Winter Solstice, Part 2
by Lia Faile
The two women stepped outside the Med Tent into the bright brisk day. The winter days weren't so bad. It was the nights that were a bear. Julia was glad she had Alonzo to snuggle up with. The snow crunched loudly beneath their boots as they headed aimlessly away from camp. Neither spoke as they walked. Devon kept glancing around and behind them. Julia kept her eyes on Devon and her hand on the hypodermic gun hidden in her coat pocket. She didn't want to be caught alone with someone suffering from some type of delusion without a sedative handy.
Devon finally stopped in a long wide clearing cluttered with fallen trees and rocks. She stood fidgeting with her coat buttons, looking everywhere but at Julia. "You said something about dreams?" Julia prompted, tilting her head quizzically. Devon cleared her throat several times and rubbed her nose with the back of her hand. "Yes, dreams. What do dreams mean, Julia?" Julia immediately switched into her doctor mode.
"Well we really don't know what purpose, if any, dreams serve. We do know that REM sleep is necessary for mental and physical health. Alonzo's claim that he didn't dream really can't be true. He may not have remembered his dreams prior to crashing on the planet, but that just goes to show that remembering them isn't a necessary part of the process. There are several schools of thought on the subject of dreams and dream interpretations." She began to pace slowly while she lectured. "Some say dreams are meaningless. A sort of mental hiccup. That the brain just simply throws random images together. Some believe that dreams are manifestations of our conscious fears or worries. Still others think that dreams represent our hidden selves and secret desires." Julia stopped pacing and looked at Devon. "It would help me if I knew what your dream was about...specifically." Devon's chest began to heave as her breath quickened sending little puffs of steam wafting into the air in rapid succession. Suddenly she threw up her hands spinning around she shouted. "Oh God, Julia! I've been having _sex dreams_ about JOHN DANZIGER!!" She buried her face in her hands after saying this, too embarrassed to look at her friend.
Julia's professional demeanor cracked. Letting go of the hypodermic, she pressed her hands against her mouth in a effort to keep herself from laughing. Her mirth refused to be detained. First it trickled out around the edges of her fingers as little giggles. Then the dam burst spewing forth peals of laughter into the air. Devon lifted her head from her hands staring at Julia incredulously. Julia sat down in the snow, her body rocking and her eyes tearing. Looking up into Devon's shocked expression, she wiped her eyes and regained some composure. "I'm sorry, Devon! I'm not laughing at you! It's just that you had me worried that you were on the verge of a catastrophic breakdown. Only to find out that you're having wet dreams about John Danziger!" The laughter threatened to bubble out again, but she managed to suppress it. Julia got up, brushed the snow from her rear and guided her friend to a nearby rock to sit. "Now tell me about your dream."
A half hour later, Devon stopped talking and looked at Julia for a reaction. "What does it all mean? Do I secretly want John? Am I afraid of him? Or is my brain just misfiring?" Julia had listened to Devon's erotic descriptions and was a little concerned now about her own ability to look the man in the eyes again herself! No wonder Devon turned scarlet at the suggestion that she talk to Alonzo! She debated whether she should tell Devon about the "pool" that Alonzo had started with the others on when those two were finally going to stop yelling at each other and start kissing. No, she decided, better not. Knowledge of the bets would most likely send Devon over the edge. She didn't want to see Devon going after him with a hatchet.
Julia drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Well Devon, you're just going to have to sit down, think it over and decide that for yourself." "You're absolutely no help at all, you know." Devon replied crossly. Julia arched an eyebrow at Devon. "Yeah, I'm about as helpful as you and Bess were when I was in a quandary over Alonzo." Devon started to chuckle and Julia joined in.
