Note: this takes place in Ranger continuity just before "Ninja Quest."

"I got it!" Kimberly shouted as she made a diving leap after the frisbee that sailed passed her. Her friends laughed as she tumbled (albeit gracefully) to the ground in her failed attempt. "Rocky, your aim stinks!" Kim grumbled as she got up and brushed herself off. Then, she went to retrieve the plastic disk.

"It's the wind," Rocky replied apologetically.

The six friends were enjoying a rare afternoon picnic in the park. The weather had been horrible of late, and so had Zedd and Rita. However, the sun was bright, the sky was blue, and there wasn't a putty in sight.

"Coming at you, Tommy," Kim called out as she let the frisbee fly. The disc went wide, and it was Tommy's turn to grumble as he chased after it.

"Sorry, Tommy," Kim called out. As she watched Tommy bend over, Kim felt her pulse quicken, and a sigh of longing threatened to slip out. Boy, does he have a cute butt! She would have liked nothing better than to run her hands all over his tush --among other things. She wished Tommy wouldn't wear such long shorts (or such baggy swim trunks for that matter); she would have enjoyed getting a better look at his yummy body. Kim shook her thoughts aside; this really wasn't the place for them. Still, it was almost as if she couldn't help herself. Tommy was really carbonating her hormones of late.

Kim had been thinking about a lot of things lately --and not just her physical attraction to Tommy. She had been giving their entire relationship much thought. Kim knew that, deep down in her heart, Tommy was the one for her. She had never felt so strongly about any guy she had ever dated before. Her grandmother used to tell her that when the right boy came along, she'd know. "Your heart will know, without a doubt." Her grandmother used to tell Kim the story of how she met Kim's grandfather --they had met as children. Gramps, as a boy, used to tease Gran and pull on her braids. Gran's family moved away, and it was years later that the pair were reunited, fell in love, and got married. Kim used to cling to that tale, dreaming of her Mr. Right.

But what if your heart makes a mistake? Kim wondered. Her mother and father had thought they loved each other, but now they were divorced. How could you know for sure? Was what she and Tommy had simply a high school romance? To Kim, it was something more. Her fondest wish was to be with Tommy forever . . . marriage, a family . . . but that was for later, after school --and after Zedd was no longer a threat. For now, she wanted to enjoy every minute she could with Tommy because she knew how precious that time was. When one went into battle daily, there was always the possibility of not coming back. That tended to make one appreciate life a little more.

"Heads up," Tommy hollered, letting the frisbee fly.

Kim knew she loved Tommy; she longed to tell him that, but she wasn't sure if she should. He was always very affectionate, and at times she glimpsed a deeper emotion in him. She lived for those moments when she could feel the depth of his feelings; she savored the warmth and security she felt at those times, but those moments were fleeting. It was like he would open himself up a little bit then pull back, as if afraid of being vulnerable. Kim couldn't understand it. More than anything else, Kim wanted to hear Tommy say those three little words to her. She wanted to believe them with all her heart . . . .

"Ow!" Kim yelped as the frisbee clipped her head just hard enough to make her lose her equilibrium. She landed hard on her bottom, to the merriment of the others.

"That's what you get for sleeping on the job," Rocky chortled.

"Well, it's your fault I can't stay awake," Kim shot back; she wasn't about to admit to daydreaming in the face of Rocky's laughter.

"My fault?"

"If you wouldn't have had us over to watch that Science Fiction double feature last night, I might have gotten some sleep."

"What was wrong with those movies? They're great," Rocky retorted.

"War of the Worlds was fine . . . ." Kim replied.

" . . . but you have to admit that Pirates of Alpha Centauri was pretty cheesy," Aisha interjected.

"I had alien slimewads running amuck in my dreams all night long," Kim complained as Tommy helped her up.

"You okay?" he asked, kissing her temple.

Kim smiled up at him warmly. "I'm fine. Thanks."

"I'm really sorry. I was aiming for Aisha, but the wind took it," Tommy explained.

"The wind has really picked up since we've been out here," Kim agreed, brushing the hair out of her eyes.

"There must be a new front blowing in from the mountains," Billy observed.

However, the air currents continued to gain in velocity and the temperature began dropping in spite of the perfect conditions. It happened so suddenly that the six knew that it was no natural phenomenon.

"Couldn't Zedd have given us the rest of the day off," Adam sighed as the six pulled in closer, assuming a defensive formation. Then, without warning, he collapsed.

"Adam!" Aisha gasped as she and Billy caught him.

"What happened to him?" Tommy queried.

"I didn't see anything blast him," Rocky said.

"He appears to be asleep," Billy assessed.

"This is too weird," Kim murmured, scanning the area for further danger.

"Let's get to the Command Center . . . ." Billy began, then he, too, collapsed.

"Billy!" Kim yelped.

"Hey, I thought I saw some sort of beam of light . . . ." Aisha went down in mid-sentence.

"I can't get through to Zordon," Tommy reported, frantically trying to activate his communicator.

"What do we do now . . . ." Rocky crumpled to the ground. This time, the beam of light was more noticeable.

"Maybe we should split up," Kim suggested, grabbing Tommy's hand and giving it a quick squeeze.

"So it doesn't have a concentrated target? Good idea . . . ."

"Tommy, no!" Kim shrieked as he fell at her feet. She only had a moment to realize that she was the only one left before oblivion claimed her as well.

"Oh, my head," Kim groaned as consciousness returned. It felt as if white hot knives tore through her skull. Her acknowledgement of her pain was brief before her surroundings demanded her attention. The park was long gone. Kim found herself laying in the midst of a muddy road, and around her was a world gone mad. She heard explosions and saw flashes of flame. People were running everywhere, screaming in pain and fright, but they were not human. She had never seen anything like the terrified beings who raced about her. It took Kim a moment to realize that it wasn't one race of beings but many races --some humanoid, some not.

"Where am I?" she wondered as she picked herself up to avoid being trampled. She looked around in confusion. Around her, buildings exploded. The sky, choked with thick clouds of smoke, was filled with flying craft manned by armored beings. Kim turned in the direction from which the beings were fleeing. Huge, hulking insect-like creatures lumbered down the streets. The obsidian-carapaced monstrosities reached out for the hapless denizens, caught them up in enormous pincers and deposited them in wheeled cage-carts. Kim had seen enough. She didn't know where she was, how she got there, or where her friends were, but she did know that she did not want to wind up in one of those cages.

She hurried down the street in search of a hiding place. Others had the same idea, but the sky-based soldiers used their weapons to demolish any likely cover, sometimes before the refugee reached the shelter, but most times after. The victims either went up in flames or were squashed by debris. There was no time to think, simply react, and Kimberly was caught up in the tidal wave of bodies that surged down the street. Suddenly, the crowd shifted, and Kim found herself laying in a gutter. There was plenty of debris in the trough-like construct, and she quickly pulled it over herself.

Kim felt like crying, but she had to keep her cool. She hadn't been so scared since before she received her power coin. Where was she? Where were Tommy and the others? She reached for her communicator but found it missing, as was her morpher. Great, just great! Above her, she heard the shriek of one of the sky-sleds, and she cowered lower under the garbage. The sound seemed to be hovering directly above her; then, it flew off, and Kim realized that she had been holding her breath. She was tempted to take a quick peek, when she heard the rumble of the multi-legged horrors --heard their impossibly loud chittering-- drawing closer. Kim held her breath again. If she could just stay still . . . .

Then, she heard a plaintive cry. It sounded so much like a small child that she peeked out in spite of herself. As she feared, a fallen child (at least, it looked like a child) lay crying in a pothole in the dirt road. It struggled to get up, but it kept grabbing its leg as if something hurt. Kim couldn't stand by and let the helpless thing be captured or trampled. She scrambled out of her hiding place and dashed into the street. The child was solidly built --about twice as big around as she was; she doubted she could lift him. Maybe if she had her powers . . . yet, she managed easily. Kim chalked it up to adrenaline. Cradling the frightened being, she dashed towards the safety of the gutter, her own fear giving her the extra speed she needed. Still, it wasn't enough. A wickedly spined pincer closed around her midsection. Kim pushed the child towards the drainage ditch. To her relief, the insect-creature seemed not to notice.

"Let me go!" she shouted, seeing to her own safety. She kicked and struggled to break free. The claw held her so tightly that the spines ripped into her clothes and threatened to do the same to her flesh. Kim was forced to cease wriggling lest she rip open her middle. The creature hoisted her high then tossed her back; she landed in the midst of a tight press of bodies in the cages.

Kim tucked herself into a tight ball in order to survive the bumpy ride better. She managed to work her way to the outside wall of the cage so she could see what was going on. She was somewhat surprised by her fellow prisoners. Upon reaching the cage, it was as if all the fight had gone out of them. No one moved (not that there was much room to move); no one spoke. It was as if they were already dead. Kim had the sense that the others knew what sort of fate awaited them and that there was no avoiding it. It did not instill her with confidence.

From her place next to the bars, Kim surveyed the world she had been dumped on. The sky was a deep blue, almost violet color, and a pair of shining suns hovered beyond the clouds of smoke. The land itself was barren --no signs of vegetation that Kim could see, but there was moisture. The layer of grime from the muddy road with which Kim was coated was testament to that. The buildings that hadn't been reduced to rubble looked rather unsophisticated; she couldn't see any signs of technology except for the sky-sleds. The hulking-insect thingies were hauling the body-ladened cages out beyond the buildings, across a flat, rocky plain. In the distance, Kim saw what appeared to be a large ship of some kind; the bug-things were headed directly for it. Kim caught a glimpse of cages being unloaded. Armored goons separated the captives into groups, and it appeared as if they were putting restraints of some sort on each individual.

"No way," she murmured, a sinking feeling stirring in the pit of her stomach. As her cage drew closer she could see that the restraints consisted of collar and shackles. She had been captured by slavers. All right, don't panic. Just be ready, she instructed herself. Everyone else has surrendered; they won't be expecting any resistance. Kim braced herself to move as soon as she was free of the cage; however, the conveyance was abruptly up-ended, and she tumbled out with the other bodies and was unable to get her bearings for a moment. The next thing she knew, she was being shoved around roughly. One of the armored slavers began poking around as if he was feeling her up.

"Get your hands off me, slimewad!" Kim snarled, slapping the hands away. She had never let Tommy touch her like that (although, she often thought she'd like to); she certainly wasn't going to let any alien creep get away with groping her. To Kim's surprise, the armored guard fell back as if she had landed a round-house kick. She hadn't used that much force. Kim barely had time to wonder about that before the guard recovered. Undeterred by her resistance, he grabbed Kim by the hair and continued his inspection.

"I said, don't touch me!" Kim kicked out again, catching the guard in the midsection. The being went down as if Tommy had taken him out. Kim assumed a fighting stance, flush with her success. She had never felt so strong before--it wasn't like the rush of being powered up, and it was more than just adrenaline. At the moment, Kim felt as if she could take on the entire crew of the slave ship.

A second guard hurried over, brandishing a weapon. He hit a control on the silver wand, and a gleaming metal lash flashed out, biting into Kim's back. Stunned by the pain, she went down. She had been kicked by putties. She had endured energy blasts, but she had never felt anything like the metal coil that struck her. However, the pain only served to strengthen her resolve to break free. She waited until the guard came closer and kicked out with all her might. He went flying. Another slaver rushed over. With a fierce "ki-yai," Kim slammed the base of both her hands into his jaw. His head snapped back as if she had broken it. Kim had no time to wonder about that. She was free, and she dashed away from the corral as fast as she could.

In spite of her somehow-augmented speed, she didn't get far. The whip-wielder recovered from her kick, turned a control on his device and lashed out again. This time, the flail was a beam of energy. He caught Kim across the back, the beam searing her. Kim went down with a strangled cry; the only thing keeping her from passing out was the stench of her burned flesh. While she was on her hands and knees, the guard came up and slapped a collar around her neck. Kim felt as if a lead weight had been placed on her shoulders. It was as if all the energy that enabled her to resist so strongly had been sucked out of her; she could hardly move. She felt merely human again.

The whip-wielder came forward and pulled Kim to her feet. Then, he ripped her dress down the front and tugged it down around her waist. Kim closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as he reached for her bra. Kim bit back a scream as the elastic gouged the wound left by the energy whip. With a forceful tug, he ripped the undergarment off her. Then, the guard ran a gloved hand over her breasts. Tears streamed unbidden down Kim's cheeks as she was forced to endure the mortifying procedure.

Stop it, please! she begged silently. Even worse than being touched by the alien was the fact that her body was responding. Her nipples were hard, and her sex was wet. She started to struggle again, trying to pull away from the hand; however, the guard raised his whip, his thumb on the control. Kim forced herself to remain still. She could get through this a lot easier than being whipped again. Then, to her further horror, the guard used the butt of the whip to lift up her dress.

Not there; please, not there! Her body trembled with her tears as the guard ripped her panties off and placed a hand on her mound. Kim prayed he wouldn't do anything else. She was suddenly grateful that Tommy and the others weren't there. She couldn't have born having her friends --especially Tommy-- see her like this.

Apparently, the guard was satisfied with his inspection. He barked something unintelligible to the first slaver who had handled Kim. The other grunted a reply, then Kimberly was dragged over to another pen. She did her best to slip her dress back on before shackles were placed on her wrists. Once secured, she was tossed inside.

The occupants pulled away from her as if to say they didn't want to be associated with the troublemaker. That was fine with Kim. She didn't want to get to know her cellmates. Kim curled in on herself once again (which was quite painful due to the state of her back) and numbly watched as the slavers sorted the rest of the captives. She finally determined that they were being sorted by gender.

Finally, the last of the cages was unloaded. More slavers appeared armed with lethal-looking spears. Kim assumed they were a high-tech version of a cattle prod because the guards began herding the captives into the ship. Kim felt a bubble of panic welling up inside her as she was forced along.

If I'm taken off planet, how will the others find me? Assuming, that is, that the others were on the same planet as she was. There was no indication that any of the others had been transported to the same destination. If Zedd was behind the attack in the park, he would have split the team up to demoralize them and make it more difficult for them to pool their resources to escape. Don't worry; Zordon's scanners always find us no matter what dimension Zedd sends us to. He and the others will be able to locate me no matter where these goons take me. With that thought firmly entrenched in her mind, Kim allowed herself to be swallowed up by the ship's hold.

Kim sat in a corner of the slave yard staring intently at the far fence. She pondered for the umpteenth time how she might get over the barrier. She had lost track of how much time had passed while on the journey to wherever this new planet was. The ship had made several stops, and each time new slaves were added to the hold until Kim thought that the sides of the ship might bulge out. Many hadn't survived the trip. Her new "home" was a world with a tropical climate. Lush vegetation in a riot of colors surrounded the fences. The air was heavy with humidity that seemed to sap the strength right out of the prisoners. Even so, the nights were surprisingly cool. Kim had gotten used to huddling next to her fellow captives in order to share body heat at night.

The pens were open to the air. All day long the sun beat down on them unmercifully. When it rained, they were soaked. Kim never found herself appreciating a bit of a breeze so much in all her life. As for a means of escape, there was no way out that she could tell except over the wall. However, the transparent barrier offered no hand holds, nothing on which to get a grip. If an inmate happened to find a way to scale the wall, the top was protected by an energy field. To any who attempted escape in that fashion, death was brutal and swift. Kim had seen one of the male captives fried in seconds until nothing was left but ashes. However, Kim had already discovered that the energy field did not extend indefinitely. The leaves of a nearby tree hung over into the yard and remained unscorched.

Kim might have been able to manage the jump if she hadn't been wearing her slave collar. She had studied the device very intently during her days of captivity. Once the prisoners were dumped in the slave pens, the manacles had been removed. On each collar were three lights; one remained lit all the time, while the other two only came on when the guards touched buttons on their control devices. The yellow light indicated that the tracking function was in use (one afternoon, she had noticed that her yellow light was on and that the guards were monitoring her movements, and she had seen them do the same with other slaves). The red light was for punishment mode (another slave had been disintegrated immediately after her red light had come on). The green light, the constant light, indicated that the gravitational compensator was working.

Kim was particularly pleased with that last discovery (Billy would have been proud). Actually, it had been the cheesy movie Rocky had made them watch that had enabled her to put the clues together. She had a basic grasp of physics --thanks to Billy. She knew about the gravitational differences between the Earth and the moon. She figured out that the reason she seemed to have almost superhuman strength on the previous planet was because its gravity was less than Earth's. She had felt "normal" again when the collar was put on, so the collar had to do something to cancel out the effects of her being from a world with higher gravity --which also meant that the world she was on had to have less than Earth-like gravity.

However, with or without the collars, Kim felt certain that if Tommy were there, he could have booster her over the fence without difficulty. Kim wished Tommy was with her. She wished any human being was there. She would have liked to have someone to talk to. None of the other captives spoke a tongue that made any sense to her. She had made one friend and had attempted a kind of sign language with her. The woman had resembled a walking cat with four extra limbs and a monkey-like tail. However, she had been removed from the pen shortly thereafter --sold, most likely-- and Kim never saw her again. After that, she made no further attempts to fraternize.

She tried for a while to observe her companions --see how many different species, behavior patterns . . . the sorts of things Billy would have loved to hear about, but there were simply too many different species. Kim eventually concentrated her efforts on learning what she could about her guards. That would be the most productive, if she ever found an opportunity to escape.

The most obvious thing about her captors was that they wore their armored spacesuits --helmets and all-- all the time. Initially, Kim wondered if it was because they were completely incapable of surviving in the jungle environment; however, that had proven not to be the case. One afternoon, a belligerent prisoner had knocked one of the guards' helmets off. Kim had been unable to get a good look at the man's face, but he hadn't started to asphyxiate or show any adverse signs from being exposed to the atmosphere (the red light had made short work of the offender). Kim finally decided that the suits were merely for protection from the captives and uniformity. It had taken some doing as all the guards were roughly humanoid, but she had managed to distinguish different body types (more than just height and weight) among her captors. The other remarkable thing she had noticed was that all the guards wore collars similar to the ones worn by the captives --at least they all had little green lights. That suggested to Kim that the guards were not native to this jungle world either. Could it be that the guards were slaves, too?

Kim's mind returned to the here and now --not that there was much going on in the present. The sun was high in the sky; the heat and moisture were at their zenith of the incredibly long day. Kim had learned to put the passage of time out of her mind. Her days had slid into a blur --like a heat shimmer. Eating and sleeping became the be-all and end-all of her existence. Ultimately, it was all that mattered in the slave pits. She had learned to "behave" herself; early on, she had been a target for the guards' attention due to her resistance on Purple Sky (as she called the first world she had been on). If she was anywhere in the vicinity of trouble, she felt the heat of the lash, and she had learned by the example of other prisoners who had less patience than she. After a while, the guards stopped paying attention to her as she had taken to sitting docilely in her corner. Outwardly, she had submitted, but inside she did all she could to will her way out of the fence.

The afternoon lull was suddenly disturbed by the appearance of the guards and "the hose." Every afternoon, the armored goons would take the hose and spray the captives with a heavy liquid. It was too thick to be water, but it wasn't sticky or anything like that. The bath always signaled the arrival of what Kim had determined to be the Overseer. As Kim anticipated, the water had barely cooled on her skin when the Overseer arrived.

Unlike the guards, he wore no armored suit; in fact, he wore very little. Kim guessed that he was a native of the jungle world; he was the only being she had seen who wasn't wearing a collar. The male was tall, probably close to seven feet, and lithely muscular. His head was completely bald, and Kim saw no other traces of body hair. Even from a distance, his skin seemed to have a leathery consistency, and the color oscillated up and down the blue-purple end of the spectrum. His head was angular and narrow, almost diamond shaped, and the features were somewhat reptilian. His teeth made Kim think of a vampire's fangs, and his ears were pointed. Feet and hands were bird-like, and she had discovered that what she had thought was a leather cape was actually a pair of wings attached along the arm and the back. Kim had occasionally glimpsed large pterodactyl-like birds flying overhead; she now knew that they were the denizens of the planet. As she had noted, the male wore little save for an ornate belt around his waist and a very colorful loin cloth that trailed to the ground. The costume left his wings free and his forked, prehensile tail unrestrained.

The Overseer's arrival meant that more slaves were to be removed from the pens. That always made Kim nervous. At first she had thought that they were being taken for some form of punishment; however, on occasion, one or two would come back, apparently none the worse for wear. Judging by the motions and the sounds of the tales being related to the others, Kim decided that the slaves had been taken to be sold. As much as she hated the pens, the thought of being sold terrified her. At least she was familiar with the routine in the pens, and it would be easier for Zordon and the others to find her if she stayed in one place. Kim was suddenly startled from her musings by the approach of the Overseer and two guards. She shrank back fearfully. The winged male appraised her carefully. He was so close that Kim could see that he didn't even have any eyebrows. He was well bedecked with jewelry, though; in spite of her anxiety, Kim couldn't help but observe that his species must have really been into body piercing.

