Danziger's Ghost

by Kath Tate

Earth 2 and characters are the property of Amblin Entertainment. This story does not intend to infringe on any copyright.

True:
//When we found the lake Devon said we could stop for a few days. I think she was a bit reluctant to do so, but Dad told her everyone was burnt out. It was a good place to spend some time relaxing. After the dry heat and dust of the road, it was nice to go swimming.//

The skinny-dipping women were splashing each other with the joy of just having nothing to do for a change.

"It's soooo nice to feel clean!" Bess exclaimed, falling back in the water, letting it flow over her head and hair.

Julia giggled and it was contagious. Soon they were all laughing.

"Hey True!" Danziger's voice called from the shore. Immediately the women dove under.

Only Devon's head was visible and her expression was of annoyance.

"Danziger! Get lost!" He moved his gaze from True to Devon. Cool, as usual, he didn't rise up to her.

"Take it easy, will ya? I was just bringing True her shirt." And ignoring the rest of them completely (which only seem to annoy Devon more, for reasons she couldn't understand) he turned back to True. She was sitting in the shallow water. "I fixed it. But try to be more careful, OK?" He put the shirt on a fallen dead tree at the water's edge.

"OK. Thanks Dad." True was unaware of the uncomfortable women behind her. It was just Dad, after all.

Danziger turned on his heel and walked away without a backward glance.

Heads bobbed as they tread water. All the fun seemed lost by Danziger's intrusion. Then Julia, watching Devon's face, couldn't help but start to laugh again.

Danziger, walking into their camp, heard the laughs from the lake and smiled to himself.

**********

As they dressed, Bess took an interest in the shirt John had brought to True. True yanked it over her head.

"I ripped it yesterday. He fixed it." True said, as though the shirt was just another piece of machinery.

Bess examined the shirt.

"Danziger can sew?!" she was amazed. Devon came closer to also take a look. True felt a little uncomfortable by this attention. What was wrong with them? What's the big deal? She shrugged.

"I don't have many clothes."

Devon, bringing up the rear as they walked single file back towards the camp, considered this. She was imagining John and True's lives back on the stations. John, a single parent (like herself), was unable to provide many clothes for his daughter. So few, that he would learn how to sew in order to lengthen the life span of those he could provide. It was hard to imagine John's large hands threading a needle . . .

"Have a nice swim?" Alonzo asked the group. "You sure were making a lot of noise."

"Your turn." smiled Julia. "The coast is clear."

**********

Later, around the campfire, Devon began to feel that maybe it was a good idea to stop after all. Everyone seemed a lot more relaxed and happy. Just knowing that they weren't packing up and leaving at dawn put people in a festive mood. True and Uly were begging John for a story. Gathering one child in each arm he finally agreed and started a ghost story. Devon watched without listening. Yes, days like this made her believe they just might make it.

**********

" . . . sound of scraping made his blood turn to ice."

Morgan gave an involuntary shudder. Sometimes, he thought, Danziger goes a bit too far with these stories. This one, in particular, seemed unnecessarily graphic. Bess, who must have sensed Morgan's uneasiness, gave his hand a squeeze but it didn't help. Morgan was becoming increasingly frightened. He felt like someone was watching him and it made the skin on the back of his neck prickle. He shivered again, and not because he was cold. He stole a look behind him. No one was there. The whole group was gathered around the fire, all eyes on Danziger. There was nothing but shadows beyond their circle of light. Morgan was gripped by an irrational fear. There was danger in those shadows, but he didn't know why.

********** " . . . could see right through the body to the wall on the other side. 'But you're dead!' he whispered in horror."

Alonzo could see that Danziger really relished telling these ghoulish tales. He hadn't heard this one before, although it had the feel of a classic. Danziger certainly had the attention of the whole camp. Surveying the group, Alonzo could only see wide eyes and stillness. Morgan, in particular, looked incredibly frightened. Only Devon seemed distracted by her own reflections. Alonzo stared into the flames of their fire. It was mesmerizing. Suddenly he jerked upright. Julia, her attention broken by his movement, turned to him, eyes questioning. He patted her knee reassuringly. Geez! Danziger really did have the touch. For a moment Alonzo thought he had seen a figure standing in their campfire. That's all we need, he thought, to be haunted by a ghost from an ancient Earth story.

**********

"Dad?" A sleepy True was climbing into bed.

"What, baby?" Danziger asked. He pulled the blanket up around her.

"Could that story really happen? I mean, that guy talking to people even after he was dead?"

Danziger smiled down at her. His hand rubbed up and down her arm in a comforting manner.

"No, True." he said softly. Her eyes were closing. "It was just make-believe. Stuff like that doesn't happen in real life. Sleep well."

**********

In the morning Devon left her tent to discover Danziger taking apart one of the water condensers.

"What are you doing?" she asked, startling him. He hesitated briefly and then returned to his task.

"I thought this would be a good time to do this, since we have the water from the lake."

"And I thought this stop was for R&R. Wasn't that your idea?"

"My idea was to give people a break from travelling. That doesn't mean that stuff doesn't have to get done."

"Just as long as you don't forget to relax - it won't be much of a break if you work the whole time."

He waved her away with one hand, obviously not interested in continuing the conversation.

**********

True: //Most people just hung around camp, or went swimming, or even walking. It was different, to go for a short walk just because you *want* to, instead of to get somewhere. Small chores did get done, but not with the frantic pace of normal. Except for Dad. He managed to clean the water condensers, fix two scanners, reprogram the TransRover's tracking system, and service all the solar panels in one morning. He seemed happy to have accomplished so much; but he was just as tired as ever.//

"That man is the most annoying person I have EVER . . ." Devon didn't finish the sentence, staring off at Danziger who sat in the shade of the vehicles with his tools spread out around him. Yale chuckled. Devon swirled around to face him, her expression daring him to contradict her.

"Devon," Yale said, "I know of several people more annoying than John Danziger. I could name them if you insist."

"Why doesn't he just take a break?" Devon asked, her attention back on Danziger. "We were supposed to stop so people could rest. Instead he's doing more work."

"Maybe that is his only way of resting." Yale offered. Devon was skeptical.

"Maybe he just likes getting under my skin." Yale chuckled again.

**********

Uly and True were exploring the area around the lake. On one side off the shore there was a sheer cliff face. They had already wandered up to the top of the cliff via a path that wound around the other side. Now they were more interested in what appeared to be a cave or tunnel.

"I don't think we should go in here." Uly said after they had entered a few feet. True scoffed.

"C'mon! Are you afraid?" she taunted. Uly stiffened.

"No!" he denied, a little loudly. "It's just that . . . it's too dark. We won't be able to see anything."

For once True couldn't argue with him. He was right.

"Let's go back and get some lumalights." she moved out into the sunshine again. Uly remained in the shadows.

"I don't like this place." he said, suddenly very serious. He glanced around, almost expecting to see someone with them in the cave. But he was alone, and uneasy. True was already on the path back to camp.

**********

"John, put those tools away and leave this camp." Devon said. Danziger's hands didn't stop working as his head moved up to look Devon in the eye.

"Trying to get rid of me, Adair?" he challenged.

"I'm trying to ensure that you don't *burn out*, to use one of your expressions." Their eyes remained locked for a moment. "Why don't you go swimming?" Devon suggested. "Or . . . or . . ."

Danziger started laughing. This only fueled Devon's frustration. She shook her head.

"Do whatever you want, you always do." she walked away.

**********

Morgan lay dozing in the sunshine, day dreaming of promotion and fame. Or maybe just wealth. The bright sunshine had done wonders at chasing away his paranoid fears of the night before. He put it down to John being overly zealous with his haunting tale.

"Geez, I feel guilty, watching him." Bess said, referring to Danziger. Morgan opened his eyes just long enough to take in that John was still refusing to take advantage of the R&R Devon had provided.

"It's his choice, Bess." Morgan said, slipping back into his day dream. He couldn't imagine why Bess would feel guilty because Danziger didn't have the brains to stop working.

**********

Danziger began to collect his tools. Devon was right, he should take a break. It's just that sometimes it was nice to have the time to take care of these little things. He was pretty much finished all the tasks he wanted to do anyway. But he would never let Devon see that he thought she was right.

"You know, I could give you a hand." Bess said strolling up to him. He looked surprised. If anyone was going to offer, he would have expected it to be True, not Bess. "With her clothes, I mean." Bess explained.

Danziger frowned. It was one thing for Bess to offer to help him with his chores for the group. That was the group. It was quite another for her to offer to sew. That was True.

"I can manage." he said, a bit gruffly.

"Sure." Bess agreed, "But I could give you hand. You've got enough other stuff to take care of . . ." Danziger cut her off.

"I can take care of True."

Bess realized, too late, that she'd blundered. Stupid proud man, she thought. Stupid Bess, you really botched this up.

"I didn't mean it like that." But John had gone.

**********

Danziger found True in their tent routing through their belongings. The place was a mess.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! What're you doing?!" True jumped.

"I need a light. Where are the lumalights?" Assessing the angry look on her Dad's face she added, "I'll clean it up."

"What do you need a light for in the middle of the day?" Danziger demanded, still not impressed with the chaos. True considered her options and decided that telling the truth was probably the best thing at this point.

"Uly and I found a cave, but it's too dark to see anything . . . " she stopped when her Dad began to shake his head.

"True, I don't want you guys exploring in caves. You could get lost in there. It could be dangerous. There might be Grendlers."

"Dad, I think you're overreacting." True said. Danziger sat down on the cot.

"You do huh?"

"Yup. There aren't any Grendlers, we would have smelled them for sure. And we can't get lost if we wear our gear." The accusation was barely there but it was enough to set Danziger's anger back on edge. He stood back up.

"Clean up this mess and stay away from the caves. That's final." He left.

True swiftly repacked the stuff she'd been pulling apart. All the time on the road had given her a lot of practice. She found two lumalights and, grabbing her gear, she went to find Uly.

**********

"Hey! Where are you going?" Devon called out to him. He slowly turned.

"I'm taking your advice and leaving the camp." Danziger snapped, "What does a guy have to do to get some peace and quiet?" Devon's eyes widened in surprise at his tone and then narrowed with irritation.

"Enjoy." she muttered sarcastically.

**********

Danziger climbed to the top of the ridge, above True's caves. The wind whipped his hair into his eyes and took the heat out of the sun. He sat near the edge looking down at the water. It was kinda nice up here. He regretted snapping at Devon like that. It would have been kinda nice to have someone to talk to.

Danziger looked around at the path back to the camp. Weird. He had this feeling that someone was with him. He almost expected Devon to appear, climbing the path to the ridge. But he remained alone. Still, he couldn't get rid of the uneasy sensation that he was being watched, cautiously observed. There was no hiding place up here, just flat land as far as he could see. He shook his head. He was becoming as bad as Morgan.

He leaned back and watched the clouds whiz by overhead. It was hypnotizing. All the frustration of the road began to leave him. All the worry of the work soaked out of him into the afternoon sun. The perceived threat disappeared. Nothing could hurt him here; this was a safe place. He was finding it hard to keep his eyes open. He slept.

