The Road Not Chosen by Joan Powers

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The Road Not Chosen (9/11)
by Joan Powers

(Bess Martin)

We didn't say it out loud, but neither of us had to. We ‘d started a race. A race to find the men while they were still alive, still treatable. Neither Danziger nor I honestly believed that the Terrians had anything to do with their situation. We were fully convinced that some sort of unusual plant or animal the men had encountered had caused their illness. We pushed ourselves relentlessly, taking minimal breaks. We were anxious to reach the men while there was still time

We didn't realize it was already too late.

"I dunno. This area looks just like any other place to me. Trees, rocks, grass..." Danziger commented to Bess as he piloted the ATV through the valley.

Bess was leaning her back against Danziger's chest. It was close quarters (a little too cozy her husband would have claimed), fitting two adults on the small vehicle for such a long haul, but it was necessary. Naturally, Danziger insisted on driving, and Bess was so worn out that he'd convinced her to share the cramped seating rather than have one of them stand on the back of the vehicle. They both were a little too tired to hold on tightly.

Bess had been extremely quiet as they traveled. She greatly appreciated the fact that Danziger had so valiantly volunteered to accompany her on this desperate mission but she couldn't express that just now. Her whole being was focused on Morgan. Please be all right, God just let him be okay, kept echoing through her head. She didn't even want to think about life without him.

"Any ideas on what made them sick?" The mechanic didn't give up easily.

"No," Bess reluctantly offered. "You know, the last place we stopped, we did see about five of those large animals -- in a heap on the ground. Maybe Morgan and Walman did some hunting and mistakenly ate a sick animal."

"Sounds as good as any of those other ideas."

"It can't be those red plants. Julia already tested them," Bess stated with certainty.

"They are odd lookin'. But you're right," Danziger agreed.

With barely concealed anxiety, Bess asked, "How much further?"

"If they're at the last location they transmitted from -- and I think there's a good chance they will be, it'll take us two days -- including stops for recharging the vehicle."

"I don't need to sleep," Bess claimed with determination.

Her fear was apparent to Danziger so he tried to soften his explanation, "Unfortunately, the vehicle does. I'm pushing this thing as hard as I can, Bess."

"I guess that's the best I can ask for."

"Mom! Mom!" Uly screamed from his cot.

Devon tore into the tent at breakneck speed, "What is it, Uly? What's wrong?" The boy was shaking so she scooped him up into her arms. "What is it, Champ? Tell me."

"Alonzo!" he cried. "I think the Terrians hurt him." Tears began to fall down his cheeks as he buried his face against his mom and held on tightly.

His mother was confused, "What do you mean? The Terrians wouldn't do anything like that. Did you have a bad dream?"

"No, I saw it....I saw the whole thing. Mom, I'm scared," he sobbed.

Julia burst into the tent. "Devon, we have to talk."

"Give me a minute here," Devon curtly replied, not taking her eyes away from her distraught son.

The doctor was undeterred. "We‘ve finally figured it out." Devon turned to give her a perplexed look. "The Terrian's message. C'mon, Alonzo and I will explain it to you."

"Alonzo?" Hope filled Devon's voice as she turned to face Julia.

The doctor couldn't help but grin as she announced, "He's completely cured."

"What? What did you do? Increase the dosage of his medication?" Devon asked.

"Devon, I didn't do a thing. The Terrians did it." Uly's head rose. "C'mom, we'll have to make some important decisions as soon we bring you up to speed."

Devon hesitated, she was reluctant to leave her son, so Julia suggested, "Bring him along. Having some answers may be helpful for him. Besides, he was there for part of this, I think he needs to hear the whole story."

Devon helped Uly out of bed and he rapidly pulled on some fresh clothes. As they left the tent, Devon recommended, "We should get Yale."

Julia was one step ahead of her, "Alonzo's already looking for him."

Just as the doctor claimed, Alonzo had returned to his old self. In fact, he looked even better than he had before. He radiated an aura of health. He was well rested, his complexion was clear, even his eyes had lost their haggard appearance. He didn't look like a man who'd been in a coma then restrained to a cot for over two days.

Uly's eyes were fixed upon Alonzo. "You're okay," he stated in awe, having trouble believing his eyes.

"Of course, Uly." Alonzo warmly reassured him, "The Terrians helped me, just like they helped you and your mom."

"It's a miracle," Yale breathed as he examined the pilot.

"What happened?" Devon demanded, always wanting answers.

Alonzo began to explain, "The Terrians took Uly and I to the Dream Plane last night to show us their message. We didn't have a choice in the matter. I was still out of it so I had no idea what they were talking about for a while."

"Tell us more," Yale eagerly insisted.

"What are those bubbles?" Uly asked.

