Territory by Deb2

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CHAPTER TWENTY
REALITY

DAY 47

"Good morning!" crowed Morgan cheerily. He carried the breakfast tray to Alonzo's cot and whipped the cloth from it with a flourish.

"I appreciate the effort, man, but I thought I'd join the crew for breakfast." Alonzo popped a bit of fruit into his mouth before easing to his feet; he waved away Julia's offer of aid and balanced quite well, considering that the tent was listing northward.

"Are you sure he's up to it?" fretted Morgan. Julia, hovering Mother Hen-like at her patient's side, shrugged. "He does." Tapping the diaglove she added, "Other than weakness brought on by the fast, nothing's wrong with him."

Morgan pulled Julia aside and lowered his voice uselessly. Alonzo's hearing would never be as acute as Lee's, but DvHMC had improved it. The hungry dreamer finished off the fruit on the tray, trying not to eavesdrop.

"Julia, the longer Alonzo stays bedridden, the better. Once he's recovered, they'll put the pressure on for the DvHMC signature."

"I know," she answered softly. "It won't do them any good. We can't use it."

"What?" whispered Morgan, alarmed. "What do you mean, we can't use it?" He flicked his eyes at the miracle man ignoring them.

"For whatever reason, the Terrian's won't allow us to return to the area; they'll defend it by any means necessary. And, DvHMC is an extremely limited resource."

"Michael Lee--" Morgan groped.
Alonzo, strengthened a good deal by the little he'd eaten, walked steadily to the whispering pair and placed a consoling hand on the shoulder of the suddenly weak-kneed politician, almost toppling him. The dreamer looked into Morgan's eyes. "Mike has already killed scores of people to keep DvHMC out of the hands of the Council. He could slip into camp any night and slit our throats as we sleep." Alonzo paused, gauging the effect of his words on the greedy man. In a way, he felt sorry for Morgan. "He'd do it, too, except maybe for...one of the women." Alonzo left it at that and strode out of the medtent.

Morgan sank to the floor. Nausea hit him. He sat staring bleakly at nothing. This was too awful for words, or even thought. Beseechingly, the miserable man looked up at Dr. Heller.

The naked avarice driving Morgan Martin disgusted her. However, Julia shared his disappointment to a degree. She'd lost a lot, too. "It was a pretty dream, wasn't it?"

He nodded and turned his face toward the empty cot, but not before a tear escaped. Julia left hurriedly.

Alonzo bowed in acknowledgement of the applause his appearance at breakfast prompted. Danziger gallantly held a chair for him. When the pilot insisted he could seat himself, Danziger shrugged and sat down, leaving Alonzo standing foolishly next to him. Kidding continued throughout the meal.

Morgan was the last to arrive. He squeezed in between Bess and Yale. The old cyborg wasn't taking part in the giddiness, thank God. Come to think of it, Adair was restrained, too. Morgan stared at Julia until he caught her eye, then flicked a sideways glance at Devon. Did she know? Julia evidently didn't understand. She tightened her lips in what might have been a smile and turned back to Alonzo. Sighing, Morgan rearranged the food on his plate again.

"Morgan, what's wrong?" asked Bess. "I'm not so sure about this quest," he replied softly. "We probably ought to forget the whole thing."

Bess automatically placed her palm against his forehead. "Honey, are you ill?"

Irritably, he pulled away. "No, Bess, I'm fine!" Walman clasped his hands behind his head and declared, "Once we get the DvHMC, we'll all be fine, forever! Isn't that right, doc?"

Julia had no chance to reply. Morgan lept to his feet and began expounding. "Once we get the DvHMC, the *Council* will be all over us. We'll live just long enough to tell them where it is! *If* we live long enough to find it in the first place! Which we won't, because Lee will kill us in our sleep. We know he can come and go as he pleases, perimeter alarm nonwithstanding, Mr. Baines.

"We saw what he did to Danziger, a man twice his size. Michael Lee can kill any one of us barehanded. DvHMC is in short supply, and that little fellow isn't going to share without the Terrians forcing him. Isn't that right, 'doc'?"

Everyone focused on the ranting Edenite. True had a mouthful of mush, getting mushier as it waited to be swallowed. She wasn't the only one who'd temporarily forgotten the processes involved in eating; Magus choked on an underchewed bite of whiteroot bread. With her final throat-clearings as a background, Alonzo began to speak.

"Morgan's right."
As if blown by a wind, every head swiveled toward the gaunt, dark-eyed man. Eden Advance listened without comment.

"I met van Helsing, or Lee, on the Dreamplane. Lies don't exist there. So I know that Lee has spent decades keeping DvHMC a secret. He doesn't want the Council getting their hands on it. The only reason we know it exists is because the Terrians need me alive and they forced him to help. His life, or mine, and believe me, it was a hard choice for him." Alonzo cracked his knuckles pensively. "Think about the kind of control the Council has now. What would it be like if they had a supply of DvHMC?"