"Oh, Julia! What am I thinking of?" Devon ran her hands through her russet hair pulling none to gently in exasperation. "John Danziger can barely stand my company! If he sees me coming he practically runs the other way. He avoids touching me like I've got some nasty disease. Plus we can't say more than two words without fighting." "Maybe he doesn't trust himself with you." "Oh yeah, right!" Devon snorted inelegantly. "And he secretly loves the Terrians too!" Julia twisted her mouth to keep it from betraying her amusement. "You're right. The mere sight of you must really disgust him." Devon looked shocked and hurt until she noticed how hard Julia was trying not to laugh. "Aw, now you're going to get it!" Devon's eyes got a devilish gleam to them. She reached down and scooped up some snow. Julia jumped up to run, but the snowball hit home against the side of her head. Hollering in mock rage, Julia made her own icy missile and returned fire. Soon the women were running around shrieking like school girls having the first snowball fight of their lives.
Alonzo sauntered out of the Dome just in time to see Devon and Julia heading out of camp. He was about to call out to the retreating women to wait up for him. When his attention was caught be a stream of colorful language that while crude was very creative. He poked his head around the side of the Dome to investigate what was causing Danziger so much grief. The big man was sprawled on the ground with as much of his massive frame crammed beneath the Dome's main generator as possible. With all the wiring hanging down out of the generator, he looked like Hercules doing battle with the Hydra. Only this Hercules was losing--badly.
Alonzo walked over to the generator and squatted down next to Danziger's legs. "Lose your comb again, John?" The cursing and banging stopped. A pair of hands reached out from under the generator and pulled the rest of the mechanic out. Danziger sat up, grabbed a rag and wiped his hands. "You been talking to Baines, Solace?" Danziger's voice was deceptively neutral but his eyes held a promise of pain. Never one to back away from danger, Alonzo grinned eagerly. If he couldn't fly or make love to Julia, he might as well have some fun tormenting Danziger a bit. Besides, he was still curious over why Danziger really punched him. Alonzo absently stroked his jawline with two fingers. Damn, it still hurt! He'd been in his fair share of bar brawls in his day. Hell, he'd started a few! He recognized the punch of a jealous lover.
"Baines said you were in Devon's room last night fighting with her. What's the matter? Aren't there enough hours in the day for you two to go toe to toe that you have to harass the poor woman while she's sleeping?" Alonzo grinned. Danziger frowned. "I wasn't in there fighting with her. She screamed for me. I didn't know it was a dream and went charging in there. We ended up scaring each other, that's all." Alonzo's eyebrows shot up. This was very interesting. "Hmmm...I wonder what Devon Adair is dreaming of that has her screaming your name?" Danziger chose to ignore the bait. "Don't know, she wouldn't tell me." He said this in a clipped tone meant to show he didn't wish to discuss it further. He busied himself with the solar panels on top of the generator.
"Just wondering how this will influence the bets, that's all." Alonzo said smoothly. The big man turned icy eyes on the pilot. "Bets?" Oh, that got Danziger's attention he thought. "Yeah, someone started a pool on when you two are going to drop this big act of yours and get down to some serious lovin'." Danziger gave Alonzo a frosty smile. "A pool? Now I wonder which 'someone' started it?" Grinning like a Cheshire cat Alonzo merely shrugged. "Well. whoever did, better hope Devon doesn't get wind of it. She'll clip his wings permanently." After giving this warning, Danziger again returned to his work.
"Besides," the burly man grumbled, "we don't fight all the time." Alonzo's upper lip twitched. "Well, I wouldn't exactly call what you two do fighting." Danziger sensed a trap, but he asked the next question anyway. "What do you call it?" Alonzo's always handy smile broke free of its moorings. "Foreplay." Danziger straightened up to his full height, stepped towards the smirking man and glared down at him menacingly. "Maybe I didn't hit you hard enough in the spider cave, Solace." His words soft as velvet. Laughing Alonzo threw his hands in the air in a gesture of surrender. "Oh no, friend! You hit me plenty hard!" Rolling his eyes upward in appeal, Danziger gave him his best no nonsense look that was usually reserved for True. "Look, either clear out or help me with this hunk of junk."