**********

True was disappointed with the cave. Of course, Uly refused to go back in. He kept saying it was a bad place, but he couldn't be more specific. Something about it had really freaked him out. Surprisingly, he didn't stop her from leaving camp to go exploring. Unfortunately, True discovered that the cave didn't go very far back. It was shaped like a funnel, ending in a longish, narrow tunnel. She sat at the end, dejected, wondering where else she could go for something interesting to do. She had great expectations on this planet.

"True?" It was her Dad. She leapt to her feet. No where to go but down the tunnel and that's where he was. Actually, he was now just a few feet away. She could not judge his emotion from his expression. She braced herself for the lecture that she knew was coming. 'True, I thought I told you no caves.' He would say. But he said nothing, just looked at her.

"It's pretty boring." True said, hoping that might placate him. His mouth twitched; was he going to smile?

He walked towards her and began to rub her arms like he had putting her bed last night. This close she could see he had the goofiest grin on his face. He didn't look angry at all.

"Dad?"

"Did you enjoy it? The exploring? Would you like to explore some more?"

"There's nowhere else to go. The cave ends here." True said, stating the obvious. Maybe he'd been out in the sun too long. He sure was acting strangely.

"We haven't even begun!" he told her, laughing. He stopped suddenly and then laughed again as though he was delighted with the sound. True couldn't help but laugh too; as with Julia in the lake, it was infectious.

"Are you OK?" she asked, when they both stopped. Dad had never minded her exploring on the stations, but since their abrupt arrival on G889 he'd become considerably more restrictive. More like Devon Adair. Too much like her, in True's opinion. Instead of answering he said,

"C'mon, let's go to some place more exciting."

As she moved forward the ground began to shake. True grabbed her Dad's hand.

"What's that?"

"I don't know." Danziger admitted, slightly puzzled but unphased.

"I don't think this is a good place to be. Let's get out of here!" True urged. She pulled him back down the tunnel. He seemed surprisingly reluctant to move. As chunks of the cave's ceiling started to fall True squealed and let go of Danziger to cover her head with her hands.

It was hard to walk straight with the ground rumbling and everything falling. True tripped and scraped her hands on the walls of the tunnel.

"Ahh!" she cried, more upset because she'd ripped the knees of her pants than anything else. Danziger, coming up behind, nearly tripped over her. He helped her to her feet.

True didn't remember the tunnel being as long as it seemed during the earthquake. At last she pulled out into the outer cave and turned to wait for Danziger. The entrance to the cave was partially blocked by falling debris. If they didn't hurry, they would be trapped in here. Where was Dad? Why was he taking so long?

Danziger was squeezing through the end of the tunnel when he was knocked down by a large rock. He hit the ground heavily, on his face.

"Dad!" True screamed. She was unable to move because of all the falling rocks. Dust and dirt fell like rain. Then just as suddenly as it began, it stopped. The entrance to the cave was nearly completely covered. True picked her way among the loose rubble to where her father lay, unconscious. His head was bleeding and he was pinned beneath the rock that had knocked him over.

"Dad?" True touched his head, "Daddy?" She felt a panic rise in her when he didn't respond. What was she going to do now?

**********

Back at the camp everyone came running with the rumbling of the earth. Devon did a quick mental head count and found only Danziger and True to be missing. Great! And who chased him out of camp Devon?

The earthquake caused minimal damage to their camp set up; it only served to frighten people out of the happy mood that had been fostered. As soon as this had been assessed Devon went to grab some gear to try to raise the Danzigers. She tried to remember if John had been wearing his headset when he left camp.

"Adair to Danziger." Nothing but silence.

"Devon to Danziger. Are you there?" Dammit!

"Devon to John. ANSWER ME!"

The rest of the group began to crowd around her. Stay cool, Devon, she told herself. He never wears gear; he probably doesn't have his set on. She was about to try again when,

"Devon! Julia! Help!" came through in True's small voice. Julia immediately left to get her equipment.

"True, it's Devon. Where are you?" Devon signaled to Alonzo to try to get a fix from True's gear so they could pin point her location. She could hear True's sob of relief.

"In the cave. Ask Uly. Please hurry! He's hurt, he's hurt." True's voice was fading slightly and there was some static. Devon didn't need to ask who was hurt. There was only one other person missing. She looked down at her son whose eyes were large with fear.

"Do you know where she is?"

**********

True tried to control her trembling as she sat close to her Dad, her hand on his head. Every once in awhile she would brush a piece of her own hair out of her eyes; in doing so she had smeared some blood on her face. They're coming, she told herself. They're coming.

It was Zero who pushed aside the rocks from the cave entrance, allowing some degree of sunlight to flood in. To True, whose light had been lost, it was blinding. Julia was the first in, followed by Devon, then Alonzo. Zero remained at the entrance, clearing the path.

True didn't, or couldn't, move, as Julia came forward to examine her.

"Not me!" she wailed, "Dad!" Julia's alarm at the blood on True's face passed when she realized it wasn't her own. The alarm came flooding back when she turned her attention to Danziger.

"My God, John." Devon whispered.

"We've got to get that rock off him." Alonzo said, urgently, moving in to attempt to move it.

Julia, who had been scanning Danziger's head and back with her glove, reached out her other arm to stop Alonzo. He stopped, but looked at her questioningly. For a second, there was no sound except Zero moving rocks and True's uneven breathing.

Julia looked back at Devon, who appeared to be in shock.

"Oh no." Devon whispered. "Please, Julia. No." Julia hung her head.

"Why aren't you doing anything?!" True cried. "He's hurt! Why don't you help him?"

"True . . . " Julia began. What could she say? She felt ill. "There's nothing I can do to help him, True."

"No!" shouted True, crying. "You HAVE to. You HAVE to." Her voice broke. Devon moved forward to put her arms around the girl but True pulled away, clinging instead to her father. "Oh no, oh no." she was sobbing.

Devon felt like she should be crying but there was nothing. Julia's head hung low again and Alonzo saw a tear fall from her face onto Danziger's head.

**********

Julia sat in her tent staring at the body of John Danziger. All the festive feelings of the night before were gone as the group was shocked and grieving. Was there anything, anything I could have done? Julia wondered. There must have been something . . . If only they weren't stuck on this godforsaken planet! If only she could have gotten him to a hospital. If only . . .

After all that they'd been though, after all her training, her special chromosomes and she still couldn't save one man. One very important man.

Alonzo entered and looking at her expression he figured he knew what she was thinking. He came over and rubbed her shoulders. After a moment he brought his eyes to John's body.

"Julia. That rock broke his back. He was probably dead before the ground stopped shaking."

"I know." Julia responded without emotion. "But that doesn't mean I don't feel like there should have been something I could do for him. For True. Something." He moved in to hold her and rocked her gently.

**********

True had been hysterical and Julia had to give her a sedaderm to get her calm and sleepy. Now she slept, an unhappy frown on her young face. Devon watched her sleeping and felt nothing.

John was dead and she felt . . . nothing. This wasn't right at all. Someone else entered the tent. Without turning Devon knew that it was Yale.

"Ah, True." he sighed, "It is going to be very hard for her."

"Yes." Devon agreed. "But she's not alone. She's not unloved." Yale stroked Devon's back.

"And you?" he asked. Devon wouldn't look at him.

"I don't know what you mean."

"John was 'the most annoying person' you had ever met. He was also your friend. It is natural to feel pain."

Was that what she was feeling? No, she was too numb to feel anything at this point. It was too soon. Every time she closed her eyes she was back in the cave looking down at Danziger's bleeding head. It was a disturbing, painful image.

"Oh, Yale. What are we going to do without him?" she asked. He didn't answer.

**********

Uly had never been this close to a dead body before. When O'Neill had died (the first time) he hadn't gotten a good look. Now Uly stood just inches away from Danziger. He looked as though he was asleep. Except for the blood on his head. And his skin was all white. And he wasn't breathing.

Uly cautiously reached out a hand and touched Danziger's face. He remembered last night, by the fire; Danziger had put his arm around Uly while telling his story. That was the way Uly thought of Danziger; with his strong arms around you. He remembered Danziger picking him up and carrying him on that first day of travel. It was weird to think that he was no longer alive. His skin was cold; not at all like the warmth of his arms as Uly remembered them.

Uly thought he could almost hear Danziger's voice tell that story of last night. It had been a really scary one, about a man whose enemies had buried him alive. Then the dead man came back to haunt them in their dreams until they confessed to their crime. Somehow it was easier not to be afraid snuggled next to Danziger. Morgan, on the other hand, had been quite freaked out. Uly guessed that maybe Bess wasn't as comforting as Danziger could be.

Uly had heard Morgan challenge Danziger afterwards, telling him that it wasn't appropriate to tell children a story like that, especially after what happened to O'Neill. Danziger's voice rang in Uly's head.

"Morgan, if my story scared you that much then you need a good dose of reality."

"Oh, that's easy for you to say, but what about the children?"

"Your concern for the kids is overwhelming." Danziger had responded sarcastically, "But the kids took it as it was meant to be - a *story*, nothing more."

"Uly." Devon whispered. "What are you doing?" Slowly Uly turned around and walked to his mother's outstretched hand. He noticed she didn't even look at John.

"I just wanted to see him." he said as they left the tent. Devon walked him to the edge of the camp and squatted down to his eye level.

"Uly, it's normal to feel sad when we lose a friend like this . . ."

"He was my friend too." Uly said. Devon nodded and stroked his cheek. He was so serious.

"I know, I know. But there something else we have to think of and that is . . ." Here Devon hesitated. She really didn't know quite what to say.

"True." Uly said. "We have to think about True." How did he become so wise? Devon wondered. She felt like Uly was more in control than she was right now.

"That's right. She's going to be feeling very lost and lonely now and we have to make sure she's loved and cared for even without her Dad."

"I know that I'd feel real bad without you, Mom." Uly said, his eyes watering a little. "I never should have let her go back to cave. I knew where she was going and I didn't stop her. There was something bad in that cave. I felt it. I should have stopped her." Devon wiped away his tears and tried to calm him.

"Shhh. This isn't anyone's fault Uly. It was an accident."

**********

Alonzo felt himself being pulled into the dream. He didn't really feel like communicating with the terrians; he was hoping the blankness of sleep would block out the shock of losing his friend. However, he also didn't have the energy to refuse entry to the dream plane and so he found himself facing three terrians who seemed more agitated than he had ever seen them. They were standing high on a cliff above the cave where Danziger had been found. Danziger lay, as though sleeping, at the feet of the terrians. Alonzo looked away. Why had they brought him here?

As usual they didn't come right out and tell him what they wanted to say. In fact, they seemed even less focused than normal.

"What do you want?" Alonzo asked, perplexed and unhappy.

"Sadness. Sorrow." One of them indicated to him. Alonzo looked down at his feet.

"Yes." he finally responded. This created even more agitation between them. Alonzo had never seen the terrians behave this way.

"Wrong. Mistake." Was all he could distinguish from their garbled communication. Then he was simply asleep. He did not dream for the rest of the night.

**********

They group gathered in the morning at a spot near the camp to bury John Danziger. It was an emotional time. Even Morgan, who never saw eye-to-eye with John, was utterly miserable. Bess wept openly. Baines and Walman were somberly considering what the loss of their friend would mean to their responsibilities to the group. Alonzo was concerned for Julia; and also thinking of the void John's death had created. His dream from the night before had disturbed him, but he couldn't make heads or tails of it. Julia couldn't help but feel guilty. As the doctor it was her position to make sure no one died. The fact that it had been out of her control didn't comfort her at all. All she kept hearing were the voices of Devon and True, especially True, begging her to help him. Devon wrapped her arms around Uly, trying to draw some strength from the contact with him. She was also worried about True. John's daughter stood apart from everyone, at the foot of the grave. She didn't move, or speak, or cry.

