Blood Brothers by Vicky Seleya

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Julia and Devon sat on the TransRover, tensely watching the search. They had conducted the search all day, switching on and off each hour, completing a thorough scan of the crater and surrounding area by early afternoon. Now, at Yale's suggestion, Zero slowly inched across the crater wearing Danziger's snowshoes. The women glanced up as Cameron approached in the ATV, carrying food and water back from camp. Devon and Julia both gasped in horror when, as Cameron rounded the crater, the ATV abruptly reared back and tipped sideways -- totally disappearing from view before them. The women's shouts brought everyone scrambling in a rush to the spot where the ATV had vanished.

Julia paused to grab her medical kit, then pushed her way to the front of the crowd. As she looked down into the hole the vehicle had left, Julia could see Cameron ten feet below, lying on a jumble of roots, the ATV on top of him. "Cameron? Are you all right?" the young doctor asked somewhat rhetorically.

Cameron opened his eyes and gave Julia a tight smile and shake of his head before squeezing them shut again.

Julia turned to the others. "I need to get down there. Please, bring me some rope."

Devon crouched down beside the doctor. "You can't go down there. It's too dangerous."

Julia shook her head. "I have to assess Cameron's injuries before we lift the ATV off him. If he has a serious injury or lacerations, he could go into shock or bleed to death before I could otherwise get to him." She turned to find Walman ready with a rope.

Julia leaned on the burly crewman's shoulder as he fashioned a sling around her hips. She eased into the hole, carefully avoiding putting any weight onto the trapped vehicle as she tied extra ropes to it before sliding past to the colonist. As the doctor bent to examine her patient, she was startled when one of her legs shot between two roots to dangle freely in open space. She fell hard, grabbing for support as she scrambled to free her leg. Beside her, Cameron grunted in pain as the ground below them and the ATV shifted. With his help, Julia kicked her leg free of the hole. Julia rapidly surveyed the ground around her, then bent to examine Cameron.

Devon watched worriedly with the remainder of the rescue crew as the doctor quietly conferred with the trapped colonist, then began scanning the ground around them. After a few minutes, she asked, "Julia, how is he? What's happening down there?"

Julia glanced up distractedly, then turned to Cameron for a moment before answering. "His right leg is pinned under the ATV and appears to be broken. I cannot get my dia-glove far enough under the vehicle to scan it. There appears to be a cavity under the roots we're sitting on, so we need to get out of here fast before the ground crumbles any more. Cameron says he's ready. I'll stay with him while you lift the ATV out."

"We're ready when you are," Walman assured the doctor confidently.

"Are you sure you should stay down there?" Devon asked with misgivings.

Julia nodded. "This is the best place for me to be. Walman, we're both ready. You may start anytime."

"OK. Here we go! Devon, why don't you climb up on the 'Rover to guide Yale?" Walman suggested as he and Baines finished tying several of the ropes leading from the smaller vehicle to the TransRover.

At Devon's signal, Yale started the TransRover and slowly drove it away from the hole, deliberately easing the ATV from its snare. Walman and Baines each strained to steady the small vehicle as it gradually reached the surface. Finally, the ATV teetered onto its wheels on solid ground and skidded sideways, away from the hole behind the TransRover.

As Yale stopped the large vehicle, Devon jumped from it and ran to the hole. Baines had already climbed down to assist Julia with Cameron's injuries. They all gathered around the edge to watch as Julia sedated the colonist and, with Baines' help, set his broken leg and prepared him to be boosted out. As Baines held the other end of the rope, they eased Cameron and Julia from the hole. Julia directed Walman and Yale as they carried Cameron to a hastily erected tent and bed.

Once Julia and Cameron were clear, Baines took the rope and began climbing hand over hand out of the hole. Just before he reached the rim, the wall under his feet crumbled and he swung heavily into the wall with a grunt. Losing his grip, the technician fell back into the hole.

Baines let out a shout as he fell, wincing when he hit bottom to the disconcerting accompaniment of several cracks. To his surprise, his body continued its downward plunge, as it sliced through thin air once again only to hit soft ground with a muffled 'whump'. As he squinted in the dim tunnel, Baines could hear the concerned voices of his friends far above. He cautiously tested himself before rising to his feet to respond to their increasingly frantic inquiries. "Hey, I'm OK! There's some sort of tunnel down here. Someone toss me a rope and a lumalight."