Alonzo answered, "The bubbles are a source of energy for the planet. Last night, the Terrians showed us a type of energy processing plant which is located in the vicinity."

Devon tried to put things together, "So the acid lakes would be energized at these stations, then they'd circulate the energy to other areas of the planet."

"That's right," Alonzo nodded.

"We've seen these acid lakes before. We'd guessed that they were power sources which the Terrians wanted us to stay away from them. What's different about this place? What do these so called bubbles have to do with anything?" Yale asked.

Julia stepped in, "Bear with me a few minutes. We've already discovered that G889 has a strong metaphysical plane. That's the only explanation we've been able to come up with to account for the complexities of the Dream Plane and some of the other unusual things that we've encountered on this planet such as Dell's message and our nightmares at Independence Colony. We've also deduced that many parts of G889 mimic the human body. The sunstones act as part of the cerebral cortex --- the brain. The spider tunnels are possibly part of a circulatory system. Even at Independence colony, we saw evidence of a planetary immune response. So it makes sense that there are other areas of the planet designated for other such ‘bodily functions'."

Devon proposed, "Then the acid lakes would be similar to the bloodstream, bringing nutrients er...power."

Julie nodded, "Possibly, but there's more to it than that. Where does the energy come from?"

"Solar perhaps? Some sort of renewable resource, I'd imagine," Yale wondered.

The doctor agreed, "I'll bet that this planet does utilize solar energy. But there's something else. Another renewable resource. Life itself."

"What?" Devon gasped.

Alonzo jumped in, "Devon, the Terrians showed me that there are specific areas on this planet where creatures go to die. It's considered a natural part of the life cycle. At these areas, their energy -- chemical and metaphysical, is all recycled back to the planet. Even the Terrians are part of it."

"Their souls revert back to G889?" Yale was amazed.

"So it seems," Julia confirmed.

"That's what those bubbles are. Pieces of pure energy -- of souls. That's why they're so incredibly beautiful," Alonzo explained.

Devon straightened up in alarm, "Oh my God, what about John?" She quickly added, "And Bess, Morgan and Walman?"

With a tone of urgency, Julia explained, "You're not gonna like this. Morgan and Walman are already being drained of their mental and physical energy. That accounts for their flu-like symptoms and their disturbing memory loss. Devon, John and Bess can't reach them before being affected themselves."

Devon was disturbed, "Are you sure? If we call them back, what can we do for Morgan and Walman? We can't just leave them."

Alonzo agreed with Julia, "I don't like it any better than you but we don't have a choice. John and Bess would only meet the same fate. They wouldn't even realize it was happening until it was too late. We have to call them back --now."

In the shadows of early evening, Bess sat on the outskirts of the Eden Advance camp with her face pressed against her knees. She hadn't had a good night's rest for several days, and she wasn't going to be able to start now. She couldn't even cry, she couldn't fall apart; she was judiciously conserving her energy with the hope that she could do something to help her husband.

She heard the rustle of some leaves on the ground. Someone was approaching her. "Go away," she firmly stated, her voice lacking emotion.

The person didn't listen, he actually sat down beside her. "Hi Bess." It was Alonzo.

She didn't want to deal with anyone right now. "Please go away. Unless you have any news -- just leave me alone."

He placed a tentative hand on her shoulder, "I can't even imagine how hard this is for you."

She lifted her head, "What are you doing about it?" Her words were an accusation.

Alonzo assured her, "I told you. I have a plan. The Terrians were willing and able to save me, so they should be willing to save Morgan and Walman."

"Have you made contact yet?"

"I tried right after we finished talking with you and John on gear. I couldn't reach them. But I'm trying again --okay? I'm not gonna give up. I'll keep trying until I reach them."

Bess responded, "You better. I know Morgan's not perfect. And that some of you have an even lower opinion of him. But he's just like anyone else, he has his flaws. Nobody's perfect. And just like the rest of us, he has his strengths too." Her voice started to break, "Alonzo, I need him. In fact, I think we all do."

The pilot stood up. "Try to get some rest, Bess. I'm gonna get a sediderm and try again. I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything. I promise."

"What are you still doing up?" Danziger asked Devon. She was seated on the ground, hugging her knees to her chest as she looked up towards the stars which sparkled in the night sky. He joined her, sitting down beside her. "You should be resting, you still don't look so hot."

With fatigue in her voice, she answered, "With all that's going on, I can't sleep. John, we can't lose those men."

He challenged her, "Why don't you let me work on adapting Julia's medical isolation gear so someone can go out there?"

She objected immediately, "No, you know we can't do that. We're not sure if the suit would effectively block the effect of the plants. We can't afford to take that risk -- you know that."

