Scar Tissue by Allison McDonnell

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Julia and Devon edged their way past the large rock formations and through the narrow opening of the cave. As they entered the first chamber, their senses were assaulted by an overwhelming stench which served as a reminder that Grendlers considered personal hygiene at the very bottom of their priority list; probably just below 'tidying up their living space.' The two women briefly noted the same multitude of discarded dull metal pieces and other nonsensical (and nonuseful) items which were still randomly strewn along the outline of the enclosure that the creatures had collected for a rainy day that never came. It didn't appear that anything had been moved since the last time they'd been in the cave several weeks before.

As they stepped toward the center of the room, Julia and Devon could already feel the electromagnetic pull of the charged spider webs just beyond their field of vision. The hairs on their arms stood on end as they slowly advanced toward the adjacent chamber.

Julia looked over Devon's shoulder in order to observe the gauge. "This is still reading Danziger, right?" she asked, keeping her voice low in case the mechanic was still in earshot.

As Devon nodded, Julia wondered aloud, "How? I mean, if he's already on the East coast, why is it indicating that he's still here?"

Devon was just as mystified as Julia was. "Maybe John hasn't left yet. Or maybe he found the transmitter that True placed on him and threw it away," she proposed, also speaking barely above a whisper on the chance that the mechanic was nearby. "Or maybe he just decided to leave his jacket behind."

She waved the equipment back and forth in front of her, eyeing it curiously as it directed her away from the more familiar chamber and toward a different section of the room which was cloaked in shadow. The leader advanced forward and ran her free hand along the pitch black wall until the rock vanished and she felt open space. Julia aimed her lumalight to reveal an entrance to a sizable tunnel that had missed their prior detection.

"If he is still here, it looks like he's somewhere in this corridor," Devon assessed after rechecking the locating device.

"Do you think this could lead to another absolute vacuum?" Julia posed.

"Danziger thought that there could be more of them around here," Devon answered. "When he came to me a few weeks ago about using the spider tunnels to look for food, he mentioned that he was pretty sure that the Grendler that showed up in camp after he'd accidentally killed its mate had used one. There was no other explanation for how it got here so fast. It had even brought its dead companion with him."

Devon paused, her expression crestfallen as she recalled the anguish in John's face as he'd plead his case. He had barely been able to meet her eyes when he'd used the Grendler's speedy travel as evidence to persuade her to try things his way. It was one of the very few times he'd spoken about anything relating to the incidents surrounding the scout, and it had clearly been mentioned as a last resort on his part.

Julia was oblivious to Devon's mood change and, instead, concentrated on Danziger's current whereabouts.

"If he's been riding a different current, he could have ended up anywhere."

Devon relieved Julia of her lumalight and took two large paces into the tunnel before pivoting back to face the doctor.

"Well, I think that it's high time that we put a stop to it," she determined.

As the duo gradually navigated their way through the passageway, they found it rather odd that they didn't sense an electrical current drawing them forward. In fact, as they progressed onward, they were experiencing the polar opposite. It was confusing and they weren't certain how to interpret this new information, along with the fact that they hadn't seen a single web since entering the corridor. For the first time in over a week, Devon wondered if Danziger had been telling the truth all along.

Before Julia and Devon had time to fully digest what they were seeing and its likely meaning, they realized that the tunnel was about to open into a large alcove. They could detect a faint light ahead of them, but the source clearly couldn't be attributed to anything close to the sporadic beam that they'd previously used as a gateway to the East coast shoreline.

The lumalight and the homing device were hastily shut off so as not to reveal the pair's presence. They stealthily crept forward to the threshold of the chamber, but much of their view was obstructed by rock formations, including generous amounts of stalagmites and stalactites protruding from the floor and ceiling. However, they could see enough to at last confirm that there were no spider webs or electromagnetic charges of any kind in the general vicinity. If Danziger was there, he most certainly was not using a spider tunnel to transport himself to a location which boasted an abundance of fruit.

With Devon in the lead, the two women ever-so-slowly peered around the corner as their eyes adjusted to the dimness. After hearing a slight shuffling noise, the leader directed her attention to the opposite side of the room to notice what appeared to be Danziger's winter coat and blue Ops jacket casually draped over one of the stalagmites as if it was a coat-hanger.

