Devon woke up gasping. Something pressed against her face, cutting off her breath. She was smothering. In desperation, she tried to struggle against the force. Devon's hands flailed about until by chance, one contacted something solid. There was a resounding crash and the pressure eased. She swept the pillow from her face and sat up. Blood pounded in her ears. Her head spun with dizziness as she sucked in life-giving air. She became aware of voices. Yale must have been holding Uly. She heard his frightened questions as Yale called Julia's name. The tutor had no idea Devon had taken her place.
She staggered through the curtain and wrapped her arms around her son. "It's okay, Uly."
"Mom, what's going on?"
"I heard a crash, is Julia all right?" Yale asked.
"She isn't here. We switched sleeping arrangements. I knocked something over."
"Are you all right? Where's the light? "
"That may have been what broke, I'll have to check."
"Here, I have an extra. Be careful, there might be broken glass. Don't cut your feet."
Lights swept the truck, Julia and Danziger appeared at the same time from opposite directions. Devon heard the mechanic's question and the doctor's answer.
"What's going on? I heard a crash and Yale yelling your name."
"I'm not sure. I was sleep. Something woke me. "
"Adair? Yale?"
"It's all right, John. Apparently, Devon knocked over a light." Yale answered.
"Are you all right, Devon?" Julia called up.
"I think so." Devon was torn. Had someone tried to kill her or was it just a nightmare?
The doctor and mechanic exchanged glances. Something was wrong, they could hear it in her voice..
"We're coming up."
Devon heard the sound of their approaching boots on metal. Funny, she hadn't heard the person who attacked her. Telling Uly to stay put, she pushed aside the curtain to join them. Danziger sensed something was very wrong when Devon leaned against him for support. Julia walked past them and shone her light inside her room. Broken glass littered the floor, sparkling under the beam. Against the red metal floor, a darker stain drew Julia's attention. Squatting, she touched the drops. Her fingers came away stained with a red liquid.
"Devon, check your feet. You must have cut yourself."
Leaning against Danziger, Devon did as instructed. "I don't feel anything."
John looked too, sweeping both feet with the light and checking with his hand. "She's fine."
"Well, there's blood on the floor. Someone is hurt."
Devon pulled Danziger to the back of the `Rover away from Uly's earshot. It was real, not a dream.
"John, someone was here. I woke up with a pillow being pressed against my face. I think someone was trying to kill me." Devon was shaking. "If my hand hadn't hit the lamp.."
Julia came up beside them. "Are you serious?"
"I can't imagine how anyone could get past our security. Are you sure it wasn't just a nightmare?"
"Yes, I'm positive."
"Someone did leave blood behind. Are you sure Uly and Yale are all right?"
"Yale had him, neither of them came inside."
"Hey Doc, is there a way for you to check that blood?"
"You mean a DNA match. I think there might be enough in there to test. It would tell us if the intruder is human."
"It will also tell us if it's one of us."
Both women looked at him, surprised..
"Let's keep this quiet until we know more. If anyone asks you Julia, Devon just knocked over a light. Nothing's wrong."
"All right. I'll need the DiaGlove. Did you ever check it? Is it still in Devon's tent?"
"Yes, it seems to be fine. Maybe I should go with you."
"It will only take me a second to get it. I need you to stay here and make sure no one disturbs the sample." Julia rushed off before he could object..
Devon and Danziger stood quietly for a few seconds, each wrapped in their own thoughts.
"Devon, how is it you wound up sleeping in Julia's bed?"
"She was nervous about sleeping there after what happened last night. We switched. I thought it was safe at the time."
"When was this?"
"I'm not sure, maybe an hour ago." She guessed.
"Could anyone have overheard either of you?"
"I don't know. We were just behind the `Rover. I didn't see anyone. What are you thinking?"
"That maybe you weren't the target."
Devon gasped as his words sunk in. "Oh my God, John. We let Julia go off alone. Run! Go! You should be able to catch her."
Danziger was torn. "What about you? I can't just leave you here. Come with me. The hell with protecting the evidence."
