NEW STORY (UNTITLED)
By
Bernice Low
Timeline: After "Moon Cross" (Day 61)
Author's E-Mail: drteong@pc.jaring.my
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Takes place between Moon Cross and Better Living through Morganite P1.
NEW STORY (UNTITLED)
By Bernice Low
Julia crossed over to her tent and lifted up the flap to the entrance, sliding in quickly to keep the heat in. She paused a moment to reflect on the events that had unfolded before their eyes in the last 12 hours. Bizarre yet fascinating was probably the best description she could give it. She had spent the better part of tonight watching the rituals of the still mysterious Terrians on the time of the year when the orbits of the dual moons of G889 seemed to cross and the two moons met.
Moon Cross.
She unzipped her windcheater and tossed it onto the end of the bed. There something else was occupying her thoughts. Something that tugged more strongly than her curiousity about the strange event they witnessed tonight.Alonzo.
Almost immediately her mind formed a picture of him - tall and handsome in that black leather jacket he always managed to keep clean in the dust of G889 and which seemed to keep him warm in the harshest of winds. The dimples that appeared when he smiled.He had been on her mind a lot lately. Especially since she broke her ties with the Council and Reilly - it brought them closer together and opened a whole new dimension of feelings for Julia.
New feelings and thoughts which seemed to fly in the face of her lifetime of discipline and self control.
She sat down on the bed and stared hard at the artificial light eminating from the solar lamp on the ground. She couldn't put her finger on it but something about Mary, the wild girl Alonzo had brought back to the camp with him bothered her.
She frowned as she thought about Mary remarking about how Alonzo had explained to her the meaning of 'touching'.
Get a grip Heller, she chided. What was wrong with her? Why was she being so touchy about Alonzo anyway?
She felt terribly vulnerable and uncertain - and the scientist in her revelled against the illogical thoughts and feelings going through her mind.
The sound of the tent flap opening drew her attention. Almost as if he had read her mind, Alonzo was there.
She stood up, arms on her hips and cast him a questioning glance. He smiled and tousled his hair.
" You're not mad at me are you Julia?" he asked, a slight tone of worry in his voice, though his eyes, she could have sworn were teasing.She looked at him with nonchalance and then started to walk about the tent organising things.
She picked up her windcheater and folded it and placed it over the corner neatly.
" No. What made you think that? " she gabbled quickly. He put his hands on his hips and looked down on the ground, trying hard not to smile.
" Cause you haven't spoken more than 5 sentences to me since I got back." he said, turning to her." And you're tidying your stuff in that obsessive way that tells me that you're trying to avoid the question"
She smiled nervously and started to toy with her medical supplies, kneeling down to stack them in the case.
" I guess we've both been caught up in what's happened.. you know, with Uly and all that. " she answered lamely, her back still to him.
He walked up to her and she could feel his warmth as he came closer. She turned around and faced him squarely. He was on his knees, looking at her with a look that bordered on amusement. Grinning, he brought his face closer to her and said " If I didn't know you better Doc, I'd say you were just a bit jealous."
He paused then continued with his eyes twinkling as he mercilessly teased her. " But that's against your chromosomes right?" She looked him the eye, stood up and brushed past him. " Jealous? Of who? And why?" she said casually, as she turned her back to him. He stood up and came up behind her, sliding his arms around her. Then he whispered to her ear, " Nothing happened Julia - common, gimme some trust here."
He turned her around gently to face him. " I missed you " he whispered softly to her and then bent to kiss her lips. She lifted her head to meet his lips, her arms sliding up against his chest. " You missed me too right? " he inquired seriously when they ended the kiss. She smiled and nodded her head.
She smoothed his jacket. " You'd better be going. It's late." He didn't let her go.
" Oh, I don't know doc. It seems a lot more comfy in here."Outside, as the wind swept through the camp, the light from Julia's lamp cast a shadow of two people on the tent's walls. Two people locked in a passionate embrace.
Two metres away, Morgan rubbed his hands together and took a sip from his mug. Yech, he spat out the coffee. It was cold and tasted like dishwater. Even the coffee on the stations tasted better - even if the water was recycled or chemically created.
He hugged the Mag Pro and moved closer to the fire. He hated being on guard duty. All he wanted to do was snuggle up to Bess in the warm, dry comfort of his tent. Didn't seem to matter any more that the ground was cold and hard.
It was better than sitting up all night in the cold wind. At least he could lie down with a blanket. He sullenly tugged his coat around himself.
A loud boom sounded and he jumped to his feet, craddling the Mag Pro, ready to fire at anything that so much as moved. Just then, a streak of lightning flashed across the sky, lighting up the camp for a brief moment before the crashing thunder echoed across the angry sky.
Morgan looked up at the sky just as another streak of lightning seared across the night sky and he shielded his eyes from the light.
Then everything went quiet. He looked down at his coffee. It was sloshing in his mug violently. He realised the ground was trembling and a rumbling noise seemed to be growing louder. The ground movement was so violent it shook the coffee cup out of his hand and sent it tumbling, it's contents spilling on the hard, dry ground.
Morgan panicked, and bellowed " EARTHQUAKE! " He ran to find Bess.
Julia was curled up to Alonzo in her tent and his arms were protectively wrapped around her when she felt him stir and she opened her eyes. Alonzo was sitting up, listening intently.
She propped herself up on an elbow and looked at him sleepily. " Alonzo? " she queried, puzzled.
" Did you hear that?" he quizzed her back. " Hear what? " she asked, fully awake now. " Shhhh... listen.Its like a rumbling from a distance"Just then the ground started to shake violently and she heard Morgan yell 'Earthquake' outside. Alonzo slide out of the bed quickly and pulled on his sweater.
" Common Julia! Get out now! " he shouted, as he dashed through the tent flap.
She pulled on her windcheater and dashed out of the tent's other flap.
Outside, chaos enshued amongst the rumbling and shaking of the ground. Devon emerged with Uly in tow whilst Danzinger tore to the Trans-Rover and grabbed True. They gathered outside their tents and stood, uncertain of what was happening when the rumbling slowly subsided.
Devon strode up to the centre of the camp as they made sure everyone was alright and no one had been injured.
Alonzo looked around the camp and saw Julia talking to Magus. She saw him and their eyes met briefly. She was as far away from him as possible.
Devon, after conferring with Yale, decided to give the all clear signal and ordered everybody went back to bed.
Alonzo looked up at the sky, which after all the flurry of activity, was still. He shook his head and as ever reflected on how weird this planet seemed to be
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Danzinger approaching him. He turned to face him. Danzinger leaned in close to him and whispered " You left your shoes in Julia's tent" and strode off, but not before he had given Alonzo a wide and knowing grin.
Alonzo looked down at his feet and didn't know whether to laugh out loud at himself or shuffle off in embarassment. He spotted Julia going back to her tent and decided to retrieve his shoes before anyone else spotted his dressing oversight.
He jogged quickly over to her tent and ducked inside.
Uly, who was a short distance away with his mother, spotted Alonzo going into Julia's tent and alerted his mother.
" Mom, why has Alonzo gone into Julia's tent? " he asked with all the precocious innocence of a nine year old.
Devon, only just realising it as she turned to see Alonzo ducking quickly into Julia's tent, looked at Yale before deciding that she wasn't about to go into 'that talk' with Uly yet.
" Common sport, time for bed " , she hurried him along, although she kept her eye on Julia's tent.
She didn't see Alonzo emerging till the next morning.
-The End-
This text file was ran through PERL script made by Andy. Original text file is available in Andy's Earth 2 Fan Fiction Archive.