One Fell Swoop by Allison McDonnell

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It had been just another day at the office for most of the Eden Advance crew. At least it had been until all hell broke loose.

As the group traveled for hours on end, it was commonplace for several of the walkers to ward off the pangs of boredom and to satisfy their curiosity about the surrounding landscape by performing both short and long range scans of the terrain. What was not commonplace was the moment that their sensors picked up a faraway signal; a brief, faint burst of energy originating from the direction of the largest mountain in the region. This extremely unusual occurrence was immediately brought to Devon's attention and she wasted no time by calling a halt to the caravan in order for the group to further investigate the incident. After comparing notes, many of the Edenites speculated that the energy surge could have been caused by a flare, though it was impossible to be certain.

Fearing that Danziger and Magus had encountered some sort of trouble, Devon decided to check in with them to ensure that both remained safe. However, no sooner had she placed the gearset on her head, when a general distress call originating from Magus' gear confirmed her worst suspicions. The leader dutifully attempted to maintain the semblance of control as she tried to contact the small scouting team on audio and on visual without success. Other members of Eden Advance, including True and Walman, also endeavored to reach them on several, more obscure channels, but every effort failed. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that something had gone very, very wrong.

For reasons unknown to them, Magus' exact location was difficult to pinpoint, so the next stop was the Transrover. Morgan led the way, hurriedly climbing into the cab and punching a series of keys on its navigational system while the others waited. Devon was exceedingly thankful that only a few days after she and Alonzo had wrecked the Dunerail, Danziger, Baines and Morgan had jointly taken it upon themselves to install tracking devices on all three of the vehicles, fearing that there could someday be an accident in which the vehicle's occupants were too injured to provide their coordinates using their gear. Danziger also hadn't discounted the idea that one day the group might cross paths with a thievish Grendler who had somehow learned how to drive and decided to help itself to a much faster mode of transportation.

At almost the very second that Morgan was able to confirm the ATV's stationary location at the base of the mountain, Devon began to issue orders.

"Julia, get your med-bag. Cameron and Alonzo, grab whatever weapons you can carry and get the Dunerail ready. The four of us are leaving in no later than five minutes."

As the aforementioned crewmembers nodded and rushed off to gather the needed equipment, Devon turned to the others. "I want the rest of you to stay here and set up camp for the night."

Walman immediately stepped forward. "I'm coming, too."

"There's not enough space for you," Devon said almost offhandedly, barely listening as she dashed around to the side of the Transrover and began to fill a cloth bag with a few supplies of her own.

Walman shadowed her and there was absolutely no trace of the crewman's normal, jovial nature as he stepped directly in between her and the vehicle. His blue eyes had been reduced to slits and his severe expression made it abundantly clear that he wouldn't be swayed on the issue. In Devon's mind, Walman had never more closely resembled Danziger's intense demeanor than at that moment.

"Then you'd better make the room 'cause I'm going with you whether you like it or not," Walman expressed through gritted teeth.

Devon paused, slightly baffled as to why he was so insistent on accompanying the team. She hastily rationalized that the crewman was considered to be Danziger's right-hand man and, as such, probably wanted to do anything and everything that he could to help his mentor and friend. She also concluded that it wouldn't hurt to have another strong presence involved in the rescue effort.

"Okay, just hurry up," she said, nodding her acceptance. "We won't be able to wait for you."

Less than three minutes later, Alonzo was already firmly ensconced in the Dunerail's driver seat revving the engine as a not so subtle signal to the others that time was being unnecessarily wasted. Julia jumped into the front passenger's side and was quickly joined by Cameron, Walman and Devon who climbed into the back, cramming their bodies into the tight space without complaint.

The tension and anxiety in the air was palpable as the rest of Eden Advance fanned around the vehicle. Devon looked beyond the concerned faces of the adults to locate Uly being comforted by Yale, while Bess was busy consoling an obviously distraught True.

