Unaware that their conversation had been overheard, Hal continued talking. The gear had slipped in Ben's hand, cutting the transmission.

"About now, he's wrapped tight as a drum. I made sure it didn't kill him yet. I poked a hole and heard him trying to suck air. It should be enough to keep him alive till the good part begins."

Ben jumped out of the ATV. "I don't want to hear about it, okay?! I just want to get out of here!"

"In a few minutes. Meanwhile, clean up the mess you made. Pack up your old clothes and get rid of these food wrappers. I want to check on our boy one last time - make sure things are right on schedule - then I'll be content to let nature take its course."

Alonzo lay completely still in the monster grasp, his body lashed tightly against a solid surface by thick bands of corded tissue. The tiny puffs of air, which barely left him conscious, caused no noticeable rise in his chest. Minutes passed as he hung motionless. Slowly, he became aware of a changing sensation.

The hard texture of the coiled tissue began to soften. It molded itself against him, following the contours of his body. He felt a warm liquid wash over his skin. The mass that covered him began to convulse, whole sections grinding in opposing directions, kneading his flesh like soft dough. The rubbing of the surface of one body against another caused a burning friction. Hal had saved him for the real hell that was about to begin.

ooo

Julia sat forward, holding on for dear life as Danziger pushed the DuneRail to its limit. The minutes seemed like hours as she searched the horizon impatiently for some glimpse of the ATV. Her gear was set on an open line to Morgan, who monitored their progress. "Morgan, how much further?"

The slowness of his answer annoyed her.

"According to my best estimate......you should be on the last signal's coordinates right......NOW!"

"STOP!!"

She reached out, grabbing Danziger's arm. He braked hard, throwing them all forward. In a flash she was out, running in circles, looking for some sign. Danziger stood up in the vehicle but could see nothing. Walman jumped out the back and began to check for tracks in the dirt.

"Morgan, are you sure? There's nothing here," she questioned as her eyes took in the surroundings.

The flat, dry river bed stretched before them. A vine-encrusted tree sat on the hillside. Other than that, there was nothing.

"I'm sure. Maybe they moved. Without a signal, I can't say where they are."

Danziger was listening. "I say we keep going. We might be able to catch them. It hasn't been that long."

Walman hurried back. "Something was here. There are tracks that go off in that direction."

Walman climbed into the back. Danziger looked to the doctor as she continued to scan the landscape.

"Julia?" When she didn't answer him, he added, "There nothing here. Let's go."

Reluctantly she gave in and climbed in the front seat. Danziger floored it and the vehicle took off, gravel crunching under the spinning wheels.

Within a few minutes, they caught sight of a cloud of dust ahead of them. The riverbed bent and twisted in a zigzag course.

"Morgan, we have them in sight. Do you still have our signal? Good! Look on you map. Cameron scouted this area yesterday. Is there a way we can intercept them without coming up from the rear?" Danziger listened to Morgan's instructions. "Hold on everybody" He cut the wheel sharply, taking a left fork.

Their path took them off on a straight line as the river bed meandered to the right before bending back toward them. As they raced along, a small rise to their right cut off their view but it also hid the dusty cloud the DuneRail churned up. Danziger couldn't imagine how the ATV could hold three, but in case Alonzo was with them, he was hoping that a surprise appearance would throw the other men off guard.

"Walman, get ready. Julia, you keep down," he warned them as he saw the
hillside dip.

The fork closed back into the main trail and Danziger saw the ATV merge in, running slightly ahead of them. One man drove as the other perched on the rear. There was no sign of the pilot.

As the Rail surged forward, gaining, the man on the back turned and spotted them. He bent toward the driver and the ATV jumped forward. Danziger concentrated as he brought the faster Rail alongside. The man in the rear pivoted and Danziger saw a Mag-Pro point in their direction. He swung the wheel hard right, slamming the Rail into the ATV before cutting back hard to the left. A shot rang out and the Rail's canopy disintegrated above them. He heard Walman's answering shot and spared a quick glance back. He saw both the Mag-Pro and its shooter fly backward.

"John, look out!"

Julia's warning took his eyes back to the road just in time to see that it dropped suddenly into a deep gully. He braked and swung the wheel. The vehicle skidded sideways, sliding on stones, before stopping at the edge of the drop-off.

The other driver was not as lucky. His hard turn flipped the vehicle. He was thrown out and the car rolled over him before righting itself. They were on the ground and running in seconds.

Julia reached the driver before Danziger. Slipping on her diaglove, she checked him, then looked up at the mechanic. "He's dead. He must have broken his neck when he hit the ground."

The mechanic saw the pain in her eyes as she reached out and touched Alonzo's jacket.

Walman shouted to them from behind. Taking an aggressive stance he aimed his rifle toward the ground. They hurried back to meet him. The ATV's other passenger lay at his feet clutching his bleeding chest.

"Careful." Danziger warned Julia as she bent over him and took a reading.

"Your injury is serious, but I'm a doctor. I can help you, but first I want to know what you've done to Alonzo. Where is he?"

"Never heard of him."

Danziger reached down and hauled him up by the collar. "Let me refresh your memory."

Sweat broke out on the injured man's forehead as the movement brought a stream of blood from his mouth. He coughed and bright bubbles mixed with the blood. "Okay, but what's in it for me if I tell you?"