Yale prayed for John, and for the group, and threw the first handful of dirt into the grave. True flinched at the sound. The group slowly moved away and Zero came forward, silently for once, to finish filling in the dirt. True watched for a moment and then ran off.

Devon watched True's departure anxiously. She bit her lip.

"Do you think we should leave her alone?" she asked Julia.

"Give her a bit of space." Julia suggested. "If she's not back in a little while, I'll go after her."

"Thanks Julia." Devon gave her arm a bit of a squeeze. Julia found she could not respond.

Devon had decided that the group should move on instead of remaining here for the promised R&R. The further away from the tragedy the better. Unfortunately, in servicing the solar panels, Danziger had dismantled them from the vehicles. Walman and Baines estimated it would take them several hours to reattach them. If Devon had any thoughts on how quickly Danziger may have been able to do the job she wisely kept them to herself. They agreed to leave at dawn the following day.

**********

True was dreaming. In her dream her Dad was still alive but he was trapped somewhere. She had this feeling of great urgency. She had to help him. She had to get him out. She had to hurry. Where was he?

"True!" he called to her from far away.

Abruptly, True's eyes flew open. The nightmare had left her pulse racing and she tried to steady her breathing. She glanced over at her Dad . . . and saw Uly and Devon instead. What were they doing in here?

True sat up on her cot and took in the rest of the tent. This wasn't her tent; this was the Adairs' tent. Why was she here?

Then, out of the fuzziness of sleep, sharp reality took hold. She was here because Dad was dead; they'd buried him yesterday morning. And now they were going to move on and leave him behind. True felt sick to her stomach.

She suddenly remembered her dream. Dad trapped somewhere. Dreams on this planet were very important. They almost always meant something. What if her dream was telling her that Dad was trapped?

True quickly stood up, her blood feeling cold. Dad had told a story the other night about someone who had been buried alive. The group had buried Commander O'Neill and he hadn't really been dead. What if they had done the same thing to Dad? True quietly left the tent.

**********

Devon wasn't sure what caused her to wake up. She had been sleeping restlessly and suddenly she became aware that there was something wrong. Pulling her arm out from under Uly, she sat up to check on True. True was gone.

Alarmed, Devon leapt out of bed and went outside. It was still many hours before dawn and quite dark. Devon could hear True, before she saw her. She was up at Danziger's grave. Digging.

True was so intent on her task she didn't hear Devon's approach.

"True?" Devon asked softly, "What are you doing up here?"

True didn't stop; instead she began to dig at a more frantic pace. Devon knelt down and placed a hand on True's back but the girl pulled out of reach.

"True?"

"Have to get him out. Have to help him." True finally choked out, between sobs. Her face was streaked with tears and mud.

"Sweetie, we can't help him anymore. He's gone." Devon said as gently as she could.

"Nooo." True moaned. "No. I dreamt about him. He's still here somewhere. I have to find him. I have to help him."

Devon reached out now for True's hands. She had to stop this. True cried out but didn't pull away as Devon wrapped her arms around the sobbing girl. She rocked her softly, not knowing how else to comfort. This wound was going to take a long time to heal.

**********

In the early morning the Eden crew pulled up stakes and moved away from what had started out as an idyllic rest spot, and ended with a nightmare. The group was silent. Each person had his own reasons for mourning the loss of Danziger and that loss was proving to be very great indeed. In their grief no one noticed the terrians standing on the cliff over the lake, watching their departure. If they had, they would have seen that the terrians were not alone.

**********

When John awoke he felt like he'd been asleep for a long time. Certainly a lot longer than the few hours he'd intended on being away from camp. He groaned and stretched his arms over his head. Struggling to his feet he made his way down the path towards the camp. Geez, it was quiet!

Rounding the corner he stopped short in shock. His eyes must be deceiving him! Where were they? The tents, the vehicles, the *people* - all were gone! Was he still asleep? Was this some kind of dream?

"Hey!" he shouted, "Hey! True! Devon!" The only response was the echo of his own voice across the lake. John jogged around the old campsite, looking for any clue of where they were, and why they had gone off without him. He couldn't really believe what he was seeing. Maybe he'd pissed Devon off - but come on! No more than usual. And True wouldn't have left him behind without a fight, of this he was certain. No, Devon wouldn't leave him behind; she'd already had opportunity for that and had proven that it was important that the group remain intact. The only time someone had been abandoned had been under extremely difficult circumstances.

He stood in the deserted campsite turning in circles.

"TRUE!" he screamed, "WHERE ARE YOU?!!!!"

He was more confused than frightened and feeling still a little foggy from his sleep. Then something caught his eye. Up on a rise a short distance from where he stood he saw a grave marker. Heart pounding he swiftly moved up the small hill. This grave was new, relatively; and scratched out on the marker he could read quite clearly:

JOHN DANZIGER

Now fear crept in where before confusion reigned. They had left him behind because they had buried him in a grave. My God, how long had he slept anyway? How long ago had they broke camp? And *who* had they put into the ground?

No answers to his questions. Only stillness.

**********

Julia //We are now 4 days away from Danziger's death and everyone is still paralyzed by it. Simple decisions are hard to make and tempers are short. I'm most worried about Devon and True. Devon, because she has not acknowledged her grief. True, because she's aloof and unresponsive. We are coming to realize what a very big man John Danziger was for all of us.//

"This seems as good a place as any." Devon said wearily, looking around for some confirmation from the others. Some shrugged, others nodded. "Fine. Let's stop here then."

The unloading process took longer than normal. Julia found that her medical tent didn't go up quite as fast. Everyone tried hard but there was nothing to laugh at and no smiles. Morale had sunk to depressive depths as lethargy overwhelmed everyone. Even Alonzo was more pensive than she had ever seen him.

After the evening meal, Julia joined Alonzo by the campfire. There weren't any stories or jokes; just a gathering of people. She slipped an arm around him.

"You OK?" he asked.

"I was about to ask you the same thing." was her response. They both stared at the flames for a bit.

"I think the terrians share our grief." he said suddenly. This surprised Julia.

"Why?"

"I had this dream the night that John died. And I've been having a similar one since. In it they come to me with feelings of sorrow. But it's so undefined, so unfocused. I don't understand what they mean really." he confessed.

"John had no contact with them. Not like you, or Uly." Julia mused, "I wonder why they would feel sorrow at his death."

"Maybe they're just reacting to us. All I know is that it's really depressing me. I wish they'd just cut it out."

"It's gonna take some time." Julia said softly, "He was . . . like family." Even closer, she thought.

"I don't think True's been having the best of dreams either." Alonzo said. Julia was silent. Devon had told her about True's attempt to dig John out of his grave. Psychology wasn't a strong part of Julia's training, but she guessed it was a denial factor that had motivated True that night. Devon had been quite shook up by the experience.

**********

Danziger had filled his canteen in the lake before following the vehicle tracks heading west but he was beginning to suspect the water would be long gone before he caught up to the group. If he caught up with them. Those tracks weren't exactly new; it was his guess that at least 3 or 4 days had gone by already. Under normal conditions he would have thought it easy for a single person to move faster than their ragtag caravan, but he had no food and very little water.

After the first day of travelling he was ranting to himself in the hot sun and he began to wonder if maybe he was really dead after all. Maybe he was just a spirit, a ghost like one of his campfire stories, doomed to wander in the footsteps of his friends but always a day or so behind. But as the heat dried up his throat, and the hunger gnawed his stomach he decided that if this was death, then he was in purgatory - or maybe even Hell.

At night, he dozed rather than slept. He was having bad dreams; dreams about True, dreams about the group. True was very unhappy but he couldn't seem to find her to comfort her. In one dream, she stood before him crying but when he reached out to hold her she disappeared. Danziger's eyes came open. Yes, this was definitely Hell.

**********

True tossed in her sleep, gripped by another nightmare. Her father was walking. Walking just like they all did on their journey except he was alone. She saw him stumble and fall to his knees.

"True!" he called to her, "Where are you? Where did you go?"

She tried to run to him but she couldn't for some reason.

"Dad!" she cried out, "Wait I'm coming! Wait!" But he was disappearing. "Wait! Daddy!"

Devon shook True gently until her eyes opened. She stared up at Devon, unfocused, unseeing.

"True, you were having a bad dream." Devon said gently.

"No." True shut her eyes. Maybe if she fell asleep right away she would find him again. Devon didn't argue with her, but let her roll over. She been alarmed when True had started calling out for Danziger. These dreams were a nightly business.

True wasn't the only one dreaming of Danziger.

**********

In her dream Devon stood in the centre of their campsite by the lake. It was deserted; the tents packed away, the vehicles already disappearing. Clearly, she saw the grave they were leaving behind. It was all that was left. She turned away. This was not a place she wanted to be.

"Devon!" Danziger called. "Don't go!"

Devon turned back to see Danziger standing on the high cliff above the cave. The wind was blowing his hair around and his loose clothing flapped angrily.

"Please, don't leave me behind." he said softly, but she heard him as though he was standing next to her.

Devon hesitated briefly and then turned and started walking towards the group in the distance. When she glanced over her shoulder at the cliff, Danziger was gone.

**********

Uly's dream put him in the circle by the fire listening to Danziger's story. The older man had his arm around him; Uly knew, without looking, that True was on the other side. All of the others sat in rapt attention to Danziger's mesmorizing voice. But Uly did not want to hear the ghost story again. He was more interested in watching the rest of the group. Morgan looked distinctly uneasy. Alonzo was disturbed. Mom seemed lost in thought.

The rest were either focussed entirely on the harrowing words of Danziger's haunting tale, or they had managed to close their expressions.

Suddenly, over the left shoulder of Morgan, Uly thought he could see someone else standing in the shadows. He quickly looked around the group again. Everyone was here already. So who was watching them? Uly watched cautiously, wondering if he should say something. He didn't want to interrupt the story.

Walman leaned forward, slowly, to add another log to the fire. As the flames flared with the additional fuel the circle of light expanded revealing the figure in the shadows. Uly gasped. It was Danziger.

**********

"What do you mean it won't start?" Devon asked, running her hands through her hair in frustration. They were standing next to the TransRover "Why not?"

Walman was a little irritated. Who did she think he was, Mr. Miracle-Maker-Man Danziger?

"I don't know." he said, for the fourth time. "It's not starting and I don't know why not."

Baines popped up with a few suggestions that Devon listened to without really hearing, or understanding, and then told them shortly to get to work on it.

"Who does she think she is?" Walman asked, annoyed, as Devon walked away.

"Hey, cut her some slack. She's hurting." Cameron said.

"Yeah, and we aren't?" Walman challenged. "John was just as much my friend and yours and he was hers - more so even. She doesn't have the monopoly on missing him. Besides, " he wiped his forehead with dirty sleeve and sighed, "John would know what to do now, wouldn't he?"

**********

Danziger had decided that he was probably going crazy. His own mind was conspiring against him. He still couldn't imagine what might have happened so that his friends would believe him dead and leave him behind. The last thing he remembered was sleeping in the afternoon sun high on that cliff. Pretty harmless, he thought.