The leader's eyes were next drawn to a shadow cast along the far wall. Because of the placement of the light source which Devon had yet to zero in on, the silhouette was distorted to project the appearance of a larger than life figure with highly exaggerated movements. However, it was decidedly human and there was little doubt in Devon's mind that the shadow was a nearby Danziger.

Devon and Julia's ears pricked up at the sound of more movement as they crept along the hem of the enclosure. Finally, they were rewarded with the actual profile view of John himself. He was obviously intensely focused as he hunched forward over a waist-high outcropping of stone which boasted a relatively smooth surface and this was apparently serving as a makeshift table. On top of the stone, he had placed a lumalight and several strips of fabric that appeared to be torn from an old shirt. But most importantly, there was an open metal, suitcase-like box filled with smaller canisters which looked startlingly familiar to both women. Danziger had rolled up one of his shirt sleeves in order to expose his skin and, currently, that same arm was outstretched directly over one of the open canisters.

And in the other hand was a knife.

Devon and Julia's very audible gasps ripped John from his deep concentration. As he snapped to attention, he reeled backward, his free arm dropping to his side while his other hand swung behind his back in a futile attempt to conceal the sharpened blade. There was little doubt that John was shocked to see them there. And there was plenty of shock to go around.

"Danziger," Devon breathlessly muttered, stunned and horrified at the scene in front of her. Her emotions weren't exactly allayed when she noticed a small pile of used, bloodied bandages encircling the mechanic's feet.

"What the hell are you doing here, Adair?" he bellowed, impulsively lashing out.

He set the knife aside as he roughly shook his head, trying to regain his bearings.

"How'd you even find me?"

There was no possibility that Devon was going to implicate True in any way, shape or form. She figured that, if the little girl decided to come clean at a later date, that would be up to her.

"We followed you," Devon responded vaguely, her mind clearly focusing on more important matters as she rushed forward to grab the mechanic's arm.

John was too surprised to resist as she held the limb up to the light, revealing a series of parallel slices; some of which were fresh, while others were at various stages of healing.

"What have you done to yourself?" she asked with concern, tracing the bruised skin surrounding many of the deep cuts.

She lunged forward, yanking up Danziger's other sleeve to reveal several tourniquet style bandages which undoubtedly covered another cluster of lacerations.

At the same time, Julia's attention went directly to the metal case, first confirming that it was indeed the box they'd previously identified as an Eden Project container designated for the storage of human blood. She next examined several of the canisters, removing the metal twist top in order to view the contents.

"More than half of these are full," she exclaimed, awestruck.

Devon was still trying to mentally absorb all of what she was seeing. She could barely get out the words.

"You're selling your blood to the Grendlers?" she asked, looking more than slightly nauseous at the prospect.

"I'm trading it, yeah," Danziger corrected. "Every one of those vials gets me three or four pieces of fruit."

He pivoted toward Julia and went on to calmly explain, "I was tellin' you the truth about the spider tunnels. I haven't used 'em since we all went to the East coast."

The mechanic stepped back from Devon as he unfurled both sleeves to cover his self-inflicted slashes.

"I've been duckin' out of camp almost every day and coming here to fill the canisters. I make sure to stash the case, so the Grendlers don't figure out where the blood is comin' from. When it's time to trade, I grab what I need and meet up with 'em at a spot about a half a click west of here."

He shrugged, appearing almost blase about the whole affair. "As long as I keep the blood flowing, so to speak, they're more than happy to get us all the fruit we need. It's just basic supply and demand. Nothing more."

Julia was amazed at Danziger's now composed explanation and overall demeanor, particularly after his initial outburst. She couldn't help but wonder if, deep down, he was feeling a sense of relief at finally being found out. And as upset as she was over what Danziger had been doing to himself, she found consolation in the knowledge that, now that everything was out in the open, the necessary steps could be taken to move forward.

However, Devon was having quite a different reaction. She was so filled with fear and rage at Danziger's actions (as well as his nonchalance) that she wanted to simultaneously attend to his wounds and violently shake some sense into him. As the anger over his recklessness surged within her like a volcano, she could no longer contain herself.