Julia cut Danziger off. "What do you want?"

"Just let me go. I didn't do anything. It was Ben that hit your friend. He wanted his clothes. I was just along for the ride."

"Tell us where you left him and you can go on your way."

Danziger protested. "Are you crazy? He'll lie, he'll tell you anything to get free."

"No… I promise. I know better than to cross you. You're from the Council, aren't you?"

Her ice blue eyes were cold as frost. The look scared him.

"Okay, I guess I'll have to trust you. Ben tied him to a tree about a mile back. It sits on a hillside -- nothing else around. You can't miss it."

"You're lying. We were just there. Our transmitter on the ATV did show that you stopped there, but there was no sign of him. We searched."

Hal thought how close they came to knowing the truth. If they had discovered it, he wouldn't have stood a chance. Maybe he could plead ignorance about what the tree held.

"We hid him good -- covered him with the vines so you can't see him from the road. He was fine when we left."

He saw the sudden hope in her eyes. "There, I kept my end. You can find your friend now. Have pity on me and let me go. I never hurt anyone."

Julia stood up and turned to the others. "I just want to find Alonzo."

"Fine, we go back and look but we take this scumball with us. If he's lying, I get my chance to make him talk."

Julia walked close beside Danziger and whispered to him. "You won't get the chance. He's not going to make it."

John looked past her and saw their prisoner cough up fresh blood. "I'll take it anyway." He walked over and yanked the man up and pushed him toward the ATV. "You're going with us, pal, and, if you're lying, you'd better hope you die along the way. Walman, get in the back. If he moves funny, blow his head off. Julia?"

Julia headed back toward the dead man. She called back over her shoulder, "I'll bring the ATV "

Before she climbed into the cab, she reached down and slipped the pilot's jacket from Ben. They waited until she took off in front of them after commanding it to retrace its course.

ooo

Julia pushed the tiny car as fast as it would go, praying that the convict had told the truth. His accusation that she was from the Council bothered her. Despite his conciliatory manner toward her, she saw the hate in his eyes. What if he thought Alonzo was from the Council, too?

The little vehicle pulled to halt. She didn't wait for the others, but took off up the hill as fast as she could run. A small family of kobas scattered before her, dropping something behind that glistened in the sun. She saw it was crumbled spirulina wrapper. She came upon the tree at a dead run.

The vines held the form of a man.

Julia screamed back at Danziger and Walman. "I found him."

She tore at the vines but they were as tight as steel bands. All that came away in her hands was a sticky residue. She searched in panic for a way in as the men came up beside her.

"Help me!! I can't move them."

Danziger pulled out his knife and tried to cut them away. Something squirted onto his hand, burning him. He yelled in pain and dropped the knife, gripping his blistered fingers.

Julia's own hands began to burn and she pulled her glove from the first-aid kit and scanned them. Her mouth dropped open in shock.

"What is it?" Danziger asked.

Julia looked at him in dismay. "Hydrochloric acid. Digestive enzymes." She bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling.

"Julia?"

"It's carnivorous. It's trying to digest him."

"What?" Walman looked about to throw up.

Julia tried different settings on her glove, attempting to burn, stun or cut through the coarse fiber. She made no progress and was splashed with acid for her trouble. Tears burned her eyes, but she blinked them away in desperation. "I don't know what to do!!"

"This isn't working. What if we get the vehicles and pull it out by the roots?" Walman suggested.

"No, it won't make a difference. The roots just anchor it. It gets its nourishment from what it catches."

"Julia, there's nothing we can do?" Danziger asked her.

Her hand flew to her forehead as she groped for an answer. When she didn't respond, he added, "Maybe, we're too late."

"No!!" She tapped her finger hard against her diaglove, frustrated by tears, a breaking voice and the inability to come up with a solution. "I'm getting a reading. He's alive."

The men looked at each other and a wordless agreement passed between them. Danziger raised his Mag-Pro, pushing the setting on maximum.

Julia's eyes flew wide and she threw herself on him. "No. What do you think you're doing? If you blow it apart, you'll kill him, too."

Walman closed his arms around her from behind and pulled her away. "Julia, it's the most humane thing to do. We can't let him suffer."

She struggled against him sobbing. "No, John! Please give me time. I'll find a way."

Danziger ignored her and aimed the gun toward the form's head. Tears blurred his vision as his finger touched the trigger.

"Wait!! I might have a way. John, please just give me one more chance."

He swallowed. "I'm sorry, Julia. I can't even begin to imagine what he's suffering. I can't let it go on."

"John, listen to me. There were kobas here when I came up. They were picking through the crumbs of a food packet. They're slow creatures but they weren't afraid of being caught by it. Don't you see? Their claws are their defense. The poison must offer them protection "

He glanced at her over the barrel. "Go on?"

"The venom is highly toxic. You saw how quickly it brought down O'Neill and Morgan. If I have enough of their venom, I'm sure I could bring it down, too."

"Just how are we going to get it?"

"They hid by the rocks over there. They're not big. You and Walman can move them."

"You didn't answer my question. How do we get the claws?"

"Well, I thought one of you would volunteer to make them angry enough to… ahh..."

Danziger lowered the rifle. "I was afraid you were going to suggest that. Got a coin, Walman?"

ooo
--end Part 2--