Legends II - Legends of Love by Nicole Mayer

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Legends II : LEGENDS OF LOVE. (6/9)
by Nicole Mayer

"How much further?" groaned Julia wearily. She felt as if she had been climbing her whole life, although in reality it was only the past day or two that the actual ascent had begun. Uly was ahead of her, scaling the rocks as if he had been born with the skills.

Or perhaps the planet was helping him. Julia was a fairly fit person, but when it came to comparing herself to Uly, she had her suspicions.

"Not far now!" Uly called over his shoulder as he grasped a particularly large rock with his left hand. Pushing off with one foot, he swung himself up and around the boulder until he was standing upon another ledge.

Julia sighed again. He made it look so easy! But perhaps she was just grumpy. She prepared to mimic his movements when Uly's shout interrupted her thoughts.

"Hey, I can see the top!"

"Really?" asked Julia, her voice full of disbelief.

"Really!" A miniature shower of rocks cascaded past Julia as Uly scrambled up the last few feet. Then she heard a hushed, "Wow...."

Gritting her teeth, Julia hauled herself up. Two more ledges, then one, and then she let out her own whistle of appreciation.

The view was more incredible than they had imagined. To the north lay a fertile valley, kept green by a sparkling river that lazily traced its way by the foot of the mountain range.

"So, was it worth it?" smiled Uly.

"It was worth it," Julia conceded. "This is amazing! Just think, we had no idea that anything beyond desert existed out here!"

Uly was grinning and jumping about from foot to foot. "So what do you say? Do we camp up here for a night, or head straight down for the valley?"

Julia thought for a moment. The rescue team would be arriving in six days. That gave them four more days before they had to head back, and more time if they convinced the team to drive to the mountains to pick them up. Which was entirely possible, decided Julia. She and Uly could always use the excuse that they were studying an entirely different ecosystem!

Her weariness forgotten, Julia declared, "Let's go down. I'm dying for a swim in that river." Hoisting her pack with renewed energy, Julia followed Uly down across the ridge until they found a safe, relatively easy path for descent. Thankfully, Julia noticed that this path was a lot easier to follow than the trail they had come up.

Ahead, the green valley awaited its travellers with some small sense of delight. The planet was sentient, after all.

"You wouldn't believe this place, Alonzo. It's incredible!" Julia was communicating with her husband via gear, but the electronic device couldn't transmit even half of her excitement. Alonzo just smiled distantly in response.

He had been looking forward to Julia's homecoming for what seemed months when he heard that she wasn't going to be back for at least another two weeks. And now, to find out that she and Uly had gone on some crazy trek to the mountains which meant he wouldn't see her for another day at the minimum...it was enough to make Alonzo extremely frustrated.

The mission to G885 had been an unequivocal success. The planet contained more resources than initially suspected, providing a huge boost to the economy of G889. And Alonzo's personal mission, to face flying again, had also triumphed. He had conquered his lingering fears and now allowed himself to call the stars a second home.

Yet he also appreciated that his true home was here, on this planet, with his family and friends, including the memory of those departed.

Sadly, he remembered Devon, but it was Julia who he missed most at the moment.

She was still so far away.

For some reason, Alonzo felt a sense of fear connected to Julia and her presence. It was crazy, but he kept thinking that he wouldn't see her again. His skin had crawled as he waved to the leaving expedition, although he had tried to push the dark thoughts from his head. But every time it seemed he was in reach of her, Julia was pulled even further away.

Sensing Alonzo's disinterest, Julia said sharply, "So how far away are you, anyway?"

"Three days to the vehicle, and another to you. Why'd you have to go out further, Julia?"

"Why did *you* personally have to come out to rescue me? Some sort of misguided machoism? I can take care of myself," she flared in response, inwardly cringing because somehow, they were fighting again. "I'm sure Bess didn't appreciate you dumping the twins on her for the thousandth time!"

"She offered!" countered Alonzo. "Look, Julia, I don't know what's gone wrong between us, but I came out here to see if I could make things right. Remember how we said we'd go on a vacation together?"

As Alonzo's voice took on a tender tone, Julia found that her anger was gradually fading away. She loved Alonzo and wanted desperately to recapture the magic that had first drawn them together.

"You're right, Alonzo. We've been apart for too long."

"I love you, doc," he offered, his expression softening. Bravely meeting his eyes, Julia whispered, "I love you too." Yet she couldn't help but wonder if love was enough.

