LESSONS LEARNED

[Teaser]

Devon stood upright in the passenger seat of the Rail and raised the jumpers to survey the grounds ahead. Danziger sat behind the wheel, arms resting atop while he used the short break to relax sore muscles. They were looking down into a wide valley hemmed in by steep slopes that were mostly hidden beneath thickets. A fast moving river dissected the valley. White-crested waves churned wildly where tributaries running down from the hills added their water.

Displeased by the view Devon murmured something unintelligible and looked back the way they had come. Far behind, tendrils of smoke poking at the gray clouds overhead gave away the location of their camp and spoke of a fire being fed with damp wood. It had been raining non-stop for the past four days; today was the first day the constant downpour had let up, although dark clouds still threatened. The endless rain had frayed tempers to snapping point and Devon called a few days' break when they came upon the swollen river.

"There has to be a way across," she thought aloud.

"No doubt there is," Danziger replied and shifted in his seat. "But we won't find it today. If we don't head back now, we'll be caught out in the dark."

"Just a few miles more," Devon said. "So we can see what's behind the bend there." She pointed ahead at the river that made a sharp turn to the right before disappearing behind a tall copse of grayish-brown rocks.

"Devon, we've been at it all day--" Danziger began when a sharp look made him swallow the rest of his protests. With an exaggerated sigh and a shake of his head in lieu of further objections he started the Rail forward again.

They didn't get far; a few hundred yards of bouncing across the rough terrain and they came upon a muddy stream that had cleaved a deep gully in the hillside. Danziger halted the Rail. "Okay, Adair, that's as far as it goes."

Devon eyed the stream intently. It wasn't very wide although it surged down the hill in its haste to join the river below. "I think the Rail can manage. Come on, Danziger, let's go," she told him firmly. Danziger hesitated. "The sooner you move, the sooner we can go back," she added in an attempt to persuade him.

Muttering below his breath about stubborn women, Danziger set the vehicle in motion again. He cautiously steered it down the steep slope and into the gully. The muddy ground was slippery and despite Danziger's deft handling the Rail lurched violently when they reached the bottom. With a loud squeal the wheels spun in place, creating a fountain of yellowish slop and the Rail refused to move any further.

"Damn," Danziger swore.

"We're stuck," Devon said, a surprised note in her voice. It was half announcement, half question.

Danziger didn't comment. "Take the wheel," he said instead and climbed out of the vehicle. He sank nearly to his ankles in the mud and rolled his eyes in disgust. Feet squelching sloppily he made his way to the rear of the vehicle. Devon moved into the driver's seat.

"Power up when I tell you."

The scene was eerily reminiscent of an earlier time they had been stranded, Devon thought and allowed herself a quick smile. Except their circumstances were quite different now, she added in her mind.

Danziger tore a couple of dried branches from a nearby brush and pushed them underneath the rear wheels as far as he could. "Now," he ordered and pushed with all his might. Devon threw back the handle and the engine whined shrilly. But the Rail didn't budge.

"Stop! Stop!" Danziger shouted behind her. Devon powered down and turned to look at him. She couldn't help it; when she caught sight of him she burst out laughing. He was splattered with mud, from the top of his head full of unruly curls to the soles of his feet half submerged in the slush. He glared at her and she tried to stop laughing. "Oh God, John, you should see yourself..." and she couldn't suppress another bout of chuckles.

A reluctant half-smile broke on Danziger's mud-splattered face. "I suppose it is sort of funny," he admitted grudgingly, wiping his brow and glaring at the smear of goo it left on his fingers. "But we're still stuck here."

Devon nodded, her face serious again. "We need more branches to put under the wheels, or some rocks," she said and climbed from the Rail to help him search. They tramped, half slipping and sliding, through the undergrowth, twigs snapping beneath their feet.

Devon bent to pull at a particularly promising branch. It tore loose with a rustle of dried leaves and almost as if the noise were a starting sign, the floodgates of heaven reopened and another downpour started. "At least we don't have to worry about our water supply," she commented sourly. Danziger didn't reply and she turned around. "John?" But he was nowhere in sight. Danziger was gone.

By: Karly Yancosek

Devon put her hands on her hips. "Okay Danziger. Ha ha. Funny. Now come out and help me."

When he didn't show after about five minutes, Devon shook her head. He's probably testing you, she told herself. He probably thinks you can't do it by yourself.