The Overseer made a motion to the guards then walked on. One of them grabbed Kim's arm and hoisted her to her feet. She nearly put up a fight; however, the second guard held the energy whip ready. Kim had no desire to feel the whip's bite again, so she allowed the manacles to be placed on her wrists and took her place in the line of chained slaves.

Maybe this won't be so bad; I'll get to see more of the complex and get some exercise, she told herself. It did little to dispel the knot of fear in her stomach.

They didn't journey far. The slaves were led away from the pens and past the only building Kim had ever seen: the barracks. They walked past the obsidian, seemingly windowless structure and across a rare open tract of land. At the bottom of the slope, Kim saw a large oval of concrete or other surfacing material. There was a large construct in the center of the ellipse. Surrounding it was the landing area for the slave ships. That was good to know; if she could get out of the pens and steal a spaceship . . . . Right. How would you fly it? Would you know where to go? Kim didn't want to wind up lost in the far reaches of space. She heard a roar overhead and looked up to see a pair of guards in a skysled monitoring the somber procession. A skysled would do me more good, if I could figure out where to go.

She pushed the thoughts of escape aside and tried to concentrate on her surroundings. As they hit the tarmac, she felt the trapped heat burning the soles of her feet. From the hill, the ships seemed to be all over the area, but up close she found that most of the things on the hill side of the landing area were buildings --probably hangar bays and more barracks. The skysleds and other craft in the sky seemed to be heading to the far side of the construct she had glimpsed.

Kim only had vague memories of her arrival on the jungle world. It had been night (she did recall the three huge moons in the sky) and it had been cold. Besides, she had been so grateful to get out of the ship's hold that she hadn't really cared where she was as long as it was on the ground. However, she did recall walking through something that reminded her of an empty football stadium. She strained to see what might be their destination and saw the stadium looming before her. She barely had time to gaze upon the architecture; a guard tapped her with the butt of his whip-device, and Kim immediately fell back in line, wanting to appear as meek and defeated as the others. Even so, she tried to take in everything, not knowing what might prove useful.

As the prisoners were led into the arena, Kim found her football stadium analogy even more apropos. Two sets of stands rose up on either side of a grassy area; both "endzones" were open. The far "endzone" opened up on a landing platform, and the near end housed the auction platform. Kim had to leave off speculating on the stadium as the slaves were forced onto the stage. There was another winged being already in place; he was more colorfully and elaborately dressed than the Overseer. His feathered headdress almost made Kim giggle.

The Auctioneer? Kim wondered. Auctioneer and Overseer conversed; Kim strained to hear, not that she could have understood what they were saying. At one point the Auctioneer gestured to a place in the near-stands; it was what Kim would have called the royal box. She could picture Caesar or some such figure reclining on the pillowed couch as he watched the gladiators fight or the Christians being fed to the lions. Presently, the box was empty. Kim surmised that the auction couldn't begin until the person who was to occupy the box arrived. That gave her some more time to check out the rest of the arena.

The stands were rapidly filling. Fliers of every size were landing in the stands, and the area in front of the stage was filling up. Were the beings on the field the bidders and the ones in the stands mere spectators? Or were the beings on the field the agents for the ones in the stands? Kim had no clue. Several of the ones on the field spoke to the Auctioneer; he nodded, and they were allowed to come up on the platform, ostensibly to inspect the slaves. This gave Kim her first glimpse of the female of the species. They dressed similarly to their male counterparts --no upper body clothing and flowing loin cloths. To Kim it seemed that the women were more than amply endowed. Wouldn't that cause problems with aerodynamics and flying? Kim observed that the females' skin tones covered the green-blue end of the spectrum. The females, she noted, enjoyed the same love of jewelry and body piercing. The main difference between the males and females seemed to be in headwear. The males wore the ornate, feathered headdresses, and the females wore veils that draped over their bare heads and covered their faces.

Indeed, the persons on the stage had come to take a closer look at the offerings for the day's sale. Kim prayed that no one would pay her any undue attention. She didn't think anyone would; after all, she was so much smaller and thinner than any of the other captives. She hoped they thought her too sickly looking or took her collection of welts to mean that she was too much trouble to bother with. After some discussion with the Auctioneer, the group left the platform. Then, a sounding of a horn announced the arrival of the occupant of the royal box.

The slaves were suddenly forced to their knees and their heads forcibly bowed. Still, Kim struggled to catch a glimpse. The important personage was female, her skin a lush emerald color. To Kim, her fangs appeared more pronounced than any that she had seen thus far; the woman looked fierce. She had to be as tall and broad as the Auctioneer (the other females she had seen were slightly smaller than the males), and she was definitely all female.

Their queen? Kim wondered, but she wouldn't have figured it to have been a matriarchal society. She hadn't seen any deference from the males towards the females. If anything, she would have taken the veils to have meant that the females had the lesser place. It really didn't matter, she supposed. The person they had been waiting on had arrived; it was time to start the proceedings.

The slave at the beginning of the chain was unfastened and brought forward. A trapdoor opened in the platform; Kim dubiously studied the apparatus that came up. It looked like a high bar apparatus: two poles and a cross bar, however, restraints extended from the four corners, and the whole unit was atop a turn table. Kim did not like the look of the thing at all. The hapless prisoner was herder forward. Quite unexpectedly, the being began struggling. Kim hadn't seen any fight from that female before, but she could sympathize with the sense of panic. Her struggles weren't such that they required the whip; the guards were able to keep her under control as they dragged her forward. Then, what little remained of her clothing was stripped away, and she was placed in the restraints until she was displayed spread-eagled for all to see.

No way. They can't . . . I won't . . . oh, God, don't let them do that to me! Kim screamed in the privacy of her mind. She tugged fitfully at her chains (but not enough for the guards to notice); if only her collar was deactivated. She could probably break free then . . . .

Suddenly, the proceedings were interrupted by buffeting winds and the roar of an incoming ship. Kim wasn't sure, but the Auctioneer looked rather annoyed. All heads turned to watch as the ship settled in and the cargobay doors opened. A new batch of slaves was unloaded. Kim didn't remember being driven out in small groups, but that's how this new shipment was being forced out. Before each group was allowed forward, the guards sorted through the throng as if in search of something --or someone-- in particular.

The small batches were paraded across the field, to the delight of the crowd. They seemed to enjoy it when one of the prisoners would resist; the stronger the resistance the more the spectators seemed to like it.

They would have loved me, Kim reflected ruefully.

The groups were herded across the field until they reached the royal box. The guards made their obeisance, then one of the slaves was brought forwards, as if for royal approval. The queen would nod, then they group moved along. Initially, it seemed to Kim, that the specimen selected was the largest and strongest of the group, but that wasn't always the case. There was one male presented who was very slender and petite, but he was absolutely gorgeous with gold-white hair that trailed on the ground and shimmering violet eyes. From another group a female was selected. Kim decided that the guards were presenting the most attractive slave from each group for their queen's pleasure. Sometimes the queen showed no interest in the offering, nodding the group on. Other times she would gesture, and the slave would be taken aside. At one point, she sent one of her attendants down to have a closer look before rejecting a slave.

It was a lengthy process, and Kim's body was tired from straining to see what was going on. At last, the final batch of slaves reached the royal box, and a commotion broke out. The prisoner selected for display was putting up a fight. From all Kim could tell, the individual was putting up a fierce battle. Her heart swelled, and she felt a kind of pride for the captive, even as she pitied him or her. Additional guards rushed forward from their positions in the stands. Whoever it was, was quite a warrior; even the queen had risen, taking notice. The crowd, which had been roaring with delight, began to quiet down upon noticing the queen's reaction. Amid the jumble of inarticulate shouts and growls, Kim heard words she understood.

"Let go of me! I won't let you do this to me . . . I won't . . . !"

Kim's breath caught in her throat. English! Another human! And to quicken her heart further, the voice, though raw from hard use, sounded familiar.

"Tommy?" she gasped, hardly daring to believe. She strained anew against the chains that held her in line. Part of her prayed that it was Tommy, and yet part of her hoped it wasn't. She couldn't bear the thought of seeing Tommy as a shackled prisoner . . . or see him endure the bite of the lash. At last the guards had a handle on the struggling captive. He was shoved to his knees before the royal box. One alien grabbed a shock of thick brown hair and pulled the captive's head up. Tommy's dark brown eyes glared up at the queen with a darkness Kim had only seen when he was Rita's evil Green Ranger.

"Tommy, no," Kim murmured. His face was bruised as if he had been punched, and she could see where the whip had been used on him. He was collared and manacled as she had been. Kim understood his desire to be free; it would be even greater than her own since Tommy already knew what it was like to be another's helpless slave.

Even as Tommy was on his knees, he continued to fight. One of the guards was about to use the whip on him (Tommy saw it coming and didn't even flinch) when the queen screeched out a command, raising her hand as if to say "halt." Kim held her breath as the green-skinned female motioned her assistant forward. The assistant had Tommy pulled to his feet. She walked around Tommy, occasionally touching him. The assistant (to Kim) seemed puzzled; it was almost as if she didn't know what to make of Tommy. Kim began to think that this race had never encountered humans before. Considering all the species she had seen in the pens, she had been the only human.

"Keep away from me," Tommy snarled dangerously. The female paid him no heed and proceeded to inspect him. The attendant fingered the tatters that had once been Tommy's shirt and ripped it from his body.

Kim's bit back a gasp. She had never seen Tommy look so unkempt; his face was smudged with dirt, and his hair was a wild mess of tangles. He was barefooted, and there was little left of his ragged jeans. Kim's pulse quickened. Tommy had never looked so good to her, and apparently, he looked good to the attendant, too. For she called something up to her queen, who nodded and motioned that Tommy be held with the other selections.

Tommy, however, was having none of it. He unexpectedly relaxed his body, catching his guards by surprise. Then, he swiftly lashed out, kicking the attendant aside. The slavers seemed stunned by this for they suddenly released Tommy. He dropped back into a defensive stance, ready for whoever might attack him.

Kim felt fear raising up within her. The crowd in the stands was deathly silent. The queen, who had resumed her seat, was standing again, and there was no mistaking the fire in her eyes. Kim had the sense that striking one of the queen's attendants was akin to striking the queen herself. Even as that thought gelled in Kim's mind, she noticed that the queen had taken wing and descended upon the field. The Auctioneer hurried up to her and handed her one of the guard's control boxes.

"No!" Kim shrieked in spite of herself. She knew that the female was going for the punishment button. She threw herself forward, struggling to break free of the chains. She was blind to everything but the thought that she couldn't let the alien incinerate Tommy. She couldn't bear the thought of seeing him writhing in agony; she couldn't watch him die. She kicked and screamed and thrashed around, causing as much of a ruckus as Tommy had. Her commotion drew all eyes to the stage. "Tommy!" she screamed.

"Kimberly?" Tommy gasped, and Kim's eyes finally met his. His were full of surprise, and Kim detected a flash of hope. She meant to show him the warmth of her love; however, she saw her own fear reflected back at her in Tommy's eyes. "Kim, look out!" Guards were approaching with activated energy whips. Kim did not cower before them this time; she wouldn't cower while Tommy was watching.

As the lash bit into her back, Kim noticed that the queen had observed the by-play between the two prisoners. She was still angry, but Kim thought she saw a glimmer of curiosity. In spite of her pain, she was relieved to see that the queen returned the control box to the Auctioneer. Instead, she picked up a whip.

"No, don't!" she cried out, fearing what was to come. Instead of activating the whip, the alien cracked Tommy in the head with the butt end. Tommy went down, the end of the flail stained bright red. "Tommy!" Tommy's crumpled form was the last thing Kim saw before her own world went black.

* * *

When Kim came to, she was laying face down in the dirt of her favorite corner of the slave pen. Her back felt well cooked by the energy whip. She tried pushing herself up, but the pain was too great to move, and her head still rang with the blow that had rendered her unconscious. Then, she remembered Tommy, and she forced herself to sit up. Where was Tommy? What had the aliens done with him? Kim pressed herself as close to the dividing wall between the male and female pens as she dared. Surely they would have tossed Tommy in the pen . . . unless, of course, the queen decided to do something else with him . . . . Kim struggled to her feet. It was late, but the three moons were high and full in the sky, providing plenty of light. All the other slaves were asleep. That made it much easier for her to survey the denizens of the neighboring pen. All she needed to do was find an area where there was plenty of space . . . . She imagined that the males would disassociate themselves from Tommy much as the females had with her. After scanning the yard once and not finding what she was hoping for, Kim finally spotted a space in the muddle of bodies, and huddled in the center of that space was Tommy.

Kim's heart leaped for joy, but how to get his attention? Calling out was no good; it would wake the other slaves and alert the guards. Kim wandered along the stretch of fence. If only Tommy would wake up and look her way, but that was highly unlikely. She wasn't sure if he had even come to or not. While she was walking, Kim stumbled over a depression in the ground. She landed in a hole that was nearly the length of her body. She tried to think what could have made such a large impression, then she recalled a rather large, dinosaur-like creature who usually slept near the fence. She had been among those taken to the block earlier. As Kim picked herself up, she realized that her right foot was partially under the fence. The barrier didn't extend underground! It was almost too good to be true. Yet, there it was. Kim kicked her foot around to dislodge some of the dirt on the other side. The soil shifted easily, and soon, Kim had her foot sticking up on the other side.

Suddenly, Kim heard the sound of one of the patrols. She settled down in the depression and pretended to be asleep. Even so, she surreptitiously dug at the ground at the base of the fence. When the guard was gone, she began digging in earnest. A good portion of the night was gone before she had loosened enough dirt to allow her to squeeze under the fence. It was an exceedingly close fit; the bottom of the fence scraped her raw back, but Kim didn't care. She wormed her way into the men's yard and carefully tiptoed through the throng of sleeping bodies until she reached where Tommy lay isolated.

"Oh, God, Tommy, I've never been so happy to see you in all my life," she sobbed quietly. She rolled Tommy over so she could look at his wounds. There was dried blood on his forehead where he had been struck by the whip handle. Kim tore off a bit of what remained of her dress, and using her saliva, tried to clean the wound. "Come on, Tommy, give me a sign, huh? Moan, move, do something!" she pleaded anxiously. He had a pulse and was still breathing, but Kim was still worried. Finally, he began to stir; Kim was so happy that she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly --which wasn't a smart move.

"Ah! Not so tight," Tommy groaned as the flash of pain from his back brought him around.

"Sorry," Kim murmured, loosening her grip. She smiled down at him with happy tears brimming in her eyes.

"Kim? It's really you? I wasn't seeing things earlier?" Tommy asked hopefully. Kim helped him sit up.

"It's really me," she confirmed.

Then, they both asked simultaneously, "How'd you get here?"

The two took turns telling their tales. Their experiences were remarkably similar --from being zapped by Zedd's ray to winding up on strange planets and being captured by the slavers.

"Man, am I happy to see you," Tommy sighed. He touched Kim's face gently. "I was so afraid I'd never see you again."

"Same here," Kim murmured, nuzzling her cheek against his palm. It was Tommy's turn to give Kim an emotional hug that aggravated her wounds. She flinched but tried not to moan.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. He leaned forward to get a better look at her collection of criss-crossing welts. "Your poor back." When he sat back, Kim caught a glimpse of protective anger flashing in his eyes.

"Yours isn't in much better shape," she pointed out. "How's your head?"

"Awful. I had been conked on the head once before, and that winged bitch nearly hit the same spot."

"Tommy?" Kim gasped. She had never heard him talk like that about anyone before, and his eyes were so dark once again. His anger frightened her.

"I can't help it, Kim," Tommy apologized. He glanced away from Kim even as he took her hands in his. She noticed that his hands were shaking.

"What's wrong --besides the obvious, that is?" she asked softly.

"It's the thought of being a slave," Tommy confessed reluctantly. "I know you probably don't like the thought any better than I do; it's just that I can't . . . it was one thing when Rita made me her slave. I was under a spell; I had no choice --I couldn't even think for myself. It was like it wasn't really me, but here . . . I'm still myself. I have choices: resist or obey. I don't want to obey; I don't want to surrender, but I don't know how long I can keep resisting. Sooner or later, I'm afraid the pain will break me, and then what?"

"I understand, Tommy. Maybe I don't know what it's like to have been Rita's slave, but I have seen what you've gone through. I've felt your pain and anger, if only a little bit. I don't want to give in either, but I'm already at the stage where I'll do just about anything so as not to be whipped again."

Just then, the sound of footsteps caused the two to fall silent.

"It's the patrol," Kim hissed under her breath. "We can't let the guard see that I'm over here."

"Get down; I'll cover you," Tommy ordered. Kim quickly lay down and pulled into a tight ball. Tommy wrapped himself around her and sort of on top of her. Kim pressed up against him as tightly as she could. In spite of her fear of discovery, she was very aware of the warmth of Tommy's body against hers and the sound of his heartbeat in her ears. Kim scarcely dared to breathe; it seemed like an eternity before Tommy said, "All clear."

"Thank God the sentry wasn't using the collar's tracking device," Kim sighed as she uncoiled herself.

"Is that what the collars are for?"

"Among other things," and Kim went on to explain about the punishing mechanism and her theory on the gravitational compensators.

"You never cease to amaze me," Tommy said, kissing her brow. "Billy would be proud of you."

Bringing up Billy's name made Kimberly think of the others. "Do you think that maybe Billy and the others will wind up here, just like we did?"

"I don't know, but it seems likely. If we're in here long enough . . . ."

"Tommy, we've got to get out of here as soon as possible," Kim said anxiously.

"Because of what happened in the arena today?"

Kim nodded. "You didn't see the look in the queen's eyes. We really pissed her off and aroused her curiosity in a bad way. I'm not even sure why we're still in the slave pens. I have a really bad feeling about what's going to happen to us if we don't get out of here."

Tommy had to agree. "It's too bad we don't have our powers. We could jump that fence as if it was a hedge runner."

"If the collars were disabled, we could probably do the same thing --if I'm right about the gravity stuff," Kim added.

"Why don't we try," Tommy said brightly.

"Try what?"

"Disabling the collars."

"How?"

"If we could find a rock or something . . . ."

"Maybe over by the fence where I crawled through," Kim suggested. She stood and helped Tommy to his feet. He wobbled unsteadily, a wave of nausea crashing over him; his knees nearly gave out.

"Oh man," he groaned as Kim steadied him.

"I bet you have a concussion or something," Kim murmured. "You're in no shape to be jumping over fences."

"Doesn't matter. We're as good as dead if we stay," Tommy reminded her. With Kim's help, Tommy was able to stagger over to the partition.

"You sit down; I'll hunt up the rock," Kim instructed. Tommy was in no shape to dispute her. Kim sifted through the chunks of clay and loose soil. She doubted she would find a stone large enough to do them any good. It would be careless of the slavers to leave such an obvious weapon where a desperate captive could find it. However, as she was rooting around, she cut her finger on something sharp.

"Ow!" she winced, popping her finger into her mouth.

"What is it?" Tommy queried.

"I don't know, but it's awful sharp." More carefully this time, she dug around until she unearthed a palm sized stone. Holding it up in the moonlight, she and Tommy saw that it was rounded on one end and chiseled sharp on the other.

"Looks like you dug up a fossil or something," Tommy mused, "but that should do the trick."

"Before we start pounding on these collars, we should think this through," Kim cautioned. "What if we start tinkering and set off some kind of alarm to alert the guards? What if there's an explosive device in the collars to prevent captives from doing what we're going to do?"

"It's a risk we'll have to take," Tommy said with quiet sobriety. It went without saying that they were damned if they tried and damned if they didn't. "If I'm going to die on this stupid planet, I'd rather go out with a fight, you know?"

"I know," Kim replied with equal seriousness.

"But you're right about needing to think this through," Tommy continued. "Okay, we get over the fence. Where do we go from there? The spaceport and steal a ship?"

"I've already thought about that; I don't think it would work," Kim answered. "We wouldn't know what to do with a ship if we got one. We have no idea where we are or where Earth is or anything like that, and I wouldn't want to risk getting marooned in space or blasted to bits or ...."

"Good points," Tommy murmured.

"Besides, the spaceport is the first place they'd look."

"That leaves the jungle then." The two looked out at the dark foliage beyond the barrier. "With the tree coverage, they wouldn't be able to use the skysleds. If we could keep to the trees, they'd have trouble finding us on foot."

"What direction should we take?"

"It doesn't really matter at this point --as long as it's away from here."

With that settled in their minds, they went to work on the collars. Tommy offered his to Kim first.

"This way, if it explodes or alerts the guards or something, you can always roll back under the fence, and I'll take the heat for it," Tommy explained.

"No way. We're in this together," Kim said with grim determination; however, she knew they had to start somewhere, so she began tapping the stone against Tommy's collar. He slipped his fingers between the metal and his neck to help cushion the blows. Kim noticed him wincing more than once, and realized that the pounding wasn't doing his head injury any good. She tapped at various places on the device, trying to find something that would give. The collar was solidly made. Kim was about to give up when the stone struck something that sent out a shower of sparks, and the green light suddenly died.

"Whoa!" Tommy gasped as his senses reeled.

"What?" Kim asked anxiously.

