Wishful Thinking by Allison McDonnell

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It was if the entire surface of planet G889 had suddenly been carpeted with a thick layer of eggshells. Six days after the violent clash between Danziger and Alonzo- and apparently Devon- had transpired, the members of Eden Advance were still treading lightly as they walked; carefully watching each and every step of their daily hike, so as not to disturb the scenery around them.

Indeed, the tension among the crew had become so thick that the largest chainsaw in their arsenal of supplies couldn't have sliced through it. As the group reached and then exceeded their twenty click quotas, their movements were swift and nearly soundless. Very few words were exchanged between the crew, and gossiping and even basic pleasantries had become nonexistent while in public.

Of course, Devon and John had been acting rather oddly ever since Devon's miraculous healing the prior month, and lately the normally jovial Alonzo had become withdrawn and had seemed to be riddled with stress. However after their violent brawl, the trio was openly exhibiting their anxiety, despair and even hostility with anyone who was unfortunate enough to come into contact with them. And their misery was like an airborne virus that spread throughout the rest of Eden Advance, leaving raw nerves and emotional devastation in its wake.

As they traveled, Devon had remained steadfastly in place at the helm of the caravan while Danziger now trailed behind in the very back. This left a still slightly black and blue Alonzo smack dab in the middle of the convoy. At first, the group had assumed that the traumatic and unresolved conflict had been Devon and Danziger firmly aligned against Alonzo. However, based upon the fact that none of the three would speak to, or even glance at, one another, some reconsidered this presumption.

Danziger's overall demeanor had become introspective and reclusive. The mechanic was astonishingly quiet and he no longer spoke up to take issue with any of Devon's leadership decisions, and in turn, Devon no longer requested his input. In fact, the breakdown in communication between the first and second in command had deteriorated so badly that whenever Devon and John were forced to exchange information, they'd use go-betweens to send messages to one another.

The crew also observed that Danziger appeared to be so deeply affected by this rift in their friendship that he was suffering from bouts of insomnia. For the past week, the mechanic had ended up commandeering almost every evening guard shift and he'd remain awake all night long. What paltry amounts of sleep he was able to garner added up to little more than occasional and much-too-brief naps in the passenger seats of the Dunerail or the 'Rover during the daylight hours.

Worse yet, it was apparent that Julia had somehow been dragged into whatever had taken place between the quarreling threesome. Though no crew-members had dared to ask her to provide any of the gory details, the physician had obviously been filled in by Alonzo, most likely while she was patching up his many facial wounds.

As such, Julia had been placed in a very difficult position. Though she'd chosen to stand by Alonzo, traveling beside him in the daytime and continuing to share her living quarters with him at night, she'd also continued to speak with Devon and Danziger. However, the crew duly noted that Julia's interactions with the two leaders were seldom, succinct and stayed focused on the business at hand. The doctor also looked conflicted and downright miserable during those exchanges, as did Devon and John.

In several instances when the crew was behind closed doors and out of the earshots of the involved parties, they'd attempted to piece together an explanation from the few details they'd gleaned from the argument from the week before. They knew little more than the feud had involved hurt feelings and some sort of broken trust. It also seemed clear to them that Alonzo had either made an important decision or had taken a certain action without either leader's consent which had resulted in lasting repercussions.

It was first speculated that either John or Devon had chosen to confide in Alonzo who, in turn, had betrayed him or her by disclosing the information to the other. And whatever this secret was, the particulars must have been so volatile and egregious that it had shattered the friendships of all three.

Another suggestion was that Alonzo's ever-strengthening bond with the Terrians had come into play, and he'd gone behind Devon's back and had formed some sort of an alliance with the creatures. If this had indeed been the case and he'd been making decisions on Eden Advance's- or specifically Uly's- behalf without Devon's input, enduring both leader's wrath would have been a possible outcome. However, this certainly wouldn't explain why Devon and John were no longer on speaking terms.