Then it hit her. He was just trying to make her feel bad about laughing at him. That was the thing with men. Their egos were too big and they got damaged too easily.

"Fine, John," she called. "I'll do all the work myself. But what kind of man would make a woman do all the labor, Huh!?"

She gathered some branches in her arms, splashing mud all over her shirt and arms. "Oh, great," she muttered. "Just great." Danziger was going to pay.

As she gathered, she thought of the best way. Mud in the face? No, too simple. Maybe she'd get the Rail unstuck and drive off, leaving him alone. No, that was too cruel for her. Maybe she'd just spill hot coffee on him the next chance she got.

"Oh, well, I'll figure it out," she said pushing the wood she'd gathered under the front and back tires. She got into the driver's seat and started the Rail, hoping to feel it move, but no such luck. All it did was slide off to the right a little more.

As she stepped out, she fell face first in the mud and came up spitting out mud and cursing everything she could. "Oh, he's really going to pay," she hissed as she wiped off the mud on her face with a greasy rag she found in the back of the Rail.

She adjusted the wood under the tires and tried to start the vehicle moving but when that didn't work, she went back for more wood. She reached for a branch, but was caught off guard at the sight before her and her feet fell out from under her. She landed hard in a foot or so of mud, blinking rapidly.

The wood she'd stared at was covered in a bright red liquid, the light glinting off the still-wet surface. She was no doctor, and without Julia and her diaglove she had no way of really being sure, but the liquid, which was getting darker as it dried, looked a lot like blood. Too much for her liking. And how had it gotten there in the sparse amount of time her back had been turned?

Devon shivered. She didn't like to think of the many possibilities running through her mind at the time. Carefully avoiding the stained wood, she loaded her arms and headed back to the Rail. This time, she careful positioned the wood underneath the tires. She was going to prove to John that she could do it the right way, all by herself. She laid down the wood in a sort of weave pattern so that it formed an almost square blanket behind all the tires.

"There, that should do it." And if it didn't... well, it would have to. She got into the seat for what seemed like the millionth time that day, and revved the engine. The tires squealed, spitting mud...and then moved, carrying the Rail onto drier, sturdier ground. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief and shut her eyes for a moment, leaning her head back. She felt proud, in spite of her aching muscles. She had done it, and all by herself. Now she looked forward to gloating to John. But where was he?

She got on her knees and turned around in the seat, scanning behind her for Danziger. Nothing. "Come on, John," she called, a hint of annoyance in her voice. "I did all the work! Can't you just come out and admit that women are just as capable as men?" She was quite aware that she wouldn't be making him feel any better and she felt a little bad about it. A little.

"Fine! Be that way. I'll just go back to camp. I'm not missing out on putting my kid to bed!" she called angrily and started to drive.

She only went a few feet. She couldn't leave him. It wouldn't be fair to True or John. And besides that, she had no way of getting back the way she came. She leaned back, closing her eyes once more, wanting to sleep.

Then she could feel eyes staring at her. So, John had come back after all, eh? She opened her eyes and stared into someone else's. And she had seen John's enough times to know that those weren't his. Her scream resounded throughout the mountains...

By: Sue Sadler

...until a fist knocked her unconscious.

It couldn't have been much later when she began to come to find herself bound and gagged. And there was no light. There was no sensation of a blindfold, yet she could see nothing. Her wrists were tied behind her and she could feel one of the metal supports of the Rail. She started to pull against the rope trying to free herself.

"Don't struggle, you'll only hurt yourself." The voice was low-pitched and husky. Almost like the owner hadn't used it in a long time.

Devon pulled away. A heartbeat later something slammed into her ribs leaving her gasping for air through the gag until the pain began to subside.

"The next time I'll break one of the ribs." The voice was pleasant, matter of fact. She heard him move toward her again. A hand caught a fistful of hair and pulled until her head was forced back to an uncomfortable angle. "Nod if you understand."

She nodded and the pressure was released. "Just stay where you are."

There was silence. Devon concentrated on trying to locate him. If she didn't, she was going to give in to the fear and once she did, she'd be lost in the hysteria that being in the dark brought. Although she has no belief in psychic powers, she could feel his presence, a cold malevolence surrounding her.

She felt something cold and metallic touch her throat and screamed. Her captor responded by pulling on the chain tightening it uncomfortably around her neck. Breathing became difficult.