"Man, that was weird. It was like I had a stuffy head, and it suddenly cleared --like the stuffiness had been sucked out by a vacuum cleaner."

"Do you feel any stronger?"

"Yeah, the lead weight on my shoulders isn't there any more. You did it, Kim!" Tommy impulsively grabbed her and gave her a quick kiss.

"Come on, let's get to work on my collar," Kim insisted.

"We can wait and do that once we're out of here," Tommy said. "I can toss you over then jump. This way, if an alarm did go off somewhere, we can get a head start on the goons." Tommy attempted to stand and failed.

"Right. You're in no shape to be tossing anyone anywhere," Kim corrected as she caught Tommy. "Tell you what, disable my collar, and I'll toss you over then jump. In this lighter gravity, I should be able to do that." Tommy did not argue. He took up the stone and followed Kim's direction to find the collars weak point. One good hit was all it took, and Kimberly experienced the same clearing rush that Tommy had.

"Wow," she gasped, shaking her head to clear it.

"Let's get out of here," Tommy suggested.

"You got it," Kim agreed, and she helped Tommy over to the spot she had picked as a likely escape route. It was slightly to the right of the tree whose leaves dangled over the yard.

"You're sure you can do this?" Tommy wondered.

"With your muscle power, all you'll need is a little boost," Kim said. "I'll need a running start to get over on my own."

"I'll aim for the tree branch and . . . ."

"I wouldn't," Kim suggested.

"Why not?"

"Think about it. Isn't that a little too obvious an escape route?"

"I bet the tree is booby trapped or something," Tommy agreed.

"Just go straight over," Kim recommended. As she cupped her hands to position Tommy's foot, she frowned.

"What is it?" Tommy asked.

"I wish the moons weren't so full; there's almost too much light."

Tommy glanced skyward. "Maybe not. Look."

Kim looked up and saw the bank of clouds that was rolling in. The wind was already picking up. The storm would be upon them soon.

"Let's clear the fence while we can still see," Tommy said.

"Right."

Tommy stepped up into Kim's cupped hands, and jumped even as she heaved with all her might. Tommy fairly soared into the air and executed a neat somersault, clearing the energy field with room to spare. His landing, however, left much to be desired.

"Are you okay?" Kim called out softly.

"I will be once the world stops spinning."

"Hang on, I'll be right there."

Kim backed up as far as she could, amazed to find a narrow path through the sleeping prisoners. Taking a deep breath, she sprinted forward. Like she was performing a vault, she hit her mark and flipped herself into the air. Her small size and the lighter gravity carried her well above the double threat of fence and energy field. She twisted about in mid-air and landed with much more grace than Tommy had. Tommy applauded her performance.

"Come on," Kim insisted, and the two disappeared into the night.

Long into the night and into the following day, the two ran. Scarcely had they reached the cover of the trees when the storm hit, making the jungle even darker than it had been. As with all the storms Kimberly had experienced since arriving at the holding pens, it was as fierce as it was cold. Still, she and Tommy continued moving. By mid-morning the rain had stopped, but the fugitives did not. Kim knew that Tommy's head injury had to be bothering him, still he said nothing, refusing to rest. Finally, about mid-day, the exhausted pair all but collapsed.

"We can't sleep here out in the open," Tommy groaned. He struggled to get up again, but couldn't.

"Stay put; I'll find us something," Kim directed. She helped Tommy over to one of the trees and propped him up between a pair of roots. "I won't go far."

Giving him a quick kiss, she wandered off in search of shelter. She didn't have to go far. In what had once been a streambed but was now overgrown with thick foliage, Kim found a small cave. She had nearly passed it by, but had been tripped up by a gnarled root. Taking a fallen branch, she poked into the recess to make certain that it didn't already have an occupant. When it proved to be clear, she hurried back to Tommy.

"Tommy, I've found . . . ." The words died on Kim's lips as she noticed that Tommy was sound asleep. She tried waking him, but he didn't budge. "Damn." It wasn't fair. She was just as tired as he was. Yeah, but you aren't concussed. Taking a deep breath, Kim caught Tommy up under the armpits, and praying that her strength would hold, dragged Tommy to their hiding place. She was just able to get him inside when her muscles gave way. She did her best to make him comfortable, then she snuggled up against Tommy and promptly fell asleep.

With the tail end of a dream flickering in her mind, Kim awoke, feeling a faint pain shooting through her body. She dismissed it as nothing and rolled back over, placing her head back on Tommy's chest and nuzzling deeper into his protective embrace. She didn't want to wake up; she was perfectly content to remain snuggled up against Tommy. The warmth of his body was comforting, and the rhythm of his heartbeat was soothing. However, the flash of pain returned. This time she was unable to ignore it as Tommy groaned and shifted beneath her. Reluctantly, Kim wiped the sleep from her eyes. As her bleary eyes started to focus, she saw the shimmer of a faint red light against Tommy's throat. Kim's grogginess fled as she sat up with a stifled gasp.

"Kim, what is it?" Tommy murmured as he, too, was roused by the annoying flash of pain.

"They're trying to activate the punishment mechanism," Kim said in a frightened whisper. Tommy sat up and noticed the glow about Kim's neck.

"We must be just beyond their range," Tommy observed. In the darkness, a faint yellow glow was also visible.

"They're trying to track us as well," Kim added. "We've got to get these collars off."

"Did you bring that stone with you?"

"No, I didn't think to."

"That's all right. There's bound to be plenty of things around here we can use," Tommy assured her. The two crawled out of the cave and located another sharply pointed rock. Kim found the seam where the ends of the collar met, and using the stone as a lever, she pried the collar apart. Tommy removed hers just as quickly.

"Mm, that feels wonderful," Kim sighed, rubbing her neck. She looked at the sundered metal bands. "Now that they're off, what do we do with them? We can't just leave them here."

"Let's find some place to dump them," Tommy said. "We could toss them in a river or something then run off in a different direction."

"Let's hope we find that river quickly," Kim agreed.

The two set out at a slow jog; it was all the faster Tommy was capable of going, although his condition was much improved from the previous day. From time to time, Kim glanced down at the lights on the ruined collars. They still functioned, but the glow was greatly diminished. She wondered if that was due to their moving out of range or damage to the device in removing it.

As they hurried along, Kim spotted some familiar looking fruit and was reminded of how hungry she was. She and Tommy managed to shake a pair of orbs down from the tree. The sickly yellow melon with it's thick skin had been a staple of the diet in the pens. She once thought that she would be happy if she never saw the pungent fruit again, but now she bit into her share eagerly.

They had slept for the better part of the afternoon, and it was drawing close to sunset when the two found a break in the foliage. Their speed had tapered off as the day's travel had taken its toll on Tommy; however, that was all that saved them. For had they been moving at a less cautious pace, they would have plunged into the ravine that suddenly yawed open before them.

"Whoa, watch that first step," Tommy joked grimly as Kim pulled him back. The two approached the rim with greater care and peered over. The rock walls were pitted with ledges and hand holds, and at the bottom of the abyss was a silvery ribbon of water.

"Just what we ordered," Kim mused. Together, they tossed the collars over the edge and watched as they vanished into the river below.

"That ought to confuse our pursuers for a while anyway," Tommy remarked.

"What do you mean, for a while?" Kim queried.

"We can't be the first slaves ever to escape from the pens. They probably have other methods of tracking runaways --like dogs or something."

"Too bad they have to come after us."

"Yeah, but it's not good for the slave business to let escapees get away."

"Good point. Besides, even if the guards were inclined to be lazy, that green witch would keep them after us. Assaulting her attendant or whatever really ticked her off."

"How was I supposed to know?" Tommy said defensively. "I was trying to get away."

"I know that you didn't purposely get the queen mad," Kim replied gently. They both had to keep their cool if they were to survive.

"I didn't mean to snap," Tommy apologized.

"I know. We're both tired and stressed out. Come on, we should get going before the posse catches us." Kim stood and stretched. "Which way should we go?" She glanced down to see Tommy gazing up at her with a dreamy expression on his face. For some reason, it made her blush self-consciously, and she wondered why he was looking at her like that.

"Too bad we can't go straight," Tommy murmured, sounding a little sheepish as if he just realized he had been staring.

"Across the ravine? Why?"

"If we got across, we wouldn't leave a scent trail for the dogs or whatever sniffing devices they might have," Tommy pointed out.

"It's too far to jump," Kim remarked, gazing out at the expanse.

"Right here it is, but maybe further up or down stream . . . ." Tommy leaned out dangerously far over the edge. Kim had to resist the urge to pull him back. "Ah ha! There we go."

"What is it?"

"See that tree growing out of the side of the ravine about a hundred yards up from where we are?"

"You mean where the chasm narrows?"

"Uh huh. Look across to the other side. There's a ledge directly opposite the tree."

"You aren't thinking . . . ."

"The tree extends about halfway into the narrow gap. We scoot out as far as we can on the tree then jump over to the ledge. There are plenty of footholds so we can climb up and down the sides of the cliff."

"I don't know, Tommy. Are you sure you're thinking right? That's still a pretty fair distance. We could miss the ledge."

"If we do, the worst that happens is we fall into the river. What do you say?"

Kim regarded Tommy thoughtfully. He had a point about losing their scent, and if they were to remain free they were going to have to face some risks.

"All right. We'll try it," she agreed, "but after we've rested a little longer."

Kim shivered and sought to burrow tighter against Tommy, but instead of his smooth, hard body, she discovered herself cuddling with a blue-eyed ball of fur.

"What the . . . ?" she gasped, drowsiness swiftly fleeing.

The days since they had crossed the ravine had become a blur, much as the days in the slave pen had, except that the days were not wanting for excitement. Kim and Tommy were constantly on the run. The jump across the chasm had only bought the pair a brief respite; the slavers had quickly found their trail again, and when they weren't fleeing their former captors, the two were combating the jungle and its denizens. The days were long, and the rests too short; however, they had not wanted for food or water (clothing and shelter were another matter). In spite of the danger and the hardships, Kim had never felt more alive, and she had never felt more secure in her relationship with Tommy.

There was little time for conversing or simply enjoying each other's company; they were either too busy running, or hiding and praying they wouldn't be found. The first few days had been the worst when Tommy's head injury had not yet healed. Kim had shouldered the burden of keeping them alive. That had been a good thing ultimately, for when Tommy had finally recuperated, Kim did not feel herself leaning on him. He was not the leader and she the follower (as she sometimes felt happen with the team); they had become equal partners. Even more than that, sharing such a precarious existence had brought them closer together.

Kim found that they didn't need to talk much --a look or a gesture was enough to convey meaning. In sharing their nights, though they did nothing but sleep, they bonded together more deeply than they had ever before. Although Kimberly hated being frightened, tired and dirty all the time, she wouldn't have traded her time with Tommy for anything.

A snuffling sound disturbed Kim's heartfelt musings. She pushed the walking furball away from her and looked about for Tommy. This wasn't the first time she had woke up alone; Tommy tended to be an early riser. You're just so cute when you're asleep; I hate to disturb you, Tommy had teased her. Kim wondered if there wasn't some gallantry underlying his comment. While she didn't mind the extra sleep, she knew he was just as badly in need of it as she was. Kim sat up and stretched. No doubt she'd find Tommy in a clearing not too far away working on a kata. She shook her head; how could he have the energy to practice katas and trudge through the jungle?

As Kim worked the kinks out of her neck, the walking fuzzball returned, this time with some friends. Kim had no idea where the creatures had come from; one day, they just appeared, but they seemed harmless enough. To Kim's annoyance (and Tommy's amusement) the beings had taken a strong liking to her. They were forever following her and pestering her, sniffing and snuffling and . . . .

"Hey, get out of there," Kim snapped as one of the furry mites wandered up between her legs and was trying to become more friendly with her. She wouldn't have let even Tommy go poking around there (if he was so inclined) --at least, not for another couple of days. She could hardly wait; she was really getting tired of having that sour fruit-whatever-it-was three and four times a day, but she couldn't in good conscience let the fruit go to waste. It was just that the cottony lining of the pod was perfect for her needs right now . . . which reminded her that she had better scare up another pod while Tommy was distracted elsewhere. The thought of trying to explain it to him made her blush.

With the basic necessities of life taken care of, Kim decided to go look for Tommy. He had been gone an awfully long time, and she hadn't heard any ki-yais for some time. With her downy friends close at her heels, Kim followed the traces of broken leaves and kicked-up soil that Tommy had left behind (she was working hard on renewing her tracking skills --she had had trouble earning that merit badge). Kim concentrated on blocking out the natural sounds of the jungle --the cry of the birds, the rustle of the leaves in the breeze, the chittering of the insects-- so

that she could pick out the unnatural ones: Tommy or the slavers. Her mind so set on filtering out the noises that were supposed to be there, Kim almost missed something that hadn't been there before: the sound of water. Then, she heard an exuberant "yee-ha!" and a mighty splash.

Tommy's found a pond? Kim's heart leaped joyfully. The thought of a body of water --of being able to take a bath-- was wonderful. She hadn't been remotely clean since the last good rain storm . . . which had caused the mud slide that she and Tommy had gotten swept up in. Kim hurried forward eagerly. She no longer heard the sounds of splashing, but it couldn't be too much farther. Tommy wouldn't have wandered out of shouting distance (just in case of trouble). Kim came to a thick wall of vegetation and saw where the branches and vines had been disturbed. Even in her anticipation, she exercised caution. It wouldn't do to startle Tommy and accidentally get kicked or something. It also wouldn't do to advertise their position to any slavers that might potentially be lurking about. Kim made her way through the brush carefully, taking special pains to allow the greenery to settle back in place behind her.

As she parted the last layer of leaves, Kim found herself looking on a pool of water. The sky above the lagoon was uncluttered by vegetation, giving the water a rich turquoise color. The swimming hole was surrounded by thick blocks of stone, reminding Kimberly of an abandoned

quarry. However, the boulders seemed to have been standing around the water for a long, long

time as they were heavily encrusted with moss and other plants growing out of the cracks and crevices. The water was still, save for an occasional ripple stirred by the breeze; Tommy must have concluded his swim. Kim searched around and found him stretched out on a slab that hung above the water like a diving platform. Tommy was facing away from Kim; one arm dangled in the water, making tiny waves. Kim smiled as she stepped forward to join him. She only made it a few steps before she stopped in astonishment. There, on a stone not too far from her, were Tommy's tattered shorts. Kim felt the heat rising in her cheeks as her gaze darted up to take in Tommy's reclining figure. He was completely naked!

For a moment, Kim couldn't move; she could scarcely breathe. Suddenly, it seemed as if the jungle had fallen silent; the only sound she could hear was the pounding of her heart. A spark of excitement surged down her spine, igniting every nerve ending in her body. With breathless longing, she let out a sigh. "Tommy . . . ."

She knew she shouldn't look, that she should just turn around and go back the way she came, or even slip into the bushes and make some noise to give Tommy a chance to at least dive into the water, but she couldn't help herself. Her eyes were irresistibly drawn to the powerful, lean lines of his body. She started at his beautiful long brown hair plastered to his tanned shoulders; from there it was easy to follow the contour of his back until she was brought up short by the sudden whiteness of the swell of his backside . . . .

Settle down, Kim scolded herself, her heart racing and her chest heaving. For goodness sakes, so you've finally gotten to see Tommy's bare butt. No big deal. It's not like Tommy was laying on his back so you could see his . . . . Kim's mind went numb as Tommy groaned, stretched, and rolled over. Kim wanted to look away even more desperately than she had when staring at his behind, but it was just as impossible.

"Kimberly!"

Tommy's surprised yelp startled Kimberly out of her reverie. How long had she been staring? She had completely forgotten herself. Even as she whirled around, she heard a splash. She fled back towards the wall of vegetation, hot tears burning her already flaming cheeks. She choked back a small sob as she fought to get away.

"Kim, wait," Tommy called out, and she heard the slap of his bare feet on the stone.

"I'm sorry, Tommy, I didn't mean to . . . ." The words just wouldn't come out of her tight throat.

"It's not your fault. I should have known better . . . ." he apologized hastily. Kim felt his hand on her arm. She struggled to break loose.

"Let me go; please," she entreated.

"I didn't mean to embarrass you," Tommy said softly, refusing to release her. "I didn't think. It's just that the denim really chafes when it's wet, so I thought I'd let my shorts dry while I swam, and it felt so good sunning myself on the rock that I completely forgot about the fact that I wasn't wearing anything and I wasn't alone. I'm sorry."

Kim finally surrendered. She took several deep breaths to calm herself. Really, she was being very silly. This wasn't the worst thing that could have happened to them. After all, how many times had she daydreamed about seeing Tommy naked? Well, now she had. Considering their present situation, something like this was bound to have happened sooner or later. Kim's right arm brushed up against Tommy's hip, and she realized that he hadn't stopped to put his shorts on. Her body pulled taut.

"They're still wet," Tommy murmured sheepishly, sensing in the way that they had come to know each other what her unspoken question was.

"I guess it doesn't really matter," she mumbled in reply, and it didn't. She had already gotten an eyeful, and nothing could change that. Still, she was afraid to turn around lest she start to stare again.

"Would you like to go for a swim?" Tommy offered as Kim began to relax a little.

"I don't know," Kim demurred.

"The water is just perfect . . . nice and warm . . . ."

Kim bit her lip indecisively and glanced back over her shoulder at Tommy. He smiled invitingly.

"It feels heavenly to be clean again."

That proved to be an irresistible salespitch.

"All right," she acquiesced. She started to turn, but Tommy stopped her.

"Wait a sec," he advised. In spite of his words, Kim did turn in time to see Tommy dive into the water. "Better?" he sputtered as he resurfaced. Kim simply laughed. However, as she stood on the same stone Tommy had dove off of, she felt a knot of nervousness settle in her stomach, and she toyed reluctantly with the makeshift ties that held what little was left of her dress together.

"You don't have to, if you don't want to," Tommy said, again understanding her dilemma.

Kim sighed and smiled gratefully. She might get brave enough to go skinny dipping one day, but not today. Not for another couple of days, she reflected ruefully, thinking that she was going to have to have a sour snack sooner than she would have liked. However, the thought of being clean outweighed her dislike of the pod-fruit. Taking a deep breath, she dove in.

"Mm, you were right," she said with a blissful smile as she shook the hair out of her face. "This feels absolutely wonderful!" When Tommy didn't answer, Kim glanced over and noticed his intent gaze and the faint blush that colored his cheeks. Puzzled, Kim looked down at herself to see what he was staring at. It was immediately apparent; the thin, faded pink fabric was almost translucent and clung to her every curve like a second skin. She might as well have been naked. Kim blushed, too.

"Oh!"

Kim woke with a start, her heart beating like a frightened rabbit's. Cold sweat trickled down her back and between her breasts. God, what a nightmare she groaned silently, dropping her head into her hands. She had dreamt that the aliens had finally caught up with her and Tommy and had taken them back to the slave pens where the winged-witch waited for them, grinning with malicious anticipation at the punishment she had planned. That fang-filled smile had burned itself into Kimberly's brain. She couldn't shake it.

"Tommy?" she murmured plaintively, desperately wanting a reassuring hug, but she realized that Tommy was gone.

It was no small wonder that she was having nightmares. Since the afternoon at the pool, she and Tommy had known barely a moment's rest. Not only did they have ground pursuers, now there were searches in the sky as well --and not just slavers on skysleds. The winged natives had joined in the hunt, which meant that the trees were no longer safe. The nights had become as dangerous as the days; the fliers' night vision and natural ability to detect heat was as acute or greater than the slavers' tracking devices. On more than one occasion the two were forced to sacrifice a night's rest so that they might find a concealing cave or even a hollow depression that they could cover with damp vegetation. Many were the hours they spent huddled in the cold and total darkness. However, there had been brief respites, but those were filled with distractions which concerned Kimberly almost as much as the aliens did.

Kimberly found it difficult to put the memory of Tommy sunbathing out of her mind. Every time she closed her eyes, she could see him lying naked in the sun. More than once, she had been tripped up during their trek for paying more attention to Tommy than to where she was going. It was difficult to sleep next to him at night; it was so hard to resist the urge to run her hands over his body while he was sleeping. Her dreams were so exciting. . . wild, wonderful . . . she would wake up with her body burning with the memory of Tommy's touch, and apparently, she wasn't the only one having trouble with wet dreams.

More than once she had been awakened in the middle of the night by Tommy moaning in his sleep. One morning, she had woke up and heard Tommy groaning --it had been the strangest sound. Thinking that he was hurt, she had searched for him and found him masturbating. Almost

as soon as she realized what he was doing, she turned and walked off. For the rest of that day, she had been unable to meet his eyes, and she prayed that he wouldn't find out that she had seen

him --or that she had been guilty of doing the same thing. Things had moved way beyond simple adolescent daydreams; Kim didn't know what to do about it. She and Tommy needed to talk about it, but she had no idea how to bring up the topic.

