Blood Brothers by Vicky Seleya

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Danziger wrinkled his nose at the stench that assailed his nostrils as he awoke. Opening his eyes slowly, he was startled to find himself face to face with a Grendler. He warily watched the Grendler as he slowly slid up to a sitting position. When the mechanic grunted out in pain as the muscles in his back protested, the Grendler jumped backward in surprise, giving Danziger a clear view of Morgan Martin sitting frozen on the other side of the cavern. The Grendler quickly recovered and crept forward to scrutinize the human once more. It bent toward Danziger, curiously fingering the lumalight still clipped to the mechanic's vest as Danziger leaned away to guardedly watch the creature's examination. The sound of scuffing next to the mechanic drew the Grendler's attention.

Danziger saw the Grendler's eyes dilate at the sight of the bloodied pilot. The creature greedily charged towards Alonzo, only to rear back with a frustrated squeal as the pilot twitched with a sigh in the midst of his dreams. Danziger scooted closer to Alonzo, protectively sliding between him and the Grendler. The Grendler squatted, facing the mechanic, pulling its ear in frustration. It looked around Danziger, regarding the pilot's face hungrily. Danziger glanced from the human to the creature, then back again. Alonzo twitched again, clawing reflexively at the loose dirt, and the Grendler withdrew, hiccupping in frustration.

"He's afraid of the dreams?" Morgan observed incredulously.

"Well, you are..." Danziger remarked. "Have you ever seen both Terrians and Grendlers in the same place? I can't think of a time I have. Maybe this is why."

Alonzo restlessly drew his arm across his forehead, opening a laceration in the process. Blood slowly pooled in the wound before gliding down the side of his face and disappearing into his hair. The Grendler bellowed then examined the other two humans closely, only to return to a safe distance from the pilot. It scooped a handful of dirt and threw it at the unconscious man.

"Hey, cut it out!" Danziger exclaimed, bending to dust the dirt from his friend.

The Grendler shook and bellowed in reply, then hungrily crouched down near Alonzo, pulling at its ear again.

"Danziger?" Morgan's quiet voice came from behind the Grendler.

"What is it, Martin?"

"What happens if Alonzo stops dreaming?" Morgan asked worriedly.

Reluctantly taking his eyes from the Grendler, Danziger watched Alonzo for a moment, considering Morgan's question. The pilot's eyelids quivered constantly as he slept. Nearby, the Grendler slowly swayed, hooting quietly to itself.

"That's a good question. He took a pretty good knock on the head. I suppose we'd just better hope he doesn't," the mechanic answered firmly. "Any idea how much longer to sunup?"

Morgan flipped his watch open and studied it for a minute, making the calculations in his head to allow for the planet's shorter days. "About five hours, I think."

"Which means it will probably be a good six or seven before they get here. Great." Danziger grimaced his displeasure.

An earthshaking rumble suddenly filled the tunnel, raining debris on the cavern's inhabitants. Danziger protectively pulled Alonzo toward him while Morgan and the Grendler both ducked with nearly identical squeals. Morgan scrambled out of the way as a vein of Morganite ruptured nearby, sending the hot stones hurtling in his direction. A short burst of moist air puffed from the tunnel before silence descended once more.

Danziger looked up in alarm. "What was that?!"

"I don't know. Sounds like something really big's grinding out there."

Danziger nodded in the direction they had come. "Go look, Martin. I'd do it, but I don't want to leave Alonzo alone with the Grendler." He unclipped the lumalight from his vest. "Here, take this. Just be careful!"

Morgan gulped and cautiously rose. From where it perched, the Grendler glanced over at the movement, then turned its attention back to the pilot. As Morgan inched around the bend, he slipped and fell. Turning on the lumalight, he sat back in shock at what he saw, then quickly scrambled back to the cavern, dripping water and mud. Danziger looked over to him in surprise, a question forming on his lips.

"You aren't going to like this..." Morgan began.

"What happened to you? You barely left," Danziger queried.

"The whole tunnel is full to the top with mud and stuff. Our way out is totally blocked!" Morgan paced frantically, wringing his hands. "How are we going to get out?"

"Let me take a look. Come here and sit with Alonzo. Shout if you need me, OK?" Danziger rose and dusted himself off.

Watching each of them hesitantly, Morgan nervously eased himself between the Grendler and the dreaming pilot. Danziger stood over him, his hand out. Morgan looked down at himself, then blankly back to the mechanic.

"The lumalight?" Danziger requested, grunting under his breath as Morgan complied.

Danziger slogged through the mud to inspect the obstruction, testing it for any sign of weakness. Broken roots and rocks jutted out of the hard-packed sediment at crazy angles toward the mechanic as water continued to seep out the front of the obstruction to pool on the tunnel floor. Finding no openings, Danziger rolled his options over in his head as he returned to the cavern. Nothing had moved since he left. Alonzo slept quietly, the Grendler watched Alonzo and a very wide-eyed Morgan watched both of them. Morgan gratefully yielded his position back to the mechanic and sat, awaiting Danziger's opinion.

"I wonder if we could get it to show us a way out," Danziger commented quietly, as he contemplated the Grendler.

"Do you think there's another exit?"

