engine. They grabbed the packs, hoisted them onto their backs and marched out. Not much was said. Nobody really knew what to say. Julia had made it clear that this was an all or nothing expedition. If they couldn't get Alonzo off the Dreamplane and out of his coma now, she feared he would never wake up.
"There," Yale pointed.
Following his finger, Danziger found the darker shadow of a cave entrance, half hidden behind some waist-high bushes. He switched on the luma light, shoved the branches aside and entered. The others followed on his heels.
The tunnel was low and narrow. Danziger had to stoop to keep from hitting his head, and they were forced to walk in a single file. More luma lamps were turned on and the dark shadows receded before the invading light.
"I hope it's not going to come down on us," Morgan muttered as he aimed his lamp at the ceiling.
Danziger felt a cold shiver run along his spine at the memory. They had come so close to being buried alive beneath the mountain. "Shut up and walk," he grunted more sternly than he'd intended.
Morgan blinked, then started following without another word. Julia gave no sign she had heard the exchange; it was as if she wasn't really there.
They followed the tunnel, which sloped upward for a bit, then turned sharply to the left and began to descend deep into the hill. As soon as they turned the corner, the entrance was no longer visible and the light of the luma lamps was their only illumination. Not a single pebble of Morganite was in sight and Danziger began to fear this would all come to naught.
* * *
An hour later Morgan voiced their fears. "There's nothing here," he complained. "No Morganite, no sign of Terrians."
"Maybe it's time to head back," Yale agreed. "We must have gone at least a kilometer underground."
Julia whipped around. Her eyes flashed in the lamps' light. "We keep going." This attempt, this expedition was the last hope she had left. All her medical skills, all her knowledge, it was useless against the metaphysical coma that Alonzo was in.
"Julia, perhaps--" Danziger began and she cut him off.
"Please," she pleaded. "Just a bit further." Tears burned behind her eyelids and she blinked them away. She didn't want to break down. Nobody ever was allowed to see her break down. Except Alonzo. And he wasn't around. Besides, if she started to cry now, she feared she wouldn't be able to stop.
"Lead the way," Danziger said and she offered him a grateful half-smile before turning around again and continuing through the tunnel.
Another thirty minutes and even Julia had to admit it was hopeless.
"We should go back." Her voice had lost all intonation and was flat and colorless. She couldn't bring herself to look up and meet the eyes of the others. This search for the Morganite had been her last hope.
Nobody spoke. Nobody disagreed with her.
The tunnel was narrow, and it took a few minutes before all three men had managed to follow Julia's example and turn around. Morgan, who had closed the line, now walked point.
Suddenly Julia heard a rumble, and a yelp from Morgan. She aimed the beam of her luma light forward, beyond the tall shadows of Danziger and Yale and Morgan, where it fell upon an even taller form. A Terrian had swum up from the tunnel floor and barred their way. He completely blocked the tunnel, broad shoulders touching the walls and even though he hunched, the top of his head reached the ceiling. Thin rivulets of dust trickled down from his leathery body and glistened in the light of the lamp.
For a long moment, the four humans gaped at the lone alien. He didn't blink, didn't move, he just stood in their way.
* * *
"Now what?" Morgan asked, a tremble in his voice. "What did we do wrong this time?" He inched backward and found his way blocked by Danziger. "Maybe-- Maybe we entered some sacred cave? Or perhaps a graveyard?" He recalled the folkloric stories that Mazatl told around the campfires at night.
"Don't talk nonsense, Morgan," Danziger muttered. "You know Terrians don't bury their dead."
"Oh, right. Mooncross."
"What do you want?" Danziger asked the Terrian. Of course, he didn't receive an answer. The creature cocked his head sideways and studied the four humans.
"If we stepped onto holy ground, we're sorry," Morgan squeaked, apparently not ready to let go of his trespassing theory. The Terrians could get quite upset if someone entered their turf.
A step forward by the Terrian elicited another squeak from the bureaucrat. He tumbled another step back and landed his full weight on Danziger's toes. "Dammit, Morgan," the mechanic growled as he pulled his foot away.
"We better back up," Julia said. "That might be what he wants." As if to confirm her suspicion, the Terrian took another step forward, forcing the four to shuffle backwards. Morgan pressed into Danziger, trying to get away as far as possible from the creature.
Another step forward. And another.
"I think you're right, Julia," Yale agreed with the doctor. "He wants us to continue instead of returning to the entrance."
