THE SERPENT BENEATH THE FLOWER, Part 4
By Bernice Low
[So we travelled on to New Pacifica with this man we knew so little about, yet who had managed without much effort to spread such disharmony in our group. We all remained cautious - for Reilly's words never really could be taken as the truth - but it was hard to stay guarded when there was no visible danger from Daniels. Even Morgan managed to sleep at night without ranting about visions of assasination. But I couldn't shake this feeling that there was still something about him, that bothered Julia. Something she wasn't telling me. ]
Alonzo stretched under the cool shade of a tree and leaned his head back against the tree trunk as he cast a lazy eye around the camp. They had decided to rest for a few days and set up camp by the river and in an area with generous foliage and trees to provide shade from the searing heat of the day. It seemed like the rough rocks and boulders they had been trekking through for the last week was coming to an end and Danzinger had insisted they stop to give the vehicles time to recharge and be repaired.
The afternoon heat drove the colonists to the shelter of their tents and even Danzinger declared it was too hot to work. Alonzo found himself relaxing and growing drowsy under the comfortable shade of the tree.
He turned to look over at the Medtent, where Julia was still plugging away at her work. From where he was lounging, he could make out her slight figure, back to him talking animatedly to that other doctor... Alonzo racked his brain to remember his name.
Sam... .
Sam McCann - that was it.
The slightly geekish looking one who reminded Alonzo of the classic schoolroom nerd. McCann was tall, clumsy and bespectacled, with a shock of brown hair that seemed to constantly flop over his eyes.
Alonzo had also noticed more than once that he often stared at Julia with look of puppy-eyed adoration when she talked to him, or when they were discussing their work.
Jealous? Nah...
He knew Julia never noticed these things, especially where work was concerned. If she could ignore the Solace smile that made women swoon across the galaxies, she's make short work of McCann's drippy grins.
He stifled a yawn and wished that Julia took life a little more easy. He understood that science was her passion and it had crossed his mind that perhaps she did find test-tubes and zig-zagging lines on a monitor more fascinating than she found him, but sometimes, he sensed that Julia threw herself into her work because she felt lost without it; because she needed it to keep her sense of who she was.
Alonzo promised himself that one of these days, he'd teach Julia the art of doing nothing. That would be a fun thing to do on a hot afternoon he thought - teaching Julia to relax. His mind started wandering as his eyelids drooped.
Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a tall figure striding to the MedTent. The neat blonde hair shook Alonzo out of his drowsiness and he sat up straighter, watching Alex Daniels stop in front of Julia and McCann.
Alonzo didn't trust Daniels, especially when he was around Julia. He sensed Julia's nervousness around him and saw it in her behavior, the unease present whenever she was close to him or in the same room. And he didn't like the way Daniels looked at Julia with those intense blue eyes and how they seemed to always be watching her.
He watched them talking - animatedly, intently - and felt just a little envious. Envious at how Daniels, and even McCann - that nerd - could get her full attention so quickly and how easy Julia found it to relate to them.
What's the matter Solace? You feeling a little insecure? asked a little voice in his head.
Alonzo briefly took his attention away from the three doctors and looked at the ground. His fingers grasped a fistful of soft dirt and he let the sand fall through his fingers as his thoughts turned back to the incident with Jameson.
"Number Seven for your thoughts?"
A deep voice interrupted his reverie and he looked up to see Danzinger towering above him.
"Looks like a pretty comfortable spot for a lie down Solace. Care to share it?" he asked. At Alonzo's nod, he settled down next to the pilot and leaned his head back against the broad trunk of the tree.
"You don't trust him do you?" he asked lazily, his eyes closing as he relaxed under the shade.
"Who?"
"Don't pussyfoot with me Solace. You know who. Daniels." answered Danzinger, his eyes still closed and settling into a more comfortable position against the tree.
"What about you?" Alonzo asked, looking over his shoulder at Danzinger. "Nope. But it's probably because I'm naturally paranoid." came the reply. Alonzo looked at Danzinger, who looked completely relaxed with his arms gently resting across his chest and his eyes closed, leaning against the tree trunk.
Alonzo smiled to himself and traced random patterns in the sand with his finger.
"So, why'd you hit Jameson?" came the next question. Alonzo squinted and looked back at the MedTent where the three doctors were still engaged in an intense discussion.
