Blood Brothers by Vicky Seleya

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True keyed her gear irritably, then paced away from the bush, swinging her head in every direction as she tried to establish contact with the camp. "Eden Advance, this is True. Please respond." Receiving only static, she lifted the device from her head to examine it critically.

"Anything?" Uly asked, as he calmly watched the older child pace.

True replaced the gear on her head, listening closely as she keyed it again. She shook her head in frustration. "No. The gear seems to be operating properly. I think there's some interference between us and camp. Maybe this hill..." She regarded the steep hill dubiously. "It's too steep and the leaves are really slippery. I don't think we're gonna be able to climb it. Maybe we should hike around instead. I'll turn on my locator beacon."

Uly craned his neck to look at the hill as he considered True's analysis of their situation. The young boy nodded reasonably and rose, solemnly dusting himself off. "Which way?" he asked, readily allowing the older child to take the lead for the time being.

________________________________________

Cameron shifted uncomfortably on the ATV as he sat watch over the empty camp. He leaned back in his seat and sighed to himself. Left out of all the activity, he was bored. Bored, bored, bored. Tired as well. Julia had warned him he would be tired due to his body's need to concentrate its energy toward healing, so it came as no surprise. But that, coupled with a sleepless night, was catching up on him. He yawned and adjusted his grip on the weapon as he struggled to remain awake. Cameron knew he had had too many laughs at Walman's sake to be caught napping on duty, regardless of the excuse. The persistent tingling in his leg distracted him from his exhaustion and he bent to rub it vigorously.

Cameron recoiled as hot, gamy breath suddenly blew across his ear. He sighed impatiently and turned his head to see who it was, only to come face-to-face with a Grendler. Cameron leaned away from the Grendler and watched tensely, as it surveyed the camp with all the newly reclaimed equipment neatly stacked in sight then snorted in annoyance in the colonist's face.

Blinking furiously to expel the Grendler saliva from his eyes with a disgusted frown, Cameron slowly slid his hand down the barrel of the Mag-Pro as the Grendler closely regarded him. The creature snorted again and turned to inspect the camp. As the Grendler started to sort through the colonists' possessions, Cameron took the opportunity to quickly wipe his face on his sleeve. When the creature started to toss items into a separate pile, Cameron noticed the comm gear clamped to each of the Grendler's shoulders for the first time and armed the weapon.

As soon as the Mag-Pro's whine reached its ears, the Grendler defensively spun around, seeking the source of the noise. It stared at Cameron as it rapidly advanced. The colonist lifted the weapon to his shoulder and squeezed off a shot that hit the ground a short distance in front of the creature. The Grendler froze in shock and regarded the colonist with grudging respect.

"Cameron, was that a Mag-Pro we heard? Is everything all right?" Yale's concerned voice came through the colonist's gear.

"I'm all right for now. I have a visitor," Cameron whispered into his gear, as he watched the Grendler through the sights of the MagPro.

"What do you mean 'a visitor'?" Yale asked hesitantly.

"A Grendler. A cranky Grendler, who seems to want his stuff back," Cameron explained quietly.

"Base camp, come in." Devon's voice filtered through Cameron's gear, as the creature turned to the nearest pile of equipment, eyeing it longingly, while occasionally sparing a glance over its shoulder to the armed colonist.

"I'm here, Devon. How's the search going?" Cameron responded, as he continued to concentrate on the creature before him.

"Frustrating," Devon stated simply, stress edging her voice. "Cameron, why aren't you on video?" she suddenly asked suspiciously.

As the Grendler reached to grab a monitor, Cameron fired a shot, striking a tree next to the creature. The thick bark exploded in large chunks that rained down on the startled Grendler as it turned and ran into the forest.

"Cameron, what happened? Should I send someone back to assist you?" Yale asked, his voice tinged with concern.

"I'm fine. That last shot seems to have scared him away."

"I can barely read him but did Yale say he was away from camp?" Devon asked, the worry that had already taken root suddenly finding room to grow.

Cameron closed his eyes and massaged his forehead as he composed his thoughts. He was afraid this would happen. "Yeah, Devon. I'm the only one in camp right now," he admitted, looking up at the foliage as he awaited the inevitable response. He didn't have long to wait.

"Why? Where is everyone else?"

"They've all gone out looking for the children. They're missing."

"What do you mean 'the children are missing'?" Devon asked frantically.

Cameron's calm voice punctuated the static. "They apparently wandered away from the campsite while we were removing our equipment from the tunnel. They haven't been gone for long, I just spoke to Uly less than 2 hours ago."