"Have you completely lost your mind?" she admonished, her voice and expression relaying a wide range of emotions, all of them fiery.

John's automatic defense mechanisms immediately kicked back into gear. "I'm doing what needs to be done!" he shot back.

"By bleeding yourself dry?"

There wasn't a hint of hesitation in the mechanic's voice. "I'll give every drop that I got in me if it puts food in my kid's mouth! And when I'm fresh out, one of you better step up to the plate!"

Devon shook her head violently. "This is insane."

Danziger matched her outrage, and then surpassed it. "This is survival, Devon! This is about keeping us alive until the weather breaks!" he roared, gesticulating angrily. "We needed food and you were willin'- my God, you're still willin'- to let us starve to death instead of trading away some supplies that we won't need for two years. Two years! Can't you see how insane that is? Can't you get it through that thick skull of yours that we can't use any of that stuff if we're dead?"

Devon was still absorbing his words as she sputtered, "So you went behind my back and-"

"Oh for shank's sake, Devon, spare me your righteous indignation," he loudly scoffed, harshly raking his hands through his hair. "You know damn well that I came to you with a bunch of suggestions about how to get us outta this mess and you shot every one of 'em down! So I stopped askin'. And yes, I went behind your back because I knew that you'd try to stop me if you figured out what I was doing. Too damn bad."

While he spoke, the leader continued to observe Danziger's gaunt and pale exterior; a condition which had increased in severity every day since he'd first shown up in camp with a satchel of food. And now it was clear that John's life force had been literally draining out of him, a canister at a time. And worst of all, it was done by his own hand.

Hoping to calm Danziger's ferocity and to continue the conversation in a more civil fashion, Devon relayed quietly but firmly, "You can't keep doing this to yourself. I won't let you."

Devon's attempt at a soothing tone had little effect. In fact, John interpreted her words as a threat. His eyes narrowed to slits as he leaned forward.

"Try to stop me," he menaced, a dangerous quality to his voice.

Before either party could continue their emotional tete-a-tete, Julia decided to intervene.

"Okay, let's just calm down for a second," she refereed, trying her best to diffuse the tension between the two strong personalities as she'd done so many times before. Her first concern was the mechanic and he was the focus of her attention.

"John, while I'm sure we can all appreciate what you've done for us, you've put your health at an incredible risk. You're obviously suffering from the effects of anemia right now," she offered. "You look terrible and I'm willing to bet that you feel pretty terrible, too."

Danziger thought about it briefly before taking a step backward from Devon. He turned to Julia with a mild shrug, silently confirming that her diagnosis was correct.

"I'd like us all to go back to camp and talk this over," the physician furthered. "I also need to examine you and start you on a temporary regiment of beta enhancers."

Danziger shut his eyes and exhaled deeply as he mulled over her plan.

"True is not gonna starve," he finally declared with a deep resolve. There was also healthy dose of desperation in his voice that couldn't be missed or ignored.

Julia nodded. "I understand," she answered plainly.

Devon placed her hand comfortingly on the mechanic's shoulder. "We'll find another way, John," she vowed, matching his determined tone and expression. "I promise."

Danziger's face reverted back to its normal stony exterior and Devon wondered if he truly believed her pledge. He gave her a slight nod before leaving her side and returning to the make-shift table. He carefully set each of the blood-filled canisters in its former position and lined the unused bandages along the rim of the case's interior before shutting and relatching it securely. The mechanic next stuffed the bloodstained bandages in the front pocket of his nearby coat for quick disposal in the camp's firepit as he'd done many times over the past weeks. His last act was to return the filled container to its hiding place by shoving it deep into a hidden crevice almost completely obscured by overhanging rock.

He wasted no time as he threw on his Ops jacket and gray winter coat. "Let's get outta here," he muttered over his shoulder.

Without waiting for a reply, he grabbed his lumalight and disappeared into the passageway leading to the cave's main chamber, forcing Julia and Devon to scramble in order to catch up to him.

There was little conversation exchanged between Julia and Devon as the trio journeyed out of the cavern and returned to camp. Danziger never offered a single word until they were firmly situated in the Med-tent.

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