Roxton swept the ground lightly with his hand, moving the loose leaves and sticks. Once beyond this superficial layer, he peered closely at the hard packed dirt. There it was: the footprint that the hunter had been looking for. They were definitely on the right track but following this particular trail was very slow going. The attackers had hidden their path well and a less experienced tracker would have likely missed it. Truthfully, even Roxton, with years of safaris under his belt, would probably have overlooked it had the injured warrior not pointed them in the right direction.
Any grim satisfaction that the young lord might have felt from pursuing his friends' capturers, collapsed under this fact. After Malone had started talking with the bleeding man in his native language, he had freely informed them of his fellows' direction and even their destination. Of course Roxton's cocked pistol had been one of the persuasive factors, but the explorers would never have gotten anything out of their enemy without Malone's sudden linguistic talents. The last few days had been notably odd but this was the icing on the cake.
Roxton straightened up and glanced over his shoulder at Malone and Veronica. The latter was adjusting the battered Malone's head bandage, but the hunter could see that she was still fully alert for danger.
"They went West from here," Roxton said, nodding in the direction. "From what that warrior said we must be getting close." Or at least he hoped they were close. Dawn had come and gone, and while the morning light made traveling much easier, the passing time meant that their friends' odds grew worse.
Veronica nodded and started pushing through the thick jungle. Malone started to follow her and Roxton matched pace beside him.
"You still haven't told us how you could talk to that Lanadu," Roxton started, his tone more distrustful than curious.
Malone kept his eyes on the ground as he walked, but Roxton could tell that his thoughts were racing. "I guess I must have got hit on the head harder than I thought." Malone smiled at his own joke, trying to brush off Roxton's question.
Roxton smiled back and actually let out a slight chuckle. This encouraged Malone to smile more enthusiastically and Veronica, from her place in the lead, to cock her head suspiciously. With jolting abruptness, Roxton's amused grin transformed instantly into a suspicious scowl and he grabbed Malone's arm. The two combatants jerked to a stop.
The hunter was all business as he stared into Malone's eyes and slowly demanded, "Answer the question."
Veronica abandoned her place in the lead and came back to confront the two men. "Let's not start this again," she insisted tiredly, her gaze pivoting between Malone and Roxton.
Malone shook off Roxton's arm, but not with the same anger as the earlier confrontations. "Veronica's right," Malone said evenly. "Marguerite and Challenger's lives are on the line. We can't afford to waste time."
"Don't you think I know that?" Roxton demanded, now addressing both Malone and Veronica. "Saving them is the only thing I care about right now, and I'm going to do everything possible to make sure that happens." His dark gaze refocused itself on the uncomfortable Malone. "Something is going on between the midnight visits, arguments, and general absurdity. I am not going into a life or death situation until I know the truth!"
---
One of the sticks near the top of the fence had cracked. The light, inner wood glowed like a gaping wound in the barrier. This new flaw would only make the fence weaker, and the raptors showed no sign of fatigue.
Challenger watched the weakening fence with intellectual interest. Such a clever form of torture. Instead of allowing the ravenous predators to immediately ravish their victim, the unfortunate soul had to wait for his inevitable fate. Challenger was presently safe within the steep-sided pit but he was forced to watch the raptors gnaw at the sticks with their flesh-tearing fangs and bash against them with their impressive strength. Even if the scientist was able to turn away, he could not escape the blood-chilling sounds of approaching death.
Challenger's back was pressed stiffly against the earthen walls, as far from the snarling raptors as possible. His fingers unconsciously pressed into the cool dirt. There was nothing he could do against the beasts when they eventually broke through. His soft human hands were as good as useless against such killing-machines. Even his intellect was wasted, as the only possible tool was the scant bones that littered the ground. No, the only thing that could change his fate was the group of eager warriors watching from above. Or Marguerite.
Challenger just couldn't understand Marguerite's inability to speak with their attackers. He had never seen her come up against a language she could not decipher. Could they have finally found the limit to her almost supernatural ability?
Crack! The fence emitted yet another loud cry.
---
Marguerite squirmed uncomfortably under her friends' intense stares. When Roxton had finished his little 'I want the truth' tirade she had looked pleadingly over to Veronica for support but now the blonde looked just as fiercely interested in some information.
This was ridiculous. Marguerite wasn't quite sure why she had concealed this from the others in the first place. Sometimes smoothing things over and keeping everything to yourself just becomes automatic. After that, things had gotten so…tense that telling the truth became very awkward. But now Challenger and Malone were in serious danger and Marguerite was tired of fighting. Besides, the last thing she needed was to have something happen to her body.
Taking a deep breath, Marguerite squared her wide, masculine shoulders, which she was actually getting quite used to, and met Roxton and Veronica's eyes.
"Alright," she said, "I'm going to tell you the truth. Something happened to Marguerite and me while you were all gone." Marguerite paused and winced slightly. "But it might be a bit hard to believe."
Veronica touched her arm encouragingly. "Malone, I might question Marguerite's version but I know that you wouldn't lie to me."
Marguerite blinked, ignoring the slight. "Yeah, about that…"
---
Malone looked calmly and evenly at his companions and said, "I am Marguerite."
Veronica's eyes shifted to Roxton, who blinked.
Veronica started to say something but then faltered. She put her hands on her hips. Roxton shifted his weight from one foot to another.