"I don't have boots on. I'd only slow you down. Besides, Yale's here, I'm not alone. Please go, if anything happens to her...."
"Okay, I'll be right back." Danziger jumped to the ground and took off.
Devon wrapped her arms around herself, shivering in the warm night air.
xxx
Mazatl watched over Alonzo. While the pilot slept soundly, moaning occasionally in his sleep, his guardian remained vigilant as he tried to understand what was happening.
Mazatl was Ojibwe and, as with most Native Americans, he believed that all life was interconnected. Born and raised on space stations, his family had held on to their ancient beliefs by passing down the stories and legends of the people who once roamed a healthy Earth.
His favorite was told to him by his mother:
`Long ago in the ancient world of the Ojibwe Nation, the Clans lived in a place named Turtle Island and were watched over by Asibikaashi, the Spider Woman. Asibikaashi brought the giver of life, Giizis, back to the people at the end of each "star time."
Once, during a time of prophecy, the Ojibwe Nations were told to disperse. Great caravans of people traveled in each direction of the wind. To ease Asibikaashi's journey, the women of the tribe would weave magical webs from willow hoops and sinew. Made in the shape of a circle, it depicted Giizis traveling each day across the sky but, more than this, it also represented the circle of life of which all living things had a sacred part.
Just as a circle has no beginning or end, life was a journey of birth, death and renewal. For even as the body turned to dust, the spirit which had once been contained within it, lived and traveled on.'
And so it was, when Mazatl first stepped from the escape pod to the surface of G889, he saw his life as a circle. After a twenty-two year journey across the heavens, he found himself gazing on the ancient land of legends.
That first night, as the rest of his crewmen huddled in the darkness, Mazatl waited with anticipation. Just before dawn, he rose silently and began a search. Within minutes he found what he was looking for, just as it should be.
As the first rays of the sun peeked across the horizon, he beheld the miracle. Asibikaashi had built her special lodge of fine gossamer silk and on each strand of the web, tiny beads of dew which gathered there sparkled in Giizis's captured light.
Later he returned to the campsite but no one noticed the change in him, or how gently he walked on this new Mother Earth.
Mazatl's thoughts were interrupted as Julia entered the tent. He jumped up and stood watching her.
"I just need some of my equipment. " She told him softly. The doctor looked over toward Alonzo. "Has he been asleep the whole time you've been here?"
The man nodded his head to the affirmative. Julia felt uneasy with his silence and the way he studied her. She walked over to the cot and pulled the blanket away from the pilot's legs, to check the dressing. A small amount of blood stained the bandage but it was otherwise clean. She felt some relief.
Mazatl moved closely beside her. When he covered the pilot with the blanket, Julia began to feel annoyed.
"If you don't mind, I need to check my patient."
"That wasn't why you came?"
"How do you know that?"
"I know that something has frightened you. Whatever is wrong concerns Alonzo. Tell me what it is."
Julia was suddenly terrified by this strange man's attitude.
Before she could think what to say, Danziger broke into the tent ending any further discussion. He seemed relieved to see her there. "Just making sure you don't get sidetracked."
"Sorry. I'm coming." Directing one final look at Mazatl, Julia allowed John to hustle her away.
xxx
Back at the `Rover Julia scooped the coagulated liquid into a tube on the glove. She pushed a few buttons and waited for the glove to break down the components. Danziger and Devon sat patiently on the cot watching her. Small black and white lines and dots scrolled into the small computer screen hooked to the glove. Julia studied the readout. Danziger and Devon leaned forward when a puzzled look crossed her face.
"It must be malfunctioning again. This can't be correct."
"Why? What does it say?"
She met their eyes with uncertainty. "Let me run it again, just to be sure."
With little choice, they settled back to wait. The results were the same.
"Come on Julia, does all that Mumbo-Jumbo spell out a name?"
"I'm afraid so."
Julia pushed another button and turned the screen so they could both read the display.