" I don't like it when you scream. It makes me feel uncomfortable. And you don't want me to feel uncomfortable, do you?"

Devon shook her head gasping for air.

"I'm going to take off the gag now. You're not going to make me punish you by screaming again are you?"

Devon shook her head again. Never let it be said that she didn't learn quickly. The man was as good as his word and released the gag.

"Who..." The one word was as far as she got. She felt a warning finger placed on her lips. She felt him reach behind her and cut through the rope attaching her to the rail. A sharp pull caused her to fall to the ground. The rope was replaced by metal cuffs, but at least this time her hands were in front of her.

"Come." The word was accompanied by a pull on the chain around her neck and Devon stumbled to her feet. A burning rage was beginning to build, blocking out the fear. Devon fed it. Fear was bad. It caused you to hesitate. It made you a victim. Rage was good. Rage made you strong. It made you fight.

The next hour was a waking nightmare. Her captor didn't speak again and her world narrowed down to trying to stay on her feet and follow him. The darkness she was walking in led her to fall on many occasions over roots or branches on the ground. Each time there was a jerk to the chain around her neck forcing her to get up or choke. She could feel blood trickle down the side of her face from where she'd landed heavily against a rock. A kind of numbness surrounded her. If she concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, then she didn't have to think. And if she didn't think then she wouldn't have to imagine what he was going to do to her once they reached wherever he was going.

"Stop."

She obeyed.

"There is a ladder going down." She felt his hand guide her to the top rung. "Hold on tight. If you fall you're going to die. And I'd hate to have gone to all this trouble for nothing." He lifted her off the ground and swung her around holding her until her feet found purchase.

For a brief instant, she toyed with the idea of just letting go. Of killing herself before he had the chance to carry out whatever he had planned. Survival was a stronger urge and she found herself climbing down, counting the steps. She'd got as far as 677 when the rung she stepped onto snapped and...

By: Nicole Mayer

... she screamed.

* * *

Danziger groaned. The ground was becoming harder with every passing second. He opened his eyes, but, just as before, he couldn't see a thing. He hadn't seen a thing since he'd awoken several hours ago with the strong scent of acrid smoke filling his lungs. But the fire had just been a ruse, something to waken him from the unconsciousness that was courtesy of a vicious blow to the head.

He'd been chained and dragged deep underground, unable to see a thing, unable to fight whoever his attacker was. And as far as Danziger could tell, he was blind. Either that or there was no light down here, and that thought was almost as frightening. He slowly attempted to stand up but his bonds prevented the action. He was chained to the floor.

Shaking his head in an attempt to clear it, Danziger suddenly remembered Devon. He'd left her there, all alone, and a psychopath was on the loose. Probably a penal colonist: Danziger hardly thought Reilly would go to such elaborate and crude, lengths to capture them. Again, Danziger tugged on the chains that bound his wrists and ankles, struggling to find the slightest weakness. There was none.

The rocky floor beneath him sucked more warmth from his body with every passing second, and Danziger wished for the comforting warmth of Morganite. Hell, he even wished for his gear. Something to break up the inky darkness, a light, a sound, anything to prove he still existed.

Only the pain reminded him that he was alive, and Danziger was sure that his head was still bleeding. Slowly, for a clot had surely formed by now, but there was still the distinct wetness that trickled down his cheek and on to his shoulder.

The last thing Danziger wanted to do was call for help - after all, he was used to looking after himself. But he could not see any other option, and after taking a deep breath, he called, "Hello?" The call was tentative; he didn't want to attract the attention of his captor, whom he suspected would be the only person within hearing distance.

Danziger paused, wheezing. That simple shout had taken a lot out of him, and it wasn't even loud. He tried again. "Anyone out there?!"

Silence. No, wait. In the distance, from somewhere very far away, a soft sound that spoke of metal vibrations, repeating with the regularity of footsteps. It came from above him, but looking up, Danziger could see no sign of a tunnel.

And then there was a frightened scream and Danziger knew it was Devon.

* * *

Devon's hands instinctively locked around the rungs above her as her footing dropped out from beneath, leaving her precariously suspended above a drop of perhaps infinity. She screamed in terror, knowing that her chained hands didn't allow her the grip she desired, and her legs were kicking wildly as they sought solid purchase.