The dreams he was having filled him with visions and feelings of his friends; but left him with no concrete means of communicating with them. These very images that tortured him, frustrated him, also pushed him forward to find the group. He had to find True to tell her he was OK. She believed he was dead and Danziger could clearly imagine how she was coping. Her pain was transmitted to him nightly.

With sick amusement he wondered how the rest of the group was dealing with his demise. His dreams of them hadn't been so clear. Mostly he kept returning to the campfire and the night he'd told the ghost story. He guessed that was because it was the last time the group had all been together.

He wondered, too, how Devon was making out. At least she won't have to worry about someone always arguing with her, he thought. At least Devon will look after True. He could see her in the dream, walking away from him towards the group; leaving him behind. She doesn't know, he told himself over and over, she doesn't know.

He walked constantly, stopping only after the sun set to sleep fitfully. That he hadn't already caught up to the Eden project worried him. A lot. He should be able to move a lot quicker than them.

**********

As Bess slipped into the dream she found herself walking around the campsite. Where was everyone? For no particular reason, that she knew of anyway, she felt drawn towards one of the tents. Entering with caution she found Danziger sitting on one of the cots holding True's torn pants. There were two large holes, one in each knee. So large that Danziger was able to put his fingers easily through them.

"What am I gonna do with these?" he asked. He didn't look at her; he was still examining the holes.

Bess was silent. She wasn't sure whether or not he was talking to her, or to himself.

"I need patches." he muttered. "Where am I gonna get something for patches?"

"I could give you a hand." Bess offered warily. Considering his reaction when she offered before, she wasn't sure how he was going to take this. Now he looked at her, sadly.

"She doesn't have much. I'm not able to give her very much."

Bess moved forward and sat beside him on the cot.

"How can you say that?" she asked him. "You gave her everything." Bess took his hand.

"You think so?" he sounded doubtful. Then he smiled a smile that touched his eyes. "She means everything to me."

Bess took the pants from him. Now that she could look at them close up she could see that he was right. Patches were necessary.

"I can fix these for her. Don't worry. I'll take care of it."

When Bess awoke she immediately thought of getting True's pants so that she could patch them. She felt as though she had made a promise to Danziger, even if it had happened in a dream. It wasn't until later in the day that she realized what it was that unsettled her about the dream. He had used the present tense; she had used the past.

**********

Morgan found himself sitting around a dying fire. He was alone. He was frightened. He was dreaming.

"Bbbess? Where are you?" Morgan stood and looked around. Outside the feeble light of the fire it looked very dark. Morgan couldn't shake his fear. He told himself that he was being irrational, paranoid, childish even. It didn't help. He was trembling.

"What's the matter, Morgan? Danziger asked, lazily.

Whirling around so quickly he fell over, Morgan could see Danziger sitting by the fire. Morgan scrambled up and plunked himself down opposite the mechanic, who looked as though he might launch into another of his creepy ghost stories.

"Wwwhat are you doing here?" Morgan asked, hoping his voice was more steady than his hands. "You're supposed to be dead."

"So what?" was Danziger's uninterested response.

Morgan didn't know John Danziger very well. They were not what one might call pals. Even when Danziger was alive, Morgan had been a little afraid of him. He had this feeling sometimes that Danziger was just waiting for an appropriate time to take revenge for Morgan's premature launching of the escape pod. However, he figured he knew John well enough to anticipate Danziger's scowl of disgust at Morgan's present state of fear. So Morgan was very surprised when Danziger smiled a happy grin and regarded Morgan curiously.

"What's wrong, Morgan?" he asked again.

"I'm sorry if I'm just not used to speaking with people who are dead." Morgan spluttered out. He was confused by Danziger's behaviour. It seemed a little out of character.

"Do you want me to tell you a story?"

Now Morgan drew himself up with his last shreads of dignity. That was why Danziger was acting so strangely. He was making fun of him.

"No!" Morgan snapped. "I do not."

Danziger looked hurt and surprised. He didn't say anything, but went back to regarding Morgan, as though he'd never seen the man before. For his part, Morgan felt like any more of this was going to give him a cardiac arrest. He stood up his knees shaking.

"I'm going to . . . " He was about to say 'look for Bess', but he was interrupted by a shout from behind.

"Morgan! Morgan!"

Out of the shadows creating by the last flames of the fire Morgan could see another figure running towards them. He didn't really need to see clearly because he recognized that voice. He would never forget that voice. It was Danziger.

"Morgan, you have to listen to me!" John was closer now, out of breath from his sprint.

Morgan's eyes flipped back and forth between the two of them. One sitting calmly, smiling and the other looking ragged, worried. Neither of them should be here at all. Both of them were supposed to be dead. And another thing, there shouldn't even be two of them.

"What is going on here?" Morgan asked, holding out a shaking arm in an attempt to prevent the new Danziger from coming any closer. He cast a glance at the seated one, just to make sure he wasn't making any quick moves.

"Morgan! Please! Listen to me." Danziger begged.

"Who are you?" asked Morgan, taking a step back. Danziger looked amazed.

"You know who I am." he said. "C'mon, it's me. It's Danziger!" He stepped closer to the fire.

"Then who is he?" asked Morgan, pointing at the other figure, still seated. Danziger didn't even waste time glancing down.

"That's not important. Listen, Morgan, you have to stop moving."

Morgan gave an hysterical laugh.

"I'm not going anywhere." he said. His feet were cemented to the ground.

"No, I mean the group. You have to get her to stop the group moving."

Morgan didn't need to ask to whom Danziger was referring. There was only one woman driving this caravan and Morgan didn't think he had a hope in Hell of stopping her either.

"Why?"

"I can't find you unless you stop." Danziger spoke slowly. He recognized that Morgan was very confused and extremely frightened and for once he shared these feelings with the politician.

"You're dead." Morgan said shakily. "You're not supposed to find us. I'd prefer it if you didn't really. And anyway," he babbled, "we're not going very fast these days as the TransRover isn't starting and they don't know how to fix it so we're just waiting around and I guess they could really use your help to get it going again except . . . except YOU'RE DEAD and I'm not supposed to be talking to DEAD PEOPLE even in my dreams." Morgan stopped, out of breath.

"No, Morgan. I'm not dead. Please! Please believe me. I'm not dead. Please, you have to stop moving. Please." Danziger moved closer and gripped Morgan by the shoulders, hard. He shook him. Morgan was amazed that Danziger could be so solid; his hands felt so strong.

"Don't touch me! Ahhh! Let go of me!" Morgan cried out, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Morgan, Morgan . . . " Danziger called.

"Morgan! Wake up!" It was Bess and she was shaking him.

"Shh, honey. It's just a bad dream." she said soothingly. She managed to slip back to sleep easily but Morgan remained wide awake for a long time thinking about his dream and what it might mean. He could still feel Danziger's hands on his arms, shaking him. He could still hear the desperation in Danziger's voice. He was still afraid.

**********

Devon sat in the middle of chaos not really caring if they ever shut up. She kept waiting for Danziger to bellow "Take it easy!" or more appropriately "Shut up!" so that she would be able to hear herself think. Of course, he didn't. He couldn't because he wasn't here. Because John's dead now, she told herself.

Yale took it upon himself to try to calm the group, when it appeared Devon was not going to say anything.

"People! Please, one at a time so that we can all hear each other." The din subsided somewhat.

"Well, I can't fix it." Walman declared, challengingly. He'd spent an entire day looking for the answer. Baines just shrugged.

"I haven't a clue what's wrong." Cameron added glumly. The chaos erupted again. Yale held up his hands.

"If we can't fix it," Alonzo said over the noise, quieting them all, "then we're going to have to leave it behind." Julia gasped.

"But . . ." she started before everyone began to talk at once.

"*Leave it behind*! Are you nuts?!" Morgan cried. "Do you know how much equipment that thing carries? How are we supposed to carry all of that stuff?"

"Some of those medical crates are very heavy." Julia said. "And they are essential."

"What about the tents?" asked Bess. "How can we carry the tents?"

Walman took all this to be an attack on his abilities and began blustering about not being an expert on useless broken down machines. " . . .not like Danziger!" was all the Devon heard. She still remained silent. Everything was falling apart.

"Wait a sec! Hold on!" Julia stood up to make her voice carry. "What about True?" She had their attention.

"What about True?" asked Morgan. "What has she got to do with this?" Julia stared at him coldly.

"True is a pretty good mechanic. She used to help John all the time with those vehicles. Maybe she knows what's wrong." Walman and Baines looked as skeptical as Morgan, but Bess took up Julia's lead.

"I bet she does too! And even if she doesn't know how to fix it; just showing you guys the problem may get you on your way to a solution!"

"Julia," Yale asked, "Where is True?" Julia glanced out of the tent flap towards the rock on which True had been sitting motionless for hours.

"I'll go talk to her." she offered. "It will be good for her to have something to do."

This much even Walman could concede.

**********

Long after the group meeting had dispersed and Julia had gone to talk to True, Devon remained seated staring off into space. It was like a barrier had been broken and all the feelings she'd been holding in came pouring out in a flood. Wiping her eyes she only succeeded in wetting her face with her tears.

"Devon." Yale's voice came from behind her, "I was wondering when you were going to decide to grieve."

"Decide?" Devon gave a little laugh, but it came out like a sob. "Is that what you think?"

"I think it's high time you stopped being strong for everyone else and gave yourself time to acknowledge your loss."

"Yes." Devon agreed. "My loss." she repeated. She was surprised to find her hands were trembling. "Oh Yale! Everything is coming apart at the seams." The expression reminded her of sewing and Danziger 'fixing' True's shirt. She began to cry harder. Yale moved forward and put his hands on her shoulders. She leaned back on him. "John . . . he was . . . he was . . ."

"The most annoying person you had ever met?" supplied Yale, with a sad smile. Devon shook her head.

"He was the glue that held us together. Not me. Him."

"Devon . . ." Yale chided. "That is not true. You are the leader of this group. You are . . ."

"Not the one who can fix the TransRover." Devon interrupted him. "I'm not the one who can make True smile. I'm not the one who can get people working efficiently. I'm not the one who carries the medical crates and pounds in the tent stakes and keeps the water condenser at peak efficiency and finds the routes that the vehicles can take; I'm not the one who tells stories or jokes around the fire or checks the perimeter after everyone else is asleep. I'm not the one who tells me that all my ideals are crazy, that I'm crazy . . . "

"John did do those things." Yale admitted. "But you are the one who motivated people to make this journey. You are the one who brought us here. He was a pessimist, a cynic, a skeptic." "He kept me on my toes." whispered Devon, "He challenged me. He kept my goals within reach. He told me once that we were going to make it. He said to me, 'It won't be so bad, getting there.' Now, I'm not sure anymore. I'm not sure of anything anymore." Devon sighed, "I miss him so much. So very much." There she'd admitted it. She'd said it out loud.

"All of his responsibilities will fall onto the shoulders of others now. And some day, you will be the one to make True smile."

Through blurry eyes Devon looked at True and Julia talking. John's daughter was now under her care. How could she *ever* expect to fill his role in that little girl's life?

**********

True reluctantly agreed to look at the TransRover; only after Julia made it painfully clear that unless the problem solved, or at least identified, then this was as far as the vehicle was going.

