Devon Alone V: The Dream, The Dark and The Light by Nicole Mayer

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DEVON, ALONE Part V
The Dream, the Dark, and the Light (8/11)
by Nicole Mayer

"Damn it!!!"

...John? Is that you?...

"Somebody get a doctor!"

...her head hurt...

"I thought you knew what you were doing!"

...that was Morgan's voice...

"Hold on, Devon, you can't give up on us now."

...she saw flashes of gleaming metal...

"She's not gonna make it."

...there were wires everywhere...

"Put her back!"

...no, not cold sleep again...

"She can't live like this."

...live like what?...

"You cannot let her die."

...But I will not die here...

***

Paying no heed to the danger lurking in the sky, Danziger, Julia and Uly raced for Devon as time seemed to slow down around them. Smoke rose from the ground, and no one even wanted to think that the smoke might be coming from Devon's body.

Danziger reached her first. With the rain pouring down around him, he gently lifted her into his arms. She was so light, so fragile, and he could only hold her tight and pray for a miracle.

"Devon, you can't leave us here. You can't die! G889 is *your* world, and I can't imagine it without you," Danziger whispered as Julia took Devon's wrist and searched for a pulse.

"Mom, you promised you wouldn't leave me. You promised!" Uly screamed in an uncharacteristic display of emotion. Gone were all traces of Terrian wisdom within him, and he was nothing more than a little boy terrified of losing his mother yet again.

Julia raced towards the vehicles to retrieve her diaglove, barking orders at others to set up some kind of tent. Like it or not, the colonists were staying for a while, and the storm could go to hell for all Julia cared. In fact, she wished it would.

Images burned brightly in her mind as she searched desperately for her medical equipment - who had packed it away? Didn't they know that she tried to keep it constantly on hand? She saw the storm, and the great whirling vortex of clouds that had seemed to hover above Devon. In Devon's greatest moment of trauma, it appeared that nature had reflected her agony and brought its own fury down.

And at that moment, Julia *hated* everything about G889 that linked it to humans.

Danziger was remembering Devon's last words as he cradled her in his arms.

"I'm a replica!" "A clone!"
"Devon, if you can hear me, listen. I don't care that you're a clone. In that case, I never even met the real Devon Adair! You're the one who brought us here, and I know you. There's nothing robotic about you, Devon. You're as real as any of us." His voice dropped to a hushed whisper.

"You're the one I fell in love with." She shifted in his arms.
"That's it, Devon, fight the pain!" Danziger prompted, smoothing back her hair. "Do you hear me, Devon? We can't make it without you, we need you! You're what makes this planet real to me, it's you, Devon. Not a clone. Not a nobody."

Devon moaned.
He was getting through to her, Danziger knew it! "You're not alone. I promise you that, you'll never be alone again."

"Really?" and she spoke to him. She spoke! "Devon, you're going to make it..." She managed to open her eyes. "I know," Devon said simply. She sighed, and allowed Danziger to hold her even closer, if that was possible. "I know..."

***

"Devon?"
"Shhh, she's resting."
Devon opened her eyes. Once again, there was a clutter of people around her, hovering nervously. She anxiously searched their faces, looking for any signs of revulsion or disgust at what she was. Now they knew she was a Replica, and now she would discover if they truly were her friends. To her relief Devon saw nothing but kind concern.

"You had us so worried, Devon," Bess said kindly, and in that moment, Devon knew that Bess had forgiven her. She felt a strange connection with Bess, as if she'd been there when Devon was struck by the lightning. Maybe she had, in spirit.

Devon became aware that her hand was being held by John Danziger, and finally, she did not flinch away. His presence was nice, comforting, and a warmth radiated from his eyes. Had she heard correctly in the moments between waking and forever sleep? Did he say that he loved her?

Looking directly at him, Devon opened her mouth to ask, but thought better of it. It could wait until they were alone. For the moment, she had to know if everyone realised what she was.

"Does everyone know?" she asked Danziger. "Do they understand?"

He was confused, so Julia took the question. "If you mean that you were cloned, then yes, we know. It doesn't matter."

Devon allowed herself a brief smile. "That was why I didn't have a biostat implant," she revealed. "I have a different kind of chip...I think..."

"Julia, you said you couldn't find anything!" Morgan added. Devon suddenly noticed that he had his arm around Bess. Good.

Frowning, Julia acknowledged, "I didn't. Devon, are you sure about all of this?"