As her heartbeat started to return to normal, Kim found herself wishing that she had had a wet dream last night instead of such a frightening vision. Kim shivered. Unable to feel any lingering trace of Tommy's warmth, she knew he had been up for quite a while. Kim crawled out of their makeshift shelter and glanced skyward. It wasn't quite full light yet. That seemed to be the safest time for them to move: the gap between the changing of the guards. Kim looked about to see if she could determine in which direction Tommy had headed off; she couldn't seem to tell. He had taken more care than usual in covering his tracks. Then, she heard Tommy moan; it seemed to come from the right.

At least one of us had sweet dreams last night, she mused. She hesitated before heading after him. She didn't want to interrupt Tommy if he wasn't finished. However, she heard Tommy groan again, and it did not sound like an indication of pleasure. Quickly and quietly, Kim slipped through the foliage. The groans grew louder, and she could hear other noises --noises which brought her heart into her throat-- as she drew nearer: breaking branches, the thud of blows, the

hum of machinery, and the jabbering of alien tongues.

"Tommy!"

Kim burst into the clearing to find Tommy and two slavers engaged in battle along the side of a pool. Her exclamation distracted Tommy and his present opponent momentarily, but the second alien was ready. He slammed the base of his staff into Tommy's head. Tommy went down, splashing senselessly into the pool.

"No!" Kim shrieked, diving into the water. The water was unusually clear, and Kim was able to see her stricken companion. She wasted no time in wondering about his condition; she quickly got his head above water. As she tried to drag him to shore, she felt something tickling her feet. Suddenly, she couldn't budge Tommy; something had ensnared his ankles. Kim tried to prop him up against a fallen limb so that she could dive under to free him. What she discovered, terrified her. It wasn't a plant but some kind of tentacled creature that had Tommy. She could see its gaping maw of teeth down at the bottom of the pond. Trying not to panic, Kim tugged and pulled at the limb that held Tommy. The surface of the tentacle was covered with needle-like spines, which bit into her hands. Red clouds formed around Kim's hands and Tommy's ankles. More appendages appeared from underneath the maw. However, before the limbs could entangle her or Tommy further, something blasted into the water, severing the creature's grip on Tommy. Suddenly, Tommy's limp body was hoisted from the water. Kim quickly shot to the surface, out of reach of the tentacles.

Kim saw that the larger of the two aliens had Tommy by the neck. She jumped out of the water and launched herself at the slaver holding Tommy. She was able to catch him unaware, and he dropped his prize. His companion swung his lance at Kim; she nimbly leaped over the swing. He continued prodding at her, and she continued back pedaling. The slaver was moving her away from Tommy; she couldn't let him do that. Tommy still wasn't moving.

Kim spared a look over at the second alien even as she dodged another blow. The second armored goon was bent over Tommy, his lance on the ground. Kim backed away, then, rushing

forward, she leaped and flipped right over the slaver's head. She hit her landing and came up running. Her opponent shouted a warning to his companion, but it was too late. Kim's flying kick

caught him squarely in the back, and the alien went plunging into the water.

As Kim paused to catch a breath, the slaver resurfaced. His helmet had come off, but Kim barely had time to glimpse the bulbous layers of flesh that comprised his face before the guard was pulled back under the water in a flurry of pinkish tentacles. The pond's surface regained its placid

sheen all too quickly.

"Ohmigod," Kim gasped, taken aback by what just happened; however, a moment was all that she could spare, as the remaining slaver came charging at her. Kim reached for the lance left by the unfortunate alien. Just as she positioned herself protectively over Tommy, he started coming around.

"Kim . . . ." he moaned, sputtering and coughing up water.

"Tommy, stay down," Kim snapped. She glared fiercely at the slaver still threatening them, holding the lance ready. It was Kim's turn to draw the alien away from Tommy's position, but she was on the defensive as the creature stabbed at her. She parried and blocked his thrusts, but she knew he was only toying with her. Kim had the feeling that, if she could have seen his face, he would have been smiling in triumph, and she had a flash of the winged witch from her dreams.

Kim attempted a couple of feints of her own as she plotted out her strategy. She knew there was no way she could match the slaver in a close quarter fight; in addition to superior size and strength, he knew the weapon, and she didn't. Her advantage lay in her agility and quickness. If she could lure the alien away from Tommy long enough for him to clear his head and help her ....

"Kim, what are you doing?" Tommy gasped. At the sound of his voice, the alien swung around.

"Buying you some time," she retorted. She could see that the alien was torn; which prey to follow: the smaller, armed one or the larger, injured one? His choice was obvious as he turned towards Tommy. "Hey ugly, over here!" Kim picked up a rock and heaved it at the slaver. The

guard ignored the first stone. Kim continued the barrage, but the rocks just bounced off the armor. Determined to keep the creature away from Tommy, she rushed forward and jabbed the

bayonet-tip of the lance in the seat of the slaver's pants.

That got his attention. He whirled around so quickly, that Kim barely had time to leap out of the way of his thrust. She back pedaled towards the break in the trees but tripped over a fallen branch. Seeming to sense her terror, the alien lowered his weapon and charged. Kim scrambled backwards, trying to regain her footing, but in doing so, found herself backed against the trunk of a tree. Her attacker's triumphant cry seemed to paralyze Kim.

"Kim, no!" Tommy screamed.

Tommy's shout snapped Kim out of her funk. The slaver was practically upon her, intent on running her through. Kim did the only thing she could think of. She braced the butt of her lance against the tree and thrust the lethal end towards her attacker. The slaver saw what she had done, and recognizing the danger, pulled up. However, his foot caught on the same branch that had tripped Kimberly up, and he fell forward.

Kim screamed as the slaver lunged towards her. She tried to get out of the way, panicking. The tip of her weapon easily pierced the armored suit. Purple ichor sprayed all over her as the body continued forward. The helmet came loose as the body struck the tree, and Kim found herself staring into the slavers' eyes as the light died in them.

"Kimberly!"

Tommy was there in an instant, pulling the dead weight off her, yet it seemed like an eternity. Kim could not tear her eyes away from the dead man's face even as Tommy was forcing her to her feet.

"We gotta get out of here," Tommy insisted, trying to get her to move. "There might be more of them out here."

He was right. They had to get away. Only, Kim would never be able to run away from what happened here. She gazed up at Tommy blankly. He looked back at her with concern. She turned away, unable to bear his gaze.

"Right," she murmured numbly. Tommy grabbed her hand and all but dragged her towards the break in the ring of trees. However, he stopped just as they reached the jungle's edge.

"Wait here," he instructed. He hurried over to collect the alien's lance, then approached the skysled. With a mighty heave, he thrust the lance into the sled's control panel, shorting it out.

As she watched him spear the mechanism, Kim's body began to tremble violently. The horror of what just happened crept in under the shock: she had killed the slaver. It had died because of her . . . at her hands . . . its blood was all over her . . . .

"Come on," Tommy said, catching her arm on the run, pulling her along as they fled into the jungle once again.

Kim followed after Tommy, moving only because he was dragging her. Her mind was paralyzed with shock and fear. She felt a darkness swelling inside her, a coldness that bubbled up from the bottom of her soul. He terror continued to grow, gripping her heart with icy fingers, rising her throat. She fought to push back the black tide, but the pressure mounted until she could no longer contain it. Kimberly screamed, the sound torn from the depth of her being.

"Kim, what is it? What's wrong?" Tommy asked anxiously. He stopped running and looked around, fearful that the slavers had found them again.

As soon as Tommy released her hand, Kim crumpled to the ground in a violent fit of trembling. The cry kept coming and coming; she couldn't control it. She curled in on herself, wrapping her arms around her legs.

"Kim?" Tommy dropped down beside Kim and tried to uncoil her. Suddenly, Kim leaped to her feet and started running. Her screams gave way to deep, gasping sobs, and tears blurred her vision. Branches tore at her as she fled deeper into the jungle. She didn't care. She just had to get away. Away from the slavers. Away from Tommy. Away from herself.

"Kim, stop!" Tommy called after her, giving chase.

Kim plunged on blindly, breaking through the foliage suddenly and found herself tumbling down a steep hillside. Instinct took over, and she tucked as she rolled. She finally stopped at the bottom. Then, she threw up. She was still sobbing and heaving when Tommy caught up with her.

"Easy does it, Kim," Tommy murmured soothingly, stroking her hair. He pulled her onto his lap and tried to keep her from retreating into herself again.

"Don't touch me," she cried hoarsely, struggling to pull away from him. How could he bear to be near her after what she had done?

"I'm not letting you go until you calm down," Tommy said firmly but gently.

"Calm down? How can I calm down? I killed him!" she shrieked in spite of her raw throat, tears still streaming down her cheeks.

"I know, Kim; I know."

"Is that all you can say?" she raged. She started fighting Tommy, struggling to break away. When that didn't work, she started hitting him. All the while she ranted and cried. Tommy let her vent, waiting for her to wear herself out; however, she only managed to work herself deeper into a frenzy.

"Kimberly Ann Hart, THAT IS ENGOUH!" Tommy shouted, shaking Kim by the shoulders. Kim's eyes went wide at his tone; she had never heard Tommy sound like that --so cold, so angry-- it frightened her. He looked so stern as he glared at her that she shrank back with a whimper.

"You're hysterical," Tommy continued in his usual warm tones. "I was afraid I was going to have to slap you or something to get you to settle down. I didn't want to do that." Kim shivered and snuffled as Tommy pressed her close. "It's going to be all right."

"How can you say that?" she gasped, feeling the edge of her hysteria returning. She looked down at her hands; they were clean, yet she swore she could almost see the purple stain to match the splatters on her legs. "You didn't feel his blood spattering all over you. You didn't see the light go out of his eyes. You don't know what it's like knowing you took another person's life . . . ."

"Yes, Kim, I do," Tommy answered so quietly that Kim almost didn't hear him. She stared up at Tommy in puzzlement, and he couldn't meet her eyes. His tone was so serious . . . it almost seemed like self-loathing. "On the way down the hill, I spotted a small stream; it's not too far from here. Why don't we get you cleaned up and then we'll talk." Kim was about to protest that she didn't think she could walk when Tommy cradled her in his arms and lifted her up.

As Kim rested in his arms, shuddering, she noticed that Tommy's steps seemed unusually unsteady. It slowly began to seep in that Tommy had been hurt in the fight with the slavers --his

head again. Kim glanced up and noticed the trickle of blood meandering down the side of Tommy's face. Guilty tears stung her eyes. She had been so wrapped up in her own pain that she

had forgotten Tommy's; however, she hadn't the strength to offer to walk on her own. Fortunately, as Tommy had said, the stream wasn't far.

Tommy all but collapsed beside the creek. Kim knew she should see to his head injury, but she was seized with the urge to be ill again. She turned away from Tommy . . . she didn't want him to see her be sick. However, while she was doubled over, she felt his hand against her brow, splashing it with the cool water.

"Here," Tommy said and offered her a handful of water. Kim felt foolish, like a small child, but she sipped the liquid gratefully.

"God, Tommy, I'm so sorry for losing it like this," she mumbled, drawing in on herself, but not as tightly as before. She found she really did want him to hold her. She didn't want him to let her go.

"It's all right; I understand," he assured her with a timid smile. Then, his smile fell. "I wish I could have cut loose with all my guilt and anger and everything instead of having to keep it bottled up."

"What do you mean?"

"There was something that happened during my capture that I couldn't tell you about before . . . I was too ashamed," Tommy admitted, hanging his head.

"Did you kill somebody, too?" Kim murmured, sensing the answer.

Tommy merely nodded. "I didn't mean to," he said when he could find his voice. It sounded to Kim as if he was still trying to convince himself of that, and she noticed that he was shaking with the force of his emotions.

"What happened?"

"It was during the prisoner inspection, where they were trying to figure out which ones were the girls and which ones were the guys," he began tremulously. "Something inside me snapped. It was like I couldn't endure it. They couldn't do that to me. You know?"

"That's when I started resisting, too," Kim responded. She placed a shaky hand on his arm.

"I got into it with one of the guards. We started out sort of boxing and wound up wrestling. We had each other in headlocks. I wasn't holding back, Kim; I was fighting all out. I didn't even realize that I was unusually strong; I mean, I felt like I did when I'm morphed, but I thought it was just adrenaline. We were struggling together and --I don't even know how it really happened-- I remember sort of twisting my arms then I heard the snap. The guy went limp in my arms. I broke his neck.

"Man, Kim, I went cold inside when I realized what I had done. I know we've trashed putties and destroyed monsters, but they're different somehow; it's not like they're real people. With the slaver, it was different; he was a real person, and I had killed him. I was shocked, numb, sickened by what I had done. While I was reeling, the other guards overpowered me, shackled and collared me. Every time I fell asleep in the hold of the ship, I heard that sickening crack and saw the body go limp. I thought I'd go mad if I didn't get out of that hold."

Under her hand, Kim felt Tommy's trembling. His head was still bowed, his face hidden by his hair, but she felt his tears when she touched his cheek. She couldn't ever remember seeing him cry.

"Tommy, you were fighting for your freedom, for you life," Kim said softly.

"And so were you," Tommy declared firmly, finally looking her in the eyes. It was such an unexpected move that Kim was startled. "You were fighting to keep both of us alive."

"Tommy, yours was an accident. I deliberately set that lance up."

"Kim, the slaver would have skewered you without a qualm; you had no choice. It was him or you. I'm just sorry it had to come to that," Tommy sighed heavily. "I should have done more ...."

"Tommy, you were hurt. I saw the blow that knocked you into the water; it wasn't your fault," Kim insisted. She couldn't understand why Tommy was trying to take the blame for her actions.

"Yes, it was."

"Tell me how."

"Because of what happened with the guard, I think I've been holding back --subconsciously. I've been afraid of killing again. Think about it, Kim; with my skills and the lighter gravity here, those two shouldn't have been able to take me down. If I had been fighting them like I do putties, I should have had them. Instead, I held back and got myself knocked silly, leaving you to save my

butt once again --this time with more serious consequences."

Kim didn't know what to say. She wanted to ease his pain so badly, and just as badly, she wanted Tommy to ease hers. Neither said a word as they clung to each other. The tight embrace lasted until both tears and trembling subsided.

"I want to go home," Kim sniffled at last.

"So do I," Tommy agreed, looking soberly into Kimberly's eyes. "We just have to hang on and do what it takes to survive until Zordon and Alpha can find us." The steadiness of his gaze was a little unnerving, but Kim understood what he was trying to convey: even if it means killing again. She swallowed hard and nodded. The thought made her shiver, and she leaned into Tommy's embrace once more.

Completely drained by the events of the day, Kim began to drift off; however, as sleep started to settle in, she felt something tickle her leg. She glanced down and noticed that the little fuzzballs had returned.

"Your friends are back," Tommy observed with a small grin as he watched one of the tiny creatures sniff at Kim's legs.

"Stop that," Kim said, trying to shoo the animal away. It had started licking her leg.

"The little fella certainly has taken a liking to you," Tommy teased gently. "Can't say as I fault his taste."

Kim brushed the furball aside; however, it quickly returned to lapping at the purple stains on her leg. "Oh, that's so gross!" Kim complained. The second time she tried to move the creature aside, it snarled and snapped at her, revealing a mouth lined with razor sharp teeth that nearly split its body in two. Kim let out a startled yelp and hopped off Tommy's lap. She wound up stumbling into the stream as she tried to get away from the deceptively cute hairball and wound up on her bottom. The beast seemed afraid of the water, for it backed away. Kim waited to see what it would do. When it did not approach, Kim ventured onto the bank, shivering with cold.

"I really didn't need that," she groaned.

"You'll dry out soon enough," Tommy assured her.

The furball approached warily, making snuffling noises as it drew closer to Kimberly. Suddenly, it stopped. It no longer seemed to be interested in Kim; instead, it turned its attention to Tommy.

"What in the world . . . ?" Kim murmured as she tore off a precious strip of her dress, soaked it, and started cleaning the blood from Tommy's face. All the while, the fuzzball watched intently.

"Wait a minute," Tommy murmured.

"What?"

"Are you finished with my head?"

"Pretty much. Why?"

"I want to try something. May I have the rag?"

"Sure." Puzzled, Kim handed Tommy the bloody scrap. He wadded it into a ball and threw it towards the hill. The furry creature scampered after it eagerly.

"The blood," Tommy said. "It was attracted by the scent of the blood, like a shark."

"You mean that little thing was some kind of scavenger?" Kim muttered, feeling a little queasy.

"It's possible. It wasn't interested in you once you washed the blood off your legs," Tommy remarked. Then he paused thoughtfully. "But that doesn't make sense. Those critters followed you around constantly for nearly a week, yet you had no open wounds. You weren't bleeding or anything."

"Yes, I was," Kim answered in the same quiet, knowing way that Tommy had assured her that he understood her feelings of having killed the slaver. Kimberly now knew why those creatures had been so interested in her, and they would be back. Tommy was going to have to know why. However, at the moment she was so exhausted --physically, mentally, and emotionally-- that she didn't have the energy to be embarrassed about it. It was a fact of life that Tommy was going to have to get used to. Furthermore, she was so tired that she could only muster the barest flicker of amusement when Tommy, upon making the connection, blushed scarlet to the roots of his hair.

<<"It's no use, Zordon. I can't break through Zedd's spell.">>

<<"I feared as much when you discovered that their minds resonated on the same

wavelength. It will be up to the Rangers to . . . .">>

<<"Alpha? Zordon? Where am I? What's happening? How did I get in the Command

Center?">>

<<"Adam! You're back!">>

<<"This is too weird. Just a second ago I was on the . . . ." >>

"Quick, Kim, over here," Tommy directed in an urgent whisper. He dove head first through the thick foliage, and she quickly followed.

It had been slightly over two months since they had played frisbee in the park (Kim had biology to thank for the calendar), and it had been three days since they last had a decent break. Three days . . . that had been when the fuzzy scavengers had left, and the slavers had been on top of them almost immediately thereafter. Kim figured her furry friends had given away their position. However, since they had been found, they hadn't been able to shake their pursuers. The armored aliens were using a new type of tracking device; in appearance it resembled a metal detector. Neither she nor Tommy could determine exactly what it used to track them, but none of their previous tricks at avoiding detection could fool the device.

"I don't know how much longer I can keep going," Kim panted. She brushed the hair from her eyes and gazed concernedly at Tommy. As she took in his smudged face, matted hair, and sun-browned body Kim felt a lump form in her throat. Why was it, she wondered, that Tommy's physical presence most strongly affected her whenever they were in the greatest danger? It was a distraction she could ill afford, but she couldn't help herself. Perhaps it was because during those moments, she felt the closest to Tommy.

"Same here," Tommy agreed, also gasping for breath.

Kim suddenly realized that he had caught her staring, and she blushed as she looked away. Briefly, she wondered if Tommy had been looking at her as intently as she had been looking at him; she hoped so. Oh, how she wished that he would! However, this wasn't the time for hopeless dreams and desires.

"What are we going to do?" Kim asked, finally finding her voice again. "Every time we find a hiding place that gizmo of theirs sniffs it out. Nowhere is safe."

"Maybe we could get one away from them and see what makes it tick," Tommy suggested.

"If you were Billy, I'd say that'd be a good idea," Kim sighed.

Tommy looked wounded by her words and opened his mouth to issue a rejoinder, but he paused instead. "You're right. We wouldn't have a clue as to what to look for, would we?"

"No, we . . . oh God, Tommy; they've found us again!" True enough, the two could hear their pursuers tramping through the lush vegetation. The slavers' incomprehensible speech was growing ever louder, and they detected the blips given off by the tracking device.

"We have to make a break for it," Tommy said grimly.

"I can't, Tommy; I have nothing left."

"We have to try, Kim; we've come too far . . . we've been through too much to get caught now. Please. You can do it; I know you can."

Kim took a deep breath to steady herself. She knew Tommy was right. She couldn't just give up now. "All right."

"Good. Let's stay low until we can find a bit of a clearing and maybe get our bearings," Tommy advised. Kim agreed with a silent nod then, practically crawling on their bellies, the two wriggled their way through the underbrush. They crawled single file with Tommy taking the lead, and Kim found herself staring at his backside. There was little left to his shorts, and what there was of the denim had been worn pretty thin.

Stop it, Kim chided herself. Her throat felt tight, and her pulse was racing --and it wasn't from fear. What is wrong with me? I never used to be this bad about scoping out Tommy. I mean, I've drooled over him before, but not like this.

Kimberly was so engrossed with her racing hormones and troubled thoughts that she failed to note that Tommy had pulled up and was crouched next to a dark patch of ground. She continued forward in her crawl until she bumped into the rear that had so captivated her. Tommy overbalanced and fell forward, disappearing into the hole he had discovered.

"Tommy!" Kim gasped, careful to keep her voice down. She scrambled to the edge of the black mouth that had swallowed Tommy up.

"I'm okay," he called back up. Kim tried her hardest but couldn't catch a glimpse of him.

"How far down are you?" Kim queried. She lay flat on her stomach and reached down as far as she could. She had the sense that Tommy was still out of her reach.

"Too far --you'd need a rope or something to haul me up."

"Great. How am I supposed to do that with these slimewads breathing down our necks?" Kim snapped.

"Next time, watch where you're crawling," Tommy shot back. Kim felt hot tears sting her eyes. This time, Tommy was right. She should have been paying more attention to where she was going.