Although the leader addressed the entire group, her words were specifically meant for the younger Danziger. "We'll let you know as soon as we reach them."

True wriggled out of Bess' embrace and approached the Dunerail. "Tell my Dad-" she began before stopping in order to compose herself. She straightened her posturing and lifted her chin to demonstrate that she could show courage and tenacity in the face of adversity. Just like her father. "Tell my Dad that I love him."

It wasn't too difficult for Devon to see through True's tough act, especially since it almost perfectly matched the stiff upper lip which she was currently sporting. "Why don't I have him call you on gear and you can tell him yourself," she encouraged, understanding how important it was that neither of them gave up hope. "All right?"

"Okay," True agreed, her voice faltering ever-so-slightly.

Bess traded an all-knowing look with Devon as she came up behind True and placed her hands on both of the child's shoulders in a reassuring gesture. The five members of the rescue party then hastily relayed their goodbyes, along with the promise to keep the rest of the group apprised by checking in regularly, before speeding off in the direction of the mountain.

As the others watched them go, Bess further attempted to lift the younger Danziger's spirits. "You know, your father's been in plenty of scrapes before and he's always been just fine," she declared sweetly, giving True's shoulders an optimistic squeeze. "It's entirely possible that he and Magus are just having equipment trouble. Maybe the ATV broke down and, for some reason, their gearsets aren't working properly."

True's feet were rooted in place, her large, brown eyes now brimming with tears as they remained transfixed on the Dunerail as it vanished in the distance.

"He's in trouble," she choked out as her body racked with a shudder. "I can feel it."
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It all happened so fast. Yet to Danziger and Magus, the events of the next few seconds felt as though they'd taken place in slow motion.

Once the four convicts received their orders from Edmund, each removed large hunting knives from their belts and rapidly descended upon Danziger. Either they were too stupid to fear Danziger's drawn pistol or they were foolhardy enough to play the odds; fully recognizing that, based on their close proximity and quick movements, there was no way for the mechanic to squeeze off more than one or two rounds before he was overtaken.

Danziger barely had time to aim and he fired at the person who was at the head of the pack, shooting Arthur Gray squarely in the chest. The man emitted a strained gasp as the air was propelled out of his lungs for the final time and he crumpled to the ground. Danziger then sidestepped to keep Charlie Simms from coming into direct physical contact with him as he fired another shot, hitting Charlie in the left shoulder. The smaller man fell backward, screaming and writhing in agony as his shirt began to slowly transform from various shades of brown into deep crimson.

Magus dove out of the way as Damon Duffett and Andrew Norris reached Danziger, forcing him two paces backward. There was plenty of angry, frenzied grunts as all three men literally fought for their lives. Magus heard Danziger cry out in pain just before another bullet was expelled, but this time the sound was muffled, indicating that it had been fired at point blank range. Somehow the entire group remained upright as their bodies and feet pretzeled around one another, faltering another dangerous step closer to the ledge. In the middle of the free-for-all, Magus noticed Danziger's gun fall to the wet grass with a soft thud.

Throughout the fray, Edmund had kept his distance, appearing unmoved in both the physical or emotional sense by the violent scene playing out before his eyes. He then exhaled a bored breath and replaced his gun in his pocket before casually stepping over Arthur's corpse and moseying past a still-howling Charlie to stand almost directly next to the battling threesome. He studied them for a moment or two, his face barely registering any interest beyond his obvious disapproval that his instructions to kill Danziger seemed to be taking too long to carry out.

Edmund then decided that it was time to take matters into his own hands. He raised his right arm in a blocking gesture and plowed his body into the back of Damon Duffett, shoving him hard against Danziger and Andrew Norris. Suddenly it was no longer a battle against one another, but a frantic scramble for all three men to regain their footing as they pitched sharply backward and ended up precariously balancing at the cliff's edge. As their struggle continued, Danziger was pushed backward yet another step but, to his horror, this time he no longer felt the ground beneath his feet. In desperation, he grabbed both men by the arms, holding onto them with a death grip in an effort to prevent his fall or, at the very least, to drag them down with him. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the latter.