"The Terrians showed me," Devon admitted. "I didn't want to tell anyone. I didn't know how you'd react and I didn't think I even really belonged here."

"But you do," said Uly, his arms wrapped around her arm as if that would stop her from leaving him again. "You're my real Mom, and I don't care if you used to be a clone."

"Uly-" began Devon, sensing that he didn't quite understand. But then she stopped. Uly's real mother was dead, but she was as close as he could get. And Uly felt like a son to her, he *was* her son in almost every sense and she would not permit anything to destroy that bond. When he was older, perhaps she could explain.

Devon looked around again, realising that not everyone was present. "Where's Alonzo?" she asked. Eyes shifted away from her, almost guiltily.

"He went on ahead, scouting or something," said Danziger gruffly. "Maybe you don't want to hear this, Dev, but he's feeling pretty weird about the whole situation. He, and Yale and Uly, are the only ones who really...uh...knew you before it happened, I mean, knew the old you, or-" Danziger broke off, knowing he was making it worse by the second.

And then Devon realised that Yale was missing too. Tears threatened to blur her vision, but she fought them. She was past this. The old Devon Adair would *never* have given into emotion as much as she had recently. To be Devon Adair was to be strong. That was what she had to remember.

Besides, most of her close friends were with her now. Julia, Bess, Morgan (and she reflected how strange it was that all this had only served to bring her and Morgan closer together) and of course, Danziger. The people she had come to trust with her life, and they trusted her as well.

No, it was more than trust. It was friendship and acceptance no matter what she was. Devon didn't believe that Yale would abandon her, nor would Alonzo. They had been through too much together for that to happen. And she would prove to them that she was as much of Devon Adair as the original.

Briefly, Devon thought back to her nightmare. She realised now how many signs and clues there had been as to her true nature - the sensation of isolation, the blinding headaches... Devon removed her arm from Uly's grip and rubbed her temples. The pain was there again, it rose and diminished in waves.

"You'll probably have a headache for quite some time," Julia explained, noticing Devon's actions. "Not many people can take that much electrical current through their body and live. You were very lucky."

"I know," Devon said again. Yet she couldn't help but feel as though luck had nothing to do with it.

***

Eden Advance moved onwards, continually following the sun across the heavens and only spending the briefest hours camped when it was dark. As the days were longer and hotter, Devon reflected that if they didn't come down from the high ground soon (Yale had calculated they were travelling on a great plateau) they might have to travel by night, and sleep during the day when the intense heat made it near-impossible to go on.

It was something Devon was giving a lot of thought to. It kept her mind from worrying about Danziger and the strange new relationship that had sprung up between them.

He was giving Devon her space. Sometimes she wished Danziger would just throw caution to the wind and kiss her, but other times she shivered at the thought. Scars ran deep on Devon Adair's soul, the legacy of other times when she'd allowed herself to become involved with someone. But if Danziger didn't make a move soon, well, then, Devon would take matters into her own hands.

Her mouth curved up in the corners at that thought. To run her fingers through the mass of golden hair, to bring his lips close to her own, to feel the gentle yet strong touch on...

"Devon!"
Devon jumped, aware that she was blushing furiously. She'd let her thoughts get carried away again, and just hoped that no one had been watching her. Eyes had a way of revealing a person's deepest secrets even when they were in thought.

"Yes, Baines?" she asked. Devon was glad it wasn't Danziger calling to her, because she didn't think she'd be able to face him right now.

Baines held out a set of gear. "Solace wants to talk to you. Says it's real important."

Devon took the proffered gear, and placed it on her head. Alonzo was scouting ahead as usual while the rest of them lumbered on through the heat. "Yes?" Devon asked the instant his image appeared before her eyes.

"We're stuck," Alonzo said bluntly. "I found the edge of the plateau and there's no way down."

"What?"
Alonzo allowed his gear to pick up visuals behind him. Devon could see the gigantic cliffs which Alonzo stood above, and a huge drop down into nothingness. She could barely see the land below.

"I had no idea we were so high," Devon murmured. They'd been climbing steadily for weeks, but they must have been fairly high to begin with. Apparently, the entire centre of the continent was raised.

"Yeah, well, we are this high. And basically, we're stuck up here 'cause there's no way down." Alonzo was speaking again, and this time his voice was more agitated. "As far as I can see in either direction, there isn't gonna be a way down either."

Devon didn't believe it. There was *no* way that Eden Advance could have come this far only to be stopped by the edge of a mountain.