Test result -Confirm match of 99.8% for DNA sample. Subject: SOLACE, ALONZO.
xxx
Mazatl pulled a small pouch from around his neck. Inside was a mixture of dried plant material, Sage, Tobacco, Peyote, and Cedar which his mother have given him before she died. He pulled a long feather from his braid. He needed only one more thing, a natural vessel to hold it. Just a few yards from the tent, he found a flat rock which would suffice.
Kneeling beside the pilot's cot, Mazatl sprinkled the combination in the center of the stone and lit it. A small cloud of pungent smoke rose from the dying flame. Mazatl fanned the smoke with the feather, brushing it toward the earth then to the sky and each direction as ritual decreed. After the offering, the remainder was used to purify, bless and protect his injured friend. He directed the smoke at Alonzo's feet and worked his way up to the pilot's head.
He hoped his mother would understand; the ingredients had been meant to keep him safe from harm . Perhaps enough power remained in the smokey haze that was trapped inside the canvas to do just that.
xxx
The first light of dawn found Devon, Danziger and Julia in a serious discussion.
"This doesn't make sense, why would Alonzo want to harm Julia?" Danziger wondered.
"Maybe he doesn't know what he's doing." Devon suggested.
"How could he not know?"
"Did you, when you were possessed?"
"That was different, we brought that on ourselves by messing with something that should have been left alone."
"Maybe it's some kind of chemical reaction. He was bitten by bats and that strange worm. Who knows, maybe they transmitted something in their saliva. "
After a few minutes of silence, Julia looked up and saw them both looking at her for an answer. She had been lost in her own thoughts remembering how Alonzo had changed into someone she didn't know.
"Any suggestions, Doc?"
"He never told me he had been bitten by anything. I saw and mentioned the marks but I can't remember him answering me about where they came from. "
"Didn't Yale say bats carried disease?"
"On Earth, certain diseases could be transmitted to humans by animal or insects. Bats have been known to carry rabies."
"Wasn't that fatal?"
"It could be if it wasn't treated in time. It's an acute viral disease that affects the central nervous system. In the later stages, convulsions and paralysis occur before death. It's a terrible way to die."
"But there is no evidence that such a thing exists on this planet."
"How do we know for sure?"
"A blood test would tell me if there is anything strange in his system. I need more than this sample though."
"Well, what are we waiting for?"
"I'd need his permission."
Danziger began to say something and thought better of it.
"I know what you're thinking. I did learn my lesson. It does bring up another possibility."
"What's that?"
"I suffered memory blackouts from injecting Uly's DNA into my system. Maybe Alonzo's suffering from some type of chemical reaction. "
"Could you tell that from a blood test?"
"It's a good possibility."
"Then let's do it. Permission be damned. If he isn't in his right mind, he can't be trusted to make the right decision."
Julia looked to Devon, not knowing what to say.
"It's in everyone's best interest but he still should asked first."
"I don't have a problem with that as long as he gives the right answer. Come on we're just wasting time here."
Julia and Devon exchanged glances before following Danziger reluctantly.
xxx
Julia was the first to enter the tent. The smell hit her like a physical force even before she noticed the hazy veil of smoke that swirled as she let in fresh air. Danziger bumped into her as she stopped suddenly.
"What's that odor? Where did this smoke come from?" she demanded.
Mazatl remained silent, knowing none of them would understand.
"Danziger, Devon, open the sides. We need to get this stench out."
"It's not harmful." He finally volunteered.
"I'll be the judge of that."
Julia ran her DiaGlove over the still smoldering mixture while Devon faced the expressionless guard.
"Mazatl, I'm sure you meant well but you should have asked Dr. Heller's permission before you did anything. She's in charge of all medical treatment. It 's her responsibility to care for Alonzo."
"Oh my God!"
All attention shifted to Julia, who was clearly alarmed.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm picking up traces of.... Everyone get outside. Now!"
"Why? What is it?" Devon asked realizing she was beginning to feel light headed from inhaling the overpowering scent.
"One of the substances in this mixture is hallucinatory."
Danziger sprung into action. Grabbing the pilot by the arm, he slung him over his shoulder. "The rest of you go, I got Alonzo."