"I'm sorry," she murmured dispiritedly.

"I didn't mean to snap," Tommy called back quietly. "Actually, maybe it's a good thing I found my way down here."

"What do you mean?"

"Come on down."

"Are you out of your mind? Those detector thingies can trace us even in caves; we'll be sitting ducks in this hole, and even if the aliens missed us, how would we get out?" Kim demanded.

"This isn't just a hole; it's a tunnel. I can feel cool air coming from somewhere," Tommy explained. "Even if they track us down here, they can't follow; it's too narrow. I barely fit. The tunnel makes a sharp turn right about where I'm standing; the aliens wouldn't be able to shoot around a corner, and unless they have a map of every tunnel on the planet, they won't know where we'll come out until we do. At the very least, we can catch our breath down here."

Tommy's explanation sounded reasonable, but Kim wasn't too sure. She really wasn't fond of tight, narrow spaces. She wouldn't call it claustrophobia exactly, but she preferred having a little more room to work with. However, as she debated what to do, she became aware of the blips drawing closer.

"I hope you're right," she muttered, sitting on the edge of the opening. She lowered herself in carefully, clinging to the roots that poked their way out of the sides of the hole. She didn't want to come crashing down on Tommy. When the roots ran out, she tried to brace herself on the sides of the walls. Up above, she heard footsteps in the clearing they had just vacated. Tiny dirt clods showered down on her head, and she prayed that she was down far enough that she couldn't be seen. Suddenly, she felt something beneath her feet.

"I have you," Tommy hissed, as aware of the danger overhead as she was. "I'll lower you down." Tommy eased her down, turning her so that her back was pressed up against his body. Kim felt herself shivering with excitement; she hoped Tommy interpreted it as being from cold. As her feet touched bottom, she leaned up against Tommy for an indulgent moment; she was somewhat surprised by the heaving of his chest, he was breathing so hard.

"Slide down into the tunnel," Tommy instructed, whispering in her ear. The warmth of his breath caressing her ear sent a chill racing down Kim's back. She was excruciatingly aware of his nearness. Another shower of dirt shook Kim out of her reverie. Still, she eased herself down Tommy's body slowly, savoring the hardness of him under her hands as she lowered herself. If only she could have been facing the other direction . . . .

Kim's legs disappeared into the narrow shaft followed quickly by the rest of her body. She inched her way further into the darkness; she had to make room for Tommy before the slavers decided to start taking potshots down the hole. Even as she was skooching forward, Tommy was easing himself in after her with some urgency. It was pitch black in the narrow confines, and Kim hoped the tunnel opened up soon so she could get to her hands and knees and turn around. The two continued their awkward crawl (Kim was grateful the welts on her back had finally healed) for what seemed like hours until Kim felt the tunnel dip downwards. Suddenly, she slid forward and landed flat on her bottom.

"Tommy, watch out . . . ." she cautioned, but it was too late. Fortunately, the tunnel had also widened, and she was able to scramble out of the way --mostly. "Oompf!"

"Sorry."

"'S okay."

"Man, my back . . . ."

"Mine, too. Any idea how long we were at it?" Kim wondered.

"Do you really want to know?"

"Probably not." Kim yawned. "Do you think we're far enough away to take a break?"

"Well, I haven't felt any heat flashes in a while . . . ."

"Tommy, why didn't you tell me they were shooting down at us!" Kim gasped; she hadn't even realized. . . .

"What good would it have done except to worry you?" Tommy asked.

"They didn't hit you, did they?"

"I think they might have singed my hair a little on the first attempt, but after that . . . nothing major. I think we should be all right for a little while."

"Thank God," Kim sighed as she all but collapsed. Tommy settled down next to her. She fitted herself into her usual sleeping position; she scarcely lay down when she felt the tears welling in her eyes. She brushed them aside. There was no reason to cry; they were out of danger for the moment. However, the strain of the last three days, combined with her other distractions, had new tears replacing the ones she had just gotten rid of. Shortly, her body was trembling as she sobbed silently.

Tommy said nothing; however, Kim felt his arms tighten around her. One hand stroked her hair as the other gently massaged her arm. Tommy was always so patient with her crying fits. He never teased her or scolded her. He simply held her until the emotional storm had passed. Being able to let it all out every now and again was probably the only reason she hadn't totally lost her marbles.

Finally, her tears subsided. "Thank you," she murmured, snuffling. She uncurled herself and gave Tommy a hug.

"Hang in there, Kim; we're going to get out of this somehow," Tommy said reassuringly.

"Tommy, I had another dream last night," Kim began diffidently.

"About Zordon and Alpha?" Tommy queried, suddenly alert.

"Uh huh." She felt funny mentioning the dreams. They were probably nothing more than mere wishful thinking; still . . . . "In it, they got Adam back."

"That's great!"

"Tommy, you don't really believe that somehow I'm making contact with the Command Center through my dreams, do you?" Kim asked; Tommy's tone sounded so hopeful . . . .

"I don't really know, Kim, but I want to believe it. I think part of me has to believe, because it's the only way I can hold on to the hope that our friends will find us."

"Tommy, I see light up ahead," Kim declared, elated.

The two had drifted off into an unusually deep sleep and had slept much longer than they would have liked. Still, they had felt better able to continue on after their naps. Kim had taken the lead as they resumed their crawl; she had felt a little uncomfortable knowing that Tommy was in a position to look up her skirt (not that he could see anything in the darkness). While she hadn't voiced her reluctance, Tommy pointed out that it made sense for her to take the lead. "If the tunnel gets too narrow, I'd wind up blocking the way, and then your only way out would be back the way we came, and I'm sure the slavers are watching the entrance to this tunnel." Even so, it drove Kim to distraction to think that she could feel Tommy's warm breath against her bare bottom. Zordon and the others just had to find them soon; if they remained on the jungle world much longer, there was no telling what her hyper-active hormones would have her doing.

They had been crawling for hours, it seemed, and Kim had nearly given up hope of seeing daylight again when she spied the faint glimmer.

"That's great. Is there anyway for us to maneuver? I'd like for us to change places."

"If I lay down flat, you can probably crawl over me," Kim suggested. At first, she had thought about challenging his decision; she was as capable of taking the point as he was, but then she reconsidered. With light in the tunnel, Tommy really would be able to see up her dress. Once they were repositioned, the two headed once again toward the increasing illumination. As they drew nearer to the exit, they realized by the intensity of the light that the opening was not shielded with any sort of vegetation.

"Let me have a look," Tommy suggested. Kim remained where she was, just in case Tommy had to draw back in quickly. It took him several moments to adjust to the light before sticking his head outside.

"Well?" Kim prompted anxiously.

"The good news is that there are no slavers or fliers in the immediate vicinity."

"What's the bad?"

"That we're faced with an open stretch of land. No cover," Tommy reported. "What do you think?"

"I think that if we don't get out of this tunnel soon, I'm going to start screaming," Kim said in clipped tones. The dark, narrow confines were really starting to get on her nerves. She hadn't wanted to admit it to Tommy, but for the last hour or so, it had been all she could do to keep from cutting loose. As it was, her body was trembling. She felt Tommy's hand on her shoulder.

"Kim, why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

"It wouldn't have mattered. The tunnel was our only option; it wasn't so awful in the wider areas. Just this last stretch was kind of bad."

"You're something, you know that?" Tommy said affectionately. Kim felt his lips brush her brow. "Come on; let's get out of here."

The two emerged from the shaft cautiously. As soon as Kim was able to see, she saw what Tommy meant about their surroundings. It was as if every tree and bush had been uprooted. There was no cover of any sort. Ahead of them was what appeared to be an abandoned settlement; however, it had been razed long ago. There was only one structure partially standing; if Kim didn't know any better, she would have sworn it was a church, although she couldn't have said why. Beyond the ruined village was another open tract of land, which deadened at the base of cliff.

"Not very promising, is it," she murmured.

"No, it isn't. It looks as if the only way out of this valley is by climbing the cliffs," Tommy observed.

"That's just great. The fliers will be able to pick us off easily. There's got to be another way."

"It'll have to wait 'til later. We've got company," Tommy murmured, spying in-coming fliers.

"Damn, how'd they find us so quickly."

"Come on, let's head for that big building," Tommy urged.

"Isn't that a little too obvious?"

"It's the only available cover. Maybe there's a cellar or something. And maybe we can spot another hiding place from there."

"Oh, I hope they didn't spot us on the first fly-by," Kim murmured. Taking each other's hand, the two sprinted across the grassy expanse. They were able to make it into the shadow of the walls before the fliers made their next pass. However, their moment of elation was brief; on the ridge above their abandoned tunnel they saw the arrival of the silver suited slavers.

"Oh, God, Tommy, we're trapped," Kim murmured fearfully.

"Come on; there has to be some place we can hide in here," Tommy suggested.

"It doesn't matter where we hide; they'll find us with those tracking devices." In spite of her protests, Kim began hunting around the ruined building. The more she looked around, the more she became convinced that they were in some kind of temple or church.

"This appears to be some kind of holy place," Tommy murmured, echoing her thoughts. "Maybe they'll respect the sanctity of the temple or whatever."

"Yeah, right," Kim retorted dubiously.

"Hey, under here," Tommy said brightly, nearing the dais. He approached what appeared to be a ruined altar. The table stone had fallen of its supports, and Kim observed that the surface was crisscrossed with scratches, and the gray stone was blotched with dark stains. It gave Kim the shivers to think what might have taken place on that stone. Tommy was shifting debris around to get a better look at what might be a hiding place. He pulled back a section of lattice work and revealed a depression in the platform under the altar. It appeared to be a trough of some sort; it wasn't very deep, and it was littered with bones and white powder.

"Tommy," Kim began in a nervous whisper. She flashed him a terrified glance. He heard it, too: the sound of skysleds landing. In short order, the blips of tracking devices and the sounds of heavily booted feet crunching the dry grass hit their ears.

Tommy quickly rolled into the narrow space in the floor and pulled Kim in on top of him. Before settling down, he tugged at a decaying bit of cloth --an abandoned cloak or section of carpet--and threw it over Kim. He nodded to the lattice work then lay down. Kim covered herself with the mouldering remnant then replaced the grating. There wasn't a moment to spare as the first of the seekers entered the building.

Kim held her breath and strained her ears, trying to determine what was going on. She wished she could see. The sanctuary was silent, not even the whisper of the breeze disturbed the stillness. The sounds, when they came, were all the more magnified because of the unnatural quiet: footsteps, the hum of machinery, guttural voices, the sound of debris being overturned . . . and the loudest of all was the heart beating in her breast. The noises continued to grow . . . the hunters were drawing closer to the dais. It was only a matter of moments before they reached the altar. If only they could have set the top stone back in place . . . .

The scrape of a heavily booted foot against the step sent a quiver of fear down Kim's spine, and she gripped Tommy's arm more tightly. She thought it impossible that her muscles could pull any tighter, but they did. She felt as if she would snap at any moment. More footfalls neared the dais, their echo reverberated loudly in Kim's ears, almost drowning out her gasps for air and the drumming of her heart. She bit her lip in anticipation of the moment when the stones around their hiding place would be pushed away and the grating ripped up. She could almost feel the cold metal of the gloves as she imagined a beefy hand wrapping itself around her neck. Closer . . . there it was, one of those maddening blips that wouldn't give them a moment's rest! Closer . . . the footfalls . . . Kim could almost see the slaver kneeling down to investigate the grating; she could almost hear his breathing as he bent over their pitiful hiding place.

Kim's eyes went to Tommy's face; in the faint light she could see that he looked as terrified as she felt. He sensed it, too. They were as good as dead. In that moment, Kim understood why her heart had sounded so loud in her ears; it wasn't just the throbbing in her chest, but Tommy's as well. She hadn't realized but Tommy was gripping her arms as tightly as she gripped his. Overhead came the shrill cry and flapping of wings that announced the arrival of the fliers. It was all over.

Suddenly, Kim didn't care what was going on in the dilapidated building. All that mattered was telling Tommy how she felt.

"Tommy, I . . . ." Her mouth formed the words but no sound came out. Kim stifled a moan of frustration, and tears welled up in her eyes; however, when she glanced up at Tommy, he was smiling down at her, his own eyes moist. He freed a hand from her arm, and carefully brought it to where his fingers touched her lips. Kim held her breath as she felt Tommy's other hand move up to cradle her head, and then . . . .

Slavers, fliers, their desperate situation --all concerns vanished from Kim's mind as Tommy pulled her close and his mouth descended on hers. The fire his soft lips ignited on contact rapidly consumed her. It was a kiss unlike any he had ever given her; his probing tongue sought hers, found it, and engaged it in a sensual embrace. It seemed to Kim that Tommy was opening himself to her, releasing all that he had previously held back --his passion, his love-- and Kim could do no less than give as fully of herself. With her mouth, with the intensity of her response, she sought to tell Tommy all those things she never had the courage to tell him before. In that moment of fiery rush, Kim knew that Tommy loved her as deeply as she loved him, and if by some miracle they survived the search, things would never be the same for them.

Slowly, reluctantly, Kim's consciousness drifted down from the impossible heights to which Tommy had suddenly swept her. As she regained her senses, the first thing she was aware of was the beating of her heart --both their hearts. The rhythm and intensity seemed to be almost identical. Kim hadn't realized that her eyes were closed; she was almost afraid to open them. She wanted the memory --the warmth of their emotions-- to linger as long as possible.

"Kim," Tommy hissed.

As he said her name, it was barely more than a breath, yet it flooded her senses. At first, Kim hadn't realized that he had spoken. Then, reality came creeping back in, and she was astonished that Tommy should have spoken at all.

"Listen," he instructed with a lift in his voice.

Kim concentrated on listening, trying to hear what Tommy had heard. All she perceived was silence. At first, she was puzzled, then, Tommy's point dawned on her. Silence! The slavers, the fliers . . . they were all gone! There wasn't a sound in the ruined building, not even the breath of the wind.

"Tommy?" she murmured hopefully. It was a trick. It had to be some kind of trap to get them to reveal their hiding place.

"Wait," Tommy advised.

Kim had no problem with that; at the moment, she didn't ever want to leave their tiny hiding place. She was perfectly content to stay wrapped in Tommy's arms, their hearts pounding together, his breath warm on her cheek. She snuggled more comfortably against him, her heart brimming with joy.

"Hey, Beautiful, rise and shine."

Kim's eyes fluttered open to find Tommy's shining eyes smiling down at her. She favored him with a warm grin of her own, then she recalled their predicament. The warmth fled, replace with fear; her body went taut in Tommy's arms.

"It's all right," Tommy assured her. "They're gone. We made it."

"We made it?" For a moment, Kim couldn't believe what she was hearing. She hadn't realized it, but Tommy had thrown off the cloak and lifted the grate. The twilight sky filled the open space where the ceiling had once been. "Oh God, Tommy, we really did make it!"

Kim wrapped her arms around him in an enthusiastic embrace, simply happy to be alive; tears of relief blurred her vision, but she didn't care. Her mouth sought Tommy's in a joyful kiss, which swiftly developed into something deeper.

"Tommy?" Kim queried as they paused to catch their breath; the taste of him lingered on her lips. Tommy smiled bashfully.

"We need to talk, Kim," he said soberly, "but not here. I don't know why the slavers and fliers took off, but we'd better not chance their coming back."

Kim nodded, understanding. "Where do we go?"

"We can try the cliffs; I thought I saw some caves, and with the cliff face in shadow right now, I think we stand a good chance of making it."

The two cautiously emerged from their coffin-turned-haven. In spite of the urgency to find a safer shelter, they stood there for a moment, staring into each other's eyes. Tommy took Kim's

hands in his. Then, the sighing of the faint breeze broke the spell of the moment. With fingers still tightly interlaced, they picked their way through the rubble and emerged from the ruins.

A quick scan of the sky revealed no fliers about. There wasn't a sign of a skysled or pursuers on foot. Before them stretched a grassy expanse.

"What do you think; do we chance it?" Tommy asked.

"Like you said, we can't stay here," Kim sighed.

By unspoken consent, they started out at a sedate walk; if they ran, it might draw unnecessary attention to themselves. Even though they appeared casual, they were alert for the slightest indication that they had been discovered. It was difficult for Kim to stay focused. She was almost supernally aware of the warmth of Tommy's hand in hers, the tightness of his grip, and every so often she would glance up at him to find him gazing fondly at her.

They had barely covered half the distance to the cliffs when dark thunderheads began rolling in. The pleasant breeze began to gust, and the two picked up their pace. By the time they reached

the base of the rock wall, the rain had begun to fall.

"Do you think we can make the climb in this weather?" Kim wondered.

"We might be able to reach one of the lower caves; this wall has so many openings, it looks like Swiss cheese," Tommy noted.

"The way they're grouped . . . they can't be natural. I think somebody created these caves," Kim mused.

"And the hand holds, apparently," Tommy said. "Come on, this shouldn't be too bad."

Tommy started climbing, and Kim followed. There were places aplenty to get a purchase on the rocks; that helped counteract the slipperiness due to the rain. Even so, the climb was probably the easiest they had made since their adventure began. The rain poured down harder, making it difficult to see; by the time the two reached one of the lowest caverns, they were soaked to the bone.

"Well, we were due for a cleaning," Kim murmured through chattering teeth.

As they cautiously entered the cave, they were startled to see that the entrance was covered by a curtain of skins that had been stitched together. They left the drape parted so that they could see. It was obvious that the shallow shelter at one time was someone's dwelling. There were all manner of tools and bowls and things left behind, even some clothing. In the center of the cave was a hole dug in the floor; across it was a series of bars.

"A fire pit," Tommy murmured.

"You don't suppose there's anything to start a fire with?" Kim asked hopefully. Neither questioned whether or not they should risk a fire. A night hadn't passed that they had wished

for the warmth and comfort of even the smallest blaze. Kim's teeth were already chattering with cold; body heat could only do so much when one was soaked to the skin.

Tommy reached down into the pit. "There's plenty of wood and stuff in here. If we can find some flint . . . ." Kim helped Tommy scrounge around, and after a bit of searching, they found what they needed. It only took a few failed attempts for them to get a spark that ignited the wood in the pit.

"Mm," Kim sighed, holding her hands out to the delicious warmth. Tommy moved back to the entrance and closed the curtain so the fire wouldn't be visible from outside.

"Let's set one of these bowls outside and collect some drinking water," Tommy suggested. He picked up a scrap of cloth and wiped the container out.

"Omigosh, Tommy, blankets!" Kim declared as she held up the rough covers. They were a bit moth eaten, but otherwise intact. She threw one over her shoulders and wriggled out of her soggy clothing.

"Too bad there isn't any food in here," Tommy mused as his stomach rumbled.

"That'd be too much to hope for," Kim agreed.

"Yeah, there's no telling how long this place has been abandoned." Tommy accepted his blanket from Kim and stepped out of his jeans. "I wonder if there's anything in here we can use for clothing. These have about had it."

"There's bound to be something," Kim murmured. "If not, we can always do something with the blankets. Although, I'd sure hate to lose them."

"We can't afford to take them with us," Tommy reminded her.

"I know. Wishful thinking," Kim sighed, knowing that they had to travel light.

As Tommy settled down next to Kim, there was a commotion outside the entrance to the cave. The two turned to each other, their eyes reflecting fear. Had they been discovered already?

Tommy bade Kimberly to wait as he cautiously tiptoed toward the curtain. The noise wasn't repeated, so Tommy peered out warily.

Kim bit her lip anxiously. She was dying to know what was going on, but she didn't dare say anything to give Tommy away. Even so, she drew in a sharp breath as Tommy dropped his blanket and stepped out into the storm. Kim looked away quickly, her cheeks hot. She kept her eyes on the fire as she heard Tommy return.

"What was it?" she wondered as he drew closer. His proximity made her brave enough to look up at him.

"Well, if we can figure out how to clean and cook it, it's dinner," Tommy pronounced wryly. He held out the body of the bird that had been driven against the rocks by the storm. Kim's stomach sort of turned at the thought, but it had been a while since they had eaten last, and meat wasn't something they usually ate since they had no way of cooking it. In the end (and it took some doing), they managed to get the bird roasted. They ate their fill and chased it down with fresh rainwater. Then, their bellies full and feeling safer than they had since their nightmare began, the two lazed about by the fire.

As Kim rested her head on Tommy's thigh, her mind drifted back to the kiss they had shared earlier. Kim's fingers brushed her lips as she remembered the softness and heat of Tommy's

mouth. It made her shiver with delight and longing. She gazed up at Tommy; his expression was distant, rather thoughtful. Kim sat up suddenly.

"Tommy, how come you've never kissed me like that before?" she asked directly.

"I don't know, really," he confessed. "I always kind of wanted to; I guess I was just afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

"Afraid to admit to you and to myself exactly how much you mean to me. I've come close a couple of times, but somehow, I just couldn't make myself say the words."

"I've always wanted to get close to you, but you never seem to open up and let me in," Kim murmured.