She approached it cautiously. No one else was around as everyone had decided to give her some space. True could almost see her Dad working on the engine. And she would sit here and watch and hand him tools. He would always explain what he was doing. Sometimes he'd even ask for her opinion and smile proudly when she said something right. Working on the vehicles was something they'd done together. To do it alone now was publicly admitting that he was gone for good. This was something True had not yet accepted. Every night he crept into her dreams, calling out for her, needing her in some way. True was not ready to abandon him yet.

But she didn't want to have to carry her tent either. True was a smart and practical girl.

Frowning in concentration, she began her search.

**********

By the time Julia came to tell her that True had been as unsuccessful as Walman, Baines, Cameron and Magus, Devon had regained her composure. Julia did sense a change in Devon; she seemed resigned to the bad news even before receiving it. Devon tossed around some options in her mind but she was coming to the same conclusion as Alonzo. They were going to have to leave the TransRover behind.

**********

Danziger had lost the trail of the Eden project. He would not have previously thought it possible for that group, with three vehicles, to move without leaving any trace behind. But somehow they'd managed to evade him.

He was heading in what he hoped was a westerly direction; in what he hoped was the general direction of the group. He was feeling somewhat fatalistic. If he was already dead, well then it didn't make much difference one way or another.

True and the others still haunted his dreams which made sleep difficult and not very restful. Even when he tried to communicate with them, he knew it wasn't working. He had no control over the dreams. Except for the dream with Morgan, who hadn't believed him anyway, John had not been able to get across the idea that he wasn't really dead.

This night, he tried to rest sitting up against a fallen tree hoping that he could avoid sleep. However, it soon overpowered him and with the sleep came another dream.

He was standing in the camp. True was on top of the TransRover. Listlessly she passed a wrench from hand to hand. She was lost in thought. There was no one else around. It was eerily quiet.

"What's the matter True?" he asked up at her. She shook her head. She didn't look at him.

"I can't help them. I can't find the problem." Danziger wanted to climb up there with her, but he didn't seem to have the energy. Instead he walked around to the other side where he could get a better look at her. She looked very unhappy, and very frustrated. This was the closest he'd gotten to her without her disappearing.

"What's the problem?" he asked.

"Won't start." she said, shortly, turning to face him. Then, unexpectedly she threw the wrench at him. "This is YOUR fault!" she screamed. "You should be here to help us!!" This was similar to what Morgan had told him last night.

Danziger easily dodged the wrench which landed by his feet. The sound of the tool hitting the ground was extraordinarily loud in the stillness. He looked at it for a moment and then raised his eyes to meet True's. He had to concentrate.

"I'm here now True." he said calmly.

**********

True awoke early, suddenly. She was the only one awake. Creeping quietly out of the tent she went to her father's tools and grabbed a few. She also grabbed a light. Swiftly, she scrambled on top of the TransRover and squirmed over to the front area, just behind the solar panels. She worked quietly and slowly for several minutes. Then she sat back and stared at what she'd discovered with parts of fear and awe.

"Giving it another go?" asked Julia, shielding her eyes from the sun as she peered up at True. For a moment she thought maybe the girl hadn't heard her but then True turned to her with the strangest expression.

"He was right." True breathed.

"Who?"

"Dad." Julia stiffened.

"What do you mean?" True pushed herself to the edge and hopped easily down beside Julia.

"Dad showed me how to fix the problem. And he was right!"

"You mean, you remembered something he taught you?" Now True fixed Julia with one of those 'Adults can be so stupid' looks that used to be a common feature of her face.

"No." she said slowly as though explaining to a child. "He showed me how to fix it. Last night, in a dream. He was here. He stood right there." True pointed to the spot where Danziger had stood. "He talked me through it. He said I'd need to get Walman or Baines to tighten the screws around the inside of the second panel, because they tend to leak and then the connection is lost. You can't see it from the outside; you have to open it up. That's why we missed it. Dad knew because he's been tightening them the whole time."

Julia's eyes went from the spot where Danziger supposedly stood, up to the second panel. She was still skeptical.

"True, are you sure that it wasn't just something that you remembered seeing your Dad fix?"

"I never saw him fix that." True stated flatly. "He never showed it to me, 'cos I'm not strong enough to tighten the bolts. I don't know why he didn't show the others."

"Probably he didn't expect to die." Julia said without thinking. Then she stiffened. 'Very sensitive, Dr. Heller' she told herself. True's eyes had narrowed to slits. Her response was not was Julia anticipated.

"He's not dead." In her peripheral vision, Julia saw Devon approaching them. Others were awake and moving around now.

"True . . ." Julia began.

"No, don't you True me." True said with more spark than she'd shown since the day of the earthquake. "He speaks to me in my dreams. He spoke to me last night. He told me how to fix the TransRover. He told me he is OK. He told me he is not dead. He's . . . he's . . . lost somewhere."

Devon's eyes questioned Julia. Julia was at a loss. Obviously True's denial was more deeply rooted than they had thought.

**********

"What do you mean? Danziger told her how to fix it in a dream? That's impossible!" Morgan was talking to Bess as she sewed the patches on the knees of True's pants. She'd had a hard time getting them away from True to patch them. True wasn't used to having anyone but her Dad look after her.

"Impossible or not, that's what she believes." Bess said calmly. "And she was able to find the problem. After Walman tightened the screws, the thing started up immediately." Morgan began to pace, muttering to himself. He couldn't stop thinking about his dream. He had told Danziger they needed his help to fix the vehicle. And Danziger had told him that he wasn't really dead. That message had been disturbingly clear.

"What do you believe?" he finally asked Bess, referring to True's ability to fix the TransRover. Bess tied a knot in the thread and bit it off.

"I believe that we can't prejudge this planet based on our knowledge of Earth and the stations. Things don't happen the same way here. Don't forget, we all thought Commander O'Neill was dead too." Morgan thought somberly about that experience. He too had been struck by a Koba claw.

**********

"True, " Devon said patiently, "I want to believe he's alive as much as you do. Really. But I can't help remembering his body. We buried the body of a dead man."

"It wasn't him." True said shortly. Devon sighed. They'd been going in circles now for too long. True wanted to go back and look for Danziger. She refused to believe that he was really dead. She kept using her dreams and the knowledge gained in them as proof of his being alive.

"Who was it then?" Devon asked.

"I don't know. That's not important. But it wasn't him." True thought carefully. "He was acting really weird in the cave. He should have been mad at me, but he wasn't. It was very strange. I don't think it was really him anymore." The stubbornness that True was demonstrating now was alarmingly similar to Danziger at his most infuriating. Devon strived to keep her temper in control; Danziger had been a man, True was only a child. She looked to Julia for help.

"What if we go back and all that's there is the grave?" Julia asked. True lifted her eyes up to the doctor.

"He will be there." she said with total certainty. Julia's eyes spoke to Devon's. Defeat. Devon stood up. She was feeling tired. This had to end.

"We're not going back." she said firmly. "We are going forward."

If True could have wielded resentment like a sword Devon would have been cut in two on the spot. But she held her tongue. Devon would soon regret her lack of faith, True thought.

**********

Julia paced around her tent with excess energy; her thoughts flying quickly and randomly. Alonzo watched her quietly for a few moments and then stood up and gathered her into his arms. She pulled away and resumed pacing.

"Julia."

Abruptly she stopped and sat down heavily, sighing.

"Alonzo . . . "

"Julia, I think we should talk to her."

"It just seems so crazy." Julia spoke more to the tent wall than to him. "Alright, let's go."

**********

Devon walked a little bit out of camp and contemplated the stars. The two moons dominated the night sky, as usual, but there was also a spectacular array of stars. It made her feel insignificant.

She often took some time at the end of the day to come and look at the night sky; she found its largeness comforting. Any problems they may be experiencing always seemed to pale in the expanse of space. Frequently, Danziger would join her. Looking back now, it seemed that he was probably checking to make sure that she was alright. Showing his paternal side, she supposed. Well, that was a big part of the man that was John Danziger.

"John," she whispered, "I'm not doing very well with True. I don't know if she ever liked me or trusted me; but now she resents me, maybe even hates me. I don't know what happened to put us so far apart." The wind blew softly around Devon's head and she thought she could hear Danziger's chuckle in her head. "I know, she's just a chip off the ol' block, right John?" Devon was silent for awhile. "I'm going to try to ensure she grows up confident and optimistic - just like you wanted. I promise."

Devon reflected for a few moments about Danziger. She found it odd that even though just a few short days ago (or seemed what like a lifetime) she'd been complaining about how annoying John was, all her memories of him were good ones. His laugh, his smile, his willingness to help others . . . And yet her own voice seemed to cut harshly into all these images.

"Danziger! Get lost!"

"John, put those tools away and leave this camp."

"Do whatever you want, you always do."

Devon hung her head; the sky was not helping her tonight.

"I'm not coping very well without you Danziger. Damn you for leaving me like this!" She walked slowly back into the camp.

**********

"Devon, if I tell you something, will you give me an honest opinion?" Julia asked.

"Of course." Devon said surprised. "You don't need to ask that."

The three of them, Devon, Julia and Alonzo, were in the communications tent where Devon had been plotting a course on their map.

"It's going to sound really weird." Devon nodded and waited for the doctor to begin. Julia took a deep breath. "When I entered the scan of John's body into my logs, you know, to enter his . . . his death into my logs, something strange happened."

"What?"

"The scan should have brought up his medical log. The information should have linked to all his other medical files but it didn't. I had to manually link the scan to my other database."

"So?"

Julia began to pace. She was very agitated.

"So - it struck me as odd at the time. I mean, there is no reason why that scan should not have recalled his other stats. But I was feeling so . . . so guilty, so bad, I didn't stop to analyze that problem. But now, I wonder." Julia stared up at the tent's ceiling. "I wonder."

"Julia, " Devon said slowly, "What are you trying to say?"

"Um," Julia faced her now, "I think the reason the scan didn't link properly is because that wasn't a scan of John Danziger."

"Whoa, Julia." Devon held out her hand and started to smile. Looking from Julia to Alonzo she soon realized Julia was completely serious. "What do you mean?"

"What if that *wasn't* really John in that cave? If that wasn't John then of course my scan wouldn't match his other medical records. A scan of John's body *should* have linked to the database." Julia gave a little laugh. "I know, I know, it's sounds crazy, but ever since True had that dream experience I've been thinking about it. Now she's saying she doesn't think it was him in the cave either, because his behaviour was so strange. I have no explanation. We are all assuming that True is just having difficulty adjusting to her father's death. But maybe, just maybe, she's the one who's right. Maybe Danziger is still alive. Because maybe he never died." Julia sat down beside Alonzo and waited for Devon's opinion.

Devon thought for a moment. This was a tricky one. How to put this delicately?

"Julia," Devon ran a tired hand through her hair. She hadn't been sleeping well; none of them had. She stood up and paced in front of the two of them, "OK, OK, you asked me for an honest opinion, here it is." She faced them. "I think True is having a hard time accepting her father's death. I think we all are. But True, in particular, is used to having Danziger be there for her in a big way - after all, he is, uh, was her only parent. And I think you are having a hard time dealing with the fact that there was nothing you could do to save his life."

Julia sat up a little straighter. She crossed her arms defensively. She hadn't expected this. Alonzo took a deep breath.