TBC
Chapter 11
Eden Project set up camp at the edge of the lake and waited. They soon discovered that Uly was incapable of telling what had taken place on the Dreamplane. Every time Devon or Yale or Julia tried to question him, he became frustrated and upset at his failure to explain and started crying, "The monster in the Earth took him!" It didn't help them much.
Without knowing what happened to Alonzo, there was little they could do. Julia hoped that, given time, he would wake from his coma. The more time passed, the bleaker his prospects became. And the paler Julia's face grew, the more sunken and dull her blue eyes.
"At least we have plenty of water," Baines remarked as he flung a pebble into the blue lake and watched the circles grow wider and wider until they faded.
"Yeah," Magus agreed. She plopped beside Baines and Morgan on the fallen tree trunk and stared out over the lake also. She chortled softly. "Remember that water fight we had? Alonzo would have loved to go another round here."
Walman laughed. "Yeah, he was always good for a practical joke and a laugh."
"You shouldn't say that," Morgan muttered as he pushed himself up. The others looked at him.
"Say what?" Walman asked.
"Would. Was. You're talking about him as if he's already dead! He's stuck on the Dreamplane, that's all. He'll be back." Morgan sincerely hoped so. Alonzo had been the first friend he had on the planet. Well, besides Bess, but she didn't count. She was his wife.
The others exchanged a startled look. Baines looked away. "You're right, Morgan. Alonzo always bounces back."
"Morgan?" Yale's voice interrupted whatever reply Morgan had been forming.
The bureaucrat turned. "Yes, Yale?"
"I need your help." He lifted his robotic arm and pushed a button. An image sprang to life, wavering a moment before it settled. Baines, Magus and Walman gathered around Yale and Morgan, eyes trained on the image.
"What is it?" Morgan asked. The image was a still life of a page full of writing.
"It's a plaque Danziger and I discovered in that tunnel." Yale nodded in the direction of the mountain they had escaped through. "I think it might hold an explanation for what happened here. And maybe it can help us help Alonzo. I need your assistance to translate it."
"My assistance?" Morgan wondered aloud. "How? I don't--" Then his eyes grew round. "The Morganite."
"Exactly."
Morgan contemplated the recording. Without thinking, he rubbed his hands together, remembering the pain of the burns he suffered when he used the glowing stones to break the geolock access code. "You'll get burned," he said. "That stuff is hot. And dangerous."
"Maybe not if it's still part of the planet," Yale said. "When I got my pre-Yale memories back, I was touching the Morganite in the cave wall. The vein was warm to the touch, but not hot."
"How do we know where to find it?" Morgan asked.
"I can help with that," Baines piped up. "We can use the Rover's scanners to run a resonance scan of the area. If we find caves, we're bound to find some of that stuff."
The three men took off for the Rover, Magus and Walman trailing behind. They were anxious to help their teammate recover. Soon half of Eden Project was cluttered around the Rover.
"There!" Baines pointed at a dark spot on the screen. "An underground cavern. It's about three kilometers away."
* * *
"I want to come," Julia said. Her face was drawn and her jaw set with stubbornness.
"Julia," Devon protested. "We need--"
"Devon." Danziger caught her eye and gave a quick shake of his head. He recognized the helplessness that was eating away at the doctor, her sense of failure. He had felt the same when Elle had her accident. It had taken him years to accept that there was nothing he could have done. He didn't want Julia to have to go through the same thing. If it didn't help, at least she would know she had tried.
Devon caved. "All right," she said. "Julia, Danziger, Morgan and Yale. That's it. Nobody else goes."
If the situation hadn't been so serious, Danziger might have laughed. This was one scout where Devon wasn't lacking for volunteers. Everyone had jumped at the chance, however minor, to try to help Alonzo.
"Let's go," Danziger said to the three people Devon had named. He wanted to get out of there before another round of discussions on what to do and who should go started.
They followed him to the Rail that stood prepared and ready, and Danziger got behind the wheel. Julia hopped in beside him, medical bag clutched in her arms and her eyes distant. He peered sideways but she kept staring straight ahead. Danziger gave a shrug and after satisfying himself that Yale and Morgan were settled in the back, he set the vehicle in motion.
It was an easy drive, across a softly rolling landscape filled with green grass and clusters of lush trees. The lake extended as far as they could see.