"But you did get in; I never fully realized just how much until this afternoon. I thought we were as good as dead, and I was so afraid that I wouldn't get the chance to tell you all those things I wanted to say to you. That's why I kissed you like that. I had to let you know somehow . . . you did understand what I was trying to say, didn't you?"

"Yes, Tommy, but I'd like to hear you say the words. Do you think you can now?" she asked softly. Tommy caught her hands in his, then he reached up to stroke her cheek, smiling gently.

"I love you, Kim."

As Kim blinked back tears of happiness, Tommy pulled her close, pressing his lips to hers. It was an exquisitely tender kiss --soft and warm and full of emotion. When they parted, Kim found that her heart was so full that she couldn't speak for a moment.

"I've wanted to hear you say that so badly," she murmured when she finally found her voice. The moment almost too powerful, and she had to turn back to look at the fire before she could continue. "In my heart, I've always hoped that we'd stay together --get married, have a family . . . someday."

"I wouldn't mind that," Tommy replied.

"What's your heart's desire?" Kim queried suddenly.

Tommy paused thoughtfully. "This is going to sound a little strange, but what I really want is for Lord Zedd to be destroyed."

"Oh?" Kim couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

"Let me explain," Tommy said with a gentle laugh. "One of the reasons I couldn't tell you I loved you was that I felt it was sort of a promise, and with Zedd's threat hanging over our heads, I was afraid to make that promise because I might not be able to keep it. With Zedd gone, we would have our lives back; we'd be able to do all those things that you want us to do together: marriage, a family . . . . I want those things for us, too . . . someday."

"I understand; it's just that we came so close to losing everything back there in the ruins . . . Tommy, why can't we live for the moment? Why can't we take what we can while we can?"

"That's all we've been doing since we were snatched from the park," Tommy reminded her.

"Then, why can't someday be now?" Kim asked. "We don't know if we'll even see the morning...."

"We may wake up in the Command Center . . . ."

"Tommy, make love to me," Kim blurted out before she lost her nerve. She forced herself to meet his eyes as she made her request. She saw something flash in his eyes; she sensed his pulse quickening. Yes, he wanted it, too, but something kept him from accepting her invitation. "What is it?"

"You don't know how much I'd like to . . . but are you sure that's what you want? I mean, here and now, living so close to the edge . . . but we won't be here forever. What about when we get home?"

"We'll deal with home once we get there."

"Are you sure we're ready? After all, we're only . . . ."

". . . teenagers? Tommy, we stopped being teenagers the day we accepted our power coins." Kimberly stood up and shrugged off her blanket. She stood naked before Tommy, shivering in the firelight. She held her hand out to him. "Please?"

Tommy seemed to have difficulty swallowing as his eyes lingered on her body. It was as if he was unable to look away. Finally, he reached out and accepted all that Kim offered him.

The days and nights that followed their time in the cliffside cave were unlike any Kim and Tommy had experienced since being taken prisoner. Pursuit was still there, but it was not as if their hunters were breathing down their necks. There was time simply to walk instead of run, to live instead of merely exist. They were both grateful for the change. It gave them a chance to explore the new aspect of their relationship. At moments, they seemed like a pair of newlyweds, their attention absorbed by the pleasures they enjoyed and produced in each other. Every time they made love, they seemed to find something new to excite the other. However, they couldn't become too distracted; whenever they became too complacent, the roar of a skysled or the cry of a flier would remind them that they were still fugitives.

The new terrain was less overgrown than the lush jungle they had fled; there were fewer places to hide, but the walking was much easier. The temperature seemed a lot cooler as well. As they made their way across the land, they found evidence of other abandoned settlements. From these ruins they managed to outfit themselves with much needed clothing, spare flint, and a knife. Anything else would have been too cumbersome for those moments when time and speed were of the essence.

"What do you see?" Kim hissed up at Tommy. He was up a tree trying to scout the land ahead. They were at the edge of an unusually thick stretch of woodland. From the treeline, the land sloped gently into another forested valley.

"I think it's another village," Tommy called back as he climbed down.

"Another empty settlement? Who could have destroyed all these villages? The fliers?" Kim wondered. "Why would they do that?"

"Why would they enslave other beings?" Tommy posited. "We don't know enough about them to make any guesses."

"Should we check it out?" Kim asked. "We don't need any more tools, and our leathers are holding out fine so far."

"I'd like to. I can't be sure, but I think I saw a building like the temple we took shelter in. I'd like to learn more about that. The slavers had us trapped, and for some reason, they let us go. I'd really like to know why."

"I'm just glad they did," Kim sighed. "You're right, though. The fliers didn't sound too happy with the slavers when they finally arrived. All right. Let's go have a look."

The two made their way down the hill carefully. There were plenty of shadows thanks to the hour of the day and the imposing line of mountains rising in the west.

"This place sort of reminds me of home," Kim murmured, feeling a little choked up as she remembered the mountains around Angel Grove.

"Don't worry, Kim; we'll see them again," Tommy assured her.

"I know, but . . . ."

"But?"

"Sometimes, Tommy, I want to go home so badly it hurts, and other times . . . it's just that I know things can't be the way they are here. We have school and our duties as Rangers . . . we hardly had time to ourselves when we were just dating, but we've gone way beyond that. When we get home, we won't be able to be lovers."

"Why not?"

"Come on, Tommy; back home, we're still considered to be kids. My mom would freak if she knew we were sleeping together."

"So, we don't tell our folks."

"They aren't stupid, Tommy. They'd figure it out eventually."

"I know, but there has to be a way. We can steal a few moments here and there . . . ."

"Stolen moments aren't going to be enough for me . . . not anymore. Don't you see, you and me together like we are . . . it's all I ever wanted. Once we're home, well, come bedtime, you'll have to go to your house, and I'll have to go to mine. I won't be able to snuggle up next to your warm body or feel the strength of your arms around me . . . it'll be so lonely . . . I don't want to be alone, Tommy."

"Kim," Tommy murmured, wiping the gathering tears from her eyes, "we'll find a way to work it out. It'll be tough at first, but we'll manage. I promise." Tommy words rang with his sincerity, and the confidence in his eyes made hope spring in Kimberly's heart.

"I'm sorry; I'm being silly," she murmured, sniffling back her tears.

"No you're not, love," Tommy answered, kissing her forehead gently then pulling her close. "To be honest, I don't like the idea of sleeping without you anymore than you do."

Kim sighed and held Tommy tighter. In the stillness of their embrace, they heard a sound of not-too-distant drumming and the raucous screeching of birds.

"What is it?" Kim wondered.

"It sounds like it's coming from the village we were heading for," Tommy noted.

"Fliers," Kim whispered nervously, pointing to the sky. A flock of their aerial pursuers hovered over a clearing in the trees. Then, slowly they descended, and the drumming grew louder.

"Come on," Tommy urged.

"Tommy . . . ?"

"Something tells me they aren't out here looking for us. If we're careful, maybe we'll learn something about these guys."

Reluctantly, Kim let herself be persuaded.

Upon reaching the outskirts of the village, the two took shelter in a concealing clump of bushes. To their amazement, the small town was not in ruins or abandoned. From their vantage point, Kim and Tommy could see the layout of the entire settlement. The simple wooden huts comprised most of the dwellings, and these were arranged in a semi-circle about the only stone structure: the temple. There was no doubt in Kim and Tommy's minds now about what their sheltering ruins had been. To see the building intact reminded them of the amphitheater where they were to have been auctioned off. Statues occupied niches in the walls, and carvings of every sort decorated the arches of the doorways. Situated on a small rise, the building was open to the sky. More fliers arrived, some descending from treetop dwellings, to settle into the circular arena.

Torches lined the avenue that led to the temple, and the worshipers who arrived on foot also carried torches. It seemed as if everyone in the village was converging on the holy ground. Kim noticed fliers of every color in the cool end of the spectrum; they were garbed much like their counterparts from the auction arena --loose, flowing garments, glittering adornments, body paint, males with headdresses, women with veils . . . .

"Tommy, look. Some of them don't have wings," Kim gasped in spite of the need to be silent. Most of those arriving on foot lacked the leathery appendages.

"And over there, I think those might be slaves," Tommy responded. Amid the noisy throng, Tommy had spotted a huddled group of aliens wearing all too familiar collars. They were

being watched by a handful of silver suited guards.

"What is going on here?" Kim wondered.

As she spoke, the crowd suddenly fell silent as if in anticipation. Then, the drums resumed with a steady cadence. The gathering parted to allow a procession of male fliers through. Strangely, they were without adornment or paint and barely wearing g-strings. Tall, lean, and lithely muscular, the six appeared to be excellent specimens of their race, and their skin was the most intense shade of blue Kim had ever seen; it almost seemed to glow.

The six entered the temple, but the people did not follow. They seemed to be waiting. The tempo of the drums increased. Then, Kim and Tommy heard the crackle of an energy whip; the

slavers started forward. Hoisted on their shoulders was a cage inside which was a female flier. She was as finely formed as the males who had preceded her --even more voluptuous than the queen had been, as Kim recalled the monarch. Her skin was a vibrant emerald color that seemed to lighten and dark with the slightest shift. Oddly, she was unveiled and wore the same scant covering as the males. Kim felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise as she glimpse the female's expression: predatory, hungry, but something told Kimberly that it was not the hunger for food which governed the flier. She glanced over at Tommy to comment on the strange proceedings, and she was surprised by what she saw in his expression.

"Tommy?"

"Huh?" he mumbled dumbly as Kim shook him soundly. Then, to Kimberly's astonishment, he grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her hotly.

"What's the matter with you?" she gasped as she broke away. His leather wrap did little to disguise his erection.

"I don't know. One minute I was fine and the next . . . ." he explained helplessly. "All of a sudden I had this major testosterone rush, and . . . ."

Kim knew what it was. "Pheromones," she murmured. "The female must be in heat or something; maybe that's why she's locked up." She glanced back to see the cage being lifted off the slaves' shoulders. They were replaced by wingless fliers; neither slave nor guard was allowed to set foot on the grounds of the temple.

"No one but fliers are allowed in there," Kim mused. Tommy was still shaking off the effects of the force that had momentarily gripped him and simply looked at Kim in befuddlement. "I bet that's why the fliers were so angry with the slavers who were chasing us. They desecrated their holy ground."

"So they were more worried about getting the slavers out of the ruins than in capturing us," Tommy concluded, his head clearing at last. "Do you think we should try and get a closer

look at what's going on in there?"

"I don't think you should," Kim advised him. "Whatever that female is putting off is pretty powerful."

"Whew, you got that right. Maybe we could see into the arena from that hill over there," Tommy suggested, pointing off to his right. Kim followed his arm and spotted a grassy slope rising above the trees.

"It's pretty exposed," she said dubiously.

"Everyone is more concerned with what's going on in the temple. Do you want to know what's happening or not?"

"I am rather curious."

"Then let's go."

The two were out of breath by the time they reached the crest of the hill. They sat wearily and looked down into the small amphitheater. Most of the gathering was obscured from their view, but the dais was visible. The cage had taken the altar's place on the platform. The female prowled about the close confines anxiously. Around the cage danced the six males. The pounding of the drums could be heard easily on the hillside; it had the rhythm of a heartbeat. The tempo increased, driving the dancers and the female into a deeper frenzy.

Finally, the imprisoned female could take it no longer; with a guttural cry she lashed out at the bars, tearing them apart easily. The instant she was free, she leaped into the air. The six males were quick to follow her. A cheer rose from the spectators as the seven forms streaked high into the sky.

"A mating flight," Tommy realized. "Whoever catches her first will be her mate."

Kim scarcely heard Tommy's explanation. The moons were full in the sky, lighting up the entire hillside; she should have been concerned about being spotted, but she was held in thrall by the

spectacle being played out before her. There was such power, grace and beauty in the flight --like a ballet, only performed with a primal fire. The female led her suitors on a merry chase, toying with them as she banked and dove and looped about in the air. Just when it seemed one would overtake her, she shot higher with powerful strokes of her wings. Already one potential mate had given up. Soon, a second one dropped out, then a third. They returned to the village, leaving the other three to pursue their mate.

Two chased after the canny female hard, but the third seemed to hang back. To Kim it seemed as if he was considering the options, studying the contest, letting the other two wear themselves out. However, he was even more cunning than that. While the female was engaged with taunting the duo, the third flier climbed higher into the sky. Then, while the female's attention was occupied with the erstwhile pair, he dove. Too late the female sensed the attack from above. She whirled about only to be carried off by the third male. Biting, kicking, and clawing, she sought to break free of his grip, but he would not let her go. At last, she capitulated, baring her neck. He accepted the offering, and the female cried out with what Kim thought was a cry of joy for in the next instant, the two bodies had all but become one.

Kim could not take her eyes off the sky, yet she was suddenly very aware of Tommy sitting next to her. She didn't need to look at him; she could hear his rapid breathing. She could feel his heat. She could smell his scent, and she could almost taste his need. Her entire being yearned for Tommy to take her.

"That was so . . . so . . . ." she stammered thickly, trying to regain some control of her senses. They couldn't . . . not out on the hillside . . . unprotected . . . vulnerable . . . .

" . . . inspiring?" Tommy murmured thickly as his mouth descended upon her exposed throat. Kim gasped, and a shiver raced through her body by the abruptness of his attack. Yet, instead of pushing him away, she pulled him closer, and she let out a cry of ecstasy to rival the cries of the newly mated flier.

It was several long minutes before Kim regained a semblance of consciousness. Her exhausted, sweat-soaked body lay trembling beneath Tommy's. Her senses seemed preternaturally sharp as she lay there recovering: the scent of charred wood brought in by the light breeze, the sharpness of the dewy grass that pricked her back, and the sound of cooing high above.

"Tommy?" she rasped, surprised that her throat should be so raw. She brushed aside the hair that was plastered to his face. Slowly his feathery-lashed eyelids fluttered open, and he gazed down at her with his warm brown eyes. Tommy said nothing. The strength of his hug and the tenderness of his kiss said it all for him. Tommy slid his weight off Kim, and the two lay entwined in each other's arms as they gazed up into the unfamiliar heavens. They sleepily watched as the sky-born lovers billed and cooed in each other's arms.

"What happened to us?" Kim wondered.

"I don't know, but that was incredible," Tommy replied.

The two fell into a companionable silence. After a few moments, Kim raised up onto her elbow and studied Tommy's face in the moonlight. His expression was distant. He didn't even seem

to notice when she lightly drew her hand along the length of his body. She paused when she reached his inner thighs, her fingers exploring the scar that scrawled up his right leg. She supposed she had noticed before but hadn't paid all that much attention to it.

"Where'd you get this scar from?" she asked.

"I was on the back of my cousin's motorcycle; we crashed. The doctors had to give me a new inseam. Good thing it didn't go an inch or two higher," Tommy related with a wry chuckle.

"Is this the reason why you always wear such long shorts?"

"Mm hm."

Silence again. Tommy's eyes were fixed on the sky, and he looked thoughtful.

"What are you thinking about?" Kim wondered.

"Hm? Oh, nothing," he mumbled, his face coloring slightly.

"What is it?" she pursued.

"It's kind of silly," he demurred.

"Please . . . ?"

"I was remembering some of my daydreams from back home," he answered. He rolled onto his side so he could look at Kim. "This may sound funny, but I always wanted to make love to you

under the stars. Out in some field or on a hill --someplace where there wasn't a soul around for miles so it'd be like we were the only two people in the world. Naked under the stars . . . it was

like we were part of it all --I know I'm not explaining this very well. I used to try and imagine what you'd look like with the moonlight shining down on your hair . . . your body . . . . "

"Tommy, that's beautiful," Kim murmured.

"What about you? In your fantasies, did you have a favorite place for us to make love?"

"Not really, but there were always candles or a fire. We'd be surrounded in a glow of warm light, and there'd be darkness beyond. It was like the rest of the world couldn't touch us."

"I'll have to remember that when we get home."

The two cuddled close and drifted off to sleep under the gaze of the stars.

The images from Kimberly's dream swiftly faded as she knelt beside the stream, overcome by a wave of nausea. She felt her stomach heave and turned her head to hit the plants beside her. When she turned back to the water, she observed her reflection; her face was pale, and she had dark circles under her eyes. She hadn't been sleeping very well of late, and she looked a little thinner. That was understandable; her appetite left much to be desired, and at any rate, she was having trouble keeping what she did eat down. The flu, she tried to tell herself, but then why was she only sick in the morning? In the water, Kim saw a look of fear in her eyes. She couldn't deny the truth any longer: she was pregnant.

As she finally acknowledged that fact, a host of concerns crashed in on her. What was she going to do? She didn't know a whole lot about being pregnant, just the stuff they taught in health class. Her aunt had had regular check-ups when she had been pregnant, but there was no doctor here. How would Kim know if everything was all right? How far along was she? What if the baby was due before they got back home? Who would deliver the baby?

Get a grip, Kim, she tried to tell herself, but her fears had run away with her. Oh, God, this can't be happening to me! I'm not ready to be a mother yet!

She still had a year of school left; she might be able to work things out so that she could finish, but being a mother meant she'd have to give up gymnastics . . . and what about being a Power Ranger. She'd have to give up being the Pink Ranger. What about her teammates? What would the others say? What about her mother, and what would she tell Tommy? She'd have to tell

him something soon; he'd figure it out as soon as her belly started to swell. What would he say...?

Tommy . . . amid the fear and uncertainty, a bubble of happiness floated to the surface. She was going to have a baby --Tommy's baby, something she had dreamed about. Of course, she'd always imagined that it would happen when the two of them were older and certainly not on an alien planet. Thinking of Tommy helped calm Kim down somewhat. Granted, he probably didn't know anymore about babies than she did, but at least she wouldn't have to face this alone. He'd be there for her.

Kim was sitting at the water's edge, her knees pulled up to her chest and sort of rocking back and forth, when Tommy finally came looking for her.

"Kim, are you all right?" he asked.

She looked up at him and saw him give a little start. What had he seen in her face? Happiness? Anxiety? He couldn't have missed the tear streaks. She could tell that he was conscious of the fact that she had vomited again. He sat down beside her and placed a hand on her brow.

"What's wrong? Are you sick?"

Kim glanced up at Tommy, and the confidence that had started to grow a moment ago drained out of her. She felt another weepy-fit coming on, and she bit her lip to try and hold back her tears. Tommy's expression grew more concerned, and Kim almost lost her nerve.

"I think I'm pregnant."

Tommy was too startled to speak for a moment; Kim watched as surprise played across his features. "Are you sure?" he stammered at last.

"As sure as I can be without seeing a doctor. I have the major symptoms, though --morning sickness and I haven't had a period in two months." Kim glimpsed the flicker of amusement

that lit Tommy's eyes as she mentioned her monthly indisposition; she could almost tell what he was thinking about: the cute, cuddly blooding-sucking scavengers that practically attached

themselves to her one week out of the month. Now that she thought about it, she should have realized sooner that something was up. They hadn't seen the little furballs since before nearly

being caught in the temple.

"You're pregnant," Tommy reiterated numbly.

"What do we do?" Kim asked softly.

"Get ready to become parents, I guess," he replied. Kim felt her insides twisting; Tommy looked as scared as she felt. Suddenly, there was something serious about his expression. He looked away as he continued, "Unless . . . ."

"What?"

"I don't know that we could do it, but if you wanted to try and find a way to . . . ."

"To what?" Kim demanded; however, before Tommy could say anything, the answer came to her. Hot, angry tears slipped from her eyes. "Tommy, how could you suggest such a thing! This is a baby we're talking about --our baby! I couldn't . . . ."

"Kim, I don't want you to have an abortion," Tommy assured her, taking her by the shoulders and forcing her to look at him, "but I had to ask. Considering the mess we're in . . . the danger . . . and I'm not going to be the one carrying a child around inside me for nine months or the one who'll have to deal with the pain of giving birth.

"I'm going to be a father . . . ." Tommy's face lit up at his words so much so that Kim was rather taken by surprise. "You don't know what that means to me, Kim. Being adopted . . . ."

"You're adopted? You never said anything about being adopted," Kim murmured.

"That's because it's no big deal. My folks died in a car accident when I was a baby. The hospital couldn't find any other family, so I was put up for adoption," Tommy explained. "I love my folks --my grandparents, cousins and all; they're the only family I've ever known, yet sometimes it's like there's no connection, like I'm not really a part of them. But to have my own family . . . ." The emotions were too strong for Tommy to finish, but Kim understood. Family meant a great deal to her, too, especially since her own had been torn apart by divorce.

"Kim, I know it's a lot sooner than either of us would like, but I'd like nothing better than for you to be the mother of my baby," Tommy choked out at last.

"And you'll make my baby a heck of a father," Kim replied as she brushed away the happy tear that trickled down Tommy's cheek.

Kim returned to the shelter and sat down; she was exhausted. She hated being so tired --not to mention moody-- all the time. Her back ached, her feet were sore, and she was half tempted to strip off her top. Her breasts were so tender that the least little friction was enough to drive her nuts. At least she didn't have morning sickness anymore. She didn't think she was dealing being pregnant very well. Fortunately, Tommy seemed to be handling her condition a lot better than she was; Kim was grateful for his patience.