"Julia, he died before we even heard from True on gear. Even if you had been there in the cave at the time, *there was nothing you could have done for him*. Now, I can understand how helpless that must make you feel. I feel helpless, very helpless, and I'm not a doctor."

Julia was shaking her head. Alonzo put a hand on her back for support.

"I think that True is not the only one who is going through denial over John's death." Devon was saying. Julia pulled away from Alonzo's caress.

"How do you explain the scan?" she demanded of Devon.

"Computer error." she said simply. "Maybe extra humidity in your log book." Julia's face was the picture of disbelief.

"And True? Fixing the TransRover?"

"Subliminal memories." Devon shrugged slightly, "She probably has no conscious knowledge of Danziger and those screws. Her dreams allowed her to remember seeing him do that. Hey! Dreams can be very powerful things! Right?" She turned to Alonzo for some backup. She didn't get it.

"Right now a lot of us are having dreams that support True and Julia." he said, very serious.

Devon thought of her own dream about Danziger; Danziger on the cliff begging her not to leave him behind. She ached when she thought of that lonely grave site.

"We're all upset and mourning. It's natural that Danziger should be in our dreams - he's in our subconscious."

"What's not so natural," Alonzo continued, "is what he's doing in our dreams."

Morgan was pacing outside the tent. He could hear their conversation quite clearly and he was wondering whether or not he should join in the debate. Was his dream important too? If he didn't at least *attempt* to stop the group then Danziger would probably return to his dreams. Morgan couldn't face that; he stepped inside. Wearily Devon looked over at him.

"What is it Morgan?"

"I had a dream too." Morgan said.

"And?" Devon demanded when Morgan did not continue.

"In my dream Danziger begged me to get you to stop moving. So that he could find us. He said he wasn't really dead."

Devon just stared at him. Morgan could not get rid of his feeling of dread. He could not stop thinking about Danziger's hands gripping his arms. He could not get Danziger's eyes out of his mind. But he couldn't seem to articulate these feelings to the woman who stood before him.

"He shook me!" Morgan said shakily, "He grabbed hold of me and shook me!" Morgan shook his head in wonderment. "I don't know what it was in that dream but it was very REAL."

"The terrians are very agitated by what happened. I don't think it was a simple case of one of us dying in an accident. They wouldn't be that concerned if that were the case." Alonzo added.

Devon looked from Alonzo to Julia to Morgan. They were all as tired as she, all as worried. But they were turning to her for answers and decisions.

"I'm not convinced." she said simply. "I've also had a dream, but that's all it was. A dream."

"How can you say that? On this planet?" Alonzo was becoming angry. "What happened to how much you depend on Danziger? What about now, when he's depending on you? Depending on you to have some faith in something unbelievable!"

"You are throwing that at me like I don't even care. Dammit! I cared more for him than he will ever know. But it's too late now." Devon was angry. Angry at herself for losing her temper and her self-control. She sighed. "If Danziger can communicate through dreams why would he choose Morgan to be his messenger? Why not me, since I'm the one who's going to stop the group moving?"

"Maybe he tried and found you unreceptive." Alonzo snapped. Julia touched his arm. Alonzo and Devon eyed each other warily.

"What about O'Neill? " Julia challenged Devon, changing tactics.

"What about him?" Devon countered tersely.

"We buried him. We abandoned him. And he was still alive."

"That's right." Morgan nodded. "That's true." Nobody paid any attention to him.

"Broderick O'Neill was attacked by an indigenous animal of which we had no knowledge or experience. Danziger was killed by an earthquake. One rock broke his back; another crushed his skull. His body was broken, not poisoned." Devon told Julia.

"Devon . . ."

"Julia," Devon interupted sharply, "Don't be mad at me just because I didn't give you the opinion you were hoping to hear. You asked for honesty, remember?"

"Yeah, right. Thanks." Alonzo said sarcastically. Devon had heard enough; she left the tent.

**********

Danziger was trying not to stop for the night. He hadn't done a lot of travelling after dark; even with the light of both moons it was extremely dark. That wasn't too much of a problem, as he didn't have a clue where he was going. He didn't want to stop because he was afraid of dreaming. The images of his friends haunted him.

Exhaustion and hunger had forced him to slow his pace from his usual swift stride. Now he stumbled and shuffled along, talking to himself aloud.

"You're in trouble now, John. Big trouble. You thought Adair was trouble but that was nothing compared to this, man." At least, he thought, she'll take care of True. She's already a parent; True'll be OK. "She'll be OK." he mumbled, slurring the words.

Suddenly, unexpectedly, two terrians shot out of the ground directly in his path. John halted; they were blocking his way. He stared at them for a moment wondering why they had surfaced. It was unusual to see terrians at night, wasn't it? Or was that when they always encountered them? He couldn't remember.

The two of them crossed their sticks as though to bar his way. Danziger understood that. He remembered enough to know he didn't want to get zapped by one of those things.

"Don't want me to go that way? OK, fine. I'll go this way." He turned slightly and started to walk around them. One of the terrians stepped in front of him to block his way again.

"Not that way either, huh?" Danziger took a few steps back and managed to trip and fall backwards on his hands. "Which way do you recommend then?"

The terrians regarded him quizzically and appeared to confer with each other. They obviously wanted to communicate something to him very badly. One of them used his staff to point in a direction about 90 degrees from Danziger's original heading. He shook it urgently. Danziger slowly got to his feet. He took a few tentative steps in the direction the staff was pointing. Neither of the terrians moved to block his way this time.

"This way? Sure. Great, thanks for the tip." He said, giving them a half salute and wondering if they understood him at all. They disappeared as quickly as they had come. Danziger wondered if they had changed his course because they knew where the Eden crew was, or if they simply did not want him going in a certain direction. He probably would never know.

**********

The group moved slowly in the morning, working to pack up in preparation of leaving. Devon wasn't sure they agreed with her that moving forward was the right thing to do, she sensed clearly they were reluctant to begin. But for the first time since John died, no one had dreamt about him. It seemed to accentuate his absense even more.

Devon hadn't seen True at all this morning; she suspected the girl was avoiding her. They were about to take down the tents when Walman approached.

"We have a problem, Devon." he said, pitching his voice low.

"What's that?" she asked. He hesitated. "What?!" she was exasperated now.

"It's the vehicles. They're not starting." Devon was amazed.

"*What*?! Again? All of them?" Walman shook his head.

"Well the TransRover has no response at all and the ATV is equally dead. I haven't checked the Rail." Giving in to her frustration, Devon brought a fist down on the nearest crate.

"What is the problem now?!"

Walman was silent. He had no answers. They turned to face the activity of the camp. Standing, arms crossed in the centre of all the others, was True. She stared at Devon fixedly, defiantly, her chin up, her eyes hard.

"Oh no, True what have you done?" Devon whispered.

True didn't move from her spot which forced Devon to walk out to her. Walman, perplexed, followed.

"True, do you know anything about why Walman can't start our vehicles?" Devon asked, trying hard not to give in to anger, as she had so many times with True's father.

"Yes." True said shortly.

"Well?" Devon asked.

True's eyes flicked from Devon to Walman and back again. Others were starting to gather around to witness. To Devon, who noted their looks, it seemed remarkable that she could still be battling for the leadership over their group with a man who was no longer with them. At least, that's what it felt like to her. She hadn't felt this out-of-control since the day they found out the planet was inhabited.

"They're not going anywhere until we find Dad." True said. Devon was shocked.

"Let me get this straight: you sabotaged our vehicles to get me to agree to go back for your Dad?"

True didn't respond with words. She didn't have to. Devon rubbed her forehead. It was amazing how quickly a headache could emerge. This was unbelievable! She took a deep breath, trying to remain calm.

"True, your father is dead. I'm sorry, more than you know. Julia's sorry. " Devon gestured at the doctor who had joined the crowd. "Yale, Walman, Bess, EVERYONE is sorry. But he *is* dead, True. He's not coming back. This isn't like Commander O'Neill."

True was eerily calm and unemotional.

"No." she said. "No. You're wrong."

"TRUE!" Devon snapped, "A rock crushed his skull, *crushed his skull* True! He is GONE! Please! Let's get into reality here! You are asking us to go back and pick up a corpse!"

"Mom." Uly said, a little distressed at how graphic his mother was being. True, however, didn't even flinch.

"Fine. You think you know everything? You fix the vehicles then, since you're so smart." she jeered. "And don't think that he can help you either." She tossed a scornful look at Walman. "Those vehicles aren't going anywhere without me, and I'm NOT GOING ANYWHERE WITHOUT DAD!!!"

Devon looked at Walman to confirm what she already suspected. He was staring at his boots. If Walman knew what True had done, he would have dealt with it by now. But Devon was damned if she was going to give in to blackmail like this. She glared at True who was glaring right back.

Suddenly, Julia stepped forward.

"I'll go with her." she offered.

"Julia?" Behind Julia, Alonzo made eye contact with Devon.

"The two of us, in the Rail, it won't take long to head back towards that lake. What harm could that do? Either we find him or we don't. At least then it will be over, right? One way or the other." Julia directed this last at True, who was more surprised than Devon at this unexpected support. True acknowledged this.

"Sure. One way or the other." They turned back to Devon.

"What are you looking at me for? Do whatever you want!" Devon threw her hands up in defeat, hearing her voice echo what she'd said to Danziger.

**********

"Julia! Are you sure about this?" Alonzo asked her, as she climbed into the Rail.

"No." she responded truthfully, "But I am sure about one thing. There is something not right about what happened back there. Whether it's the dreams or my scan . . . I just don't feel right about his death."

"Let me come with you." Alonzo urged.

"There's no need and we'll be able to travel faster without you." she responded.

"I think you're just encouraging her to continue in denial." Devon appeared, her voice low so that True, who was fast approaching them, wouldn't hear. Julia met Devon's gaze.

"Fine. You are entitled to that opinion. And honestly?" Julia was shaking her head. "I think *you* have forgotten the reality that life on this planet is vastly different from anything we imagined. And if that is true, well then, so is death."

True had arrived by now, clutching a pair of jumpers and a water bottle. She climbed aboard and gave Devon a hostile glance. They left the camp.

**********

Now that they were alone and away from the camp, Julia was beginning to lose confidence. In the silence between the two of them she contemplated the bridge she had burned. Devon. Just when thay were beginning to forge a friendship. Just when they were beginning to trust each other. 'Geez, Heller, you don't do anything by halves, do you?' she thought to herself. Her lower lip was starting to peel from all the biting. She glanced at True.

True stood, leaning back slightly for balance, her eyes scanning the area in front of them through jumpers. Her chin was set in a posture of determination. It was funny, Julia had never thought of True as resembling John. In fact, she'd even heard John say once that True looked very much like her mother. And yet, watching her now, Julia felt like she was looking at a miniature, female John. Cool, confident, quiet.

"Sit down True." Julia said, pulling her eyes back to face the path ahead. "You're making me nervous."

True didn't even move.

"I can see more this way." she said.

"Well, I can drive faster if you sit down." Julia countered. True considered this for a moment and then slid down to a seated position. Her eyes were still searching. To keep her end of the bargain Julia accelerated a little.