And although the idea was quickly nixed by the crew, based upon what they'd been privy to regarding Alonzo's shocking confession of an attraction to Devon while he was under the influence of an East coast spider bite- as well as Danziger's decidedly negative reaction to said confession- it had even been proposed that the source of the skirmish was that the trio had become mired in a sordid love triangle.

After much discussion, none of the theories that the Edenites came up with held much weight under scrutiny, and they were completely at a loss. It just didn't make sense to them at all. The only thing that they were sure of was that the foundation of Eden Advance had been fractured, and the damage inflicted was quite possibly permanent.

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Devon hadn't felt this alone since the first days after Uly had been diagnosed with The Syndrome. Indeed, the events of the past week had placed a tremendous emotional strain on her, and it was becoming progressively worse with no end in sight.

However, it wasn't as if she'd lacked friends who were ready and willing to help her. Over the past days, both Bess and Yale had separately approached her to volunteer their ears and complete support if she'd needed someone to talk to. Devon was grateful for their generous offers, but the truth of the matter was that the one person whom Devon really wanted to share her feelings with appeared to be completely beyond her reach.

In Devon's eyes, Danziger had made it exceedingly clear by his standoffish behavior that he'd wanted nothing to do with her at the moment. He'd even gone so far as to switch sleep schedules with her to ensure that they didn't accidentally find themselves together on the Dreamplane.

But to be fair, Devon had been just as hurt and confused by their predicament as John was. As such, she hadn't dropped a single hint or made even the slightest overture toward the mechanic to suggest that she'd wanted to reinitiate contact with him either. They couldn't go back and change what they'd said and done, nor were they able to move forward, so there was nothing left but to remain stuck in a holding pattern.

Devon didn't know how to make their situation right, but she knew that things couldn't stay the way they were for very much longer. And though she fully understood that she was not the root cause of this rift between her, John and Alonzo, by allowing its perpetuation, she was partly responsible for the hostile work environment currently endured by the rest of the already beleaguered Eden Advance. Every one of them depended upon her to lead by example, and there was simply too much at stake to let them down. Enough was enough.

Although it was nearly midnight, Devon compelled herself to rise from her cot and quietly dress. After confirming that Uly was comfortably tucked in his bed and firmly in the grips of a deep sleep, she slipped out of her quarters into the brisk night.

Her gaze was immediately drawn to the fire pit at the center of their campsite and, more importantly, to the large silhouette of John Danziger which was gracefully framed by the red-hot embers.

Devon took several purposeful steps towards him before pausing in her tracks and reevaluating her choices. After a few moments of contemplation, she changed course and instead marched toward one of the neighboring tents, taking note of the faint hue of a lumalamp inside the dwelling. She paused at the threshold, briefly closing her eyes and steeling her emotions before lightly knocking on the canvas.

When the nylon flap was pulled back, Julia's eyes went as wide as dinner plates at the sight of Devon at her doorstep.

The leader looked over Julia's shoulder to view a still dressed Alonzo who appeared to be equally taken aback by their late night visitor.

"Good, you're still awake," Devon remarked, trying as sound as casual as possible despite the tense circumstances. "May I come in?"

"Of course," Julia replied, pulling the tarp back to allow Devon entry.

Assuming that Devon wished to speak with Alonzo alone, the doctor felt it best to make herself scarce.

"Just let me get my jacket," Julia relayed, yanking her coat off of the back of a nearby chair. "Take all the time you need."

Devon held up her hands in a halting gesture. "Wait, there's no need for you to go. In fact, I'd prefer it if you stayed," she declared before amending slightly, "If that's all right with Alonzo, of course."

As a still very nervous Alonzo heartily nodded his agreement, Julia replaced her jacket on her chair and sat down. Alonzo then hurriedly grabbed an overturned crate and offered it to an appreciative Devon before seating himself on the edge of his cot directly across from her.

Devon schooled her features to appear as impartial as possible while she straightened her back and rested her folded hands just above her knees.

"I'm ready to listen," she declared. "Tell me everything."

Alonzo exhaled a full, cleansing breath and started from the beginning.

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