Magus could only watch in horror as Danziger, along with Damon and Andrew, plunged over the side and disappeared from view. Even the men's frightened yells were quickly swallowed up by the roar of the waters below.

Magus joined in with her own scream as she rushed to the spot occupied by Danziger and the others just moments before. Her wide-eyed gaze followed the turbulent path of the rapids, as well as along the rocky shoreline as she searched for any sign of her friend. To her tremendous alarm, she found nothing.

Her mind was still attempting to digest what had just occurred and she barely noticed an unconcerned Edmund breezing up along side of her. He, too, peered over the edge.

"'Fain would I climb, yet fear I to fall,'" he declared in an easygoing manner.

When Magus didn't respond or veer her eyes from the river, he continued, "That there's a quote from Sir Walter Raleigh. Before he was labeled a criminal and beheaded for his various improprieties, he was a well-known explorer. In fact, he was responsible for establishin' a colony in Virginia, only to come back a few years later to find that the settlers had vanished into thin air, never to be heard from again."

He shrugged. "Wonder what happened to 'em, huh? Was it disease? Or starvation? Did a tidal wave sweep 'em out to sea? Were those poor souls dragged off by hostile natives?"

He shook his head and furthered, "I suppose that it's a good thing that someone came lookin' for 'em at all, or else no one would've even known they were missin'."

Edmund's hardened gaze shifted to Magus. "You know, to bring this full-circle, you've already lost your friend, Mr. Danziger. Let's say that tragedy were to strike yet again and you vanished into thin air. Would anyone ever find out the truth about your fate? For that matter, is there anyone on this planet who's gonna come lookin' for you when you go missin'?"

Magus didn't react and instead continued her futile search of the waters below, prompting Edmund to wonder if she was even listening to him.

"Come on, Lass," he prodded. "I'm gonna find out sooner or later anyway. Best to tell me what I want to know and it'll be easier for the both of us."

Magus slowly turned her head, revealing the tears streaming down her crestfallen face. "How could you kill them?" she asked, her words coming out in between staccato breaths.

"Wasn't too difficult a choice," Edmund answered simply, as though making polite conversation. "Mr. Danziger had obviously outstayed his welcome. Plus, I've been lookin' to thin the herd for a while now. One stone, two birds, as it were."

Magus stared at him as if she was gazing upon the Devil himself. "You're a shanking monster," she spat.

Edmund wasn't the slightest bit offended, prompting Magus to guess that this was far from the first time he'd been called that, if not worse.

"You're missing the point, Ms. Magus, and more importantly, you're ignoring the question. How many are in your group and what is their current location?"

Magus remained tightlipped, her eyes darting around the landscape as she began to size up her own method of escape. She briefly glanced at the mag-pro, but quickly dismissed it as a possibility because even if she could get to it, the weapon would take much too long to charge before it was rendered battle-ready. She then noticed Charlie Simms, who was considerably quieter now as he climbed back to his feet and neared Magus, loosely sandwiching her in between him and Edmund.

"Lemme handle this one," the wounded man eagerly suggested, obviously concerned that he had also outlived his usefulness to Edmund. He bit down hard on his lip and swallowed the searing pain of the bullet which was slowly draining the life out of him through the hole in his shoulder.

"Just gimme a few minutes with her and I'll make her talk. Hell, I'll have her singin' like a canary in no time flat."

Without waiting for Edmund's reply, Charlie took another step in Magus' direction, causing her to retreat several paces away from the edge of the cliff, as well as from both men.

Edmund remained in place as Charlie parroted Magus' slow trek backward. "You know you ain't goin' no where, so you might as well give it up, girl," the smaller man exclaimed, edging closer. "Though I can't help hopin' that you do fight me a little. I always did fancy them gals who insisted on playin' hard to get."