A hand tugged on the chain attached to her neck, and another slapped her across the cheek. Had she not been held firmly in place by the collar, the blow would have knocked her from the ladder entirely. "I told you to be silent," hissed the voice.

Tears were trickling from Devon's eyes, a reaction to the burning pain, but she swallowed hard and fought the impulse to cry. She would not give in. She was stronger than that, she had to be stronger, only how was she expected to be strong under these conditions? Devon had no strength left to continue climbing. Yet it was the only action her captor would allow her.

"Move," he instructed. Wary of the missing rung in the ladder, Devon moved.

She lost count of the steps around the one thousand mark. Part of her mind found it incredible that someone had the perseverance to build a ladder so deep into the earth. The tunnels had probably already existed, and to hammer rungs into the hard rock walls would have taken a great deal of strength.

Her captor was strong. Immensely strong. She filed away the information for the future, for a time when she could use it against him and escape.

A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she felt her feet touch solid ground. Almost immediately, her legs began to tremble in protest over the ordeal they'd been put through. Devon wanted to sit down, but the sound of her captor lightly landing beside her kept her upright. She still saw nothing.

"Follow." As always, his instruction was brief, but the tug on the chain clearly indicated the direction she was to travel. As she walked, Devon thought she heard someone calling her name. "Danziger?" she whispered, softly. Yet it was nothing more than her own wistful imagination.

"We're here." Devon could do nothing as she heard the clanking of chains, heavy cuffs were placed around her ankles and her feet were separated. Likewise, her hands were temporarily unbound before being parted and chained to what seemed a rock wall. She stood, spread-eagled, and at the total mercy of he who had captured her.

Something sharp touched her cheek, trailing down it in an almost loving fashion. Devon flinched and her action garnered her another slap in response. She tasted blood.

"You will not move," intoned the man. "You are mine and I shall do with you what I please."

Rage once again began to well up in Devon, and she clung to it, trying to fight the fear. She was Devon Adair, protected "princess". No one had the right to do this to her, it was inconceivable, where were the authorities? This couldn't be happening. It couldn't.

Again, the sensation of something caressing her face. Was it fingernails? A knife? She couldn't stand the darkness, the not knowing, and she risked punishment as she asked, "What do you want?"

"Still spirited, I see." The voice was chuckling gently. "That will pass, in time."

Devon shook her head in denial. "Whatever you want, I can get it for you. Food? Supplies? Passage off this planet?" No response, and she was growing desperate. "Money? Anything, just name your price."

"There is no price," he hissed.

And that was when Devon knew she was dealing with someone truly insane. She fought to keep her voice steady as she said, "Then I am yours, and I will stay with you as long as you want if you make me a promise."

He laughed again. "You are in no position to make demands."

"Don't you know who I am?" Devon tried, hoping she could impress him with her position. She gently tugged on the restraints which bound her, hoping to find a weakness, hoping that he wouldn't notice her actions.

"I don't care who you used to be. Names, positions, titles, they are all irrelevant here in my world." There was a harsh intake of breath, and suddenly her hands were slammed up against the wall. He pressed up against her, and she could feel the air he expelled upon her neck. "You are mine," he repeated, "and you will be silent until you scream."

"No, please listen-" she began, but then a hand clamped across her mouth and the sharp point was back, beginning at the edge of her eye, but this time pressing down with more force than ever before and it stung and then it was followed by the warm wetness of blood. The knife cut a line all the way to her chin.

She struggled to breathe, her eyes were wide with terror yet she saw nothing, could only hear his terrible breathing, smell the chemical scent on his fingers as he kept her mouth closed and her head steady against the wall.

The knife continued, caressing her neck, light enough to not draw blood, but she knew it was coming. It reached the fabric of her shirt and then the motion was very deliberate as it sliced a neat line down, ruthlessly ripping away buttons, and there was nothing Devon could do to stop it.

She shuddered, barely suppressing a moan, and then her mouth was released only to be captured again in a featherlight kiss.

And then the knife began again and it was worse this time, and she closed her mind, fighting the pain that was blossoming with every second, fighting the knowledge of what was being done to her, and not giving in, not ever giving in ...

* * *

Danziger heard the distant screaming and he knew it was Devon. He tore at his chains, feeling his wrists and ankles bruise and scrape so hard that they would be raw for weeks, but it didn't matter, nothing mattered except for the absolute and complete terror he heard in Devon's voice and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.