"What did you do at the canyon?" she suddenly reminded Alonzo, thinking back to a time near the beginning of their journey. "Remember, you attached parachutes to the vehicles and floated down."

"Sorry, Devon, that's not going to work this time. It's too far."

Devon heard the note of defeat in Alonzo's voice, and was suddenly afraid. What if they truly were stuck up here? Or if they had to travel thousands of klicks out of their way to be able to reach the plains below...then so much time would be lost and the colonist ship would arrive at New Pacifica long before they got there.

"I don't believe it," Devon stated, feeling a numbness creep through her. She didn't want to accept that a hopeless situation had finally crossed their path. She wouldn't accept it!

"I'm coming out there," she briskly said, knowing that Alonzo was past any qualms he had over Devon's sudden revelations of being a Replica. Once he was past the initial shock, Alonzo had told Devon he was sorry about the whole situation. Her history just took some getting used to.

"Danziger!" Devon called as soon as she closed the gear channel. She pointed at the DuneRail. "We're going out after Alonzo."

The race to the precipice was full of tension. Once Devon had explained the situation and Danziger comprehended the seriousness of it all, they were quiet and nervous.

"There has to be a way down," Devon said as the vehicle jolted over a particularly large rock. "Maybe Alonzo didn't look hard enough."

"'Lonz knows how to scout," replied Danziger gruffly. "If he says we're stuck-"

"But we can't be!" jumped in Devon. A sudden flash of wisdom crossed her features. "We're not trapped. I can feel it."

Finally, the figure of Alonzo and his vehicle appeared in the distance. He waved lethargically, the defeat on his face obvious. When Danziger stopped the vehicle beside the younger man, Alonzo said, "You didn't have to come out here so fast. We won't be going anywhere anytime soon."

Devon clambered down from the vehicle and began walking towards the edge. Already she could see the view, an incredible sensation of *nothingness*, a vast empty space that seemed to extend forever. Even all the way home to New Pacifica.

She closed her eyes. Yale had been wrong about their height, but that was nothing new. They'd learnt long ago that the Councilprovided maps were grossly inaccurate.

"There is a path," she whispered. Then Devon said it a little louder, "There will be a path." Neither Danziger nor Alonzo could hear her words as she stepped closer to the edge, her eyes still firmly closed. "There is a path."

And somehow, the landscape *shifted*. Devon couldn't quite explain the feeling, she only knew that something had changed. The Terrians? They seemed so close to her now...and she opened her eyes.

Below her was the terrifying drop Alonzo had promised, and Devon almost gasped as she realised how close she was to the edge. She was compelled to turn her eyes northward, and allowed herself a huge sigh of relief.

There was an outcrop of rock. Better still, the walls of the cliff suddenly flattened, into a meandering hill that would provide the perfect route down. Stepping back from the edge, Devon was tempted to do a happy Grendler dance but instead called to the two men.

"Look!" and she pointed.
The shock on Alonzo's face was clearly evident. "What the...Devon, John, I swear that wasn't there five minutes ago..."

Danziger's voice took on a concerned tone. "Maybe you need some rest, 'Lonz. You've been scouting alone in this heat, and sometimes, well, that makes a man see things that aren't there."

"No," said Alonzo, shaking his head and backing away from the pair. "I know what I saw. Believe me when I tell you, that hill wasn't there."

"What, you're saying it just appeared?" Danziger released an incredulous snort. "Look, let me call Julia. She knows more about heatstroke than me."

Still shaking his head, Alonzo allowed himself another glance to the north. He couldn't deny the fact that a beautiful slope was there now, a slope just perfect for directing the vehicles down. Danziger could be right, the heat may have been getting to him.

"Maybe I *should* get back to the group," Alonzo finally conceded.

"No, we'll stay here until they catch up," decided Devon. "In the meantime, you, Alonzo, are going to get some rest." The three constructed a small patch of shade by positioning the vehicles side by side, and Alonzo settled into this.

"See?" Devon smiled enigmatically, surprised at her inner knowledge. But it didn't feel strange, it felt natural. "I told you there was a way down."

"Yeah," replied Danziger, giving her a very odd look. "Guess you were right again."

Words echoed unbidden to Devon's ears, a phrase shouted in anger so long ago. "This is not your planet, you're not God here!" But maybe it was...maybe Devon's destiny was intertwined with something greater than she'd ever imagined.

She didn't consider the alternative possibility, the one that would leave her screaming in horror because she was happy now and didn't want anything to destroy her tranquil lifestyle. She had a life and it was, finally, near-perfect.

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