She emptied the contents of her pouch onto the ground. She had managed to find a wide variety of nuts; she hoped Tommy had better luck hunting. She knew he hated it, but he was adamant about her trying to eat a little better. Sometimes, however, his "you're eating for two, you know," got on her nerves. Still, she knew she needed the protein, and at the moment, she was really tired of roots and nuts. Luckily, both game and edible plants had been abundant in the valley. They had already been there nearly a week, but she knew that wouldn't last. Yet, the extended stay had given her a much needed rest. She couldn't travel as far and as fast as she would have liked to; sometimes she felt she was such a nuisance, holding Tommy back and all. Kim felt a crying fit coming on; she hated crying so much, but she just couldn't help it.

Kim felt a stirring in her abdomen, and she smoothed her hand over her stomach, which was beginning to show signs of swelling. She figured she was somewhere around four or five months (she placed conception about the night they had watched the mating flight). It was only during the past day or two that she started feeling movement within.

"All right, little one, mama will calm down," Kim murmured, patting her stomach. She seemed to notice the movement most whenever she was upset. She couldn't wait for Tommy to feel the baby moving; he'd be ecstatic. In spite of her exhaustion and worry, Kim smiled and felt a warm glow of happiness spread through her as she thought of Tommy's reaction.

A rustling in the bushes interrupted Kim's fond musings, and she reached for her walking stick.

"Hey, Kim," Tommy called out as he entered their little clearing.

"What happened to you!" Kim gasped. Tommy was covered with scratches and sported a black eye.

"Do I have to tell you? It's really kind of stupid," Tommy murmured. He dumped his catch onto the ground. They still didn't know what sort of animal it was, but they had eaten it before. It wasn't too bad, actually.

"I would like to know," Kim scolded as she retrieved the water gourd so she could help clean his cuts. While she was fussing with him, Tommy set a hide covered bowl on the ground. The bowl was actually the outer shell of some kind of fruit; Kim noticed that Tommy's wrap was shorter by a few inches, and he had lost his hair thong.

"What is that?" she queried.

"Something your body really needs."

"What is it?" she repeated, eyeing the container dubiously. She had her reservations about what Tommy thought her body did and did not need.

"Milk." Tommy unwrapped the container and handed her a bowl of fresh, warm milk.

"Where did you get this?" Kim gasped. Fresh milk wasn't exactly her cup of tea --she remembered trying it on a field trip to a dairy farm back in third grade-- but she had to grant that she probably wasn't getting the calcium she needed.

"We're a lot closer to a settlement than we probably should be," Tommy began. Kim knew by the sobriety of his tone that they would be moving on before long. "Anyway, there was a herd of these animals grazing close to the huts. They looked kind of like goats. While I was there, one of the slave-shepherds came out to milk them."

"So you decided to give milking a try when the shepherd wasn't looking, and got kicked in the head," Kim deduced with a laugh. Tommy shrugged with a sheepish smile. "You doofus, you're wonderful, you know that? Thank you." She gave his bruise a kiss to make it better.

"Just trying to do all I can to take care of you."

"You're doing just fine, Tommy. I'm so glad you're here for me," Kim murmured, her eyes getting misty.

"Hey, none of that," Tommy chided gently, wiping her eyes. "We don't want to upset the baby. Hello there." Tommy directed his words directly to Kim's stomach. "How are we today? Are you being a good baby for Mommy?"

Kim smiled and shook her head. Tommy had a thing about talking to her abdomen. Maybe the baby could hear him, she didn't really know, but Tommy looked so sweet and so silly whenever he held a conversation with her belly. Sometimes at night, Tommy would snuggle up next to her and simply rub her rounding stomach. On his face would be an expression of awe and wonderment.

Tommy was busy running his hand over her stomach; Kim watched with tired amusement. All of a sudden, Tommy went still, and his eyes went wide. Kim grinned at the amazement in his eyes.

"Kim . . . ." he began in a choked whisper of disbelief.

"What is it?"

"I think I felt . . . there it is again . . . was that a kick?"

"Uh huh."

"Oh my God." Tommy smiled up at Kim, his eyes bright with tears.

"I think we have another martial artist on the way," Kim mused. She winced as she felt a much stronger throb. "The baby has quite a kick." Tommy flung his arms around Kim, hugging her fiercely.

The moment was shattered by a sudden shrill cry overhead. The two looked to the sky, fear gripping them. A lone flier shot past; he didn't appear to be searching for anything so much as he appeared to be fleeing. His pursuers quickly appeared from the direction of the settlement Tommy had found. Kim and Tommy backed into the cover of their shelter --a cave in the embankment covered by a lean-to. They stayed close enough to the door so that they could watch what was going on.

The fugitive appeared to be slowed by something. His maneuvers had none of the speed and grace that Kim and Tommy had associated with the fliers. If he wasn't careful, he was going to be caught. Suddenly, the flier looped around and dove in close to the trees. In fact, he flew too close and crashed into the branches of one of the flat-topped species that seemed popular to the locale. The sickening sound of breaking branches reached Kim and Tommy's ears, and the pursuers began circling around the crash site. The sextet was armed with spears, which they aimed into the leafy covering.

"The poor thing," Kim murmured, sympathizing with the hunted creature, knowing too-well what he must be feeling. "Isn't there anything we can do to help?"

"Kim, are you nuts?" Tommy hissed back. "I can't stand hanging back here and watching either, but we can't take the chance. I can't handle six of those things by myself --don't even think it." Tommy glared fiercely at Kim as she opened her mouth to offer her fighting skills. "Unless our lives are in immediate danger, I don't want you putting yourself and the baby at risk."

"I'm not helpless, you know," she pouted.

"I know. I just don't want anything to happen to you."

They turned their attention back to the spectacle above the tree tops. Things had been quiet for an awfully long time. The fliers started to hover a little closer, searching for a sign of their prey. Suddenly, a defiant scream shattered the stillness, and the fugitive erupted out of the foliage, leaving his startled pursuers behind. This time, he did not appear to be weighted down, and with powerful wing strokes, he quickly outdistanced the others. Still, they continued the chase.

"I wonder what that was all about?" Tommy murmured as he emerged from the shelter.

"I wonder what he hid in the tree," Kim added. "He had been carrying something, Tommy; I could see a bundle in his arms when he flew in low. Do you think we should have a look?"

"We'd probably better not; someone's bound to be back to look for it, either the one who left it or his followers. We'd better break camp and get out of here before that happens."

Kim sighed. So much for their peace and quiet. As they gathered up their meager belongings and demolished the lean-to, they heard a crashing in the forest. Something --someone-- was coming. The two dove for their cave just as a form burst through the concealing brambles around their campsite. It was a flier --female-- and she collapsed as she reached the clearing and did not move.

"It's one of the wingless one," Kim realized, seeing arms but no additional appendages.

"She looks like she's hurt," Tommy mused. "I bet one of those spears got her."

"Tommy, we can't leave her like this; we've got to do something," Kim insisted as she scrambled out of the cave.

"Kim, be careful," Tommy cautioned, following her. Kim approached the injured woman. "She's so still; is she alive?"

"She's breathing," Kim murmured. She reached out to touch the flier; the female didn't even budge. "There's a deep cut on her arm, and it looks like her ankle is swollen. Help me roll her onto her back." When they did, they made another surprising discovery. "She's pregnant!"

"Very," Tommy echoed. The female's abdomen was swollen as if she were near term. Kim absently ran her hand over the firm swell, feeling a sort of connection with the alien.

"She has another gash in her shoulder," Kim said, continuing her examination. She lifted the veil that shrouded the female's face and found only minor scratches. "We can use this for bandages. Tommy, get the water."

While Kim dabbed at the female's wounds, the flier started coming around. She started thrashing, and her muted cries seemed to be tinged with pain. She slowly opened her eyes. She appeared disoriented.

"Kah-eee?" Then, she spotted Tommy and Kimberly, and her eyes widened with fear. She tried to move, but apparently the pain was too much for her.

"Kim, get back," Tommy advised.

"We have to let her know that we're friends," Kim said.

"How?"

"I have a really strong feeling about this, Tommy; trust me."

Kim drew closer. The female eyed her warily.

"I'm not going to hurt you; I'm a friend," Kim murmured. She wet a section of the veil and dabbed the female's shoulder wound. The female stayed very still as Kim touched her. When Kim sat back, the flier ran her hand over her swollen abdomen in a familiar fashion. "I'm a mother-to-be, too." Kim mirrored the flier's gesture. Then Kim placed her hand on the female's belly. "You and you're baby are going to be all right." Kim was rewarded by an easing in the female's taut muscles; then, the female suddenly became frantic.

"What the . . . " Kim gasped as Tommy pulled her out of the reach of a flailing talon-tipped hand.

"What happened?" Tommy wondered. "It looked like you had gotten through to her."

"I had; something frightened her."

"I don't see or hear any other fliers," Tommy murmured, scanning the area.

"It's all right. You're safe," Kim said, trying to comfort the panicked woman. "What's wrong?" The female chattered angrily, gesturing to something behind Kimberly. "What . . . ?" The only thing Kim saw was Tommy. Then the female made another motion, which clarified things to Kim.

"You're the problem," Kim realized, glancing up at Tommy.

"Huh?"

"It has something to do with her veil. She was fine with me, so maybe males aren't supposed to see the females unveiled."

"But we've seen unveiled females in some of the villages," Tommy reminded her.

"What if the veiled females are those who have mates?" Kim suggested. "Maybe the only male allowed to see a female without her veil is her mate."

"She keeps making those wrapping motions and glaring at me," Tommy observed.

"She thinks you took the veil off," Kim deduced. "It could be symbolic of taking another man's woman."

"Are you going to convince her otherwise? She's getting really upset; she's liable to hurt herself even more or else hurt you."

"I'll try."

Kim did her best to pantomime that she had unveiled the female; she even showed her the torn and bloodied garment. When the flier tried to grab it away from Kim, she aggravated her injuries and gave a yelp of pain.

"Settle down!" Kim scolded, trying to pin the woman down. "This isn't working, Tommy. You're going to have to back off."

"Nothing doing," Tommy refused. "There has to be some way to convince her that I'm not interested in her."

"Wait a minute, remember the mating flight?"

"How could I forget that?" Tommy all but purred.

Kim tossed him a chiding scowl. "This is serious, Tommy."

"I'm sorry. What was it you were trying to get me to remember --besides what we were doing?"

"When the female finally gave in to the male, she bared her neck to him."

"I thought it was a show of submission."

"Maybe if we did something like that, it would demonstrate that I'm your mate and that you're no threat to her," Kim said.

"It's worth a try," Tommy agreed. "Besides, I don't need an excuse to want to nibble on your neck." He bent his head over Kim's exposed flesh and playfully nipped at it.

"Tommy!" Kim giggled, a shiver running through her. This was not the time for that sort of thing.

"Can I help it that you have a very sensitive neck?"

"Oh you . . . ." Kim's comment was lost as Tommy kissed her. It was several moments before the two recalled that they weren't alone. The flier regarded them puzzledly.

"You've nothing to fear; I already have a mate," Tommy said gently, sliding his arms around Kim's middle and stroking her proprietarily. The female watched them intently as they exchanged warm smiles.

"I think maybe we're getting through to her," Kim observed. The female did seem much calmer. "I'm going to try cleaning her wounds again."

"What should I do?"

"Stay close, but I don't think it'd be a good idea for you to touch her." However, as Kim spoke, a rumble of thunder filled the air.

"We can't leave her outside in the rain, and you can't move her by yourself," Tommy pointed out.

"I would give her back her veil, but it's the only thing we have to use for a bandage. Let me try and show her what we mean to do." Kim tapped the woman on the shoulder then pointed to the cave. She pantomimed as best she could that they were going to carry her inside. The female seemed to understand, for she did not fight when Tommy lifted her up.

"How's your patient?" Tommy queried as Kim emerged from the cave. She found him preparing dinner in the clearing. For two days they had been looking after the pregnant flier (although, it seemed incongruous to call the female that since she had no wings); her surface wounds were healing rapidly, but she was still experiencing a great deal of pain.

"Not good; I'm getting really worried."

"Me, too. I can hear her moans out here, and her people have more acute hearing than we do. If we're not careful, she's going to give us away." Tommy didn't need to say it; Kim knew that they had stayed far too long for their own safety. Still, she couldn't abandon the flier.

"Tommy, I think she's in labor."

"What? Are you sure?"

"No, but I just have this feeling in the pit of my stomach."

"Great, we don't even know how we're going to deliver our child, let alone hers."

"I also think something's wrong; I think she's been trying to push, but the baby isn't coming out. We've got to do something for her or we'll lose mother and baby." The thought brought tears to Kim's eyes and with them the fear that such a thing could happen to her.

"Kim, we have no idea what to do; we can't even take her back to the settlement. Her own people drove her away."

"We don't know that. Maybe the flier who dropped her in the forest kidnapped her or something like that."

"Then someone would have come looking for her before now," Tommy pointed out.

"We can't just let her die!"

"Kim, get back in the cave," Tommy said suddenly, his body going rigid.

"What is it?"

"There's someone out there. Before you came out here, I thought I heard something . . . I just caught a glimpse of . . . ." Just then a figure leaped out of the bushes. Taller and broader than Tommy, the violet-hued flier bared his fangs and hissed at the pair, leveling his spear. His nostrils twitched and he cast about the clearing anxiously.

"He's looking for her," Kim realized.

"Kim, get out of here," Tommy urged, shoving her behind him. He had no weapon save the knife, but he pulled it from his makeshift sheath.

"Eee-dah," the flier rumbled menacingly, taking a swipe at Tommy.

From inside the cave came a faint, "Kah-eee."

"Eee-dah!" the flier screeched and charged at Tommy. Tommy leaped clear, and Kim raced for the cave entrance. She didn't want to leave Tommy alone with his adversary, but she had to check on the female; it sounded as if she was really hurting. Kim crawled inside and found the female trying desperately to sit up, but the pain was too much for her.

"Stay still," Kim ordered, but the female continued struggling and calling out "Kah-eee." In the dim firelight, Kim studied the alien woman's face. She recognized the grimace of pain, but there was something else . . . was it hope? An idea began to take shape in Kim's mind.

"Eee-dah?" Kim queried, trying to mimic the sound that Tommy's opponent had made. Recognition flashed in the female's eyes. Kim pointed to her and repeated the word. The female caught on and nodded. Eee-dah was her name. Kim rested her hand on Eee-dah's abdomen. "Kah-eee?" she ventured, hoping Eee-dah would catch her meaning. Eee-dah's eyes narrowed. She wasn't getting it. Kim reached out to touch Eee-dah's face, tracing the outline of the tattoo on the left cheek. "Kah-eee?" she asked again. This time she received a nod. Kim had to get to Tommy quickly.

When she scrambled out of the cave, she found Tommy on the ground, Kah-eee's weapon poised at his chest.

"Kah-eee, no!" she shouted, rushing forward. Her use of his name startled the flier, and Kim was able to knock him away.

"Kim, what are you doing?" Tommy gasped, staggering to his feet.

"This is Eee-dah's mate. Look at his face; he has the same tattoo that she has," Kim explained.

The flier, furious, rose to his full height and lunged toward Kim. Tommy made to interpose himself, but Kim held him back.

"Are you out of your mind?"

"He won't hurt me, Tommy." Kim said, stepping away from him. She faced the enraged flier as calmly as possible. Again, she was working on a hunch, but it felt right. She looked at Kah-eee and passed her hand over her belly in the same manner that Eee-dah used. Kah-eee pulled up short, hissing nervously.

"Why'd he stop?"

"Did you ever have a dog --especially a female who'd had puppies?" Kim queried. "Even the gentlest of dogs can be very mean when it comes to others messing with her puppies. I suspect the same applies here. I can't tell you why or how I know, but the fliers seem to respect pregnant females."

"Well, he still looks like he's going to rip your throat out," Tommy glowered.

"It'll be all right, Tommy. I think I can get through to him, like I did Eee-dah." At the sound of the name, Kah-eee made a hopeful noise. Just then, the flier in the cave gave a shriek that sent cold chills down Kim and Tommy's spines.

"Get in there; I'll bring Kah-eee," Kim directed. Reluctantly, Tommy did as she requested. Kim held her hand out to the nervous flier. "Eee-dah's inside. Come, Kah-eee; Eee-dah needs you." Uncertainly, Kah-eee reached out for Kimberly's hand, and she led him inside.

When they reached the rear of the cave where Eee-dah was resting, they found the flier gripping Tommy's hand as he tried to give her some water. Kah-eee growled dangerously.

"Oh, knock it off," Kim snapped. "Tommy's just trying to help her." Kim let go of his hand and hurried to Eee-dah's other side.

"She feels like she has a fever," Tommy murmured. "I scarcely sat down next to her when a spasm hit. She grabbed my hand. What a grip!"

"She must be bad; she's never reached out to you before," Kim mused. She looked up to Kah-eee. The male flier inched closer; Eee-dah raised up slightly. Upon seeing her mate, she began to croon softly. Kim made room for Kah-eee and moved next to Tommy.

"Now what?" Tommy wondered. Eee-dah still hadn't let go of his hand.

"Let's hope Kah-eee knows what to do for her," Kim murmured. The two mates conversed; Kim had the sense that Eee-dah was trying to explain things, but her pain kept interrupting. Finally, Kah-eee silenced her chatter. He asked a question, and Eee-dah's answer was a fearful nod. Then, the flier looked to Kim and Tommy, and with a series of gestures, issued instructions to the pair.

"I think he wants us to hold her down," Kim mused.

"Should we?"

"He knows more about what she needs than we do," Kim acquiesced. Kim returned to her place on Eee-dah's left. Kah-eee drew up next to her. He favored his mate with what Kim thought was a mournful expression. The chirps they exchanged gave Kim the shivers. It sounds as if he's saying good-bye. Eee-dah closed her eyes and looked away. Kah-eee raised his razor sharp talons.

"No!" Kim shrieked, before she could move, Kah-eee slashed out, tearing open Eee-dah's abdomen. The female's piercing cry hurt Kim's ears, and she and Tommy fought to keep their patient down. With horror in her eyes and tears streaming down her cheeks, she watched as Kah-eee reached in and removed something from Eee-dah's body.

"An egg," Tommy gasped. The flier gently lifted the clear oval from the bloody flesh. Kim could see the shape of the infant within. Kah-eee cradled the shell close; dark streaks of moisture trickled down from his eyes.

"A Cesarean," Kim realized. "She couldn't get the egg out of her body, so he did it for her." Kim glanced down at the dying female. "Oh, Eee-dah, I'm so sorry." Kim looked to Tommy sorrowfully.

"I'm sorry, too, Kim," Tommy murmured. Kim noticed that he was blood spattered.

"Tommy, we can't let her die; we have to do something. That baby needs its mother."

"Kim, there isn't anything . . . ."

"We can try, damn it," Kim snapped. "We have to try and stopped the bleeding." Kim wasn't really thinking, merely acting on impulse, as she grabbed the remains of Eee-dah's veil and pressed them into the open wound. "Find me something else."

"What do you have in mind?" Tommy asked as he quickly handed Kim the pelts left from their last couple of meals.

"Her other wounds healed really quickly; the gash on her shoulder was completely gone in two days. If we can somehow stop the bleeding and get her bandaged . . . ." Tommy helped Kim apply pressure to the wound, causing Eee-dah to gasp. Kim took that as a good sign; it meant they hadn't lost her yet.

"I don't know, Kim; this is a much deeper wound."

"I'm not so sure. Look at Kah-eee's claws; the blood barely covers the tips. All we can do is try."

"All right, but we're going to need more materials for bandages," Tommy pointed out.

"Kah-eee," Kim said, and she had to repeat herself several times before she got the grief-stricken flier's attention. Kim held up the bits of cloth and fur that they were using to pack the wound. "We need more of this. Can you find some? For Eee-dah. We need this for Eee--dah." The flier looked at her in total incomprehension. "God, I wish you could speak English! For Eee-dah. Please!"

Kah-eee looked from Kim to Tommy to Eee-dah; Kim was reward to see that he seemed to make the connection. He nodded, and Kim wanted to shed tears of relief. Kah-eee reached for Kim's hands and pulled them from Eee-dah's abdomen.

"Keep up the pressure, Tommy," Kim said, not quite sure what Kah-eee intended. With great reluctance, Kah-eee placed the egg into her arms.

"I think he wants you to sit on his egg," Tommy joked humorlessly.

"It's so warm," Kim murmured as her hands slid over the smooth, slightly sticky surface. Her face was alight with wonder as she glimpsed the tiny form within. "Look at those tiny wings!" Kah-eee chittered something at her; Kim knew with her heart what he was asking. "I'll protect it as if it was my own," she assured the flier. That seemed to satisfy Kah-eee, for he backed out of the cave to be about his errand.

Kah-eee returned sometime later; he and Tommy set to bandaging Eee-dah while Kim cradled the unconscious female's head in her lap and warmed the egg with her body. When they were finished, all that remained was the waiting.