"At least we'd be doing something other than sitting around waiting." He grumbled as his eyes darted over to Bess's solitary figure, now holding watch over the dying embers of the camp fire. "How do those plants work anyway?"

"According to Alonzo, those red vines produce pollen which is nearly invisible. It enters the body and somehow interacts with our cellular and spiritual energy." She bit her lip, trying to remember the details properly.

"Why didn't Julia detect this stuff when she first tested the leaves?"

"I don't know. Best we can tell is that the vines only have that effect in those particular areas of the planet. Morgan saw the pollen on the first day of his scout in that territory. Even if Julia had been able to test the pollen while she was in that area, she says that her instruments would have been useless. They're not designed to give information about chemical reactions which don't exist according to current medical science. She's now comparing this area to a digestive system. She claims it's like our stomachs and intestines -- removing and processing energy and nutrients for body processes."

Always a skeptic, Danziger continued to criticize, "We didn't see that many living creatures there Devon. That's not a very efficient mechanism to run a whole planet by."

She shrugged, "Alonzo claims that there are many of these areas about the planet, and that even one animal furnishes a tremendous amount of this energy."

He was silent for a moment, thinking. "Think we could destroy those plants? Maybe burn'em?"

Devon's mouth fell open. "What kind of solution is that? Destroying acres of forest land, and most likely the men that we're trying to save. I can't believe you would even suggest that."

He defended himself, "Hey, I'm just as tired as you are. Sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures. I hate this situation as much as you do."

"I wish we could do something," she sighed.

Danziger rose and reached for Devon's hand, "C'mon." He attempted to pull her towards him. "We're not getting anything done here. Time to get some sleep. I'm personally escorting you to your tent." She stood, but she was reluctant to follow him. "If Alonzo makes any headway, I'm sure he'll wake us all up. Let's go."

As the couple walked towards the campfire, Devon pulled her hand away from his.

Danziger chuckled in response, "Nobody cares Devon. You don't need to be so paranoid. Besides, almost everybody's in bed asleep." And Bess was too absorbed in her own misery, sitting there by the fireside.

"It's just....the way I was brought up," she replied uneasily. She tried to change the subject as they walked, "Why didn't you tell me that you were going on that scout with Bess?" She'd been furious to hear that he'd undertaken such a task without even consulting her.

"It had to be done, there wasn't much time to talk about it. I barely had time to say good-bye to True as it was."

"You could've at least said good-bye to me," she murmured almost inaudibly.

"Touché Adair. Now you know how it feels," his sarcastic tone returned.

Her cheeks became flushed as they entered her tent. She sat on the edge of her cot while he hung by the tent flap. She was going to have to talk about what she had done. "I guess we're both pretty stubborn," she admitted.

"You got that right." He remained by the tent entrance, he wasn't going to cut her any breaks; she was going to have to apologize or do something to make things right between them.

"Come in a minute?" she gestured to a spot on the cot beside her. He lowered the tent flap to cross over and join her.

"I know you're mad at me about having those tests done." She took a breath, not sure how to continue. "I don't think you understand how hard it was for me to even tell you about my fears. It's always been hard for me to trust people with my feelings. So many people have tried to take advantage of me in the past."

He objected, "But you have to a least give me a chance! Otherwise, what's the point?"

Trying to defend her actions, she pointed out, "You went and did the same thing to me -- not telling me about the rescue mission."

"It's not the same. After nearly losing you twice in the past few months, I'd be damned if I was gonna barge in when you were sick -- just to wake you and upset you. The timing also seemed crucial for that mission. While in your case, waiting a day or so, or even more according to Julia, wouldn't have made a difference."

Becoming upset, she replied, "That's not true. When you're talking about minuscule bits of evidence, every minute of the day, parts of it wash out of my body. Every minute that goes by, the chance to definitively answer my questions becomes less and less."

John was confused, "What's the big deal there? To me, it's obvious that the Council did this to you. The idea of another spy being in this group is ridiculous. I don't understand why you're so hell bent on getting ‘proof' of this. It's not gonna change a thing."

Filled with emotion, she answered, "I know that! But it is a big deal to me. John, I've never felt so vulnerable as I have since Julia told me what had happened to me. Someone violated my body. Someone tried to take my life. I feel like I'm losing control. Having an answer may not change a thing but it will help me to feel more confident, more in control. It's foolish, I know. It's not a logical issue, it's an emotional one."

Much calmer, he replied, "Why didn't you tell me this in the first place?"

She was reluctant to respond, "I...don't know." She half mumbled, "I guess I was afraid to."

"What kind of a future do we have if you can't talk to me about things like this."

Looking directly into his eyes, she answered in a hopeful fashion, "We can work on it." She reached for his hand. "I'm willing to try. Stay with me for a while?"

He squeezed her hand in response, "You bet."

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