It was the worst torture Danziger had ever experienced. Knowing she was close, not being able to do anything except hope and pray that somehow, she would survive this.

And finally, it was silent.

He didn't know which was worse - the screaming or the silence. Hearing Devon scream (mixed with intermittent sobs) at least proved she was alive. The silence meant that the torture had stopped, or it meant that she had stopped. He fervently hoped for the former.

After what seemed an eternity, Danziger heard footsteps. "Who's there?" he asked, only to be rewarded with a vicious blow in the ribs. Danziger automatically kicked out in the direction of his attacker, but with no sight and bound as he was, he had little chance of connecting. Before he knew it, a metal collar was back around his neck and he was being pulled in the direction he assumed Devon was located.

Danziger shuffled along as best he could, knowing that to keep silent was his best option for the moment. Finally, he was thrown to the floor again and he heard the distinct sound of chains being bolted together. A tentative tug proved that, once again, he was chained to a wall. Then the footsteps trailed away in that maddening silence that was ever pervasive except for the sound of shallow, shallow breaths punctuated by the odd sob.

"Devon?" The name was hesitantly expelled from his lips. He could smell blood.

"John? Can you see me?"

"Devon, you're alive, thank God," he babbled, immense relief coursing through his body. He was alive and she was alive and as far as he could tell, their captor had left them alone for the moment. He was about to ask her if she was okay when he realized what a cruel question it was.

"I can't see anything, Devon," Danziger replied, keeping his voice even and steady. "Although-" To his surprise, he realized it was getting lighter, something was gradually diffusing the darkness. "It's a little brighter - can you see anything?"

"No," was the immediate, forlorn reply.

"Maybe the blindness was only temporary," Danziger mused aloud.

"Don't look at me." The voice was so thin, so childlike, so frail and afraid. "Please, John, don't look at me."

That sentence caused ice to run through Danziger's veins anew. "I won't, Devon, I promise," he said as softly as possible. "It's not very bright anyway, it's gonna be a while 'til I can see properly."

"Good."

"Can you see?" he asked, in an attempt to make conversation, wanting desperately to comfort Devon but not wanting to say anything which would remind her of what she'd endured.

There was a shuddering breath from Devon's direction. And when she began to speak again, her voice was even more childlike. "Did you know that there are monsters, John? My mommy always promised me that there weren't, but there are monsters and - " a pause, a sob, " - I saw one."

"Devon," he said softly, wanting to comfort her, raging desperately against the chains which bound them both. "You'll be okay."

"There's a monster down here, John!" she continued, her voice rising in pitch. "I saw it! There's a pit, and I could hear a horrible moaning sound, and it was fiery, and then a real fucking monster came out of the ground and THERE WASN'T A THING I COULD DO TO STOP IT!!!" she finished, almost screaming.

"It hurt me, John!" she continued shouting, and Danziger could hear that she was crying again too. "It came at me and it hurt me and I tried not to scream but I couldn't help it because it fucking hurt and it was a monster and everyone always promised that monsters aren't real, but they are, they are on this planet, there are monsters..."

Her voice trailed off; Devon was overcome by sobs.

"You'll be okay, Devon, I promise," Danziger said desperately. "I'll get us out of here. I'll get us away from here."

The crying continued.

"There won't be any monsters."

"But there are," she replied, and now it was soft, almost as if she was fading away. "There is a monster. You believe me, don't you?" So desperate.

"Yes, Devon," Danziger soberly conceded, infusing as much hope and comfort as possible into his voice, "there is a monster."

By: Maggie Czarney

Danziger awoke to screams. 'No, God, not again,' he thought, quickly looking at Devon. He shuddered with relief when he saw that they were still alone. "Devon," he called, trying to wake her from her nightmare. The light, wherever it was coming from, was getting brighter, and he was able to see their surroundings, and Devon, more clearly. He gripped the chains that held him to the wall, thinking of the thousand hells that he would put that bastard through if he had the chance. "Devon," he called again, louder this time. "Devon, wake up!"

"What- NO!" Devon said, waking from her dream. "No," she sobbed, realizing the nightmare was real. She started crying. This couldn't be happening, this could not be happening.

"Shh, Devon, it'll be okay," Danziger soothed, hoping to avert another panic attack. It had scared the shit out of him to see the normally unflappable Devon Adair acting like a young child terrified of the monsters in the dark. And then had come the screams, and the crying. She didn't seem to hear him anymore; he couldn't calm her down. Out of desperation, he had resorted to the way he calmed True down after she had nightmares; he started telling her a story. After the first story she had calmed down, and by the middle of the second story, she was fast asleep.

