Control
Part 1 of 2
by Sabrina Sestito
The Eden Advance Group was still at the Winter Camp. They had just encountered the frozen Terrian. The whole group now knew that the evil Terrian had taken over John Danziger's body and that Alonzo Solace had fought the Terrian on the Dreamplane. However, the night after the fight, strange noises could be heard in the distance. Everyone in camp could not help but think of the evil Terrian. That morning at breakfast, in the Biodome, the Eden Advance Group discussed the possibilities.
Alonzo, who sat next to Dr Julia Heller at the breakfast table, said "Maybe there is another evil Terrian spirit."
Julia looked at him sharply and said "Alonzo, you have no basis for that conclusion. The evil Terrian was destroyed on the Dreamplane. This must be something else."
"But Julia, how do you know?"
Julia looked into his dark eyes and said "Alonzo, of course I am not one hundred percent sure that it is not another evil Terrian. It is just that I think that we are jumping to conclusions."
Devon Adair, who was listening to their conversation said "Julia is right, Alonzo. We can not jump to any conclusions without some facts. Not all our problems have been due to evil Terrians. Now, let's try to think of another possibility." She remembered only too vividly the mistrust generated within the group from the evil Terrian. She did not want to go through that again.
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After breakfast, Alonzo and Julia returned to their tent. Alonzo seemed upset and so, Julia said to him "Alonzo, what's wrong?"
Alonzo looked at her strangely before answering. He said angrily "Nothing Julia. Why must there be something wrong!"
Julia was surprised by his anger. "I am just concerned Alonzo. You know that."
"I know Julia, but sometimes you are a nag!", Alonzo retorted.
Julia was once again taken aback. "Err, OK Alonzo. Look, I have to check on Baines. He hurt his arm. I'll see you later." She started to walk off.
Alonzo roughly grabbed her arm and said angrily "What! You are going to check on Baines. Julia, are you sleeping with him?"
"What are you talking about Alonzo?", she responded angrily and tried to pull her arm away. "You are hurting my arm."
Alonzo took a few deep breaths and released her arm. He said "Look Julia, I'm sorry. I'm not sure what got into me. Please forgive me."
"OK, but please calm down. Now, I have to go." She walked away from him towards Baines' tent. What was that all about, she wondered. Maybe he was having a delayed reaction from the fight that he had on the Dreamplane. She would talk to Devon about it later.
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The scouting trip of Alonzo, Danziger and Magus left camp soon after breakfast. Magus was driving the Dunerail with Danziger in the front passenger seat, while Alonzo was at the back. They were once again searching for food and for a pass that the Transrover could travel through the mountains.
After a couple of hours, they stopped for lunch. Danziger and Magus were talking together about some of their past experiences. Neither of them noticed Alonzo sneak off into the forest.
Alonzo felt angry. Why were Danziger and Magus ignoring him. Didn't they know how important he was, Alonzo thought. Alonzo was the one with the Terrian connection and he was the only one who could have saved Danziger. The group should have been more grateful, he though to himself. In particular, Danziger should be kissing his feet. Instead, he was being ignored. His anger overwhelmed him and he punched a tree. Alonzo did
not notice that he had broken his hand; there was no pain.
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Alonzo returned to the Dunerail and found Danziger and Magus still absorbed in their conversation. He said "Hey, isn't it time that we got going!"
Danziger looked at him and said "Yo, Alonzo. Where did you go? were waiting for you to return."
"I was sitting in the Dunerail waiting for the two of you to finish your lunch!", he angrily retorted.
"Alonzo, what are you talking about. We called out your name and you did not answer."
"If you had called out, I would have answered. You didn't."
"Alonzo, are you calling me a liar!", Danziger said angrily as he approached the pilot.
Alonzo could feel his anger and was pleased. However, this was not the time for confrontation. Danziger could wait. He said, "Look, this was just a misunderstanding. Now, lets forget it and get going."
Danziger looked at him and said "OK." He called out to Magus who was still sitting by the fire. "Magus, lets go!"
Not another word was said for the rest of the trip. Alonzo was pleased.
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At dinner that night, strange noises could once again be heard in the distance. Everyone was on edge. Alonzo was enjoying the tension in the air. He felt invigorated by it.
Walman and Baines were serving Dinner. The Morgans had just got their dinner and were seated next to Magus. Suddenly, there was a flash outside and everyone rushed out. Three Terrians had appeared in camp.
"Alonzo, where are you?", shouted Devon. "We need you to talk to the Terrians."
Everyone looked around trying to find Alonzo. Danziger found him in the Biodome, finishing off his dinner. "Alonzo", he said, "didn't you hear Devon calling you. There are Terrians in the camp and we need you to talk to them."
Alonzo just looked at Danziger but still continued eating his dinner. "I'm not in the mood to talk to them tonight."
Danziger looked unbelievably at Alonzo. He angrily pushed Alonzo's plate off the table and grabbed Alonzo by the collar. "You're not in the mood! What the hell are you talking about?"
"You heard me! I'm not in the mood to talk to the Terrians. Now, let go of me", he demanded.