"I don't know about you, Uly, but I'm really looking forward to rejoining civilisation," Julia commented as she began the ascent. Not that she ever really wanted to leave the valley, but now that the final stage of the journey was approaching, Julia was beginning to appreciate the comforts of a home.

Julia and Uly had spent four magical days in the Valley of Dreams, which was what they had named it. The title seemed a perfect fit, for the place with its rushing turquoise river, long, green grasses, billions of beautiful flowers and friendly wildlife was an idyllic world in which to escape the traumas of reality.

Julia and Uly had indulged in swimming; or sprawling on the soft grass watching the clouds pass overhead as they talked and dreamed of the future. There were so many amazing possibilities ahead of them, and one lifetime was too short to explore them all. But in the Valley of Dreams, they had shared their secret hopes and ambitions while letting the ghosts of the past and present fade from memory.

"Julia," Uly had said casually, "What do you wish for?" The question had surprised the doctor. So often in her life, she had been focussed on the present. It was a necessary facet of her occupation. But to be given the chance to dream...

"I see myself...making a difference. Somehow," Julia revealed. "I help people now, but that never seems enough, especially when friends die." She paused for a moment as both of their thoughts returned to Devon.

"But you've done so much already!" protested Uly. Julia had smiled serenely. "It seems that way, yet so far, my work has only been physical. I want to help to heal sick minds and souls as well. I know we have psychiatrists and counsellors, but still, no one has fully managed to analyse the human psyche. To help people, really help people in this way, would be a dream come true."

Uly was surprised by the vehemence of her words, but silently wished her the best of luck. "And what about your personal life?" he asked, feeling delighted that they were sharing so much.

Julia's face took on a mischievous smile. "What would you say, if I told you that I see myself with fourteen children?"

Uly's jaw dropped in surprise. "But..." he began as Julia cut in. "I know what you're thinking, I hardly spend time with Lissa and Ethan as it is. These last few months, getting away from my everyday life and having time to reflect, I've realised that my family is as important as my work. Perhaps even more so.

"Even though Alonzo and I haven't really been getting along, I want to work things out with him. Uly, listen to me," Julia said seriously. "Keep your friends, no matter what. And when you find that special person to share the rest of your life, don't push them away. Don't make the mistakes I have."

"Alonzo loves you anyway," reassured Uly. Julia smiled a little sadly.

"I know. Love is a mysterious thing, something that stories and legends are made of. Your mother loved you so much she organised the entire Eden Project just to save you. Bess and Morgan share a different kind of love, but one just as powerful. We love our friends and our families. And our soulmates."

"Is Alonzo your soulmate?" asked Uly quietly.

Julia considered his words, recalling the last strained conversations between herself and her husband. Yet through all of this, they still loved each other more than anything.

"Yes," whispered Julia.

They lay quietly in the warm afternoon sun, each contemplating the future.

"I hope I find my soulmate one day," revealed Uly. He placed his arms behind his head as he concentrated on one particular cloud that looked like a girl's head. Strangely, that girl looked almost like True.

"You may have already met her," Julia said, interrupting his reverie. "What about you, Uly? Do you dream of a family?"

"I never really thought about it," he replied. "Growing up, there was just me and Mom, and Yale was around a lot. But mostly, I remember the doctors and hospitals. And then when we came here, it was like I gained a whole new family. You, John and True, Alonzo, even the Martins."

"Well, if you ever have children, promise that you'll bring them to visit me."

"Of course!" laughed Uly. "As if I'd ever stop visiting you."

Making a pact, they shook hands and promised to never, ever lose touch no matter where life took them from that magical time in the Valley of Dreams.

Lost in the memories, Julia barely noticed the difficult ascent and before she knew it, they were at the top. The hours of climbing had just flown by. She scrambled over the final ridge and felt a tremor of fear. The dream was over, and it was time to face reality again.

Uly was standing by the edge of the eastern cliff, staring off into the distance. Or at the beautiful, azure sky, it was difficult to tell.

A faint trail of dust could be seen on the southern horizon, and Julia suspected it was their rescue team. They were still half a day away from the stranded vehicle, so Julia and Uly would camp on top of the mountain that night, their last alone together in the wilderness. Tomorrow would bring more reunions, the end of an era and a new beginning.

"It's so beautiful," said Julia wistfully, looking back over the valley. She vowed to return to it one day, and bring not only her children, but perhaps her grandchildren as well. And of course, her husband.