The crew-woman stopped when she felt the back of her heel brush up against something familiar, while Charlie continued to close the gap between them.

"Is you one of them girls, Lass?" he asked. "Are you gonna make me drag every word outta ya' until you beg me to stop?" His lips parted in a crazed smile, his gunshot wound all but forgotten. "Just how hard to get are ya' willin' to play?"

Charlie was only a few feet from Magus and she understood that it was now or never. As fast as lightning, she reached down behind her foot and retrieved the pistol that Danziger had dropped into the grass during his struggle.

"Much 'harder' than you think," she muttered as she plugged two shots into Charlie's chest.

He stumbled back several paces, though the man somehow remained standing and continued to look at her with an expression that could best be described as shell-shocked. Magus took aim and shot once more, this time striking Charlie in the forehead, finally knocking him off of his feet for good.

Magus' entire body was momentarily frozen, stunned at the violence she'd been forced to commit in order to save her life. She was at last shaken back to reality by Edmund's deep, accented voice.

"I never really liked that one much, so I suppose that I owe you a small debt of gratitude," he relayed, now on the move toward Magus. "You saved me the time and trouble of offing him myself."

"Stay where you are," Magus ordered, swinging the sight of the gun toward Edmund. "Come any closer and I'll shoot you, too!"

"No, you won't," he said dismissively, continuing to advance toward her.

"Don't you push me, Griggs!" she called out, her index finger firmly on the trigger.

Edmund carefully circled around the pool of blood and brain matter outlining Charlie's body. "You won't shoot me. You can't."

Magus decided that she'd given him enough of a warning, so she put her words into action and fired. However, to her shock, nothing happened except for a hollow clicking sound.

"That's an old six-shooter you got there," Edmund calmly pointed out. "And you already spent your six bullets."

In utter disbelief, she hurriedly opened the gun's chamber with shaky hands to find that it was indeed empty. When she looked up, Edmund was standing directly in front of her.

He grabbed Magus hard by the upper arms, cutting off the circulation and immobilizing her. "Let's get something straight right now, shall we?" he expressed in a cold-blooded voice. "There's no doubt that you are more valuable to me alive. However, I think that in the short time that we've spent together, you've learned that I have absolutely no qualms about killin' you. So I think that it's best for all concerned that you and I come to some sort of an arrangement."

Magus emitted a slight whimper as Edmund further tightened his hold, continuing, "And that arrangement is: You will do exactly what I tell you to do. You will truthfully answer all questions asked. And if you try anything stupid, you will be punished. Maybe I'll just mess up that pretty face of yours. Or maybe I'll put a bullet in between your eyes."

He shook her once and leaned forward to ensure that he had her complete attention. "I don't want to hurt you, but make no mistake about it, Missy: I will," he decreed with a glacial stare.

He released his grip, no doubt leaving two deep bruises in the form of his hand-print on Magus' skin. "Now if you'll come with me, I'll show you to your new humble abode, located just on the other side of this hill," he ordered, his tone suddenly reverting back to feigned politeness.

Magus had no intention of accompanying Edmund anywhere nor would she ever willingly abide by the proposed terms. As such, the moment that he took a step backward, the crew-woman marshaled her physical and mental strength and kicked him squarely in the groin with her socked foot. As Edmund staggered backward with a pained yelp, Magus swung the empty gun upward with joined hands and cracked him hard across the jaw and cheekbone.

The Edenite then dropped the gun and took off in a sprint toward the place where she and Danziger had originally come in at. However, she purposely chose a route along the ridge. This way, if it became clear that she couldn't outrun Edmund, she could throw herself off the cliff and meet Death on her own terms.