Danziger did not move. He was totally confused by Alonzo's reaction.
"Now look here, Danziger", Alonzo said "I am the only one with the connection to the Terrians. You can not force me to talk with them if I don't want to. Now, let me go", he shouted.
After a few moments, Danziger let go of Alonzo. At that moment Julia came running into the Biodome and said "Alonzo, we need you to talk to the Terrians. Please come quickly."
"Of course Julia, I was just coming", Alonzo said. He left the Biodome with Julia, with a backward smirk at Danziger.
Danziger watched them leave and could not believe what had just happened. No one would believe him. Alonzo was always the first to volunteer for anything. He would mention this incident to Devon later. He quickly left the Biodome to see what the Terrians wanted.
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By the time that Danziger reached the others, the Terrians had gone. Alonzo was just starting to talk to the group.
Alonzo said, "Well, it seems that we are intruding on their territory. They want us to leave the Biodome."
Everyone began to talk at once. Devon asked for quiet. She said "Alonzo, that is impossible. Our vehicles will not travel through the snow. And besides, why do the Terrians want the Biodome. They live underground."
Alonzo responded by saying "The Terrians feel that we are intruding upon their past because of our experience with the frozen Terrian."
"Did you explain to them, that we did not know about the evil Terrian until it was too late", Devon asked.
"Of course, I told them, Devon. I am not stupid", Alonzo responded angrily.
"Of course, you are not Alonzo", Devon said calmly. "Well, what do we do now. Do we leave or stay?"
Morgan Martin said, "I say we stay. We cannot travel to New Pacifica without the vehicles."
Devon agreed. "We can not leave the vehicles behind. We would not be able to carry the equipment with us." Everyone agreed. "OK then. We stay. We will deal with the Terrians when the time comes."
Everyone then dispersed to go their respective tents. No-one noticed the anger in Alonzo's eyes.
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The next morning Magus found smashed equipment all over the camp. She had been on night duty but somehow had fallen asleep. At breakfast, everyone felt uneasy. Alonzo, who was sipping his coffee, was feeling good. The tension and worry of the group was exhilarating.
The scouting trip of Bess, Walman and Baines got into the Dunerail soon after breakfast. Bess tried to start the Dunerail; she could not. Upon closer inspection, she saw that the Dunerail had also been damaged.
A group meeting was held soon after. Even though no one could believe that the Terrians would deliberately sabotage their equipment, there was no other explanation. Everyone voted to leave the Winter Camp. They would have to leave the vehicles behind. They had no choice. Everyone was sad as they leave the Winter Camp with all the belongings they could carry. Alonzo had a large grin on his face.
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That night, the Eden Group camped in a valley. Everyone was shivering from the cold. Only Alonzo seemed impervious to the cold; no-one noticed however. After dinner, Devon, Danziger, Yale, Julia and Alonzo were seated around the camp fire.
Devon said "I can't believe that the Terrians would damage our equipment. They have never shown any form of violence before."
Alonzo said "Well, Devon, the Terrians are complex beings. They were quite clear with their message. They wanted us out."
"But why?", said Danziger "They live underground. Why do they want the Biodome?"
"Maybe they consider the Biodome to be part of the Earth", speculated Yale.
"No, that can't be", Julia said. "They have made no claims to anything else above the ground."
"That is true, Julia", Alonzo said, "but you have to remember, that we have not travelled over the whole planet. Maybe there are other structures above the ground that the Terrians claim as their own."
Everyone considered Alonzo's words. "Maybe you are right, Alonzo", Devon said, "but that doesn't explain their violent reaction."
"Look Devon, wouldn't you be angry if someone took something which belonged to you", Alonzo asked angrily.
Everyone looked at Alonzo. "Of course, Alonzo, I would be angry", Devon retorted. "But I am human. They are not. They do not have the same feelings that we do."
"How do you know that, Devon", Alonzo screamed. "I am the one with the connection to the Terrians. You don't know shit!!"
Julia put a hand on Alonzo's arm. "Alonzo, calm down. No one is saying that you don't know about the Terrians. We are just trying to understand what is going on."
Alonzo looked at Julia and was just about to shout at her. Instead, he visibly calmed himself and said "Of course, you are right Julia. I must be more tired than I realised. I think I will go to bed." He got up to leave before anyone could say anything.
Danziger said, "Julia, what is wrong with Alonzo? He doesn't seem to be himself."
"I'm not sure", Julia responded. "I think it may be a delayed reaction to his fight on the Dreamplane. Time will tell."
On that note, everyone went to bed.
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The next day, the group once again travelled through the snow. Tempers were becoming shorter and everyone was snapping at each other. Just before lunch, the group discovered a frozen lake in their path. Devon decided that the group needed to rest and so, she told the group that they would camp at the lake for the rest of the day.
Alonzo was disturbed by this. He said "Devon, maybe we should keep travelling until we find a better camping stop."
"No Alonzo, we need to rest now", Devon said. "Everyone, please make camp here."
Alonzo walked away, his anger making his face turn red.
