BY COVER OF NIGHT
By
Bronwyn Moody
Timeline: Time Unknown
Author's E-Mail: bronwyn.moody@utoronto.ca
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Hi folks. This is my very first attempt at fanfiction and I hope you like it. I checked it out with a couple of people privately and they seemed to think it was appropriate for the list. It's more of a vignette than a story and it is on the mushy side so if you don't like that kind of stuff maybe you better skip it. I haven't used any character names as my intention was for readers to interpret the encounter in their own way. Anyway, enough dilly dallying, please let me know what you think. All comments, criticisms and suggestions are welcome. Please feel free to email me at the above address!! Enjoy! BronwynHere goes nothing.....
P.S. Insert all that nasty copyright stuff here - no infringement on the property of Amblin/Universal is intended, etc.........
By Cover of Night
The night was sweltering, they'd had no choice but to camp here as the desert-like terrain had carried on to the horizon with no end in sight. It was foolish to push the crew any farther in the heat of the day so they'd made camp early and decided on an early start in the morning after a good nights sleep. Unfortunately, he was not in the slightest bit tired and there was very little chance he would get any sleep at all. He tossed around on the cot trying in vain to find a comfortable position. Whenever he thought he had succeeded, his thoughts would inevitably drift to the real reason for his sleeplessness. After an hour or so of pretence at sleep, he gave up in disgust and decided that he needed some fresh air.
She felt absolutely drenched in sweat. The air was so still and not even the slightest hint of a breeze, even the normal chirps and whistles of the nocturnal creatures of G889 were absent. All was bathed in silence, weighted down with the heaviness and humidity of the heat. She knew she was being completely insensible by not at least trying to get some rest but she couldn't resist the call of the stars and there would be no sleep with her mind full of images of a certain male member of the crew. "Absolute lunacy" she thought to herself, "I shouldn't waste my time even thinking about it. I can't afford the risk." Yet, as always, when her thoughts turned to him, her heart quickened and her skin tingled. She shivered despite the heat and wrapped her arms around herself. "This is silly" she mused, "What I need is a walk to clear my head." With that she hopped out of her cot and headed toward a nearby outcropping of rock away from the rest of the camp.
He was making a halfhearted attempt at fine tuning the computer console on the dash of the transrover but his mind just wouldn't stay focused. When he realized that he was creating more problems than he was fixing, he packed up his tool kit, turned off the lumalight and gazed out into the evening sky. With a start he realized that his thoughts had once again turned to the object of his wakefulness. "Dammit" he swore to himself, "I can't afford an involvement right now. There is just too much I don't understand and don't know. I can't take that chance." With a sigh, he clambered down from the vehicle ordering himself to return to his tent and his bed to get some sleep. A movement at the outskirts of camp caught his attention and he peered into the darkness trying to discern who or what was up and around at this hour. "Probably whoever is on watch tonight" he remarked to himself. "Or somebody else who couldn't sleep in this heat." Ever cautious however, he decided he had better go and investigate.
Upon reaching the rocks, she continued around to the side away from the camp in an unconscious attempt to separate herself from the cause of her lingering worries and thoughts. Finding a suitable spot, she climbed up onto a rock and drew her knees up under her chin and pondered the vast darkness before her. After her eyes had had time to adjust, she began to pick out the various outcroppings and hillocks of the desert terrain. "It would be so easy to just walk straight out there, into the nothingness. Away from the doubts and fears that are so much a part of me" she mused. She wouldn't she knew, more truthfully, she couldn't. As much as it scared her to think about him and all that he represented to her, she knew she would never be able to leave him behind. He had become a part of her without even trying, had worked his way into her life on the strength of his goodness and the knowledge that he cared about her although to what extent she was unsure. "Life as you know it will never be the same," she smiled, "You might as well admit it." But therein lay the problem, she couldn't bring herself to admit it, it was just too scary. There was too much at stake to risk opening herself to someone again. It had been so painful before, this planet had managed to heal her once but she doubted it could do so again. "No," she admonished, "I'll do my part to get these people to New Pacifica but beyond that I won't risk my sanity on a pipe dream of ever lasting happiness." The sound of approaching footsteps brought her quickly to her feet and she squinted into the night to see who had come to disturb her solitude.