Walman grabbed an extra rope and lumalight and shimmied down to the trapped man. When he reached the bottom, he unclipped his own lumalight and drew his small pistol as he and Baines investigated the tunnel. After wandering only a few feet, Walman drew up in surprise. "Hey, there are human footprints down here!"

Baines raced over to scrutinize the tracks. "Only two pairs and Grendler tracks, too. Think it's them?"

Walman crouched low over a clear set of footprints. "It's hard to tell in this sand, but don't these look like Morgan's fancy hiking boots? Right here, the lug pattern."

Baines nodded in agreement. "I think so. Who do you suppose is the other one?" He crept over to another pair of prints as Walman's gear chirruped.

Walman activated his gear, swinging the eyepiece into place to meet Devon's gaze.

"Is everything all right down there? Do you need any help?" she asked worriedly.

"We're fine, Devon. There are footprints down here. Look like Morgan's."

"Morgan's?!" Bess interjected over Devon's shoulder before hurriedly logging in. "Are you sure? Where is he?"

Walman shrugged. "Can't be sure, but I doubt any penal colonists would have fancy boots like this. The tracks keep going around the bend. There's a second pair of human prints and lots of Grendler prints, too."

"Who's do you suppose are the other prints?" Devon asked apprehensively.

"Look like Danziger's, but I'm not sure," Baines supplied hesitantly.

"Let me see the prints," Julia directed the men tersely. As the men turned their visual feeds towards the prints in question, Julia intently considered them. "No, they're not Alonzo's. They must be Danziger's," she stated impassively. "Wait. Let me see those tracks again." She watched as Walman looked back down, displaying the footprints. "And the others," she directed. The view swung to a different set of prints.

"Those are Morgan's," Bess confirmed happily, then sobered with a sidelong glance at Julia. "But, where is Alonzo?"

Devon looked away from her gear to find the doctor gathering up her supplies and heading for the hole. "Julia, what are you doing?"

"I have to go down there," the doctor asserted firmly as she single-mindedly tied her bags to a rope and prepared to climb into the hole.

"Well then, I'm going too." Devon snatched up some rope as she activated her gear. "Walman, do you need anything down there? Julia and I are coming right down."

"I don't suppose you could bring a Mag-Pro. There are lots of Grendler tracks down here. And bring lumalights for each of you, too."

Devon nodded and rushed off to collect the supplies. When she returned to the hole, Julia had already descended and three beams of light could be seen dancing at the bottom of the pit. With Bess and Yale's help, she rappelled through the jagged roots to the sandy tunnel floor. As Devon reached the floor below, she found Julia crouched nearby, sitting on her heels as she considered a particular set of tracks. The doctor's eyes flicked to Devon for a second, before drifting back to stare through the floor in deep thought. The two crewmen shifted from foot to foot as they quietly waited, occasionally glancing uneasily down the tunnel.

"Julia, what is it?" Devon asked.

Julia looked up at Devon suddenly, her mind snapping back to the present. "Look at these prints. They do appear to be Danziger and Morgan's boots. See the way the impressions are made and the length of the strides?"

Devon shrugged in the dim light.

"They're carrying something," Julia blurted out in explanation. "Something, or someone, relatively heavy."

"Alonzo," Devon noted.

Julia nodded as she continued. "He must have been injured in the fall. That would explain the lack of a third set of prints. They must be looking for another way out."

"Do you need to stay with Cameron, or can you come with us?" Devon asked the doctor. She rose, eager to join the two men who had already commandeered the weapons from her and started to follow the trail.

"Cameron took the bonehealer vaccine. I've done all that I can do. It's just a matter of waiting at this point. I'd much rather join you. Alonzo must need medical care, and the other men may as well," Julia observed as she gathered her supplies.

Devon nodded grimly. Double-checking her supplies, she waited for the doctor to accompany her. As they walked, Devon detailed all of their findings to Yale who then relayed the information to the main camp. After much discussion, it was agreed that the camp would be packed and moved to a stable area close to the search site, since the work at the cargo pod was completed and more kobaberries grew nearby. Leaving a now awake Cameron to monitor the search party's efforts, Yale, Bess and Zero emptied the TransRover then hurriedly retrieved the remainder of the group before nightfall.

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