"What's that noise?" Devon stopped, held her breath so she could hear the noise that Julia was asking about. Just when she was about to tell Julia she didn't hear anything, Devon became aware of a rumbling that was heading in their direction. "Thunder?" She ventured hesitantly. "Maybe we should head back. I have some experiments I need to get back to." Julia turned and headed back towards the trees that lined the edge of the wide clearing they had been running around in. Devon started to follow her. Then she stopped. Not only could she hear the rumbling, now she could feel it. This noise was lasting longer than any thunder they had ever heard since arriving on the planet. Plus Devon never remembered feeling thunder. Glancing over her shoulder up towards the mountain top, Devon saw a sight that made her question her sanity for the second time that day. "Oh my God." She whispered. Julia turned, and she stood dumbfounded too. The mountain had come alive.
A raging frozen white tidal wave was racing down the mountain side headed straight for them. Julia looked around at the wide area littered with broken trees and tossed rocks, and saw the clearing for what it really was. "We're in an avalanche run!" Julia gaged the distance they would have to cover to reach the safety of the standing trees that marked the run's boundary. She grabbed Devon's sleeve and started pulling her in a futile dash for safety. Julia switched on her gear in an attempt to call base camp for help. Just as she managed to get a signal through, they were engulfed by the frozen foam. Julia had the breath knocked out of her as she was lifted and tumbled within the white fury. Instinctively she tried to swim, but her sense of direction had been scrambled. Was she swimming up to safety, or digging deeper into a frosty grave? Something big and hard struck her, or she struck it. Regardless of liability Julia slipped into unconsciousness, and was carried along with the tide of snow.
Danziger stopped, looked up, and scanned the glaring whiteness with squinted eyes. "Hey, did you hear something?" Alonzo looked up from the generator, tilted his head and listened intently. "I thought...maybe...naw." He finally answered shaking his head. Magus came running out of the Dome. "John!" "Back here!" He took one look at the woman's eyes and saw trouble. "What's wrong?" He asked this with a nonchalance he didn't feel. "I don't know." She replied puffing in short quick breaths of air. "Julia's gear channel is open but she isn't transmitting. The only image coming over is a grainy whiteness." Danziger yanked his gear out of his pocket and jammed it onto his head. "Maybe it's just a glitch?" Magus offered feeblely. Flipping the eyepiece in place, he studied the image. "Un uh...it's not a glitch. Looks like she dropped her gear in the snow." "That doesn't sound like Julia. She doesn't drop or misplace anything." Alonzo pulled Danziger's gear from his head and set it on his own. "Julia? Julia, come in!"
Tearing the gear off his head and tossing it back at the mechanic, Alonzo strode purposefully towards the Dune Rail. "Hey! Where you going?!" "To find her! This isn't right! She left camp with Devon a while ago, and Devon was acting strange." John trotted after the pilot, and grabbed his coat sleeve. "Alonzo! Don't go charging off half cocked. If Devon's with her let me try to contact her." He replaced the gear on his head. "Danziger to Adair." A long pause. "Devon this is John, please respond." he shifted restlessly and fiddled with the gear's controls just above his ear. "Devon doesn't even have her gear turned on." He muttered. "That's not like her." He shot Alonzo a worried look. "You said Devon was acting funny...How?"
"She looked sick and was acting real nervous." Alonzo shrugged out of Danziger's gripe, and headed for the rail again. "We're wasting time! I gotta go find her!" Danziger seized the pilot's sleeve again. "Whoa! Hold up, Cowboy! No need to go racing off in a tizzy. Let me see if I can get a fix off of Julia's gear signal." Again he played with the controls at his ear frowning in concentration. "Julia's signal is about four kilometers away." His frown deepened. "They say they were going hiking?" "They didn't say anything! Come on! Let's go!" Alonzo jerked his sleeve from Danziger's hand and rushed to the rail.
"Magus, keep handy. We'll let you know what's up when we get there. No need to get everyone upset over nothing, so don't say anything until you hear from us.--Especially to Uly." Magus nodded and turned to go back into the Dome. Danziger had to take a running jump into the rail's passenger's seat as Alonzo tore westward out of camp.