"I know a green-eyed monster when I see one Solace." Danzinger said, in a half asleep tone when Alonzo made no effort to answer.
"Yeah - it takes one to know one." muttered Alonzo under his breath and he turned his attention to Julia.
"Tech guys tell me it was something he said about Julia." Danzinger prodded gently and he stretched his muscles before settling back into his comfortable position under the shade.
Alonzo said nothing.
"And Daniels." he added and opened one eye to watch Alonzo's reaction. The pilot sighed and leaned back against the tree trunk. "Jameson said the Tech guys were taking bets on how long before Daniels and Julia..." his voice trailed off. Jameson's confident voice rang in his ears, the words mocking him. His jaw tightened and his fists clenched, grasping handfuls of sand, as the words played back over and over in his head. He looked up at the leaves, gently rustling as the breeze blew.
Danzinger opened his eyes and sat up, looking at Alonzo. "You insecure Solace?" he asked matter-a-factly. He pulled his knees to his chest, wrapping his muscular arms around them as he looked at Alonzo, one eyebrow raised.
"I wish Julia would tell me what it was about Daniels that bugs her." he replied, evading the question, his attention focused on the the sand falling through his fingers.
"You're insecure." Danzinger said answering his own question. He turned his attention to the MedTent and the three figures standing under the shade. He looked at Alonzo.
"The way he looks at her - the way she gets nervous when he talks to her, stands too close to her, like she's afraid of him...there's something between them that I don't know about..." Alonzo rambled, his thoughts tumbling out.
"Definitely insecure." Danzinger said dryly looking at Alonzo, slapping him on the shoulder several times.
"I'm telling you Danzinger it's not just my imagination." he said in a frustrated tone. He turned his attention back to Julia.
"OK...OK I... hey where are you going... . ???" Danzinger saw Alonzo spring up and dash in the direction towards the MedTent. He quickly focused his attention on the MedTent and saw Julia and Alex Daniels getting into what was looking like an increasingly heated debate.
"Oh man, I'm getting too old for this." Danzinger groaned as he sprang to his feet and tore after Alonzo.
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"Alex - I don't think that's a good idea at all." Julia argued firmly. "A geolock sample would give us a better idea of what is it about this planet that allows the Terrians to sink into the ground." Daniels asserted.
"We know that has to do with Terrian DNA Alex." Julia stated pointblank. "All your research has been based on the DNA but not on the soil or rocks on the planet Dr Heller. I think it's a valid basis for scientific study. You've conducted tests only on the surface topsoil..."
"If I may say so, I think Dr Daniels has a point there Dr Heller. Soil tests will at least confirm your theory that it is Terrian DNA which facilitates the Terrian's sinking into the Earth itself." chipped in McCann rather nervously.
Julia openly glared at the bespectacled doctor. "I'm a doctor, not a geologist. The geolock has the potential to endanger the Terrians and I'm not prepared to use it again."
Alex took a step closer to her.
"It's in our interests to retrieve a sample - think of the everything we could learn - mineral exploitation, agriculture... ." his voice raised.
"We're here to colonise Dr Heller - not pander to the natives." he added in a menacing tone of voice as his blue eyes focused intently on Julia. He grasped Julia by the shoulders "A geolock sample could reveal all kinds of secrets about this planet Dr Heller - your decision not to proceed impedes any scientific progress we can make here. And you know very well that progress demands risk and sacrifice."
Risk.
Sacrifice.
Julia squirmed at the sound of those words - echoing Reilly's instructions as he urged her to experiment on Uly. Doubt crept into her mind once again - was Reilly lying to her? Was Alex really there to spy on her? To spy on the colonists? She stared into the blue eyes that were focused on her and felt a quiver run through her. They were cold and unyielding, and his grip on her shoulders seem to tighten. Despite the heat of the day, Julia found herself shivering under Alex's relentless stare.
"Get your hands off her."
Julia looked up to see Alonzo standing two feet away, his fists clenched, staring hard at Alex. Danzinger stood just a little way behind Alonzo. Alex looked to Alonzo, then back at Julia and then back at Alonzo again before removing his hands from her shoulders, holding them up and backing away in an exaggerated manner.