After a short while they approached the hill that should hold the cave system the scanner picked up. Danziger parked the Rail beneath some tall trees and killed the engine. They grabbed the packs, hoisted them onto their backs and marched out. Not much was said. Nobody really knew what to say. Julia had made it clear that this was an all or nothing expedition. If they couldn't get Alonzo off the Dreamplane and out of his coma now, she feared he would never wake up.
"There," Yale pointed.
Following his finger, Danziger found the darker shadow of a cave entrance, half hidden behind some waist-high bushes. He switched on the luma light, shoved the branches aside and entered. The others followed on his heels.
The tunnel was low and narrow. Danziger had to stoop to keep from hitting his head, and they were forced to walk in a single file. More luma lamps were turned on and the dark shadows receded before the invading light.
"I hope it's not going to come down on us," Morgan muttered as he aimed his lamp at the ceiling.
Danziger felt a cold shiver run along his spine at the memory. They had come so close to being buried alive beneath the mountain. "Shut up and walk," he grunted more sternly than he'd intended.
Morgan blinked, then started following without another word. Julia gave no sign she had heard the exchange; it was as if she wasn't really there.
They followed the tunnel, which sloped upward for a bit, then turned sharply to the left and began to descend deep into the hill. As soon as they turned the corner, the entrance was no longer visible and the light of the luma lamps was their only illumination. Not a single pebble of Morganite was in sight and Danziger began to fear this would all come to naught.
* * *
An hour later Morgan voiced their fears. "There's nothing here," he complained. "No Morganite, no sign of Terrians."
"Maybe it's time to head back," Yale agreed. "We must have gone at least a kilometer underground."
Julia whipped around. Her eyes flashed in the lamps' light. "We keep going." This attempt, this expedition was the last hope she had left. All her medical skills, all her knowledge, it was useless against the metaphysical coma that Alonzo was in.
"Julia, perhaps--" Danziger began and she cut him off.
"Please," she pleaded. "Just a bit further." Tears burned behind her eyelids and she blinked them away. She didn't want to break down. Nobody ever was allowed to see her break down. Except Alonzo. And he wasn't around. Besides, if she started to cry now, she feared she wouldn't be able to stop.
"Lead the way," Danziger said and she offered him a grateful half-smile before turning around again and continuing through the tunnel.
Another thirty minutes and even Julia had to admit it was hopeless.
"We should go back." Her voice had lost all intonation and was flat and colorless. She couldn't bring herself to look up and meet the eyes of the others. This search for the Morganite had been her last hope.
Nobody spoke. Nobody disagreed with her.
The tunnel was narrow, and it took a few minutes before all three men had managed to follow Julia's example and turn around. Morgan, who had closed the line, now walked point.
Suddenly Julia heard a rumble, and a yelp from Morgan. She aimed the beam of her luma light forward, beyond the tall shadows of Danziger and Yale and Morgan, where it fell upon an even taller form. A Terrian had swum up from the tunnel floor and barred their way. He completely blocked the tunnel, broad shoulders touching the walls and even though he hunched, the top of his head reached the ceiling. Thin rivulets of dust trickled down from his leathery body and glistened in the light of the lamp.
For a long moment, the four humans gaped at the lone alien. He didn't blink, didn't move, he just stood in their way.
* * *
"Now what?" Morgan asked, a tremble in his voice. "What did we do wrong this time?" He inched backward and found his way blocked by Danziger. "Maybe-- Maybe we entered some sacred cave? Or perhaps a graveyard?" He recalled the folkloric stories that Mazatl told around the campfires at night.
"Don't talk nonsense, Morgan," Danziger muttered. "You know Terrians don't bury their dead."
"Oh, right. Mooncross."
"What do you want?" Danziger asked the Terrian. Of course, he didn't receive an answer. The creature cocked his head sideways and studied the four humans.
"If we stepped onto holy ground, we're sorry," Morgan squeaked, apparently not ready to let go of his trespassing theory. The Terrians could get quite upset if someone entered their turf.
A step forward by the Terrian elicited another squeak from the bureaucrat. He tumbled another step back and landed his full weight on Danziger's toes. "Dammit, Morgan," the mechanic growled as he pulled his foot away.
"We better back up," Julia said. "That might be what he wants." As if to confirm her suspicion, the Terrian took another step forward, forcing the four to shuffle backwards. Morgan pressed into Danziger, trying to get away as far as possible from the creature.
Another step forward. And another.
"I think you're right, Julia," Yale agreed with the doctor. "He wants us to continue instead of returning to the entrance."
TBC