She was too afraid to look behind her to gage the man's current location and the roar of the Janus River below drowned out all but the loudest of noises, so she was unable to detect whether or not he was gaining on her, or even pursuing her at all. Suddenly Magus' ears picked up a powerful banging sound behind her, followed almost simultaneously by searing pain as a bullet went straight through her lower right leg.

She screamed in agony as she tumbled forward onto her face, tasting a bitter mouthful of wet grass and mud. She was shaking uncontrollably as she rolled over onto her back to instinctively clamp her hands over the wounds on both sides of her leg. She looked up to view Edmund's rapid approach.

"You stupid bitch!" he hollered in a slightly garbled voice, one hand covering part of his already-swelling face, the other hand still aiming the gun at her as he closed the gap between them. "You broke my shankin' jaw!"

A panicked Magus immediately began to scramble, flipping herself back over and furiously crawling on all fours toward the precipice, leaving a trail of blood to be slowly washed away by the rain. However, her ever-so-brief satisfaction at having made it to the very edge was cruelly dashed by a hard tug on her injured leg.

"You don't think you're getting off that easy, do ya'?" Edmund snarled, tossing his gun off to the side in order to more securely grab her with both hands. "Get back here, Lass!"

Magus was lying on her stomach and she dug her fingers into the earth in front of her, causing deep indentations in the ground as she was dragged away from the ledge. She was returned to almost the exact same spot as before, all the while continuing to resist by wildly thrashing back and forth and attempting to kick Edmund with her free leg. At the same time, he brutally twisted the other bloodied limb, forcing her to rotate upward toward the sky or risk having the bones wrenched until they snapped into several pieces.

"You're not the only one who can fight dirty," he spat with utter contempt, letting go of Magus just long enough to arch forward and land a solid right hook, striking her directly on the cheek and eye.

The crew-woman's head flopped backward and smacked the ground as her entire plane of vision vanished, only to be replaced by stars and multiple streaks of blinding light. Edmund decided to take full advantage of her disorientation by harshly collapsing onto her in the kneeling position, placing the full weight of his body on folded knees directly across her chest.

The result of his actions was immediate and Magus' airway became obstructed to the point that she could no longer inhale or exhale even the smallest of breaths. She began to flail helplessly, her loose arms punching at him and trying to shove him off of her without success. Edmund's frigid gaze was locked upon her terrified one as her face reddened and her eyes bulged almost out of their sockets. No longer able to speak, Magus' mouth fell open and she emitted a series of strained choking sounds as she desperately struggled for oxygen. It wasn't long before she began to experience tunnel vision along with a dizzying sense of vertigo and she realized that she was only a few seconds from slipping into unconsciousness, or perhaps even embracing Death itself.

Realizing that there was nothing more to be done, Magus decided that the best course of action was to surrender to the feelings. Her eyes fell to a close and her entire body went limp.

Edmund blinked several times as he studied her lifeless body, extremely surprised by her death and at how quickly and easily it had been accomplished. He hadn't intended to permanently neutralize his prisoner; only to restrain her into unconsciousness so that she would be more easily transported back to the cave where he could continue his interrogation in an enclosed setting, as well as to later use her as bait when her compatriots came looking for her.

He shook his head, wondering where he'd gone wrong in the endeavor. Of course, he'd used the technique of positional asphyxiation several times before and had considered himself rather an expert at its practice. However, his talents had always been used on men. In fact, he hadn't been given the opportunity to suffocate a woman since his days on the Stations when he'd murdered over a dozen prostitutes. Back then, his strangling technique had been limited to his hands clasped firmly around his victims' necks; an act from which he had always taken great pleasure as he'd gazed deeply into their frightened eyes while he drained their life force.

He shook his head as he climbed off of Magus' motionless form and restood to his full height. He made the decision that, the next time that he encountered a noncompliant female, he would most definitely choose to employ a different method to force her into submission. After all, he didn't want to repeat the mistake of killing any future potentially valuable merchandise too quickly.

Oh well, live and learn, he thought to himself as he let out an apathetic sigh.