"We're just having a little discussion here. No need to jump to conclusions about anything." he said calmly, his eyes watching Alonzo's movements carefully nonetheless.
Alonzo swiftly moved to Julia's side, his eyes never moving from Daniels. "You see anybody doing any jumping Danzinger?" he asked, his fists still clenched by his side. He looked challengingly at Daniels.
"Nobody except maybe Grendlers playing leapfrog..." Danzinger growled, crossing his arms across his chest and focusing his stare on Daniels, making it clear whose side he was on.
"How fascinating." he drawled. "Dr McCann, a word about some of the soil experiments?"
McCann looked up nervously. "Soil experiments? " "Well I admit you've not got a lot to go on for now." he looked pointedly at Julia. "But I'd like to see if the new equipment we brought with us turns up anything else - perhaps something Dr Heller might have missed during her initial study." he explained smoothly.
"I'm afraid work beckons. Perhaps later you might be a little more receptive to the idea I proposed Dr Heller." he raised his eyebrows questioningly before following the nervous McCann out of the MedTent.
"What idea?" Alonzo demanded after both the doctors had departed a suitable distance away from the MedTent. He didn't like Alex's tone of voice and he especially did not like that look he had just given Julia.
"Alex wants to use the geolock to obtain a sample of the earth for study. He thinks it may explain more about how the Terrians have the ability to slide into the ground." she explained. "McCann agrees with him."
"We should have thrown away all the damned geolocks the minute we got a chance." Danzinger grumbled.
"Are you going to let him?" Alonzo asked Julia. "Of course not Alonzo." She leaned against a worktable and rubbed the space between her eyes tiredly. Alonzo put his hands on his hips and looked down at the ground, and then at Danzinger - a question in his eyes.
Danzinger held his hands up helplessly and deciding that Alonzo would probably get more out of Julia without his presence, made his exit." Well will you look at the time - better go get the rest of those vehicles serviced before Adair decides to run an inspection parade." he mumbled and sauntered off.
Alonzo watched him go and turned his attention to Julia, who still had her hand pressed to her eyes.
"Are you ok Julia?" he asked her gently. "Yes." she replied, removing her hand and looking up at him. "He scares you doesn't he?" he asked quietly. She turned away and looked out at the camp. "Yes he does." she replied, without looking at him. "Julia..." he put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll talk about it later Alonzo." she said, not looking at him. Alonzo crossed his arms, drumming his fingers impatiently - trying to decide what to do. It was heart-wretching to watch Julia closing up - watch the emotional armour come out of the woodwork, and the walls going up brick by brick. He wanted to ask her, question her, find out what it was that was eating her up inside.
"Don't do this to me Julia." he asked, standing behind her and placing his hands on her shoulders gently.
"I told you we'll discuss it later." Her tone was distant. He spun her around so that she faced him. "We have to talk now!" he insisted. "Look at you! The guy is scaring the hell out of you! How can you expect me to just stand here, watching you do this to yourself...letting that jerk drive you crazy! Do you know how much it hurts me to see you like this?" He looked her in the eye, a pained expression on his face.
"It hurts even more because you won't let me..." He stopped and abruptly pulled her close to him, holding her tightly. He buried his face in her long blonde hair.
"I'd never let anybody hurt you Julia but I can't protect you if you won't let me." he whispered to her. "Please don't shut me out like this." he pleaded.
Julia leaned against him, her eyes stinging with tears. She had never meant to deceive him or to keep the truth from him yet it seemed like all she had managed to do was hurt him. Convince him that she didn't, couldn't trust him. That she couldn't share with him her inner most feelings and thoughts.
"It's not like that Alonzo..." she whispered. "I've wanted to tell you for a long time - but I needed time - time to think."
She took a deep breath.
"Come on." she said shakily, pulling herself from his grasp and leading him away from the MedTent.
"Julia?" he queried, following her nonetheless, his fingers tightly curled around hers. "Where are we going?"
"I don't know... . Somewhere... . anyplace where we can talk."
Author's Chapter Notes:
Hope it's going OK so far everybody... . as for the title... . trust me, I couldn't think of anything else...just call me the 'Untitled' One... B.
Comments as usual to drteong@pc.jaring.my
Comments as usual to drteong@pc.jaring.my