Alonzo was forced to bring the racing rail to a stop. They had come to a wall of snow well over six feet tall and stretching down the mountain as far as the eye could see. "Where'd the hell did that come from?!" John's mouth went dry and he felt his stomach flip flop. A terrible realization stung his brain. "That sound I heard, it must have been an avalanche." "Avalanche?!" "Yeah...Yale was telling us about them. Said it was something we had to be careful of with all the recent snow fall the last few days." Staring at the hugh white mass in awe, Danziger touched it. "I just never imagined...it's enormous." "Where's Julia's signal, John?" A pale Danziger pointed at the drift. "They must have been caught in it. Carried down the mountain by it."
"JULIA!!" Alonzo plunged into the snow. Danziger hot on his heels. "Wait! Her signal is closer to the edge of the slide further down the mountain. They must of saw it coming and tried to out run it." Alonzo took a shaky breath and said calmly, "Okay, where?" Danziger skirted the edge of the avalanche following the doctor's gear signal. Hoping as he trudged through the soft snow that Julia was near her gear if not attached to it. Hoping Devon was close by. Praying that they both were still alive. Danziger's gut clenched. How long had it been since he heard the slide? How long could the women survive being buried alive? How much oxygen was trapped in the loosely packed snow? Determinately he shoved these whirling thoughts to the back of his mind and concentrated on locating Julia's gear. One thing at a time he told himself.
John stopped. They'd reached the spot where Julia's gear should be. He saw nothing but whiteness and trees. He stepped a little ways into the drift and started to dig. His hand closed around Julia's gear not quite a meter down. He began to stick his arms into the snow searching for Julia herself. Alonzo joined in the frantic search for the woman. It was cold, but he was sweating. He reached up to wipe his eye where an errant bead of sweat had invaded. Looking out across the white expanse he felt his soul shrink. She was gone. This time when he wiped his eye it wasn't because of sweat. A silvery glint jumped out from the sparkling glare of the snow and caught his eye. He crawled over to it to investigate. It was a sliver ring. And it was attached to a thumb that was barely poking out of the snow. Julia!
"John! I've found Julia!" Danziger rushed over to help Alonzo dig her out. Luckily she had only been covered with a few inches of snow. "Careful! She could have injuries." Danziger gave her a perfunctory examination. She was unconscious but her color looked good. Her chest rose and fell. She was breathing. He lightly tapped her cheeks in an attempt to bring her around. "Come on girl, wake up." After a moment he was rewarded with a bewildered, unfocused blue gaze. "John? What happened?" "Alright! You recognize me, good! Now do you know who this ugly fellow next to me is?" She turned her head and whispered. "Alonzo." Alonzo leaned down and kissed her. "Okay Julia, can you wiggle your fingers and toes for me? Good."
Julia sat up, put her head in her hands and groaned. "Ooh, I must have a concussion. My eyes can't seem to focus." She rubbed her head, and suddenly remembered what had happened. "My God! The avalanche!" She twisted her head around rapidly aggravating her dizziness. "Where's Devon?!" Alonzo stroked her shoulders. "We don't know. Was she with you when the slide hit?" Julia covered her mouth with her hand and nodded. Julia struggled to her feet.
"We've got to find her!"
A stony faced Danziger turned to Alonzo. "Take her back to camp as fast as you can. Bring everyone that you can back, including Zero. His sensors might be able to locate her..." The word 'body' stuck in his throat and refused to move. Nodding, Alonzo took Julia by the shoulders and steered her towards the path that lead to the waiting rail. "NO!" Julia spun around and grabbed Danziger's arm to keep from falling. "You'll need me when you find her." Danziger's stony veneer cracked and he unleashed his fury on her. "You are going back to camp and treating yourself! You are useless to me in your condition!" He shoved her backwards into Alonzo. "Why is it you women argue with me everytime I open my mouth?! Get back to camp! You are wasting time that Devon doesn't have!" Alonzo pulled her away from the drift. "He's right, Julia."
