Deja Vu, Part 1
by Carrie Reed
Narrated by Alonzo:
It's been 32 days since awaking Devon from cold sleep. Determined not to lose any more time, we pushed on, covering almost twice the distance in one day than we had before. The group has gained new confidence in the past month, and although the daily journey is difficult and long, the crew seems more determined than ever to reach our desired destination. As for me, life has been peaceful. The terrians haven't been dreaming to me nearly as much. In fact it's been over a week since the last one, which is fine with me--I enjoy being able to sleep through the night...
Alonzo woke with a start. His heart was racing, his head was pounding. He knew instantly that he'd been dreaming, but couldn't remember what it was about. But it wasn't a terrian dream, this one was different. He tried to go back to sleep, but it was no use. Whatever had happened in his dream, really unnerved him. What unnerved him even more was the fact that he couldn't place his finger on what it was. After two hours of tossing and turning, he finally decided to go ask Julia for a sleep aid.
"Julia, Julia..." Alonzo whispered when he got to her tent, "wake up." "What is it?! What's wrong?" Her medical enhancements had trained her to expect the worst, and she awoke with a start.
"Shh...Nothing serious, I just need a sleep aid." "Are you having terrian dreams again? I thought those hadn't been coming. I thought you'd been sleeping through the night."
"I was. This wasn't a terrian dream, though, this one was *real*." "Do you want to tell me what it was about?" "That's the problem, I can't remember. I've been trying to sleep for two hours, and everytime I start to drift off, I get this feeling that there's something there in my mind, just out of reach, and I can't quite grasp it. Then I wake up and it starts all over again. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow, and I neep a good night's rest."
Julia already had the sleep-aid ready when Alonzo finished talking. "This should do the trick. Now get some rest, doctor's orders."
"Thanks." The pilot gave his lady a good-night kiss, and departed, leaving Julia a bit dizzy.
"I hate it when he does that..." she muttered to herself.
"Did you notice how ragged Alonzo looked this morning?" Devon asked Danziger as they walked on ahead of the group, scouting for passes that the Rail could use.
"Yeah. Wonder what he's been up to," Danziger said with a sly grin. Devon shot him an icy glare before she continued, "I wonder if he's been dreaming again. I didn't want to ask, though, he seemed pretty worn out."
"I wouldn't worry too much, Adair. If it's something important, he'd let us know."
"I know. Things have been going so well lately, and I just can't help but worry sometimes. It's in my nature, I guess."
"I'll say. It's gotta be a female thing. Just when things start going good, you start to get nervous, like it's impossible for things to go right once in a while..."
"Hold on just a minute--"
"Relax Adair, don't go defensive on me, you know it's true. That's another thing you women do, you especially. Just when someone starts to get close to a truth that's a little too uncomfortable, you build a wall and get defensive--"
"Since when have you become the Almighty on understanding women?!" "I never said I understood them. I've always said there's a veil covering the female world that men would be better off not looking beyond. These are just a few casual observations I've made in my time."
"Oh, and I'm sure you've had a lot of experience in the women department, no doubt."
"Does that bother you, Adair?" Danziger asked with raised eyebrows and his characteristic grin.
"Why should that bother me?" Devon replied, trying to sound nonchallant, "What you do with your personal life is none of my business." And then, not liking the way this conversation was headed, "You know, I don't know how far we've gotten ahead of the group, maybe we should call back and tell them that there's a clear path till here, we might want to think about finding a place to set up camp."
Danziger was surprised to find he was relieved that she had changed the subject. he thought .
"Adair to crew." Julia answered Devon's call. "Devon, have you and John found a clear path?" "It's clear. We'll start setting up camp. I guess we'll see you when you get here."
"Devon, maybe you two should come back and meet us, instead of waiting out there alone. Alonzo's been having a really strange feeling about this place."
"Nonsense. There's not one of us on this crew that hasn't been out scouting at one time or another. We know how to take care of ourselves. Besides, that would just waste time and energy." "Devon, he had a dream last night..."
"A terrian dream? I thought they were leaving him alone?" "Not a terrian dream, Devon," Alonzo piped in, "a real one. I have this eerie feeling that I've been to this place before. The rocks, the bluff, the wash, they all look so familiar. I can't remember what happened in my dream, but I have a feeling this has something to do with it, and it's feels like trouble, whatever it is."
"Devon," It was Yale's turn to be protective, "We'd all feel better if the two of you would come back. Uly's worried about you, he says he has the feeling, too, and he's scared."
"All this fuss over a dream. I'm sure it's nothing but a normal nightmare, but if it'll make you feel better, we'll come back. Adair out."
As they finished the conversation, the group heard True scream. Julia raced around a bluff and into a rocky wash, where True's screams were coming from. As True came into view, Julia saw the body of a man on the ground next to her, bleeding.
"I...I just found him here..." True stammered, "Who is he?" "Well there's the question of the day," Julia said as she ran her diaglove over the body. "He's still alive, but just barely. I think I can save him, and then we can ask him ourselves." By this time the rest of the crew had reached the spot where True was. Julia continued, "Alonzo, get in touch with Devon and tell her we're camping here tonight. Tell her she and Danziger need to hurry up, I don't know if they're safe out there."
"Where's Julia?" Devon asked the Martins as she and Danziger got into camp.
"She's in the med-tent, she's been asking for you." Bess replied. Devon and Danziger left for the med-tent with the Martins close behind. When Devon reached the med-tent and went inside, she stopped so suddenly, that the three behind her almost tripped over her. Her face lost all color.
"Adair!" Danziger growled behind her, "What the devil are you trying to do?! Devon? Are you OK?"
"We think he's a penal colonist. It's the only reasoning any of us can come up with. There's no need to be worried about safety, we've secured the camp, and there's several people on watch. Devon, I know it looks serious, but he'll be fine," Julia tried to reassure her, "He should be awake any minute..." With that, the patient started coming around.
"It's not that. Someone get Yale," Devon said, barely above a whisper, "Please get Yale in here." Baines, being the last to enter the tent, and the one closest to the door, left in search of Yale.
The man had become fully conscious now, and as he looked around the room, his eyes focused on Devon, "Devon..."
Story Notes:
Howdy, This is only my second attempt at FF, so please any comments, criticism, suggestions, etc. would be *greatly* appreciated. This one is going to be in parts (I don't know how many). I've only got the first part done. Schools starting soon, and I won't have as much time, so I'm going to put it out in installments. The first part's not very long, and it's kind-of a cliffhanger, so don't get too frustrated. I'll have the second part out if not Saturday then a week from Saturday. Sorry about the wait. I'd like your input. I've got two other stories in my head right now, so my FF career is looking bright :)