Yesterday's return by Maggie C

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Yesterday's Return (3/8)
by Maggie C

Okay, I realize that a lot of you are probably totally confused at this point. It won't really clear up until part 4, but by then, everyone should know what's going on. (I hope) Anyway, without further ado (I've always wanted to use that line *S*) Part 3.

Oh, for the disclaimer, see Part 1.

The next day, everyone took advantage of a day with no traveling to relax and catch up on some work. Baines and Walman did battle with the TransRover, and the machine was winning.

"Dammit!" Walman yelled, his voice muffled from under the huge vehicle. Magus and Denner looked over from where they were having much more success with the ATV and Dunerail. He pulled himself out from under the 'Rover and grabbed a tool. Walman caught Magus' and Denner's grins and shot them a dirty look. ~They would have to draw the easy vehicles,~ he thought. He looked back to the 'Rover. "This thing's a piece of junk!" he yelled, frustrated.

"Now, Walman, calm down. You don't want Danziger to catch you..." Walman stared up at Baines and he cursed himself as he realized his mistake. "Three weeks, and I keep doing that!"

"Hey man, I know." Walman said. "I think it's wishful thinking. If Danz was here, we wouldn't have to deal with this thing." He subjected the TransRover with a vicious glare. "He'd be the one swearing at the darn machine."

"Yeah." Baines was still angry at his mistake and felt like depressing himself further. "I just got to get it in my head that he's out of it for a while." He threw down the tool he was holding. "Hell, at this rate, he's never going to wake up." Baines whirled around, startled, as he heard a choked sob from behind him. True and Uly were standing right behind him. It was True who had let out the sob, and she looked up at him, shaking her head and holding back tears. Uly looked near tears as well. "Oh, no. True..." Baines yelled as the girl ran off into the woods. The scene had attracted the attention of the entire camp, and a group began gathering around the TransRover. Devon caught Uly by the arm as he tried to run after True. "Uly, stay by camp. I'll go get True." She glared angrily at Baines, telling him she had overheard his comment. Baines could not meet her gaze. Then she took off in the direction True had run off in. Baines looked at the group gathered around the 'Rover, and his gaze fell on Uly, who, prohibited from running off like True had, settled on staring at Baines in shock and anger. Baines mentally berated himself. ~I can't believe I said something so stupid! What was I thinking?~ "Uly, I..." He never got to finish his sentence. Uly just glared at him and stormed to the other side of camp, toward the med tent. Baines watched him go.

"Baines, what were you thinking!?" Denner shouted at him. She stood with Magus, who was glaring at Walman, as if he should have prevented this somehow. Walman was looking at the ground, not meeting anyone's eyes. Baines swallowed, and then finally met Yale's gaze. The tutor was glaring silently at him. "I don't know. I'm so sorry. I was just ..."

"Worried about Danziger," Cameron filled in. Baines turned his head and finally saw an understanding face. Baines nodded gratefully. Cameron nodded back. "Yeah, we're all worried about him."

Alonzo watched the whole scene from the sidelines. He saw Uly stomp off toward the med tent. As he approached it, Uly hesitated. Even from the distance he was at, Alonzo could see that Uly was very upset. Throwing a quick look around, Uly changed directions and headed toward the lake.

~I wonder why Uly was so upset?~ Alonzo thought, confused. His thoughts broke off as realization dawned on him. ~Oh, I'm an idiot! We're all idiots!~ Alonzo hurried after Uly. ~We were all so shocked by John's accident, and then we were all worried about Devon and True. No one thought how this would affect Uly!~ As Alonzo approached the lake, he calmed somewhat. He realized that Uly was also concerned about his mom and True, and didn't want anyone to worry about him. He hid his feelings, but that didn't mean that he didn't have them. Alonzo came to the lake to find Uly there, skipping stones across the water.

"Uly." Alonzo announced his presence. Startled, Uly glanced back at him. "Oh, hi Alonzo," Uly said, and with that, he turned back to his stones.

Alonzo watched as Uly threw a stone and it skipped one, twice,..., five times across the surface of the water. "That's pretty good, Uly. Where'd you learn to skip stones so well?"

Uly paused in mid throw. He bit his lip as he remembered.