A sudden flash to the west caught Julia's eye, and she whirled around. Ominous dark clouds lurked on the skyline, threatening to consume all that dared come near. Lightning lit up the clouds again, and Julia wondered how safe it would be to stay on the mountain for the night.

A low rumbling reached her ears, and the distant storm appeared to be raging with full fury over the western plains. Fascinated, Julia watched the storm move gradually closer, until she realised that to be safe, she and Uly should head down.

"Uly!" she called, turning to see what he was doing. He was still standing by the edge, having turned to watch the stormfront approach. A chill advance breeze whipped across the exposed summit.

"I think we should leave!" Another rumble sounded, escorted by a stronger wind. Uly stepped forward...and his world collapsed from beneath him.

"Uly!" screamed Julia as his features twisted in expressions flicking from disbelief to pure terror. His arms clawed wildly, desperately searching for something to hold onto but his fingers remained empty and he disappeared from view. "ULY!"

"Nonononono," murmured Julia over and over. Her heart was pounding with a terrible fear as she heard his frightened shout becoming faint all too quickly.

Julia raced as near as she dared to the edge, then gingerly made her way across the dry ground. Why hadn't they noticed how unstable the edge of the cliff was? Why hadn't *she* realised? "Uly!" she shouted again, hearing the terrible rumble of a rockslide compounded with the approaching reverberations of the thunderstorm.

"Julia!" came Uly's frightened thin voice, accompanied by the sound of falling rocks and gravel. Lying flat on her stomach, Julia was just in time to see Uly crash through a dying tree and land precariously on a thin ledge. "Thank God," whispered Julia as she saw that he had stopped. Beyond the ledge was an endless drop into a void. If he had fallen further, there would have been no way to save him.

Uly's leg was twisted beneath him at an inhuman angle, and his face was grey with shock. Blood trickled from the back of his head, slowly creating a deep red pool. "Uly?" Julia called his name for the thousandth time. But on this occasion, there was a new terror within her voice.

Uly did not respond. His eyes wavered crazily as the world spun around him. He could barely recall his own name....

"Uly! Hold tight! I'll rescue you, somehow!"

Julia was terribly frightened. From what she could see, his condition was deteriorating fast. And with the storm coming, she didn't know if the ledge he was sprawled on would make it through the violent winds battering it.

Grabbing her gear from her backpack, Julia cried in a panicked voice, "Alonzo!"

He instantly replied, shocked at her tearstained face. "Julia! What's wrong? Where are you?"

"The top of the mountain, Uly fell over the edge of the cliff, he's hurt bad, the storm's coming," she garbled almost incoherently. But Alonzo understood.

"Okay, we'll get there as soon as we can. Hang tight." "But there's not enough time!" Julia wailed. "I have to help Uly right away." Rubbing at her eyes, Julia knew she was the only one who could save him now. She quickly explained the situation and gave Alonzo a POV scan.

"I have to go down to him."

"How?" asked Alonzo. "It's a straight drop!"

"I have a rope," she countered stubbornly. "I can tie it around something, somehow bring him up...."

"How?" shouted Alonzo again, now scared that Julia would get herself hurt. She didn't have any rope climbing experience whatsoever. "Just wait for us, Julia! We'll be there soon...."

"No!" screamed Julia over her headset. "I will NOT have another Adair's death on my conscience!" She ripped the gear off, and with trembling hands, pulled the rope from her pack. She would do anything to help Ulysses Adair survive. Selecting a stable looking rock, she ignored the frantic shouts coming from her gear and concentrated on the task at hand. Julia wrapped the rope around the rock pulley-style, and prayed that her plan would work. She tied both free ends around her waist.

"Julia! Please listen to me!" pleaded Alonzo. He was scared by her last words. Was she blaming herself for Devon's death? Did she think that risking her own life would atone for her mistakes? "Julia, Devon's death wasn't your fault! You don't have to prove anything! I'm sure Uly will be okay."

"No, he won't!" she flared, suddenly pulling her gear back on and responding. "I have to get to him before the storm does."

Tugging on the rope to test its security, Julia took a deep breath and dropped over the edge. Swinging wildly, she placed all of her strength into her hands, the only things keeping her from plummeting into the void. Ever so carefully, she gradually began shuffling down as the howling wind gained more fury. Hand over hand, legs wrapping around the rope, ignoring the periodic slams into rocks as she was buffeted around, down, down, until her goal was finally within her reach.