Julia was trying to mentally calculate how far they had come. She figured they were well past the halfway mark. What the heck was she going to do if they found nothing? Much as she would not be happy returning to camp empty handed, Julia was more concerned about the effect on True. The girl believed, *really* believed, that Danziger was alive and out there somewhere. Julia, on the other hand, only vaguely did not believe in his death. She wouldn't be at all surprised to find they were chasing a ghost. They were a long way from finding anything.

"We're going to overheat." True remarked calmly, jerking Julia out of her thoughts. She slowed the vehicle somewhat. "If you go up there," True pointed, "we could stop for a bit and still have a good view."

"Right. Well spotted." Julia said. She pulled to a smooth stop, leaned back and sighed. True hopped out, abandoning the jumpers for an instant, and walked to the back of the Rail. Julia picked up the canteen. She hadn't been looking through the jumpers like True, but she was feeling pretty discouraged. This was relatively flat terrain; if Danziger was vertical, they should be able to spot him easily. The fact that they hadn't only proved that he was either not vertical, or not on their path. Or maybe he's dead and six feet under, Julia's mind cruelly threw at her. She choked on her drink of water.

True returned and picked up the jumpers again.

"We should be OK if we just break for a bit." she informed Julia. Julia nodded, more interested in watching True than scanning the bleak horizon.

"Anything?" she asked, hoping to sound casual and not worried sick like she felt. She passed True the canteen. True took a drink. She didn't meet Julia's questioning eyes.

"No."

True was feeling a lot more discouraged than she looked. She had hoped to find Dad fairly quickly. She couldn't believe they hadn't spotted him. In all her dreams he was moving forward. She wanted to find him more than anything, and not just to wipe that sympathetic, kind smile off Devon Adair's face. And another thing, she didn't have a clue how to fix the vehicles; she was counting on finding Dad to do that. She walked away from the Rail a bit and scanned off to the right. The terrain in that direction had more trees; it made it more interesting to look at.

"True, that's too far south." Julia called to her, "We're heading in a more east, north-east direction."

"Yeah, OK." True acknowledged without moving. She already knew what she would see east, north-east. A big fat nothing. It was too depressing. The wind blew gently in the silence. True's loose hair brushed around her face and she swatted at it impatiently. Just another thing Devon couldn't do as well as Dad - braid her hair.

It was only a fleeting glimpse that she got, and only because her hands had moved when her hair blew around. It was . . . it was hair. No, it couldn't be. Yes, it definitely was hair. True's heart began to pound loudly as she focused in.

"Julia," she whispered choked up all of a sudden. Julia either didn't hear her or didn't think much was up, because she stood staring off in the east, her hands on her hips. "Julia!"

Julia turned to see True shaking. Ohmigosh, did she have sun stroke or something? What was wrong? Julia was at True's side in two strides, placing her hand on the girl's forehead to feel for a temperature. Julia landed heavily on her knees as True pulled her down and thrust the jumpers into the doctor's hands.

"Julia. I saw him. I saw him." True whispered. Julia decided that True was lucid and not suffering from any kind of fever that might bring on hallucinations. Still, she was reluctant to put the jumpers up to her eyes. True's hands guided the visual aid until Julia was in the right area. "Do you see him?"

The wind was blowing his hair and that is what caught Julia's eye. True was already running back to the Rail. Julia hauled herself up to her feet and followed.

**********

There wasn't much activity in the camp. All chores had been taken care of in the previous days; now people were just waiting. Waiting. For some, it was harder than others.

For Alonzo, it was excruciating. If he could have, he would have followed Julia and True. Even being with them on a wild goose chase would be better than this. Alonzo felt bad about the way the camp was splitting into believers and non-believers. Alonzo knew from the Terrians that Danziger's death was an accident of some kind; that it wasn't meant to happen. He even had the feeling from them that maybe it hadn't happened at all.

Even some of those dreaming of Danziger, including Devon Adair, refused to open up to the possibility that death was not always the end. Despite their experience with Commander O'Neill, everyone was pretty resigned to death as being final. It seemed too fantastic that one of the only things you could count on in life - death - could suddenly be undefined by the strangeness of this planet.

Alonzo wished, prayed almost, that Danziger would be found by True and Julia. He wanted them to be right. And he believed that in her heart Devon was wishing the same thing.

**********

True leapt out of the vehicle and started running even before Julia had brought it to a halt near John's body. To Julia, it was eerily like finding him in the cave; he was lying in the same position, face down. True reached him as Julia yanked her bag from behind her seat. Julia ran over to the two of them while True tugged on her father's arm and managed to roll him over.

"He's breathing." she told Julia, who was strapping on her diaglove. True sat cradling his head in her lap, brushing his hair off his face. The wind kept blowing it around making her task more difficult. "Julia?" True's voice was small, and not the confident one who challenged Devon, "Is he gonna be OK?"

This time, Julia vowed to herself, this time there will be something I can do.

"Let me check." she said, scanning with the glove. "He's dehydrated. And malnourished. Well, I can help with those things." She routed quickly through her bag and efficiently administered what she could. True continued to stroke Danziger's face and tried to calm herself. She wished her heart would stop pounding. The nightmare was over, she thought. What would she do if she woke up now? No, this time it wasn't a dream.

"I'm going to get the water." Julia informed her.

Danziger felt himself coming back into consciousness. He hadn't been asleep, he knew this because there hadn't been any dreams. So he must have passed out. Perhaps this was death coming at last. Light blinded him and he blinked to try to focus. He could fuzzily see the outline of a head, surrounded by light. Yes, this must be death. Then True leaned over him, blocking the sunlight, and her face came into focus sharply. He opened his mouth to say her name but his throat was so dry.

"I found you Daddy, I found you." she was saying. He reached up an arm to touch her face with his hand. He couldn't believe she was real and not just another dream. She grabbed his hand in hers and pressed it to her check. "I'm right here Dad." A tear fell from her eyes onto his face. She whispered to him "I'm not going anywhere without you." Her tears fell more freely. It was then that he began to believe that he was alive after all.

"Danziger." Another voice was speaking. "Here, try to drink this." It was Julia. She was trying to get him to drink some water. He struggled to sit up, with True's help. He leaned heavily on her while Julia held the water up to his lips. Then Julia sat back and stared with awe.

"I never really believed we would find you." she breathed. "My God, it's a miracle."

"You can say that again." Danziger said hoarsely, for lack of any better response. His arm closely firmly around True. After endless nights of not being able to comfort her it felt very good to have her solidly pressed beside him. True, for her part, was holding very tightly to him. She knew he wasn't a ghost; a ghost did not have a body one could hug.

Julia pulled her gear up onto her head and prepared to contact the camp.

"Wait!" True held out her arm. Her eyes sparkled with tears and mischief. "Wouldn't you rather see the expression on their faces?"

Julia hesitated. The professional, genetically engineered doctor in her was saying that it was irresponsible to break off communication with the camp, especially in light of their fantastic discovery. But a tiny part of her agreed with True that it would be more exciting to drive into camp with Danziger alive and see everyone's eyes pop out of their heads. She pulled the gear off.

"We'd better get a move on before it gets dark."

**********

Devon's fingers drummed annoyingly on the communications table. Bess resisted the urge to grab the other woman's hand in order to stop the sound.

"Try again." Devon said quietly. "Please." she added as an after thought.

Bess cleared her throat and moved her mike back into place.

"This is Eden crew to Heller. Please come in." Not being able to stand it any longer Bess placed a gentle hand over Devon's, forcing the drumming to stop. "Julia, are you reading me?"

Devon pulled her hand away from Bess and stood up to pace. Bess sighed. This had been going on for hours.

"Devon, it's no use. Either they are out of our range, or she doesn't have the gear on."

Devon could not accept that sensible, practical Julia would intentionally switch off her gear. Therefore, they must be out of range. Yet, Walman had estimated that in this flat territory Julia and True could make it all the way back to the lake without losing communications. Then Yale had informed her that in order to travel the distance required to get out of communications range, Julia would have had to drive for two days continuously. As in, without stopping. Devon knew from experience that the Rail would not drive continuously, not even for one day.

If they hadn't had to make any detours, and travelling at the Rail's maximum speed Julia and True should have made it back to the lake by mid-afternoon. This, of course, also assumed that the Rail hadn't broken down, or overheated, or powered out. If, if, if - Devon felt like she was going crazy. Something must have happened to them. There were so many dangers: penal colonists, ZEDs, . . . unknowns. Devon felt responsible for every member of her team. She wasn't dealing well with the loss of Danziger. She couldn't accept that she may have lost his daughter as well. Not to mention their only doctor. Her friends. Her responsibility.

"I never should have let them go." Devon said, to no one in particular.

"I don't remember you being given a choice." Alonzo pointed out, joining them.

"There's always a choice." Devon responded. "At least, that's what Danziger used to tell me."

Bess wearily pulled the gear off her head and rubbed her ears. Alonzo picked up the gear and began to scan for Julia's signal. It was useless, but it gave him something to do with his hands.

"And we can't even go after them . . . Damn True! She's too clever for her own good." Devon sat back down at the table. It was starting to get dark.

Uly poked his head around the tent flap and saw his Mom sitting at the table running her hands through her hair. She looked tired. Bess looked tired too. Uly came in and took his Mom's hand. She pulled him up into her lap and gave him a hug. Arms wrapped around her neck he tried to comfort her.

"Everything's gonna be alright." Uly said, very serious. Bess looked up; even Alonzo swung around to stare at the boy. Devon rubbed his back.

"What makes you say that?" she asked. He was very thoughtful.

"I don't know." he finally answered. "But the uneasy feeling I've had ever since True and I were in that cave, well, it's gone now."

Devon smiled down at her son. He was trying so hard to cheer her up. She would show him some appreciation. "Thanks, Uly." she whispered into his hair. He hugged her harder. He sensed that she didn't believe him, but Uly knew that everything was fine. Soon, Mom would know that too.

**********

Julia drove more slowly after dark trying hard to spot familiar landmarks. She hadn't really been paying that much attention on the way out, she realized; she'd been so preoccupied with worry. She was convinced that her compass wasn't working properly and so she wasn't entirely certain that they were heading in the right direction.

True sat looking backwards at Danziger, whose large frame was sprawled in the small space behind the seats. The theory was that at least this way he could try to rest. The reality was that the cramped space, coupled with all the bumps of the road, was making rest very difficult. Each jarring motion of the Rail further entrenched a headache that was rapidly overtaking his entire head.

Julia pulled to a stop. She twisted around to check her patient. Danziger gave her a weak smile.

"Tell me we're home." he whispered, knowing they were still out in the middle of nowhere. Julia absentmindedly took hold of his wrist to check his pulse. She then pulled her mike up to her mouth and prepared once again to contact the camp.

"I have to call them, True." she said. "I think we're lost and we have to get back as soon as possible. Besides, Devon's probably really worried. We should have either returned or called in by now."

"I don't really care much about Devon." True said cruelly. Danziger was surprised at her tone. He reached forward to give her hand a squeeze, but when she didn't respond he decided now was probably not the best time to get into it. Julia began to drive again as she turned on the gear.

"Eden crew, this is Heller. Do you copy?" There wasn't even a pause.

"Heller, this is Eden. Where the Hell have you been?!" Julia's heart flipped a little at the sound of Devon's angry voice. Nervously, she accelerated a little.

"That's kinda a long story. I'd rather not get into it now."

"Julia!" Devon's voice was sharp but also filled with anxiety. "What's going on? Are you guys OK?"