"Now, you swing your arm back, keep the stone parallel to the water, that's right, and just let it go!" Uly released the stone, and it skipped twice across the water before sinking. "That's great! Uly, you're a natural." Uly looked up at a smiling John Danziger. "Thanks John." Uly had, at first, been uncomfortable calling him by his first name. It seemed impolite, but he soon grew used to it. 'Mr. Danziger' was just too impersonal. "You're a good teacher." John looked at the setting sun. He smiled down at his wife's son. "We'd better get back. Your mom will worry." Uly made a face. ~She worries too much~ he thought, and said so. John just laughed, and slung him up on his shoulders as they headed back to camp.

John had spent the whole afternoon with Uly, exploring the area they had stopped at before the stone-skipping lesson. True had been engrossed with something Julia was doing, and his mom had been busy. Uly was bored. John had noticed, and had made time for Uly.

All this passed through Uly's mind in a matter of moments. Dropping the stone he was holding, he answered simply. "John taught me."

Alonzo had figured as much from the look that had passed over Uly's face. ~I wonder where Danziger learned to skip stones?~ Alonzo quickly dismissed the thought that drifted across his mind. It didn't matter. Alonzo shifted gears, since he knew that he would get nowhere with the direct approach. "Uly, who was your father?" he asked. No one really knew who Uly's father had been. There was some speculation, and it was generally assumed that whoever it was, he couldn't handle having a child with the Syndrome.

Uly looked at Alonzo strangely. "I don't have a father. Mom wanted a baby, but she didn't have a husband or a boyfriend, so she went to the doctor by herself and got me."

Alonzo was surprised, to say the least. At how Uly phrased that as well as what he said. ~I wonder how much Devon told him about the facts of life?~ As for what Uly said, Alonzo wondered why no one had considered the possibility of artificial insemination. That procedure wasn't normally done, but it wasn't unheard of either. Devon hadn't told any of them about this. Of course, Danz probably knew, but that was another matter entirely. He looked at Uly, who was still gazing at him strangely. Alonzo sat down and motioned for Uly to sit next to him. Uly did, and they watched the lake in silence for a few minutes.

~John has really been the only father Uly's known.~ Yale, Alonzo supposed, tried to be the boy's friend, seeing as how Uly couldn't have had many other friends. This whole thing was a mess. Uly was hurting, and wouldn't let anyone see that because he didn't think he should be hurting. ~Uly has a right to be scared and hurt. John's still your dad, even if he isn't actually your father. No matter what anyone might think.~ Alonzo wanted to tell Uly that, but he sensed that wouldn't be smart. He'd have to be careful with what he said. He didn't want to hurt Uly more, he just wanted to help him.

"So, you and Danz have become pretty close, huh?" Alonzo said, breaking the silence.

Uly nodded. "Yeah, especially since Mom got sick, and then better. He spends time with me, teaching me lots of neat stuff."

"Almost like a dad, right?" Alonzo asked the question gently, watching closely for Uly's reaction.

Uly stared at Alonzo in shock, and then he abruptly turned away, looking back at the lake.

There was something else there. Something bothering him besides John being hurt. "Uly, what is it?"

Uly thought it over for a moment, and then decided that he could tell Alonzo. "True and I... we decided..." Uly couldn't seem to get the words out. He took a deep breath and tried again. "True was going to ask if she could call Mom 'mom' and I was going to ask John if I could call him 'dad'."

Alonzo suddenly understood. "But then John got hurt."

Uly bit his lip and nodded. ~I won't cry!~ He had to be strong, to make sure that Mom and True would be okay. "Alonzo, is he going to be okay?" Uly asked.

Alonzo's heart went out to the little boy. ~He's hurting just as much as True or Devon, but he's hiding it, just like his mom! We should have seen this coming! John and Uly have been growing closer ever since Devon was sick. Even before that.~ Alonzo laid a hand on Uly's shoulder.

With this contact, Uly could no longer hold back his tears. He started sobbing, and leaned against Alonzo, burying his face in his shoulder.

Alonzo put his arms around him. "Uly, it's going to be okay. John's going to be just fine." He prayed he wasn't lying.

"But what about...?" Uly pulled slightly away, bringing his sobs under control, although tears still trickled down his face.

"Baines?" Uly nodded. "He was just scared, same as all of us, and he let it get the better of him."

Uly considered that, and supposed it made sense. He hesitated, and asked his question. "Alonzo, would it be okay if I called John dad?"

"What?" Alonzo was now confused. "Uly, why wouldn't it be?"