"Wha..what's going on?" Alonzo asked groggily.
"You'll be all right. We just need to get you into some fresh air." Julia reassured him. Once they were all outside, she turned her wrath on Mazatl. "I don't know what you're intentions were but you had no right putting my patient in danger."
"The substance you are worried about is peyote. It comes from the cactus plant. My people have used it for centuries and suffered no harm."
Julia ignored him. Turning to Danziger and Devon, she told them, "This may be the answer we've been looking for."
Danziger turned to Mazatl. "Consider yourself relieved and I don't want to see you anywhere near Alonzo again until I tell you it's okay. You got that?"
The Indian looked at each of them before walking away in silence.
"I don't believe this. I thought he was acting strange when I picked up my DiaGlove."
"Can someone tell me what the hell is going on?" Alonzo asked from an awkward position across Danziger's back.
"You'll know when we know, pal. For now, Julia just needs a little of your blood."
xxx
The digging crew was already at work when Mazatl passed them.
As he began to climb the eastern cliff face, Walman yelled out to him. "Hey, aren't you going to give us a hand?"
"Not now. I have something more important to do."
"What's more important than getting out of here?" The big blond asked Magus, puzzled..
"Who knows? Maybe he's taking lessons from Morgan on how to get out of work."
"Speaking of the devil.." Walman directed Magus's attention to Morgan Martin, who was walking toward the group with a clipboard.
"Ready to grab a shovel, Morgan?" Magus asked sweetly, offering him hers.
"No. Ahh..I mean no, you don't understand." Morgan smiled back. "I'm here to monitor the work, you know, to make sure everything is being done as efficiently as possible, no wasted motion, etc. I was a specialist in this field back on The Stations." Looking at his clipboard, he droned on, unaware of his audience's reaction. "Now, I've done some calculations and based on three people working in continuous half hour shifts, moving approximately a half a cubic foot per shovel in 4.5 seconds divided by the estimated gross remaining tonnage, we should have this mound gone by..." He glanced at his watch.
"Hey, Martin!" Raising his shovel, Walman started toward the bureaucrat.
Morgan glanced up, "What!??!" Seeing Walman's face, he began backing up.
"Unless you're here to lend a hand, the only thing I'm going to remove is you."
Morgan looked at Walman and the others as if they were crazy. "Do you realize how long it took me to figure this out? Is this the thanks I get? " As everyone continued to glare at him, Morgan shrugged. "Okay, fine. Do it your way, but don't blame me when the job doesn't get done due to inefficiency"
Walman started after him and Morgan took off. Occasionally he looked back over his shoulder and opened his mouth only to close it without saying anything.
The workers shared a laugh at Morgan's expense and completely forgot about Mazatl.
xxx
"And I'm telling you, I'm not giving up anything until I know why you treated Mazatl like that. He believes me, even if the rest of you think I'm crazy."
"Alonzo, no one is saying you're crazy but you have been exposed to a hallucinatory drug."
"So, am I hallucinating now?"
"No, but perhaps earlier when you thought you were asleep, you weren't. "
"Oh, something like, I sound coherent but I'm not."
Julia threw up her hands.
"Tell him"
"Tell me what?"
When Julia remained silent, John took over. "A few hours ago someone attacked Devon. They may have mistaken her for Julia."
"What? You're okay, right?"
"Yes, whoever it was broke off the attack when I made some noise."
"Then that proves he followed us here and found some way to get past our security."
"Who? That half dead penal colonist? You think this guy somehow managed to catch up with us without a vehicle, then, despite being blown half apart, climbed an almost vertical cliff in a raging sandstorm and still had the strength to take on you that night?" Danziger asked.
Alonzo looked away from them. He had to admit it sounded unbelievable. "I'm telling you I saw him with my own eyes, heard him with my own ears. If you don't believe me, who attacked Devon then?"
Devon, Danziger and Julia exchanged looks with one another.