He came upon the rocks and gingerly felt his way around to the opposite side. Something deep within him told him who he would find on the other side and for one quick moment he debated retracing his steps back to camp. The thought vanished almost before it had begun and with pulse racing he stepped out into the open space beyond.
For an instant panic seized her and she stood rooted to the spot. Almost as if her thoughts had conjured him up, there he was standing before her. She had known in her heart he would come, somehow realizing that the unnatural silence of the night was not due solely to the heat. The wheels of destiny were slowly grinding their way and she had no choice but to clamber aboard regardless of the outcome.
The two figures stood motionless, gazing at one another for what seemed an eternity, neither wanting to break the thread that had inexplicably pulled them together. The slightest of movements would bring reality crashing down around them and from that moment there would be no turning back. Finally...wordlessly, he reached toward her. Instinctively she stepped back, a voice in her mind screaming "Run!", telling her to flee into the blackness of anonymity. But her eyes stayed glued to his and there she saw the turmoil of emotions that were playing themselves out in his mind...fear, need, doubt, desire. All the same feelings that she was experiencing herself. Tentatively she stretched her hand towards his, her body dutifully following behind. His muscles had clenched with panic when she had moved away from him but as she slowly made her way forward, he moved to close the gap between them. When their fingers touched, the air itself seemed charged with electricity. She gasped at the sensation, overwhelmed by the whirlwind of emotions coursing through her. He gripped her hand as a drowning man clings to a lifeboat, pulling her quickly toward him. Within a heartbeat, he had wrapped his strong arms around her, defying her to pull away. Silently she lifted her head to face him, locked in his embrace, she met his gaze with her own brand of courage. He raised his hand and lightly brushed the hair from her eyes, eyes that were the mirror to his own soul. The need he felt equalled in turn by her own desire. No words were needed as he lowered his lips to hers. She responded with a slight moan as the sheer physical urges replaced any coherent thoughts in her mind. The kiss deepened as it stretched on into minutes accompanied only by the synchronized beating of their hearts. Slowly and then with an urgency of need, each began to explore the planes and curves of the other. Their breathing quickened as they drank in the heady elixir that was their desire for one another. At long last the barriers were down, the walls were crumbled and they were free to express the emotions that had too long been buried deep inside, hidden from the cold reality of day. The night was their guardian as they bared themselves to each other, letting loose all that had until this moment remained chained. The planet itself seemed to respect their wishes, carefully concealing the moon behind a thin layer of cloud in order to keep private their union. Their exploration of one another continued long into the night as new secrets were revealed and relished. They whispered to each other their thoughts and misgivings, sharing a connection of both body and mind. All the facades were stripped away as they made real what had once been only a dream.
Inevitably, the planet could not hold back the dawn and as the sky took on the dusky rose of morning, the lovers reluctantly awoke to the reality of daybreak. He sighed as he replaced the clothes that had been so eagerly abandoned hours earlier, hesitating long enough to brush her naked shoulders with his lips. She smiled as she reached out to caress the expanse of his broad chest, lingering long enough to draw a low growl from his throat. She quickly dodged from his reach, laughing lightly when she returned to his embrace. He smiled appreciatively as she dressed and prepared to return to camp. They stood silently for a moment, contemplating one another before facing the prospect of impending reality and life amongst the group. She traced the outline of his jaw with her finger, her eyes never leaving his. He, in turn, was memorizing the planes of her face, breathing deeply of the scent that was intimately her own. An unspoken bond had been forged, a bond that would hold tight against any upcoming and unforeseeable dangers. There would be no going back, no regrets, no doubts and no fears. They had found one another on a planet a long way from their homes, their destinies were now intertwined and the realization made clear that this was right. Together they would face heartbreak and happiness, good times and bad, but nothing could tear apart what had happened between them. With a last glance at the spot that would be remembered as the beginning of their new lives together, they clasped hands and headed back to the friends and family of the Eden Project.
-The End-
Okay, okay so it sorta sounds like a Devon and Danz story but if you use your imagination and try real hard, it could pass for some of the other characters couldn't it?? Maybe Magus and Walman or Baines and Eben? Who knows! :) As this little tale doesn't have any direct reference to any event in the storyline of E2 I figure it could be place just about anywhere you like in the timeline also.
Anyway, thats it, thats all!!
Bronwyn
This text file was ran through PERL script made by Andy. Original text file is available in Andy's Earth 2 Fan Fiction Archive.