Uly shrugged. He couldn't find a way to put his fears into words. "I don't know," he said, suddenly finding the stones at his feet very interesting.

Alonzo was confused for a moment, and then realized that Uly was worried about how John and Devon would react. Uly was afraid that they wouldn't want him to call John 'dad'. "Uly, when you ask John if you can call him 'dad', he's going to be thrilled. So will your mom. You know, they're still worried that you and True might have a problem with them being together."

Uly looked at Alonzo, surprised. "But that's silly. True and me both really like it. I mean, John makes mom happy, and she makes him happy too."

Alonzo smiled at him. "Yeah, well, adults are funny sometimes." Alonzo marveled at how well the two of them were adjusting. "I think they worry that you guys feel left out."

Uly shrugged. "We don't feel left out. It's sort of weird, sharing a tent with True instead of Mom, but it's not like they're ignoring us or anything." ~Actually, sometimes I wish they'd pay less attention to what me and True are doing.~

Alonzo started laughing and Uly realized he said that last part out loud. He immediately turned red, but Alonzo's laughter was infectious, and soon Uly was laughing too.

They quieted down after a few minutes. "So, pal, you ready to go back?" Alonzo asked. "Your mom and True are probably back already." Uly nodded, and they both headed back to camp.

Meanwhile, True was running through the forest, crying. She was so upset, she didn't hear Devon running after her, calling her name. She stumbled over a tree branch lying on the ground and didn't bother to get up. She just lay on the ground, sobbing. Devon caught up to her and gathered her in her arms. True clung to her like a life preserver

"It's okay, True. Everything will be okay. Shh." Devon rocked the girl in her arms and held her tight.

"No, it's not going to be okay," True sobbed. "Dad's never going to get better. He's not."

Devon's heart was breaking. Tears appeared in her eyes. True sounded so sure of that. "No, True, he is going to get better. He has to."

"No he's not. They never get better." True started crying harder. ~It's not fair!~ she thought. ~First my mom dies before I was even born, and now Dad's going to die too. And just when everything was finally going right for us. Dad and Devon got married, and we were all a family. I was going to ask if I could call Devon 'mom', and now he's going to die! It's not fair!~

Devon knew True had to be talking about her mother. "True, no," Devon said. "Your dad isn't like your mom." True jerked away from Devon. "I know what happened to your mom, True, and it's nothing like what happened to your dad. Julia can tell you that herself." Devon smiled at the girl, tears shimmering in her eyes. "You'll see. Any day now, your dad will wake up, as cranky as ever."

"Well, I'm afraid that's not quite accurate. You see, he's never going to wake up." True and Devon both jumped and turned toward the unfamiliar voice. They saw a man standing there, aiming a crossbow at them. Devon went pale as she recognized the man from her past. ~No, it can't be him! They told me he was dead!~ "Hello again, Devon," he said. "It's been a long time, darling." He moved closer to them and Devon grabbed True and held her protectively. He stared at True. "So, this is her. She's beautiful, Devon. We have a beautiful daughter."

At this statement, both True and Devon stared at him in shock. True recovered first, and before Devon could stop her, she blurted out, "You're not my father! My dad's back in camp!"

The man looked at her in surprise, and then turned his angry gaze to Devon. "What lies have you been telling her?" He turned his attention back to True, and said, "Soon, you'll learn the truth." True was about to protest again, but Devon quieted her. "Come on, let's go," he said, gesturing with his crossbow.

Devon found her voice. "Where are we going?" she asked unsteadily.

The man stared at her impassively. "You'll see," he said simply. He gestured with his crossbow again. Devon got to her feet slowly, and started walking in the direction he was pointing. She gripped True's hand firmly, keeping her close. ~Oh God, what am I going to do?~ Devon thought, as the man prodded them deeper into the forest.

Yale was sitting by the fire, reading A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens. It was one of his favorite books. ~I'm glad I had time to grab it before the crash.~ The thought drifted across Yale's mind as he finished the chapter he was on. He heard someone clear their throat and looked up to see Baines standing there. Yale started to become angry at what Baines had said earlier, and then reconsidered. The man was truly sorry for what he had said. He hadn't meant to cause any harm. "Hello, Baines," Yale said amicably.

Baines breathed a sigh of relief that Yale wasn't still angry with him. "Yale, have you seen Devon? I want to apologize for what I said earlier."