"You don't? This planet is a maze with a cover, for crying out loud! Just, whatever you do, Morgan, don't cut yourself. He obviously knows enough about human blood to want it." Danziger glanced in Morgan's direction in time to see the man's Adam's apple bob nervously. "You've negotiated with them before, why don't you give it a try?"

"I'm not sure I'd call our last encounter 'negotiating'." Morgan grimaced. "Seemed more like a physical assault! I wish Bess was here right now. She'd know how to handle the Grendler." He rummaged in his pockets for a moment, then hesitantly approached the Grendler. Morgan cleared his throat, attempting to attract the creature's attention. After repeated failures, Morgan poked the Grendler then jumped back, startled by his own boldness. The Grendler quickly turned and snorted crankily.

Morgan pulled the two ruined sets of gear from his pocket and dangled them from his fingers. Remembering what Bess had told him another Grendler had done once with his VR gear, Morgan modeled the gear, hanging one from each ear. Beyond the Grendler, Morgan saw Danziger roll his eyes and chuckle to himself. Ignoring the mechanic, Morgan concentrated on the Grendler, who was now watching him raptly. Morgan lifted the gear off his ears then swung them in front of the Grendler once again. The Grendler bounced eagerly and gestured welcomingly. Morgan placed the gear on the ground and pantomimed the men's wishes. Grendler and human gestured back and forth until an understanding was finally reached.

"Think he'll do it?" Danziger asked doubtfully.

"What do you think?"

"To be honest, I don't know whether he's agreed to show us out or have you for his love slave."

Morgan's eyes narrowed. "He'll be showing us the way out. All we have to do now is pay him." He proffered the crushed gear to the Grendler who stepped back then indicated the pilot greedily.

"No!" Morgan countered. "This is what we're offering for trade. Nothing more."

The Grendler paused to look wistfully at Alonzo before accepting his payment. It rose and loped out of the cavern and down the tunnel. The men scrambled to pick up the pilot before the Grendler lost them.

As they turned to leave the cavern, Morgan paused. "Wait a minute, I forgot something."

"Hurry it up, Morgan. We're gonna to lose him."

Morgan released Alonzo's legs and knelt in the sand, his back to the mechanic. Danziger watched impatiently from behind as Morgan gathered something up in the sand and stuffed it into his pocket. At the next turn, the Grendler waited, its new 'prizes' clamped to each shoulder. Morgan picked up Alonzo's legs and they moved on.

________________________________________

"Devon? Devon!" Walman entered the tent and shook the woman gently. "Wake up. They found something. You'd better come."

Devon awoke instantly and jumped out of her bed. She checked Uly, still asleep in his own cot, and rushed out, closely following Walman's back as he strode to the med-tent. The storm had intensified while she slept. The wind whipped her hair, the rain stung her exposed skin and the land shook with the rolling thunder. Devon entered to find Bess pacing frantically in her path. Yale, Cameron and Baines were perched on crates around the exam table. Julia crouched in the corner, grimly packing medical supplies.

Cocking her head at Yale, Devon asked, "What is it? What did you find?"

Cameron rose and gestured for her to sit as Yale activated Julia's gear. Devon watched the monitor as the terrain swept by the men on the way to the cargo pod, Alonzo having pushed the video pickup out of the way to the side of his head. She heard them discuss the pod and the threatening weather, among other things. Occasionally, Alonzo would turn his head -- allowing brief glimpses of Morgan, the route ahead or Danziger. Yale fast-forwarded the record, then slowed it back to normal speed.

Devon watched as they discovered the Grendlers at the pod and took chase. She watched, fascinated, as they sped across the small plain and then wound through the woods, trailing the thieves to a hole in the ground. She gasped as she saw their futile struggle to escape the sudden cave-in. The ground rushed up to meet them and the feed went dead. Devon drew in her breath, watching intently for more information, more video, but Yale turned off the monitor with an air of finality. She looked steadily into each person's eyes as they awaited her input. Devon turned to Yale. "Can you find the hole with this information?"

"I should be able to locate it," he conceded.

"We should be packed to go at first light, don't you think?" She looked around to nods of agreement. "I would think the people in this tent right now are the ones we need, so let's load the TransRover tonight and try to get some rest. We'll leave at first light." Devon rose as the men hurried from the tent, discussing what equipment they would need as they left. She turned to Bess. "I'll need to ask Eben to take care of the children. I assume you want to come, Bess?"

Bess nodded firmly. "Yes, Devon, thank you. I guess I'll try to get some sleep before we go. I'll be in my tent." She shrugged helplessly and left.

Devon looked from Yale to Julia. Julia stood with her arms crossed and a pensive look on her face. Deep in his own thoughts, Yale watched the doctor quietly.

"I think we should take the ATV as well," Julia suddenly suggested.

"Why? I hate to leave the camp without a functioning vehicle."

"I'm not convinced we could drive the TransRover all the way into the forest to the site without encountering barriers that would slow us down. At least with the ATV, I could be on-site. If I can get to them, I can treat them and be ready to transport when the TransRover reaches us."

"You want to take Yale with you," Devon noted.

"Yes. He's the only one who could find the hole. We can notify you as soon as we have the coordinates."

"It would be most expedient, Devon," Yale asserted.

"You agree?" Devon asked the tutor.

"They have been out there, in whatever condition they are in, all night in a truly impressive storm. The least we could do is hurry to their aid as early as is practicable. I believe Julia's idea is sound."

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