"Humanity would be oppressed by a virtually immortal ruling class," said Julia for the benefit of any who might have missed Alonzo's point.

"Yes, that's no doubt true," agreed Yale. He stroked his beard. Growing old was part of life. To try to avoid it was foolish. "The Council would abuse the DvHMC."

"They'd kill any other poor bastards who knew about it, too," Danziger reluctantly agreed with Morgan.

"Uly has insisted all along the Terrians won't allow us to turn back," said Devon to Alonzo. "Is the DvHMC the reason?"

"Yes, Devon. Exactly."
"I imagine the Terrians find humans dangerous enough with our short lifespans," said Yale.

"No, that's not the reason. They seem to feel it would be wrong of them, irresponsible, to allow us to increase our loneliness. To the Terrians, humans are alone while alive."

Danziger rapped the table impatiently. "Do the diggers have any use for DvHMC?"

Alonzo nodded. "I'm not sure what." The big mechanic clapped his hands together. "Alright, guys, I guess we're heading west. Whaddya say, 'Lonz, are you up to a little traveling?"

The pilot grinned.

Eden Advance dispersed, each attending to the business at hand. A few were bitterly disappointed by the sudden loss of fortune. Morgan's apparent acceptance of the facts aroused suspicion among them. Julia overheard a conversation between Matazl, Baines, and Walman, the angry tone of which troubled her. Morgan could actually be in danger, if the trio vented their frustrations on him. Later in the day, she'd mention to Walman Morgan's pre-breakfast visit, and his teary reaction.

"Well?" asked Yale of Devon as she helped clear the dining area.

"The group is taking this much better than I ever dreamed they would."

The tutor wasn't at all surprised by the group's simply getting on with life. Beating one's head against a brick wall was a luxury G889 did not permit.

Danziger decided to leave the detector intact. It might come in handy later. You never know.

DAY 49

Alonzo wasn't as strong as he wanted to be. He'd ridden in the TransRover cab the entire four miles they covered yesterday, and it had been exhausting. Julia had called the caravan to a halt in the middle of the afternoon, and once again the dreamer slept as he had while healing. He dreamed, also, and 16 hours after first closing his eyes, startled Julia awake with his delirious singing.

Only, Alonzo wasn't delirious. He wasn't even in bed. The man, filling out already, was buttoning his shirt. He reached for his pants and noticed the pretty blonde doctor had awakened. "Morning, beautiful," he said. The healthy young man hesitated, balancing on one foot with the other poised to slide into the pantsleg. Alonzo looked from Julia, all pink and sleepy, not a hair on her head in place, to his pants, from gorgeous Julia to the pants, which were suddenly abandoned on the floor, and back to irresistible Julia.

Impulsively, he whirled and danced over to the tent entrance, stuck his head out and shouted, "Do Not Disturb!", fastened the flaps securely, and danced (losing the few articles of clothing he wore on the way) back to Julia. Her embarrassment and anger disappeared into giggles and an "Oh, my," of admiration slipped thru her lips. That was all she had time to say before Alonzo pounced.

"What was that all about?" asked a puzzled Uly. Danziger and Devon exchanged uneasy glances across the map. Yale raised a questioning eyebrow at Devon. Cameron and Baines and Magus pretended not to have heard the boy, or anything else out of the ordinary.

True realized she'd have to rescue the adults. "Alonzo and Julia just want some private time together."

"Private time?" echoed the boy.
"Yeah," replied the girl in an offhand manner. "You know." She wiggled her eyebrows more to tease the grownups than anything else. "Adult private time."

"True!" warned her dad.
"Oh!" replied Uly knowingly, taking a cue from Mr. Danziger's attitude that it was something he should know. *Adult* private time. He caught True's eye. She gave him a 'later' look.

DAY 49 EARLY AFTERNOON

The diaglove indicated Alonzo was in good condition. He was, in fact, in better condition than Julia, having recovered fully from the early morning exercise. She could have used a nap.

In spite of the diaglove's go-ahead, Eden Advance was not breaking camp. The dreamer had dreamed, and excitedly led a small group northeast. He kept humming and singing bits of an ancient folk song only Yale recognized.

The children were among the party bouncing along the trail. They rode in the DuneRail with Alonzo and Morgan and Bess. Baines and Devon shared the ATV more closely than either cared to. Alonzo had insisted these seven go, no more, no fewer, no substitutions. Devon overrode Danziger's objections, which was no mean feat, considering True was one of the chosen.