Yale looked around and saw that it had become very late. He was so engrossed in his book, he hadn't even noticed. Devon and True should have been back a long time ago. He grew concerned. "Aren't they back yet?" he asked.

Baines became worried too when he heard that they weren't back yet. "I looked around camp, but I didn't see them. I thought you'd know where she was."

Yale called everyone around the fire. "Has anyone seen True or Devon?" A chorus of "They aren't back yet?" and "I haven't seen them" answered him. "We have to go out and look for them," Yale said. Baines quickly agreed with him and started to go and get supplies for the search.

"Wait a minute," Julia said, stopping them. "You're not going to be able to find them in the dark."

Denner backed her up. "Yeah, guys, we have to wait until it's light."

Yale, Baines and a couple of additional people protested, but the others held firm and convinced them to wait until morning. People drifted off to sleep, a few lingering by the fire. Yale was one of the first to go. He went to his tent, and was relieved to find Uly still there, asleep in his cot. He lay down and closed his eyes, but sleep did not come for a long time.

After walking for much of the night, Devon, True, and their captor came up to a large cave. It was partially hidden from view by forest growth, but the entrance still stood out. "Well I don't know about you ladies, but all that walking has tired me out," their captor said. "Why don't we all get some sleep. We can talk again in the morning." He led them into the cave. "And just to make sure you don't try to get away, you two will be staying down there." He pointed down a hole, about fifteen feet deep. A long, knotted vine lay curled up beside the hole. He kicked the vine down the hole. "Go ahead. Climb down." Devon motioned for True to go down first. Then she followed her. Once they were both safely down, he pulled up the vine rope, effectively trapping them down there. Devon held True's hand and they looked around. They were in a large area. There was only one chamber and there was a lantern at one end of the chamber, along with a couple of blankets. Devon looked down at True, who seemed very frightened. "True, are you alright?" she asked, kneeling down so she was at eye level with her.

True shook her head. "I'm scared," she said quietly.

Devon smiled reassuringly at her. "That's okay. I'm scared too."

"Who is he?" True asked, and Devon's smile faded.

"His name is Bryan Gibson," Devon explained. "He's a very bad man, True. I knew him a long time ago, on the stations. I thought he was dead"

"Why does he think he's my dad?" True asked. She didn't like the idea of anyone else believing that he was her dad. "I mean, he's not."

"No, True. He's not your father," Devon sighed. "He's completely crazy. He thinks that he and I had a child together. I have no idea why, but he seems to think you're that child."

True was a little less afraid now. "What do we do now?"

"Now," she replied, "we look for a way out of here."

"But he took the vine away. We can't climb back up," True said.

"True, you've been in these caves before," Devon said. "There's always a lot of passages in and out. I bet if we look around, we'll find another way out of here."

True agreed, and they both started looking around. In spite of what she said, Devon wasn't very hopeful that they would find a way out. She was almost about to give up, when True called her over to the other side of the chamber. She sounded excited, so Devon rushed over. True had found a small crawl space hidden behind some rocks. Devon was surprised that True had found it at all. "Good job, True," Devon praised. She looked closer at the hole. She wouldn't fit. Devon smiled at True. "Okay, you'd better go."

"What about you?" True protested.

"I'm too big. I'd never be able to get through. No, True," she said, cutting off her protests. Devon laid a hand on the girl's shoulder and smiled a little half-smile. "Look, you know the way back right?" True nodded, a little uncertain. "Go back to camp and bring them back here. Go straight back, alright?" True nodded, but opened her mouth to argue some more. She didn't want to leave Devon alone with that man. "True, no arguments. Go back to camp and get help. Go on," Devon said when True still didn't start moving. True threw her arms around Devon and she returned the hug, squeezing True tightly. Then she helped True climb through the hole and into the passage. "Good luck," she said, too softly for the girl to hear. She covered the hole with the rocks again, and arranged the blankets so that it looked as if someone was sleeping. She knew it was dangerous to send True out there on her own at night. She might get lost or hurt herself. But Devon was more frightened of what would happen to her if she stayed here, with Gibson. She still couldn't believe he was alive, but she knew she could never mistake his face. The memories of what he did still haunted her. Devon started to become very frightened. ~What will he do now? Oh God, what am I going to do?~ she thought, repeating her earlier plea. She backed up against the rock wall, rested her head on her knees, and tried to control the terror she was feeling. She wasn't very successful, and she prayed that morning, and a rescue, would come soon.

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