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Later that afternoon, Julia was at loose ends. There was nothing for her to do. She decided to spend some time with Alonzo. He had seemed so distracted lately and she wanted to make sure that he was OK.
After searching for a while, Julia saw Alonzo behind a large boulder. He seemed very agitated. She was just about to run to him, when she saw that he was punching the boulder. Blood was coming from his hand and yet he did not stop. She saw that he felt no pain. What was happening, she wondered. Luckily, she brought her medical kit with her. She called out to Alonzo, so that he knew she was coming.
Upon hearing Julia's voice, Alonzo stopped dead in his tracks. He pretended to be busy, picking up fire wood. "Julia, over here", he shouted.
Julia called out to him and joined him. She gave him a kiss. "Hey, fly-boy. Where have you been? I missed you."
"I was just collecting some firewood, Julia. Don't freak out."
"Alonzo, I am not freaking out. I just missed you," Julia said. She went to grab his hand, when she exclaimed "Alonzo, what happened to your hand? It is bleeding."
Alonzo looked down and saw for the first time that he was bleeding. "Err, I don't know. I'm sure that it is nothing. I don't feel any pain."
"Alonzo, you have several broken bones in your hand. You must be feeling pain", Julia calmly stated.
"Well, I don't", Alonzo screamed and pulled his hand away. "Now, leave me ALONE."
Julia stood dumbfounded. She said "OK Alonzo. Can I please at least put a bandage on your hand to stop the bleeding."
Alonzo was going to refuse, but instead shouted "OK, but be quick!"
As Alonzo was looking the other way, she quickly took out a sedaderm and injected Alonzo. Nothing happened. Alonzo turned angrily to her and said "What the hell are you doing?"
"Err nothing, Alonzo. You just don't seem to be yourself", she replied.
"I am fine. Now leave me alone." Alonzo roughly pushed Julia away.
"OK, Alonzo" Julia said.
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Julia quickly ran back to camp and told the others what she had seen. She told them about his strange behaviour and how the sedaderm had no effect on him.
Danziger said, "I also think that Alonzo is not himself. In two recent situations he has behaved very strangely."
Devon agreed, "Yes, you are both correct. Alonzo has been on edge lately and has taken any comment towards him as insults. Julia, what do you think is causing this."
Julia looked at the others thoughtfully, a worried expression on her face. "I'm not sure. Initially, I thought that his strange behaviour might be due to a delayed reaction to his fight on the Dreamplane. But, now, I'm not so sure..."
"Could the evil Terrian have taken over Alonzo", Morgan interrupted. "Maybe Alonzo didn't kill the evil Terrian on the Dreamplane after all. We only have Alonzo's word that he killed the evil Terrian. Oh my God, what are we going to do?"
Everyone looked at Morgan and even though they didn't want to believe it, it was a reasonable conclusion.
Julia said, "Oh no. If that is true, how are we supposed to help him. None of us has any power on the Dreamplane and Uly is too young." The concern on her face was evident.
At that moment, Alonzo returned to camp. He saw everyone standing around and said, "Hey, what's going on?"
"Nothing, Alonzo", Devon said. "We were just complaining about the cold. OK, everyone, lets break it up."
Everyone quickly dispersed.
Only Julia remained with Alonzo. She said "Alonzo, its time for your medical. You are overdue."
"Julia, I had a medical four days ago. What are you talking about?"
"I discovered another virus on this planet which we need to be inoculated against", Julia lied. "Didn't I tell you?"
"No, you didn't", Alonzo cried. "Look, I can't be bothered with it now. I'll do it later." He stalked off towards the tent that he shared with Julia.
Julia quickly ran in the direction that John and Devon had gone. She said to them, "Look, I can't convince Alonzo to undergo a medical. I think that we have to sedate him, but as I said to you, the sedaderm didn't work. I need a couple of people to help me strap him down to the operating table."
Both Devon and John could see the pain in Julia's eyes as she discussed her proposal. She didn't want anything to hurt Alonzo but there was no alternative.
Devon said, "It will be OK, Julia. I'm sure that we will be able to help Alonzo. John, get a couple of people and follow me to Julia's tent. We need to get Alonzo." John left to round up some people. "Err, Julia, wait here until we call you."
"No, Devon I need to be there, I need to help him."
"No, Julia", Devon said firmly. "As you said the sedaderm didn't work and so now we need some brute force. We will be careful." She left Julia standing alone in the middle of the camp.
Story Notes:
Hello,
I have been enjoying the stories which have been posted to this list, immensely. There are some really excellent writers out there and I thank you all. Please keep up the GOOD work.
I am really missing Earth2.
Anyway, I decided to write my FIRST EVER fan fiction story. Due to its length it will come in two parts. Please tell me what you think!!
Thanks!
Sabrina
P.S. My favorite character is Alonzo.
I have been enjoying the stories which have been posted to this list, immensely. There are some really excellent writers out there and I thank you all. Please keep up the GOOD work.
I am really missing Earth2.
Anyway, I decided to write my FIRST EVER fan fiction story. Due to its length it will come in two parts. Please tell me what you think!!
Thanks!
Sabrina
P.S. My favorite character is Alonzo.