Edmund rubbed at his throbbing, ever-swelling jaw and concluded that indeed it was most likely broken. He hoped that the two dead strangers had actually been part of a much larger band of travelers; one which also included a doctor for him to abduct and force to administer his much-needed medical treatment.

Before disposing of Laura Magus' body by tossing her into the Janus River, Edmund decided to rifle through the front pockets of her tattered jacket and pants, just in case she'd held back on relinquishing any supplies or personal items which could divulge additional clues about where she'd come from. He squatted down next to her and roughly shoved his hands into her clothing, feeling around for anything that might prove useful.

So engrossed was he in the activity that he failed to notice the ever-so-slight rise and fall of Magus' chest and she took careful, shallow breaths to replenish her air supply.

And then the fully conscious crew-woman, who had applied every ounce of her energy and willpower to maintain the ruse of playing opossum, sprung into action. Her eyes snapped open and, with an enraged grunt, she balled up her right hand and swung upward to punch Edmund in the throat with as much force as she possibly could.

The man clearly hadn't been expecting Magus to still be alive, much less at nearly full capacity, nor did he have time to move or even brace himself for the impact of the hit. As his body was propelled backward, his head snapped forward, causing him to bite down hard on his tongue.

Now the tide had shifted and it was Edmund's turn to struggle for breath due do a severely damaged trachea which blocked the air flow to and from his lungs. He tumbled onto his back while, at the same time, Magus scurried to her feet, her eyes darting around the immediate landscape as she searched for something to use as a weapon. She located Danziger's empty handgun just a few feet away and wasted no time in reacquiring it.

The possibility that Edmund might already be immobilized, vulnerable and unable to defend himself, or even mere seconds away from succumbing to suffocation was never a consideration in Magus' mind. Instead, her actions and reactions were based solely upon her strong instinct for survival. She grabbed the pistol by the barrel and brought it down hard, striking Edmund in the forehead with the metal handle.

Magus drew her hand back and brought the gun crashing down on him again, this time at the temple, just above his ear. She continued to pummel him, hitting him over and over again. Each time the gun made contact with Edmund's head, Magus emitted a cry that seemed to vary from an animalistic roar to a frightened whimper to nearly everything in between. Her hands were becoming soaked in his blood, making the gun slippery, so she adjusted and tightened her grip before swiftly resuming the beating. Eventually, Edmund's eyes rolled to the back of his head and blood began to ooze from his open mouth, yet Magus did not stop the attack until she heard the cracking sound of his skull as it caved inward. Only then did she finally understand that he was no longer a threat to her and to those whom she'd cared about. Edmund Griggs would never hurt anyone else ever again.

Magus was in a state of complete shock as she slowly climbed to her feet and retreated from Edmund's body. With dazed eyes, she looked at her blood drenched skin along with the generous splatters of crimson on her clothing, unsuccessfully trying to make sense of what had just happened. She noticed and then gravitated toward the discarded pile of supplies located about thirty feet away, wincing with each step due to the pain in her lower leg and no longer quite remembering how she had become injured in the first place.

She stared in confusion at the collection of belongings for several moments, wondering what to do next. It wasn't until she spied the soft green light of a gearset which had been buried near the bottom of the heap that her survival instincts again kicked in of its own volition. She slowly dug the equipment out of the pile and fumbled somewhat as she placed it onto her head. She was able to open the main audio channel but either forgot or ignored the apparatus' video capabilities.

"You have to come now. They're dead," she said, her voice nearly a monotone. "They're all dead."

As soon as she muttered the words, Magus sunk to the ground. The sounds of Eden Advance's worried replies, the pattering of rainfall and the roar of the rapids swirled together in the crew-woman's impaired brain to form a non-distinct, white noise which slowly faded away into nothingness.

"Magus, can you hear me? Come in. Magus? Laura? Please answer. Please come in, Magus. Are you there?"

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