Feeling a sense of triumph, Julia gingerly stepped onto the fragile ledge that had been Uly's salvation. Whipping the diaglove from her pack, she scanned Uly's body while stroking his head with her other free hand.

"I'm here Uly, you're going to be okay," she promised. "I'll help you. I couldn't save Devon, but I will save you."

His injuries were a lot less than she had feared. Quickly, she bandaged his head with an emergency dermaplast and was gratified to see the bleeding slow and then stop. She applied a pain suppressant to his neck, to ease the shock, but only a minimum dosage. That just left his leg.

Sighing, Julia said to Uly, "You're leg's broken. It shouldn't take too long to heal, but you're going to be in a lot of pain for a while. I'd give you something more but I need you awake to help me get you to the top."

Uly groggily nodded his head. Pushing with his arms, he struggled to sit up as Julia helped. A crash reverberated through the mountains, again reminding them just how fast the storm was approaching.

Untying one end of the rope from her waist, Julia quickly hooked it around Uly. "I'm going to try and get you up. I know I'm not that much heavier than you, but hopefully, that rock is smooth enough for this to work as a pulley system," she explained. When she was sure the rope was secure around Uly, she helped him up.

"Alonzo!" she called. The channel between them was still open and Alonzo had been the silent witness to her descent. Now, she could see the countryside whipping past him, and wondered fleetingly if the excess speed would overheat the rescue vehicle. But she was glad he was coming.

"I'm going to try and get Uly back up to the top. If I can get him off this cliff, maybe we can find some shelter on the less steep side until the storm passes."

"Be careful, Julia," he replied, his eyes full of fear. She smiled bravely. "Don't worry. I always am." Julia still didn't close the channel, but pushed the eyepiece away and returned her attention to Uly.

"This is going to hurt," she warned. Uly gritted his teeth, but suddenly placed his arms around Julia. "Thank you for coming to save me," he managed, leaning heavily on the doctor, his friend.

"I love you, Uly," replied Julia. "Of course I had to help. Now, are you ready?"

Uly nodded solemnly.

"Okay, here we go." Julia took a deep breath, and stepped over the edge.

The rope jerked immediately, and Julia was pleased to see Uly being lifted into the air by her own weight. She took a hesitant, small jump downwards and he was pulled even higher. Clinging to the rockface by what little handholds there were, Julia slowly used her downward momentum to pull Uly higher and higher, until finally, he reached the top.

"Made it!" he gasped, his arms scrabbling for a safe grip. His leg trailed uselessly behind him, but Uly found a superhuman strength in his arms as he realised that both his, and Julia's, lives depended on his actions of the next few moments.

Uly crawled cautiously across the plateau towards the rock which the rope was wrapped around. This was the most dangerous part of the operation, because if he wasn't careful, he could suddenly be pulled around the rock and over the edge and then everything would be lost.

Gale force winds were approaching and Uly was suddenly glad he wasn't standing up. Not that he had much of a choice, but he feared that he would be blown over the edge if he attempted any kind of upright activity, especially walking.

Feeling Julia slide lower with every movement, Uly finally reached the rock and began belly-crawling around it, his injured leg dragging behind. He would not release the rope from his waist until it was tied securely, and then he could only hope that Julia had the strength to pull herself up. Around twice, then three times, then Uly tied the strongest knot ever of his seventeen years.

"It's secure!" he managed to shout between gasps. Now that the most difficult part of his mission was over, he again realised how terrible the pain was. He began shivering uncontrollably, the loss of blood making him dizzy. He wanted to help Julia back up, but for the moment he could barely keep himself upright. Everything gradually faded to black.

Julia had heard Uly's distant words telling her the rope was secure, and smiled. He'd made it. Uly was safe. She had saved an Adair. And now, it was time to save herself.

Dangling precariously over the void, Julia looked up at the tremendous climb above. The rope was digging into her ribcage, and she had to fight for every breath. How would she ever find the strength to get back up? Slowly, she raised her arms and began to haul her body along. Each lift seemed to sap her strength even more.

"You can do it," came Alonzo's encouraging voice. Julia wanted to believe his words more than anything else, but suddenly she felt her grip slipping, and then she fell back down, jerking to a stop as the rope wrenched about her waist.

Wheezing heavily, Julia managed to gasp, more to herself than anyone else, "Maybe I can tie knots in this...." For there were few footholds here, as the cliff face was impossibly smooth, so anything to support her feet would help greatly. Firstly, though, she needed to get rid of the constricting rope around her middle.