She was still sobbing. He kept talking quietly to her, then cut off abruptly when he heard footsteps. His heart froze. "No, God, no."

His prayers went unanswered as their captor entered the room where they were chained. "Ah, I see you're both awake. Wonderful." John got his first good look at their captor as he came over to John and examined his restraints. The man was older, his long matted hair was gray, and one side of his face was a mass of scars and disfigured flesh. Nodding once, their captor turned towards Devon.

"No!" John strained against his restraints. "Leave her alone!" Devon was shaking her head, tears squeezing out from behind her eyelids.

Momentarily distracted from his prize, their captor turned back to Danziger. "Why, do you want a piece of her too?" He paused, considering. "It could be interesting. Perhaps later." He went over to Devon and stroked her face. "Ready for another round?" She shuddered from his touch, and John pulled against his restraints, letting out a string of curses, but their captor didn't turn away from Devon again. "A slight change, this time," he said, taking an old-fashioned key and releasing her wrists and ankles, and attaching the chain from the collar around her neck to the ground.

"God dammit, leave her alone!" John was ignored once again. He started using curses that would make his old drill instructor from the army blush and pulled against his restraints, not even noticing when his wrists started to bleed. He squeezed his eyes shut, swallowing against the lump in his throat. Even with the sight of what was happening blocked away he could still hear Devon's muffled cries. "Damn you, leave her alone!"

Devon concentrated on the tears landing on her cheeks. She only noticed that, nothing else was happening, it wasn't happening to her again, he wasn't touching her like he did before. There were just teardrops landing on her cheeks. "You are mine," he whispered in her ear, and instead of evoking fear, Devon felt the rage build up inside of her. She hung onto it, feeding it, and struggled against him. He grasped her wrists in both of his, holding them above her head but she kicked and when he shifted, one of her hands slipped out of his grasp. She reached out and her hand found a chain that had held one of her ankles to the wall. Grasping it firmly, she swung it towards the monster, hitting him again and again. He lost his grip and she slid away from him but kept swinging the chain, hitting him and hitting him until he lay still. Then the chain slipped from her grasp and she collapsed on the ground, sobbing, all of her rage spent.

"Devon. Devon." She heard her name being called faintly, as if from a far ways away. Slowly she brought herself under control and realized it was John calling her name. "Devon, get the keys." She saw the ring of keys on their captor's belt and took it, trying the keys until she found the one that released the collar around her neck. She went over to John and released him, quickly turning away and trying to hold the remains of her clothes together. "Devon, here," John said, holding his shirt out to her. She looked over her shoulder to see him in his jacket, zipped to the top.

"Thank you," she said softly. He nodded and turned around. Devon shed her ruined clothes and slipped into the shirt, thankful that her pants were mostly intact.

Danziger went over to their former captor's unmoving form and was disappointed to find that he was still breathing. Instead of killing him outright, Danziger used the same restraints that he had used on himself and Devon and chained the bastard to the wall.

"Let's get out of here," Devon said.

John turned towards her. "No arguments here." He followed her out of the cavern, watching her closely. "Are you going to be okay, Devon?" he asked after a few minutes.

"I'll be fine," she said quietly, not looking back at him. "It's not the first time it's happened." John froze in his tracks and just stared at Devon's back. She turned the corner and he finally got his feet moving again.

He caught up to her and they traveled in silence for awhile. John didn't know what to say to her, and Devon didn't want to talk. At an intersection of three caverns, Devon stopped and shook her head. "John, I... I don't know where we are," she admitted.

"We'll find our way out, Devon," John said. He indicated the left cavern. "Let's try this way." Devon agreed and they started down the path, hoping it led to a way out.

By: Sue Sadler

The passageways were lit by a strange luminescent fungus. It was strange that after so many weird experiences this should surprise him but life had a habit of doing that. No matter how prepared you thought you were, it always managed to stay one step ahead.

Devon appeared to have gone into shock. She made no response to his questions or comments. The only thing she would say was "I'm fine." And then only in response to him stopping and making physical contact.