Danziger retrieved a long branch from the slide. Methodically he began to gingerly probe the snow. His face reverted back to a mask. Again he shut his mind down to the whirling voices in his head that whispered "too late, too late." Finally the stick hit something that didn't feel like rock or earth. Mentally crossing his fingers, he tossed the stick away. He dug furiously scooping hugh handfuls of snow aside with his bare hands ignoring the burning sensation that the frigid snow caused.
Then his hands were brushing snow away from the back of Devon's blue coat. His breath was choppy with exertion. He stared at her inert form for a second. Closed his eyes and offered up a silent plead to whomever might be listening. Grasping her shoulder he pulled her up out of the hole and rolled her onto her back. An invisible icy hand reached into his chest and squeezed. She was as pale as a porcelain doll except her lips were a cyanotic blue. He pulled open the front of her coat and shirt, feeling for a heart beat or signs of breathing. None. "TOO LATE! TOO LATE!" The voices railed in his head. "NO!" He gave an animalistic roar and dragged Devon out of the drift to firmer ground where he could attempt to resuscitate her.
Not again. Not again! He'd lost one woman to Fate, he wasn't giving this one up. Not without a fight. He'd worry about broken bones and internal injuries later. Right now he needed to get her breathing again. He laid her on her back then straightened her legs and arms. Tearing off his coat so he could work unfettered, he shook her by the shoulder and called her name to see if that would produce a response. When it didn't, he checked her airway to make sure it was clear. Tipping back her head, he pinched her nose close with one hand and held her jaw open with the other. He took a deep breath and sealing his mouth over hers he puffed three rapid breaths into her lungs. He watched to make sure her chest rose and fell with each puff. Then he paused a few seconds to see if she would take a breath on her own. Nothing. Putting his left palm on the back of his right hand, he interlaced the fingers and positioned the heel of his right hand. He gave her chest four rapid pumps and leaned forward to give her two more puffs of air. "Come on, Devon!" How long he kept this up he couldn't guess. He only knew he wouldn't stop until they dragged him away from her.
He leaned over to breath into her lungs again, when he feel a soft breath against his lips. At first he thought he'd imagined it, but then she took a deeper breath and coughed. Danziger felt his entire body unclench and fill with relief. He laid his forehead against hers and gave a delighted chuckle. "That's it sweetheart, deep breaths." He hugged her to him. Cupping her cheek, he kissed her. Her movements told him she was coming around, and then he lifted his head up and watched as her eyelids fluttered open. "John?" Still cupping her cheek he stroked her lips with his thumb. "Welcome back."
A terrible shudder racked her body. "I'm so cold." She stuttered through chattering teeth. Danziger noticed that she was caked in melting snow. It seemed to have crept in everywhere. Her hair was soaked with it's watery remains, and her coat was useless since the inside was full of it. She wasn't out of danger yet. He pulled off her soddened coat and outer shirt. Picking up his discarded coat, he wrapped it around her shoulders. Hefting her up in his arms he headed out to meet the rail. Devon lifted her head and squirmed feeblely. "Put me down, I can walk." Looking down into her eyes he gave a laugh. "Lady, I don't care if you can fly! I'm not letting you go. I swear you enjoy scaring the piss out of me!"
While Devon tried to analyze the possible meaning behind that cryptic statement, Alonzo came careening towards them in the rail. Walman and Baines jumped outed, whooping with relief. Then went to explore the sight of the avalanche. Yale rushed forward as if to relieve Danziger of his burden. Danziger stopped and tightened his grasp on Devon. Daring the older man to try and take her from him. Devon had given up and was burrowed against his chest seeking out his warmth. Shudders still shook her body. Returning Danziger's challenging stare Yale nodded his head once. Devon no longer needed his fatherly attentions. He wrapped a blanket around the both of them, Danziger climbed into the rail with his prize clutched against his heart.
-The End-
Chapter End Notes:
I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who. --Kipling
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who. --Kipling