"Two hours?" Devon asked as her heart sank. She glanced around as Julia returned from scouting ahead with Baines, disappointment etched on her face. "Nothing, Julia?"

"Worse than nothing," the doctor replied with a shake of her head. "Another dead-end." Julia paused for a moment, looking closely at Devon. "What's wrong?"

"Apparently the children have disappeared. Yale and most of the crew are out searching for them right now."

Julia rolled her eyes in frustration. She crossed her arms and watched her feet shuffle in the dirt as she listened to Devon communicate with the main camp.

"Have you made any progress down there?" Cameron asked hopefully.

"I'm beginning to think we've spent the past day and a half walking in circles," Devon admitted with a frown.

"Wait a minute!" Cameron suddenly exclaimed. The colonist keyed his gear. "Yale, are you receiving that beacon?"

"No," the tutor replied. "Please give me the bearings."

"About 10 degrees southwest of your position. No read yet on distance, there's some interference."

"What do you have, Cameron?" Devon asked anxiously.

"Let me check." Cameron keyed in a request, then reported cheerfully. "It's Danziger's gear. Just a homing beacon, nothing else."

"Danziger's gear?" Devon repeated doubtfully.

Julia's mood noticeably lightened when Devon relayed the information. The doctor busied herself with her scanner, determining the shortest route back to the camp. She cocked her head at Devon, nodding urgently down the tunnel.

Devon nodded in agreement to the doctor as she told Cameron, "We're on our way. I'll leave my gear on but many of these tunnels block transmission. If you need to contact us again, just keep trying, OK?" As the colonist acknowledged her request, Devon joined the others as they hurried back the way they had come.

________________________________________

Cameron signed off from both Yale and Devon and leaned back into his perch again. He regarded the camp thoughtfully, slowly staring into space as the excitement wore off, allowing the exhaustion to take hold once more. He jerked awake, stretching and massaging the back of his neck in an attempt to revive himself. His head rolled back to rest against the netting as he started to drift again. The hairs on the back of his neck slowly rose, as the sensation of being watched gradually grew. Turning his head, he saw it.

A lone canid stood where the Grendler had been, studying the human cautiously. Keeping a close eye on the colonist, it bent and sniffed the ground thoroughly, then lifted its head and scented the air in Cameron's direction, its head tilted up, its nostrils flaring. The creature sniffed the ground again and picked a small black object up in its mouth. Hesitantly, it approached the human, its legs splayed, its ears back and its nose up, testing the air. As it neared the colonist, Cameron could see it carried one of the sets of gear the Grendler had worn and apparently dropped in its haste.

Cameron leaned forward on the ATV and clucked softly, "Here, pup. Come on."

The creature froze, cocking its head quizzically at the human. Slowly waving its tail from side to side, the creature advanced again. When it was just out of reach, the canid dropped the gear on the ground, backed a few paces and watched Cameron expectantly. The colonist leaned forward, carefully balancing as he stretched to reach the object on the ground. He grunted in discomfort and sat back up as his leg twisted painfully. Cameron rummaged around the ATV, looking for something to help him reach the gear.

As the wind shifted, the creature suddenly turned its head, alertly scenting into the woods in the direction the Grendler had fled. It raced to the gear just as Cameron had nearly reached it, reclaimed its prize and sprinted into the woods. Baffled, Cameron watched it disappear from view. As he sat back on the vehicle with a frustrated sigh, Cameron saw several shadows melt across the woods behind the creature, but was unsure what it was he saw.

________________________________________

True worriedly surveyed the terrain. She and Uly had been walking for what seemed like hours and they still had not found a way up the hill. Her gear beacon pulsed reassuringly as it called to its mates. True glanced indecisively at Uly, as the small boy quietly walked beside her, torn about raising her doubts with him.

"We should probably stop. They're probably looking for us by now," Uly observed as if reading her mind.

"We need to get to the top of the hill so they can catch my gear signal," True asserted, suddenly irritated by the other child's calm.

Uly turned to face her and tipped his head thoughtfully as he regarded her. When True began to shift uncomfortably he looked off to his left. "I'm thirsty," he stated simply, before wandering off toward where a brook could be heard, tumbling amongst the rocks.

After a moment's consideration, True trotted after him, thirsty after their exertions in the heat of the day.

It was Uly who saw the men first...

________________________________________

The search team trotted through the forest, following the sporadic signal from the homing beacon. They fanned out, watching for the children, as they slowly worked their way through the woods. As the wind carried the unmistakable sound of True screaming, they began to run in earnest, recklessly dodging through the trees in their headlong flight.

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