He had to get them both out of there as soon as possible. She needed to be checked over by a doctor. Her comment that this wasn't the first time has affected him more than he wanted to admit to himself. His image of her as the pampered princess whose money kept her above any unpleasantness was being shaken and he didn't like it. It made sense of the two images of Devon he had, the Ice Princess and the childlike Devon who engaged in water fights.

"Damn it. I don't believe this." The path along the tunnel had brought them back to where they had started. "We are going to have to start doing this more logically." He broke off a fragment of the fungus and laid it at the start of the middle passageway, hoping that the fungus itself proved no threat. Thankfully, it remained faintly glowing. "Well, we have a marker now. If we mark the path we take at each junction, it should stop us going in circles. Okay, Devon?"

She didn't respond. Just stood, staring blankly at him. He had the strangest feeling of coldness, of impending doom that he couldn't shake.

"Don't worry, Devon. We'll be out of here soon."

Despite his prediction, it was the better part of two hours before he found himself at the entrance to the cave and saw the rungs leading up. In daylight, he saw the full impact of the ordeal Devon had undergone.

"God, Devon" he moved instinctively toward her to try to comfort her. At this, she displayed the first sign of animation in hours.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" She moved back defensively.

Danziger stopped instantly, his hands held up, palms outward. "It's OK, I'm not going to hurt you."

Devon looked unconvinced. In fact, if he had to pick a word, terrified was the first word that came to mind.

"I'm going to get help." His original plan was for both of them to go, but looking at her, he realized that she was in no condition to make the climb.

Devon tilted her head to one side and looked quizzically at him. He couldn't explain why, but her look felt vaguely threatening. "Will you be alright here until I get back?"

She nodded once, emphatically.

He turned to the ladder. Although he didn't like the idea, it was the only way he could see of getting help. They were too far away from the DuneRail for a search party to logically find them. Even so, he still hated the idea. As he put his weight on the first rung, an incredible pain shot through his skull. There was an instant where he realized he was dying before his body hit the floor.

Devon watched the life drain from him, still holding the knife she had taken from her torturer. She should have remembered the lesson she had been taught as a child, without needing to be retaught. People wanted power over you; they wanted to either use you or hurt you. Most liked to give pain. Users like Morgan Martin were easy to deal with; their wants were obvious. They could be manipulated into a position where they could do no damage yet still have the illusion of being in control. The people you really had to watch out for were those that called you friend, because if you let your guard down with them, let them get close to you, they could hurt you. Danziger, well Danziger had the power to destroy her.

It occurred to her that she really should thank the nameless man. He had reminded her of the price of letting down well-built defenses. It was a shame he was going to die of thirst alone in the dismal cavern. He really deserved better considering the lesson she had learned. She wiped the blade clean and tossed it into the cavern.

Then she started on the long journey up the ladder and home to base camp. Unsurprisingly, she met Yale and Baines, one of the search parties sent out. She collapsed into Yale's arms, exhausted and feverish.

* * *

Because of the condition they had found her in, nobody in Eden Advance initially went out as far as the cliff edge, because in Julia's opinion she couldn't possibly have traveled more that 2 or 3 miles with the injuries she had. Eventually, when they reached the cliff edge, Morgan's party looked briefly over the edge and on failing to spot anything resumed the search elsewhere.

When it was discovered that some of the blood on her was Danziger's everyone feared the worst.

After four days, Devon's fever broke and she became more lucid. Bess had stayed with her, as her presence seemed to comfort Devon. Even in the depths of the fever, she reacted strongly to a male presence. Most of the people in the camp had heard her screams as she relived the torture in her dreams.

"Hi Devon. You're back with us at last."

"Bess? Why am I in the med-tent." her voice was hoarse.

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"I was in the DuneRail and I couldn't find John. Is he ok?"

"We don't know. We haven't found him yet."

* * *

After two weeks, they held a memorial for Danziger despite the fact no body was found.

Devon, Julia believed, had found her ordeal too traumatic and had suppressed the memories of her ordeal so deeply that it was unlikely they would resurface without professional help.

One good thing had come from the experience. Bess and Devon had become friends, much to Morgan's disgust as Bess now spent a good deal of her day with Devon, Uly and True, leaving him to his own devices.

He knew better than to say anything. He'd snapped at Devon once and she'd turned and stared at him. The look in her eyes had frozen him. Then she'd smiled at him. A cold smile. The kind a cat would give to a mouse before devouring it.

A month later Morgan was found dead.

--END--

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