Alonzo was teaching the song to the kids. "She'll be driving six white horses when she comes!" was his favorite verse, evidently. It was an irritatingly easy song, one that even Baines caught himself singing before they reached their destination.

There was no doubt they'd arrived. A curve around a thicket of briary orange fruit, and a grassland opened out before them. Grazing placidly were six horses. Only one was white.

The animals stood alertly and watched the newcomers. Two lost interest and went back to dinner.

True gripped Uly's arm so hard she left nail prints. "Horses! And they've got things on their heads."

"Bridles," said Uly.
"Halters," corrected Alonzo. "No bits." Lee had told him. Baines left the ATV. The horses didn't seem alarmed, so Devon pried herself off the back and drew closer to them, also. "Whose are they?" she asked.

"Ours," replied Alonzo. "Lee said we'd need them, once we leave the plateau."

"To aid in crossing the river, perhaps?" "He didn't say, Devon. He just said we'd need them once we left the safety of the plateau."

Baines settled the MagPro against his shoulder. "What about saddles?"

"We should be able to make them," replied Devon. She didn't sound convinced.

True and Uly wasted no time clambering out of the DuneRail and zipped up even with the adults. Morgan and Bess reluctantly joined the rest, Morgan scanning the area.

"Is he here?" the former chief liaison asked. "No. We'll never see him again." Alonzo was certain Lee was nowhere near and not simply because Lee had assured him of it in the dream. The pilot could smell six other people. He couldn't tell everyone apart yet, but gender and sexual maturity were as obvious as if he were looking at them.

"They're beautiful," breathed Bess. "How do we get them home?" asked the perversely practical Baines.

Alonzo whistled as Lee had taught him. All six animals looked at him. The white one ambled toward him, followed by two more. A second whistle prompted the remaining horses to leave the grasses and approach.

Uly fearlessly bounded over to the nearest huge dangerous beast, nearly causing Devon to lose bladder control. The big black and white creature made no threatening moves, not even when Uly pulled something off its halter and announced, "Hey, they're labeled! This one's Morgan's." And the boy deserted that poor animal in search of his own.

Each horse *was* labeled. Michael Lee had chosen one for each person he'd had extended contact with. Devon's was the only stallion, the rest, mares. Bess's was the prettiest by far, a delicate golden thing with amber eyes and honey-colored mane. It looked more like an ornament than a beast of burden. Baines, despite himself, liked the plain, sturdy animal who seemed to take to him immediately. He liked her even more when the sun hit the brown coat and polished it to a rich red.

Uly's mare was the white one, and it was the most beautiful horse ever born, he assured Yale via gear, flipping the 'screen out so his tutor could see for himself.

True wasn't so quick to share the news with her dad. She circled the mare slowly, but didn't touch her at all. For some reason, the idea of even riding a horse again made her feel kinda sick. Bess noticed the kid's hesitation.

"Don't you like her, honey?"
Frowning, eyes downcast, the little girl replied, "I like her okay."

"You're worried about what your dad will say." "Yeah, I guess."
Alonzo, undistracted by a horse of his own, walked up and squatted down to True's level. He smiled at Bess and dismissed her by asking if he might talk to True alone.

"True-girl," he said softly, adopting the pet name Danziger favored, "on the Dreamplane, communication is so clear, there's no chance for misunderstanding. Only the truth exists there."

True nodded. She fiddled with the piece of canvas with her name written on it in Lee's funny writing.

"I've talked to Mike a lot since my accident." He paused, unsure how to proceed. Besides, Baines had joined Bess and Morgan in nosiness.

True nodded again, unhelpfully.
"He understands you're still a kid, and you really don't want to disappoint your father..." Wrong move, judging by the look the kid threw at him. "True, if you want the horse, you'll have to talk to your dad. A Dreamplane talk."

That got her attention. She looked wide-eyed at Alonzo. "No, not *on* the 'plane. I mean a clear, all details included talk."

True scowled at her name on the label so hard her vision blurred, making it necessary to wipe her eyes with the canvas. It was rough and left her eyes a little red.

"He still won't let me keep her," the child predicted. Grimly, she positioned her gear and strode away to the DuneRail for a private, relatively safe confession. At least gear had volume control.

DAY 51

Julia could argue with neither the diaglove, which indicated Alonzo was healthier than he'd been prior to the 'Dance with Bambi's Mother', as he called it, or with her own conclusions, drawn from evidence including a few more dances which had her pitying the rest of the women in camp and wishing she could share her new toy and jealously guarding him at the same time.

Because Dr. Heller could find no reason to restrict Alonzo's activity, he was back on scout duty. Michael Lee's 'blood brother' enjoyed being away from the crowd. His senses were still improving; fortunately, his ability to ignore the overload of information was also improving, but not as rapidly as he'd like.