He waited for one of them to volunteer an answer. Well? "
Devon bit her lip. "Alonzo, we found did find some evidence. There was a blood trail across the flat bed of the 'Rover. Julia did a DNA match hoping to narrow it down to one of us. "
"One of us?"
"The test came up with a positive match to one of the samples Julia has on file."
Alonzo had a sickening feeling. "Who was it?"
Devon looked to Julia.
"Alonzo, I ran the test twice to be sure. At an almost 100% accuracy rate, there can be no doubt about whose blood it was."
"What are you saying?"
"It was yours, Alonzo. There's no doubt in my mind."
"You think that test proves something? It proves nothing." Alonzo was furious. "It's not me. Someone's setting it up to look that way."
"Easy, pal. No one is saying you deliberately tried to harm anyone. Maybe the fumes you inhaled from that wacky weed Mazatl was burning sent you sleep walking, seeing and hearing things that weren't really there."
"No way, I'd know. " Alonzo felt trapped. No one believed him, not even Julia. "What are you going to do to me?"
"Alonzo, no one is going to do anything to you. We want to help you." Devon reassured him.
"How?"
They hadn't planned that far ahead and the pilot could see the uncertainty.
It was Julia who spoke first. "First off, you shouldn't be on your feet until your foot begins to heal."
"So what you're really saying is I'm a prisoner here."
"No, that's not it. We're just trying to look out for you." Danziger frowned. That didn't come out quite right. "Look, Doc says you're suppose to stay off your feet so that's all we're asking. One of us will stay with you in case you need anything. Now you can help Julia out by letting her take a blood sample to see if there's anything in your system messing things up. "
When Julia approached him with the DiaGlove, Alonzo didn't have much choice. "Maybe you'd better figure out what happens next when you don't find anything."
As Devon and Danziger looked on, Julia drew her sample.
When Alonzo suddenly slumped into unconsciousness they both jumped forward only to have Julia tell them calmly, "He's all right. I gave him a mild sedative to put him out for awhile. He won't remember a thing. He'll just think he fell asleep."
John and Devon exchanged looks, they hadn't expected this and something felt wrong about it.
Julia put the hypospray on the table and took off the DiaGlove. Sensing the others unease, she rationalized the necessity of her action. "Do you really have time to baby-sit all day, John?"
Danziger hadn't thought about spending the whole day.
Seeing she had made her point with him, Julia turned to Devon. "And, I don't know about you, Devon, but I feel that if Alonzo really wanted to get past either of us there would be little you or I could do about it."
"So what happens now?"
"I'll do the blood work. There's no need for you to be here. You can do what you need to do. I'll let you know if anything shows up."
"What if he wakes up? I thought you were worried about not being able to stop him if he wanted to leave?" Devon reminded the doctor.
"Oh, I was going to put him in restraints. I'm not sure he won't wake up while I'm preoccupied so its best to be safe."
"Call us as soon as you get the results." Devon instructed. She didn't like this one bit but there wasn't anything they could do about it now.
Julia nodded. "John, one more thing. It would really help if I knew exactly what Mazatl was burning. Could you ask him if he has anymore and just what the use of it is supposed to accomplish?"
"Sure, I'll look him up and get back to you." Outside the tent, the mechanic turned to the leader of Eden Project.
"You look beat, Adair. Why don't you try to get some rest."
"I am tired." She admitted. "How about you? You've been up all night, too."
"I want to be sure we can get out of here first. Right now, I'm going to lend a hand with the digging. Maybe I can grab an hour later if all goes well. "
"Okay. Let me know if there's anything I can do."
"Get some sleep." He instructed. "I'd feel better if one of us has a clear mind." With that, Danziger headed off to the work detail.
xxx
Mazatl climbed to the top of the cliffs and surveyed the surroundings. Giizis had just begun her journey across the sky so it was easy to pinpoint the spot where she had first peeked over the horizon. After marking the direction, Mazatl set about gathering the materials he would need. He made sure he stayed out of sight of Eden Project. What had to be done, must be done tonight and would take him all day to complete. He sensed that events were escalating. Timing was critical if he was going to prevent a catastrophe.
xxx