Julia carefully grasped the end between her fingers, and made a hook for her foot to slip in. Clinging to the rope for dear life, she then undid the turns around her waist and placed her foot into the new loop. It held.

Sighing with relief, Julia began to straighten her body. Now she had something to work with. As the wind swung her wildly again, Julia pressed her body along the length of the rope in an effort to keep stable. Her heart was pounding furiously as she rested her cheek against the cool, rigid stone that felt so solid and safe. She could do this.

When she had regained her breath, and her nerve, Julia once again began her ascent. Focussed purely on the rock, she only dimly realised that it had begun to rain. She mechanically wrapped the growing coils of excess rope around her waist while keeping her foot secured in the initial loop. Her handholds were sparse, but along with the rope, there was enough to get her up. Until she came across a great void, a cave that curved inwards at such a steep angle that it was impossible to climb any higher.

Groaning, Julia examined her nearby surroundings. There, just up a little and far to the right, was another pitted surface.

What if she could swing herself across to the protruding rockface to the left? Then she would have something to hold onto, instead of the grim hanging in empty space. Julia decided she could just make it in one giant swing. But she would only get a single shot.

Feeling panic rise within her body once again, Julia was suddenly aware of the storm that had almost arrived. The shrieks of lightning were almost continuous, and the rain had become a torrential downpour.

"Where's Uly?" she gasped to Alonzo.

"He's safe, he found a small cave to shelter in," he reassured her, lying, and Julia could see the distress in his eyes. "Julia, you have to get to the top! I need you," Alonzo whispered.

"I'm about halfway." Her voice was quavering. "I just need to get past this last cave, and then I'm all right."

"Please be careful," Alonzo implored, wishing there was something, anything he could do besides racing through the desert to get to her. He was deathly scared.

"Okay," gasped Julia, rain streaming down her face. "I'm going to do it on three. One. Two," she coached herself, "three!"

Pushing hard with her legs, Julia launched herself outwards with frightening speed. She was holding on to nothing, no attachments save the rope she clung to and in which her foot was secured. She swung, and the cliff face approached her at a horrifying rate. All she had to do was catch that one, jutting rock....

Her fingers began to close around it, but suddenly, Julia realised she had far too much momentum and her hands slipped right past. The water pouring down the cliffside destroyed any chances she had of regaining her hold, and suddenly, Julia had nothing to grab onto.

She screamed. Her arms flailed, searching frantically for something, anything, but nothing was there. Her body tipped over and the rope around her waist unravelled until she was dangling by only one foot, a doll suspended by a rope swinging out at an enormous speed, and then in again...crack. Julia's frail body was smashed against the cold, unyielding rock. She saw the darkness rushing towards her, and realised that there was no escape. She felt her head crash against the rock, felt her whole body being broken in a thousand places at once....

"Julia!" Dimly, beneath the red haze rushing through her mind, Julia recognised her name. She swung again, almost enjoying the floating sensation until the rock came up to meet her for another round.

"Hold on, Julia! I'm coming!" Alonzo was screaming now, with fury at his own inability to help her, and horror, because he realised that her life was literally hanging by a thread.

The noise and lights were annoying, decided Julia. She heard the disturbing voice shout her name over and over as the wind and rain sliced through her body. But somehow, she didn't notice.

"Julia!" the voice screamed again. "I love you!"

Those words broke through the pain, and she remembered. "Alonzo..." It was barely a whisper, but he heard her.

"Julia, my love, pull yourself up. Use your hands. You can survive, you will survive! Pull yourself up!" Alonzo implored.

Shakily, Julia looked for her hands. They were hanging above her head, or was that below? Where was she? She returned to the only form of security she knew, the tiny voice coming over the gear on her head.

" 'Lonzo?" she slurred.

"Yes, it's me! Please, Julia, try! For Lissa and Ethan, for me. I love you!"

"Love you, too," she managed. By the power of his love, she reached upwards. Almost grabbing that slippery rope, if only the annoying swinging would stop. She was moving up, up...

And the gale blew ferociously as a huge crack of lighting lit up the sky. Julia was thrown against the rock again just as her fingers grazed the rope and her foot slipped free. She fell. Into that empty void, where all hope was gone.

The world spun crazily, and all she was aware of was one voice screaming over and over, "Julia, no! NO..." But she could not scream, she could not cry, she could only embrace the total blackness that was rushing to meet her and say goodbye, forever more, to her love.

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