Uly's River roared in the distance. Even the most ignorant of station dwellers would have realized the river was no longer a placid stretch of water meandering along on a slow course to the sea. Eden Advance's path hadn't been within sight of the river in days, and Alonzo dreaded seeing it again.

Lee's map simply ended with Uly's River flowing off the edge of it. An X marked the ford, they hoped. What else could it be? A natural bridge, maybe? Why hadn't he thought to ask the guy? By the end of the day, Eden's caravan, bareback riders and all, would go right off the edge of the map.

He stopped the ATV and got out to stretch his legs and take care of personal matters. Another weird thing about the DvHMC: the body made better use of intake and produced less outgo. That factor alone would have had the masses clamboring for it, not to mention the waste disposal crews. Too bad DvHMC extended life indefinitely.

On foot, Alonzo crested a low rise and stared across the landscape. Michael Lee had told him Eden Advance was crossing a plateau. Now Alonzo stood at the edge of it. The slope was forbiddeningly steep. Uly's River rushed down, leaping, wrestling its way to the plain below. Alonzo had heard the roar of the tumbling water miles back; he'd found what he expected: White water. It was beautiful.

He'd miss the river.
Eden Advance's path lay to the west. They wouldn't leave the plateau yet. Uly's River, seeking the ocean, turned northwest.

DAY 62

He sat astride his favorite mare, now given a name: Devon. The splendid animal tossed her head, anxious to be away from here, the edge of their territory. Those in the ground were near; she sensed them, and altho' she did not fear them, she did respect them. Those in the ground were watchful.

Her companion was trembling. She felt an unaccustomed excitement in him, an indecision which literally swayed him first one way and then the other. She found it annoying and again tossed her head, more insistently. It wasn't like him to ignore her signals. His absent patting of her neck was not placating.

Michael Lee, and he had begun to think of himself as himself these past few weeks, could see the caravan a few miles west and a few hundred feet below in the valley. He dried his sweaty palms on his britches legs. Five horses, four with riders. True was one, finally. Her father must have relented. Baines was missing, probably scouting on horseback. A trace of smile flicked across Michael's face; Baines had been the first to make a saddle. It was a poor thing, an insult to the fine beast who tolerated it. The curly-haired changeling and his mother rode side by side. Bess's sweet little mare trotted along, unburdened. Michael feared she'd soon be spoiled, nothing but a pet.

They'd be crossing into dangerous territory soon, full of vampires, within days. The group needed a guide. Michael nudged Devon forward, then halted her, unable to make up his mind.

When he'd first sought the safety of the hills and valleys near the river, decades ago, he'd welcomed the solitude. A few years later, Lee would have gladly lost his mind, if his body would have allowed it. And then, he learned to communicate with the Terrians. In time, he forgot he was lonely, even that he was human, and calmly destroyed the few other men he encountered. The Terrians eventually acquired his loathing of the creatures, and drove them away.

Until this summer. The tribe which protected him gave free passage to a changeling and his tribe of humans. Little by little, scent by scent, van Helsing remembered Michael Lee, and Michael Lee...Michael Lee remembered loneliness.

The little woodsman fumbled at his braided hair, primping, in a sense. They'd accept him as guide and teacher, he thought. Alonzo and Julia would keep the secret--he could bribe them, if need be. He wouldn't ask to be a member of their tribe, or to sleep in their camp, or eat their food. And he wouldn't ask for a woman. Convinced that he'd disarranged his hair, Michael rebraided it. He took a deep breath, dried his palms again, grasped the reins firmly and urged Devon on.

He'd have to rename her.
Devon was at least as stubborn as her namesake. The mare grudgingly moved down the slope, slower and slower. Less than half a mile from the starting point, she stopped, and despite all encouragement from her companion, refused to move on.

Lee dismounted and attempted to lead her. Failing that, he took a small pack from her back, removed nonessentials and replaced those with essentials, secured it to his back, took up his bow and quiver, and walked on. The mare would follow, certainly.

She neighed a warning just as a nearly solid wall of Terrians erupted from the earth. Lee hesitated. He trilled and warbled clumsily, trying to convince them to let him pass. They didn't respond.

Resolutely, the diminutive Immune strode forward, anyway.

Uly turned suddenly, startling 'Bucephalusa', who misunderstood and retreated a few steps. Devon unnecessarily reached for the reins to halt the no longer moving horse.

Her son stared back at a line of Terrians, more than they'd ever seen together in one place.

"Uly?"
The boy sighed. He directed Bucephalusa forward, thinking until his mom interrupted his thoughts.

"Uly?"
"Michael Lee isn't lonely anymore," explained the boy. He hunched over and patted Bucephalusa's neck. He wondered if Alonzo knew.

-The End-

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