If Devon's voice had agitated Julia, the obvious worry in it only accentuated this. She was driving very quickly now. True grabbed hold of the railing to maintain her seat as they bounced along. A particularly large bounce caused Danziger to cry out,

"Geez Julia! Take it easy!" Julia whipped her head around to look at Danziger anxiously.

"Julia?" Devon was calling her, "What was that? Julia, are you still there?"

"We're OK." Julia tried to calm herself, "We're heading back now. We're . . . AHHHHH!" Julia slammed on the brakes, skidding the Rail's wheels on the rocky ground. True's small body was thrown against the front of the vehicle and Danziger's head came into painful contact with the floor of the Rail. Immediately ahead of them on the path, two terrians had appeared.

**********

Back in the communications tent Devon and Alonzo exchanged worried looks.

"Julia!" Alonzo called into his own mike. "Julia!! Are you still there?"

"Can you get a fix on them?" asked Devon to Bess, who was leaning over the map.

"Yeesss." Bess said hesitantly, then she frowned. "That can't be right. That's way too far south." She looked to Devon for confirmation. Devon's eyes scanned the map; she could only see what Bess had.

**********

"Ohmigosh, ohmigosh." Julia was saying, "I nearly hit them." She closed her eyes, her hands were trembling. True disengaged herself from the twisted position of her landing and put a hand on Julia's arm.

"Are you OK?" she asked Julia. Julia could only nod. Words were stuck in her throat.

"Nearly hit what?" Alonzo was asking in her ear. He could hear True's voice from a distance, but no Julia. "Julia? Please, please answer me! What did you hit?"

Danziger pulled himself to a seated position with great effort. Nobody knew how to drive this thing with any kind of respect, he was thinking. Small wonder when it broke down! He tried to focus on whatever it was that caused Julia to decide to stop suddenly. Hey! He knew those guys! They were the ones who showed him the way. With difficulty he pulled one leg and then the other over the side of the Rail. Still leaning against the solid, unmoving vehicle he stood before the terrians.

"What are you doing?" asked Julia.

"JULIA!!" Alonzo was shouting in her ear. Annoyed and distracted she turned the gear off. Danziger turned to her.

"I've run into these two before. The last time they changed my direction. Follow the direction of the staff." Danziger said, climbing in beside True. Sure enough, one of the terrians pointed with his staff, changing their course significantly. Slowly, Julia turned the vehicle and drove past the two figures. True's eyes never left them and her head turned until she was facing backwards again.

"They're gone now."

**********

Devon dozed leaning against the communications table. Sometime in the night Uly had returned to her arms and now he slept soundly in them.

Alonzo stared up at the sky which was turning pale in the new dawn. There had been no further contact with Julia or True since they had "nearly hit" something. The communications signal had been lost and their last known position was so far out of their way that Alonzo suspected something had malfunctioned.

Bess had left for her tent after Morgan had sleepily come looking for her. Everyone else, he felt, was at the end of the proverbial rope as far as emotions were concerned. First John's death, then the dreams and True's sabotage, now this. It was a lot to handle in one week.

Alonzo had pretty much made up his mind that he would head out as soon as it was light enough. It didn't matter to him if the map was wrong or that he would be on foot; he had to do something. Even if it meant launching a search party south instead of east. If he found Julia, no *when* he found Julia, he wasn't sure whether he would kill her for putting him through this, or kiss her with relief. He was contemplating this (and leaning towards the kiss) when he heard the approaching Rail.

In the stillness of early morning the sound appeared to be coming from all directions, but Alonzo turned towards the south and sure enough there it was.

"Devon." he gave her a nudge. "Devon, they're back." Devon jerked awake. She carefully put Uly down and followed Alonzo.

From this distance she could see that Julia and True were alone. True must have been asleep, because Julia was giving her shoulder a little push. Rubbing her eyes True somberly took stock of their surroundings. Devon and Alonzo waited by Julia's tent for her to enter the camp. Those who had been sleeping lightly soon popped their heads out their tents and activity in the camp increased.

All that worry, all that anger, for nothing, Devon was thinking. What will True do now? Will she ever forgive me?

Alonzo could not help but feel disappointed that Julia was returning to camp empty handed. This one was going to take some time to get over, he felt.

Julia brought the Rail to a rough stop in front of her tent and hopped out.

"Alonzo, can you give me a hand, please?" she asked quietly. Alonzo moved forward, this brought the body of Danziger into view. At first, Alonzo thought maybe they'd gone back to the grave and dug him up. But then True was waking him and it quickly became obvious that John Danziger was very much alive, if not very well, and back with them.

The group gave a collective gasp of shock before they began moving in towards the Rail. True remained where she was, a protective arm around her Dad's neck. Julia was helping him up and trying to keep the mob at bay.

"People, c'mon! Give us some space please!"

Alonzo offered his shoulder for Danziger to lean on and between the two of them they managed to get him into Julia's tent. Where before there had only been glum faces there was now jubilance. How this had occurred didn't seem to matter for now.

Devon hung back watching from a distance. She felt like if she tried to move she might just collapse. Her knees were like jelly. Uly appeared at her side and slipped his small hand into hers.

"I told you everything was going to be alright." he said, smiling up at her. She accepted his smile wordlessly. It would seem that Danziger's life was proving no less a shock than his death.

**********

When Julia finally emerged from her tent it was to be greeted by questions from all. She put up her hands to stop them.

"Hey, I don't know. I really don't know. We found him face down on the ground. He'd been travelling from the south."

"Julia?" Devon voice was still somewhat choked with emotion. "He is going to be alright?" Julia nodded. Devon took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"I don't *believe* this!" Morgan was saying. "This is too fantastic for words!"

"Oh Morgan who cares?" Bess cried gaily, throwing her arms around him.

**********

Devon tried to inconspicuously enter Julia's tent. Julia had gone with Alonzo to get something to eat and they had somehow managed to pry True away from John for some food as well. There he was. Alive.

"You come to stare at the dead or are you going to talk to me as well?" he asked. Devon smiled and moved forward to sit beside him.

"You bastard!" she said, with feeling. "You put us through Hell this last week."

"Well," Danziger chuckled, "that's nothing compared to what you did to me. After all, I didn't *bury* you!"

Anxiety flew to Devon's eyes.

"My God, John, we didn't . . . I mean, you weren't really . . . " He quickly grabbed her arm with one hand to stop this flood of guilt.

"No you didn't." he assured her. "I don't know who, or what, you put in that grave, but it wasn't me." Devon sighed and closed her eyes. She put her hand in his.

"Danziger, I have to say this. If I don't say it now, while you're still recovering, then I will lose my nerve and I know I won't be able to say it once you're up and running at full capacity, as it were."

John managed to look both amused and intrigued.

"Adair, I can't believe I could scare *you* into losing your nerve."

Devon took a deep breath for courage.

"I'm sorry." she said. "I'm so sorry."

" 'bout what?"

"About . . . about not believing. Not going back for you."

"Hey," he stopped her, "it was pretty unbelievable."

"Not so. I dreamed too."

Danziger nodded.

"I know."

Devon's face flushed. She couldn't hold his gaze. Of course he knew. He knew she had turned away from him when he needed her. Staring at John's hands, still holding her own, Devon again tried to imagine his fingers threading a needle.

"Devon." He waited until she looked back up. "It *was* pretty unbelievable." He repeated. She nodded slightly. Danziger struggled up to sit on the edge of the cot. "You know, I've been meaning to thank you."

"For what?" Devon asked smiling.

"Looking out for True." Devon's smile vanished.

"I didn't do such a good job of that." she said, avoiding his eyes again.

"Oh, I think you did pretty well." he said wryly. He cleared his throat. "All the time I was dreaming about everyone, the worst dreams were the ones with True in them. She was so unhappy. I thought I'd never see her again, but I knew you'd be there for her. I knew she'd be OK."

"John," Devon began. "You should know . . ."

"She told me what happened." Danziger said running a hand through his hair ruefully thinking about what True had done to the vehicles. It was going to take some work to get them functioning again! "Resourceful. Stubborn. Pain in the ass." He grinned. "Just like her ol' Dad."

"I missed you, John." Devon said with feeling. She laughed. "A lot."

**********

The group had gathered around the fire once again and for the first time since Danziger's ghost story there was a feeling of camaraderie. Even Danziger made it out of Julia's tent. Leaning on Alonzo for support, and with True holding his hand, he joined the circle.

"Anyone for a good story?" he joked, bringing laughter.

There was an awkward silence as the group settled around the fire. Morgan felt an uncanny sense of deja vu. Finally, he cleared his throat drawing everyone's attention.

"Isn't anyone curious about what happened? Does anyone know?" His voice wavered.

Eyes moved from Morgan to Danziger, who remained silent.

"I know." Uly piped up. Surprised, everyone turned towards the boy. "There was something in that cave, right?" He looked at Danziger and then Alonzo.

"Ya, I think you're right." Alonzo said. "Something that lives with the Terrians. Something that doesn't understand the concept of death and how serious it really is."

"It was with us the night of the ghost story; it was watching us." Morgan added. "I felt it. And in my dream, there were two Danzigers."

"In my dream too!" said Uly. "There was Danziger telling the story and Danziger watching the group."

"Two of him?" Devon asked. "Why two?"

"One was me and one was . . . was this thing." Danziger said. "This thing that wanted to try being human. I don't know how, but it must have somehow become me while I was sleeping on the ridge. Then it died, not me."

"Why would something want to be you if you were dead?" asked Bess, confused.

"Well, if it had been listening to Danziger's story, it probably didn't think death was that big a deal. It probably thought death would be very amusing. After all, you get to haunt people afterwards." Alonzo said with a smile.

"Which is exactly what happened." Devon said thoughtfully. "My God! That's what was going on. You were haunting us in our dreams, just like the ghost story."

Danziger was shaking his head, chuckling.

"I always thought being a ghost would be more fun, but now I can't say I'd recommend it."

**********

True watched her Dad sleeping. It was going to be nice to sleep without those haunting nightmares but she wasn't sleepy yet. She felt like she could stare at her Dad for hours, just watching his chest rise and fall. She hoped she would never feel scared again.

Suddenly, outside she heard Devon's voice. She was talking to Morgan, who was on the night guard. Dad had spoken to her about Devon. He had told her that Devon had been trying to do the right thing. For the group and for her. True left the tent quietly.

She followed Devon back to her tent but it wasn't until Devon was nearly at the door that she became aware of the girl.

"True! My God, you scared me!" Devon stifled a cry, "What are doing out here?"

"I need to talk to you." True whispered.

"OK," Devon lowered her voice as well. "What's up?"

"I'm sorry I sabotaged the vehicles and blackmailed you." True said, frankly, "but I'm not sorry that I went out to look for him."

"Me neither." Devon agreed. "I don't think anyone is. Ah . . . True I have to say I'm sorry too. I wasn't very understanding. I wish I'd listened more carefully to you." And a few others, she added silently.

True shrugged. Now that Dad was back she wasn't going to hold a grudge.

"Hey," she said suddenly, pointing up, "Look at that!"

Twin falling stars streaked across the sky. Devon gasped. True turned to her a large grin splitting her face. It was a look Devon hadn't seen for a long time. It was a look she knew she could never evoke from the girl.

"Make a wish."

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page