Finally, Veronica broke the silence. "Excuse me?"
Roxton adjusted his rifle strap and shook his head. "We don't have time for joking around, Malone."
Malone smiled grimly. "I wish I was joking, Lord Roxton, but it's true. I'm not Malone. I'm Marguerite."
Veronica felt her stomach drop into her feet, and she had this sickening feeling that Malone was suddenly going to start laughing. "How…" she tried.
Malone took a deep breath. "We're not sure exactly how it happened. Malone and I were in the lab and he knocked over one of Challenger's inventions-"
"The one you were asking about at breakfast?" Veronica interrupted.
Malone nodded. "There was this bright light shinning in my chest and then I blacked out. When I woke up I-" he faltered and examined his audience's disbelieving expressions before continuing, "-well, I was in Malone's body."
Veronica and Roxton took turns staring at Malone and then at each other but they didn't say anything.
Malone shifted impatiently, his expression tired. "Why would I make this up?" he demanded in frustration.
When he still didn't receive a reaction, Malone rolled his eyes towards the jungle canopy. "Would it help if I said something that proved I was Marguerite?"
"Ok…" Veronica said slowly.
"Fine," Malone paused for a second thoughtfully and then he turned to Veronica. "This was some time ago now, but you must remember when we fell down a well running from dinosaurs. It was just the two of us."
Veronica nodded slowly. Yes, the men had been away and she had been fighting with Marguerite over her father's smoking jacket. Marguerite had surprised her while she was working in the garden and then a hungry pack of predators had gotten the jump on both of them. Unable to get to the electric fence, the women had fallen right into an abandoned well with no obvious way out.
Roxton interrupted Veronica's reminiscing by saying, "Yes, I also remember that. I may not have been there but I heard the whole story when I got back to the tree house. So did Summerlee, Challenger, and-" he paused, looking Malone up and down suspiciously before finishing unsteadily, "-and you."
Malone nodded briskly. "Yes, yes. But we didn't tell you men everything." He looked back at Veronica. "You said that the reason I put on your father's clothes was because I was jealous. You knew your parents and I didn't." Malone crossed his arms defensively over his chest. "Which is of course ridiculous."
Veronica's eyes widened. She had never mentioned that particular conversation to anyone, and Marguerite certainly wouldn't have spoken about such a sensitive subject, especially not to Malone of all people.
"Is this true?" Roxton asked.
Veronica nodded, her eyes never leaving Malone. Could Marguerite and Malone really have switched bodies? Stranger things had happened on the Plateau. And she had noticed something odd in Malone's eyes….
Roxton, however, was not so easily convinced. "You could have found that out," he argued, his voice slow with uncertainty.
Malone sighed and turned to the hunter. "Two weeks ago I, Marguerite, went to the inland sea with you. Remember? We found that little beach and we-" He stopped and glanced self-consciously at the listening Veronica. Then he leaned towards Roxton and whispered quickly in the hunter's ear. Roxton's eyes widened and he pulled away from Malone in shock, his face tinged a light pink.
"Marguerite!" Roxton asked incredulously, his dark eyes sizing the other man up.
Suddenly, everything made sense for Veronica. The awkwardness when she and the others had first returned to the tree house, Marguerite's uncharacteristic dishevelled appearance at breakfast, and Malone's odd confrontational behaviour at the windmill actually seemed normal in light of this new information. Not to mention how Marguerite and Malone had been answering questions not directed at them and how Malone had been standing up for Marguerite's character and had sudden linguistic skills. Past conversations sliced through Veronica's thoughts. Her saying to Challenger: "Maybe, but Marguerite and Malone are still acting like totally different people." And a freshly conscious Malone of only hours before: "Don't tell me Summerlee hit me with a skillet again."
In her mind's eye, Veronica went back to the conversation she had had with Marguerite at the bathing lake as the heiress made a plea for Malone's good intentions, which had seemed so out of character for the selfish brunette. Then Veronica put Malone in Marguerite's place. Oh my god.
Apparently, the same sort of revelations had been going through Roxton's mind because his face gradually changed from disbelief to shock.
"You mean ever since we came back to the tree house you and Marguerite-" Roxton corrected himself, "-you and Malone have been…in each other's bodies?"
Malone-no Marguerite- smiled with a false cheerfulness that Veronica realized really did belong to the heiress even though she was using the reporter's features. "That's right. It's not really all that hard to understand once you get the initial disbelief out of the way."
Veronica found herself smiling widely. Not at the situation, which was of course a disaster, but at the knowledge that it was really Marguerite standing in front of her. It hadn't been Malone picking fights and ignoring her, it had just been Marguerite up to her usual tricks! Malone really felt- Malone! While they were standing there talking, Malone and Challenger were being held captive!
"We can sort out all the details later," Veronica told the other two briskly. "We have to go find Challenger and-" she smiled again, "-Malone."
The blonde set out back down the trail, a new bounce in her step and already back in tracking mode. Marguerite quickly followed her. Roxton walked a bit slower. The shock he had been experiencing had changed to uncomfortable realization. Veronica didn't know what he was thinking about but he suddenly looked extremely embarrassed.
Roxton swallowed and then called half-heartedly to the quickly marching figures ahead of him. "So it was definitely the entire time?"