It was a tense two days. Eee-dah did not seem to get any better, but she didn't get any worse. Kah-eee had practically taken over as the leader of their small group. Tommy had given over to the flier's direction with surprisingly little objection. To him fell the job of guarding the camp. Kim was relegated to the role of surrogate mother, and she chafed at her duties more than Tommy. Kah-eee did all the hunting and on more than one occasion confounded would-be discovery.

"How much longer do you think she'll be out?" Tommy wondered as he helped Kim force some water down Eee-dah's throat.

"I wish I knew," Kim sighed tiredly. "I think the baby is going to hatch soon." She had taken to carrying the egg around with her in a sling-type pouch. She ran her hand over the warm surface. "I think the outer shell is getting more transparent, thinner even."

"Let's hope it doesn't latch onto you as its mommy," Tommy teased. Just then they heard Kah-eee's sounding. "Dinner's arrived."

Kim's face went a little pale. The first time Kah-eee had brought home dinner, he dumped the bloody carcass practically in Kim's lap. She promptly lost it, to Kah-eee's consternation. It was fairly obvious from the shredded remains that Kah-eee had already eaten, so Tommy claimed what was left for him and Kimberly. Kim wasn't sure which puzzled Kah-eee more: Tommy doing the cooking or the cooking in general. Kah-eee preferred his meat raw.

"I'll take care of things here; go check on Eee-dah," Tommy advised. Kim was grateful not to have to see what Kah-eee had brought home this time.

"Kah-eee's back," Kim murmured to the sleeping flier. She always talked to Eee-dah; it made her feel better somehow. She slipped the sling over her head and fastened it around Eee-dah; the egg spent a little time each day with its mother. "Please wake up soon; your baby needs you." They had already changed the bandages --the wound did look as if it was beginning to mend--so there was nothing for Kimberly to do but sit with the sleeping female. It was at those moments that her fears for her own child's safety crept up on her. What would they do if they didn't get back home before she was due to deliver? What if there were complications?

Please, Zordon, find us soon, she prayed with all her heart. She buried her face in her hands so as to stifle her sobs; she didn't want Tommy to hear. She didn't want him to know how worried and scared she was.

Kim heard a soft coo and felt a hand on her arm. Thinking it to be Kah-eee (in spite of his fierceness, the flier could be surprisingly gentle --not unlike Tommy), Kim looked up but saw no one beside her. The coo was repeated, and she glanced down. Eee-dah peered up at her with concern in her eyes.

"Ohmigod, you're awake!" Kim gasped, throwing her arms around the flier in a joyful hug. "I'll get Tommy and Kah-eee." A quick crawl had her at the cave's entrance. "Tommy, Kah-eee, Eee-dah's . . . ."

"Sh!" Tommy hissed, cupping his hand over her mouth. Both he and the flier were searching about nervously. Kim picked up on their tense mood, and her eyes darted about fearfully. Then, she heard it: the whine of a skysled. It would only be a matter of time before they would hear their ground searchers with their blipping tracking devices.

"Are they looking for them or us?" Kim whispered.

"Probably us," Tommy replied. "Why send slavers if they're after Kah-eee and Eee-dah?" Kah-eee touched Tommy's shoulders and beckoned for him to follow. "Go back in the cave; I'll be right back."

Kim gave Tommy a quick peck then reluctantly let him go. She ducked inside the shelter but didn't venture back to where Eee-dah rested. She didn't want to distress the recovering mother. After what seemed like an eternity, the two men returned.

"This streambed extends for quite a ways; parts of it are heavily overgrown. If we follow it through the woods, the aerial patrols won't be able to see us. We should be able to make it to the hills where there are more caves," Tommy explained.

"What about Kah-eee and Eee-dah? She's regained consciousness, but she isn't strong enough to be moved yet," Kim said.

"They can't stay here either. They're going to have to risk it," Tommy answered. "Let's gather up our stuff and get a move on."

"All right, but first . . . ." Kim hurried into the cave. She flung her arms around Eee-dah in a fierce hug. "Be safe, Eee-dah. I hope you and your baby are okay." Outside the cave, Kah-eee waited anxiously to see them off. "Thank you, Kah-eee; good luck."

"Come on, Kim," Tommy urged. Taking her hand, he led her into the tall grasses. Shortly after they left the clearing, they paused, hearing Kah-eee's sounding. Turning, they saw the flier take to the air, his precious burden tucked into his arms. There was no sign of immediate pursuit. Tommy started off again, but Kim continued watching their friends fly away. Tommy put a hand on her shoulder. "They'll be all right. You'll see."

"I hope so." Then, she took Tommy's hand, and they resumed their flight.

Stupid cramps, Kim groused as she tried to shift around and get comfortable again; however, that was practically impossible thanks to her exceedingly large belly. She sighed. She no longer cared whether or not she made it home before the baby was born; she just wanted her pregnancy to be over with. She was tired of her aching back, her swollen feet, and her distended abdomen. God, how can Tommy stand to look at me? She felt another twinge and sighed. There'd be no going back to sleep now. Still, her dream had lifted her spirits somewhat. It continued to ring true in her heart, which meant that the others had all made it back home safely. She and Tommy were the only ones left. It wouldn't be long now. Kim rolled over to tell Tommy about her dream, only to find him missing. Then she discovered that she was cold and wet. That was the other thing she hated about being pregnant --the weak bladder.

Ah well, at least Tommy isn't here to tease me about it. Kim cast about the hut to see if she could find something to wipe up the mess.

The two had been living in the remains of the dwelling for the last two weeks. Kim just could not travel any longer, and the two decided that they would have to settle down and await the arrival of the baby. Kim figured she had to be pretty close to term; she felt as if she would pop at any minute. They had selected the valley carefully, making certain there were no flier settlements close by. In deciding on a likely camp, they almost hadn't seen the shelter, overgrown as it was with plants and things. They had been surprised to find it pretty much intact; it required only a bit of work to make it habitable. The other nice thing was that it was situated close to a well; the water was pure and fresh. Food was plentiful . . . they felt safe and secure . . . it was almost too idyllic. Both Kim and Tommy felt slightly on edge, just waiting for everything to come crashing in on them.

Kim figured that Tommy was out looking for breakfast. She felt so useless of late. It seemed all she wanted to do was sleep. Kim forced herself to get up; she refused to spend the day just lazing around. The hut needed straightening; the water pitcher was empty. Taking it to the well wouldn't be too taxing, and if she couldn't hoist the bucket Tommy had rigged up, the river wasn't that much farther away. Determined to do something, she collected the chipped piece of crockery and made her way outside.

It was a perfectly beautiful day; she had never seen the sky look so blue. The temperature was wonderful, and only a slight breeze rustled the leaves. Maybe later, she and Tommy could go swimming. She liked swimming; it was the only time when she didn't feel so ungainly and awkward. She hoped Tommy would be back soon as another cramp pinched her abdomen. She was sure that food would help settle her stomach.

Whatever was distressing her was bothering the baby as well. She felt a restless motion inside her. Soon, little one; I can feel it, she assured the fitful child within, running her hand over her belly. The motion made her think of Kah-eee and Eee-dah, and she wondered how the family was doing. She wished she had some idea of what had been going on. In idle moments, she had constructed an elaborate fantasy. She envisioned a Romeo and Juliet scenario: Kah-eee was from a winged clan, Eee-dah was not, but they fell in love anyway. They ran off together and got married (or had their own version of the mating flight), then Kah-eee's family found out about them and sought to split the lovers up --without realizing that a child had been conceived. She imagined that after she and Tommy had left, they had gotten away and had found a safe valley to live in.

Kim sighed. Thinking of Kah-eee and Eee-dah also made her think about her and Tommy's situation. What were they going to do once they got home? What would their parents think? Here they were with a child, and they weren't even married . . . well, not by any judge or church official. In spite of her melancholy, Kim smiled as she recalled their conversation about that matter.

It was a beautiful sentiment, and she loved Tommy dearly for it, but it wouldn't carry much weight when they got home.

Just then, a cloud past overhead, casting a cold shadow on the ground. Kim shivered, hoping it would drift away soon. She peered at the sky, and her heart shrank. It wasn't a cloud, but a skysled. Kim slowly drifted towards the cover of the trees; her heart was pounding. Don't draw attention to yourself; they may not have seen you. Where was Tommy? Surely he was aware of the sleds. Why hadn't he come to get her up unless . . . had he been captured? Kim felt the fear inside her rise uncontrollably.

Easy does it; there's no need to panic. Tommy's probably spying on these guys right now, trying to figure out the best way to get us out of this. Kim forced herself to calm down, and she waited to move until the sled had flown off.

She was torn. Should she go back to the hut or continue on to the well? She wanted to get back to the safety of their home, but common sense told her that they might have to hide out in the hut for an extended period of time, and if that happened, they'd need to have water and other supplies on hand. As Kim continued on to the well, another cramp hit, only this time it felt as if she had been kicked in the stomach by a putty. She felt her knees buckle and her toes curl, and she dropped the pitcher, shattering it, as she wrapped her arms around her abdomen.

Contractions. She was in labor. All thoughts of the slavers fled before that realization. What was she going to do? She tried not to panic; she tried to recall all the things she had ever seen in the movies or read or heard about childbirth. She had to figure out how far apart her contractions were, but how could she time them without a watch? Maybe if I start counting to sixty when I feel the pain start again . . . but how far apart were they supposed to be? Dilated . . . she knew she had to be so many centimeters dilated, but she couldn't remember how many or how to tell ... the baby had to be turned right . . . another contraction hit, and it seemed much stronger than the last one. It was awfully close to the other . . . weren't women supposed to be in labor for hours before giving birth. Things were happening too quickly. Where was Tommy? She needed him --now!

"Tommy!" she called out, but another spasm made her cry little more than a gasp for air. She was afraid to call too loudly; she couldn't afford to draw the slavers' attention.

In the wake of the last wrenching pain and before the start of the next, Kim heard a rustling in the bushes; however, she was incapable of reacting if it was a slaver. To her immense relief it was Tommy; however, he didn't see her curled up on the ground. He raced toward their tiny dwelling.

"Kim?" he called out softly as he emerged again.

"Over . . . uhg!"

"Kim! What's wrong? We gotta get out of here; the fliers are back, and so are the slavers. They've found us."

"I know. I don't care. It's the baby, Tommy. I'm having the baby." Kim gritted her teeth to keep from screaming. She reached out for Tommy's hand and gripped it with all her might. Tommy flinched.

"All right. What do I do?" Tommy asked nervously.

Kim's head whipped up and she gaped at him in disbelief. She wanted to shout, I don't know! but she looked at Tommy's pale face. He was trying so hard to master his fear so she wouldn't see, but she had glimpsed it. Her anger melted; Tommy probably knew less about childbirth than she did.

"Help me lay down," she suggested. Tommy did his best to make her comfortable.

"Should I go get the blanket or something from the house?" he queried.

" . . . no time . . . I need to brace my legs . . . ."

Tommy located two large stones that had fallen out of the well wall. He rolled them over to Kim and managed to get her legs propped up.

"What next?"

"Ten centimeters," Kim said, finally remembering. "I gotta be dilated ten centimeters."

"How can you tell?"

"How should I know? How long is a centimeter?" she panted.

"Didn't Billy once say that a centimeter was approximately the distance from the tip of you thumb to the first knuckle or something like that?"

"I . . . think so."

"But my thumb is a lot larger than yours or his."

"So it won't be exact! Just see if the opening is big enough!" Kim didn't mean to shout at Tommy, and she was trying to keep her head. However, the note of panic in her voice seemed to settle Tommy down. That was helpful. It wouldn't do them any good if both of them lost it, and Tommy was in the best position to remain cool. Tommy pushed Kim's garment out of the way. Impossibly, she felt herself blushing. It was absurd; it wasn't as if Tommy had never had his hands between her legs before.

"You're pretty close."

"The head . . . it has to be down." Please let it be down. Please don't let there be any complications!

"How do I tell?"

"Stick your hand in and find out for goodness sakes!" Kim's tone was more strident than before.

"Easy, Beautiful. It'll be all right. Shouldn't you be breathing or something?"

If another contraction hadn't hit, Kim would have swatted Tommy but good. With her muscles stretched out so much, Tommy was able to get his fingers up into the birth canal.

"I . . . oh man, Kim . . . I feel the baby's head! It's down." Tommy sounded rather awed.

Kim suddenly had the most overwhelming urge to push. Gritting her teeth and digging her hands into the grass, she gave herself over to her body's instincts. There was no time for talking after that. Kim pushed and breathed, and Tommy tried to keep her calm and encourage her but was generally inadequate to alleviate any of her suffering. She wanted Tommy to hold her but knew he couldn't; he had to help the baby. Kim's groans and shrieks echoed loudly through the unusually still forest.

"How much longer?" Kim sobbed weakly. She felt as if she had been pushing for hours.

"Hang in there; just a little bit more."

"I don't think I can. It hurts so much, and I'm so tired."

"You can do it, Kim. You're real close. I think I see the head. Try, Kim. Just a little more."

Kim pushed, and suddenly something in her mind seemed to snap. It was like her entire being went numb for a moment. There was no pain . . . no nothing. Then, as if she was waking up, the world around her began to return to normal. The blue sky was above her again. She could hear the sounds of the forest. Kim collapsed onto the grass exhausted and overjoyed that the pain was gone . . . no more pain! That meant the baby . . . suddenly, the world seemed almost too quiet.

"Tommy?" she groaned. He didn't answer, and she began to get worried. Why didn't he say something? Why wasn't the baby crying? Oh God, was something wrong with her baby? Kim struggled to push herself onto her elbows. Tommy was still kneeling between her legs. Kim saw his face; it was filled with wonder and joy. Tears spilled down his cheeks as he gazed at the tiny bundle in his hands.

"Tommy?" she called again, smiling tiredly at his expression. With difficulty, she sat up and reached out to touch Tommy's wet face.

"He's beautiful, Kim," Tommy choked out as he placed their son in Kim's arms.

"Just like his father," Kim murmured as her own tears began to fall. "Hello, little Tommy; Mommy and Daddy are so happy to see you."

"Little Tommy?"

"I'd thought we'd name him after you," Kim said shyly.

"Tommy James Oliver, Junior," Tommy whispered thoughtfully, and he wrapped his arms around mother and child, hugging them jubilantly.

"Do you have the knife, Tommy? We need to cut the cord," Kim said as she played with her child's little fingers and toes. TJ, as she nicknamed him, had a head of thick brown hair, and when he briefly opened his tiny little eyes, she saw that they were as dark as Tommy's. Kim was concerned that he hadn't cried yet, but she didn't have the heart to smack his bottom. She could tell that he was breathing; then, he began fidgeting and making mewling noises.

"It's getting a little cool out here; maybe I'd better go get a blanket for you two . . . ."

"Tommy . . . !" Kim's eyes were wide with terror, and ice cold fear closed her throat. Just beyond Tommy she saw the broad form of a purple flier. Her gaze flickered briefly from the threat behind Tommy to catch his eyes. His expression was set with determination, and he changed his grip on the knife. Kim pulled TJ deeper into her bosom, seeking to shelter him somehow.

Tommy whirled quickly, catching the flier off guard. The knife flashed across the winged warrior's midsection, drawing blood. The flier backed away a few paces, holding its abdomen. Tommy kept his body between Kim and the alien, obscuring Kim's view. The flier hissed something at Tommy. It was almost like a sounding . . . ."

"Tommy, stop! It's Kah-eee," Kim realized, recognizing the weak call.

"Kah-eee?" Tommy queried. The flier nodded, and Tommy dropped the knife. He rushed over to help their wounded friend. "Oh man, I'm sorry . . . I didn't know . . . ." Kah-eee, however, brushed off Tommy's assistance. He started making insistent gestures.

"What's he trying to tell you?" Kim wondered.

"I'm not sure."

Kah-eee dropped to the ground and began scratching something into the dirt.

"He's drawing pictures?" Kim murmured. She hadn't thought of trying to communicate with the fliers through pictures. The two men were quiet for an awfully long time, and Kim wished she could see.

"He's telling me that a lot of fliers are out there --if I'm reading this right," Tommy related. "I think he was one of the advance search party. He's trying to help us. He wants me to carry you to the river then circle back. He'll divert attention from us."

Kah-eee peered anxiously at the pair; the cause for his anxiety was evident in the growing sound of approaching voices.

"What do you think?" Tommy queried.

"He trusted us with the safety of his unborn child once," Kim murmured, glancing down at their own.

Wanting to have a weapon just in case, Tommy made to retrieve the knife, but Kah-eee shook his head.

"Leave it, Tommy; I think Kah-eee needs it for his plan," Kim observed.

Carefully, Tommy scooped mother and child into his arms. "Thank you, Kah-eee," he murmured, then he quickly disappeared into the brush.

Kim did her best to watch Tommy's back as they fled, yet at the same time she tried to curl herself protectively about their son. Tommy did little to cover their trail; not that it would have helped. Kim was still bleeding --not heavily, but enough that a tiny trail of drops followed them.

"Tommy, we've got to clean the blood off me and TJ, otherwise those scavengers are going to pop up and give us away," Kim said.

They quickly achieved the small river, and Tommy waded out a ways from the bank.

"Can you stand?" he asked, trying to draw in a deep breath. Kim knew he'd never admit it, but she had probably pushed the limits of his strength.

"Can or can't doesn't matter. I have to," she replied. Her legs were still wobbly as she set them under her; Tommy had to help steady her. Kim handed TJ to Tommy and stripped off her poncho-dress. Incorporated into her maternity garment were the last scraps left from the pink dress she had worn at the start of their bizarre odyssey. "Use this to clean TJ then wrap him in my dress," Kim instructed.

"Won't this water be too cold for him? Not that we have a choice," Tommy amended upon catching Kim's expression.

Kim ducked down into the water and found it warmer than she expected. She quickly washed off the grime and blood then helped Tommy tend to the baby. TJ wasn't too fond of his first bath and started fussing.

"Sh, sweetie, this is no time to cry," Kim whispered soothingly, but her son was having none of it. They bathed him quickly then tucked him into Kim's dress. Kim wrapped him safely into her arms, holding him close to her bosom.

"We've got to get moving," Tommy instructed, glancing back the way they had come nervously.

"All right," Kim said tiredly, but when Tommy made to pick her up, she refused. "Save your strength for a bit; I can make it with a little help. Which way should we go?"

"Kah-eee didn't specify; we were just supposed to make it back to the clearing by the house," Tommy said.

"If we stay in the water a bit longer, we won't leave a trail . . . ."

" . . . until we return to the bank." Tommy thought over the matter a moment. "Let's head upstream."

"Upstream? Won't that take a lot of extra time and energy?" Kim wondered.

"Probably, but the slavers will know that, too, and figure that since we were in such a hurry to get away, we'd take the easiest path." With that, the two started fighting against the current.

TJ began fussing again, and Kim pressed him even tighter to her chest. She felt his tiny mouth instinctively rooting around against her breast.

"Geezus!" she gasped sharply as TJ latched onto her nipple and began nursing.

"What's wrong?"

"He's got quite a grip," Kim winced, tears smarting her eyes.

"Like his dad, he knows a good thing when he sees it," Tommy teased. Kim scowled but didn't have the strength to smack him.

The two trudged upstream until Kimberly almost couldn't go on. Tommy resumed carrying his precious burden and worked his way back towards their home. The trio arrived at the clearing to find Kah-eee being treated for his abdominal wound by another flier. They shrank back into the cover of the brush and waited tensely. Kah-eee was talking to his comrade, making gestures. It was as if he was telling the other flier to leave him and rejoin the others. He finally managed to convince the other, and after exchanging soundings, the other flier took off. Kah-eee rested beside the well, looking around hopefully. That was their signal.

"Thank you, Kah-eee," Kim said gratefully. "Now what?"

Kah-eee quickly scratched new pictures into the ground.

"You want me to carry Kim then you will carry all of us?" Tommy queried, staring at the drawings puzzledly. Kah-eee pointed towards the sky, to the mountain in the distance.

"You want to take us there?" Kim murmured doubtfully.

"That's an awful long way, and you're hurt," Tommy objected, pointing to Kah-eee's bandaged abdomen. Kah-eee quickly undid the cloth and smeared aside the thick gore underneath.

"Gross," Kim groaned, looking away, her stomach feeling queasy.

"The knife wound was barely a scratch," Tommy realized. "It looks like Kah-eee used the blood and stuff from you to make things look worse than they really are."

"I really didn't need to know that," Kim complained, feeling a little lightheaded. What do you expect? You just gave birth--you shouldn't have been able to get up off the ground, let alone walk up a river. Chalk it up to adrenaline. Kim put a hand on Kah-eee's arm. "Can you carry all three of us?" She pointed down at his crude picture as she asked her question. In response, Kah-eee unfurled his wings and flexed his muscles. "Show off," she muttered.

"We don't have much of a choice," Tommy said.

"All right," Kim sighed.

"Here, finish nursing TJ, and I'll go gather up a few things," Tommy offered.

There was little to be done for TJ; he had already eaten his fill and was sound asleep. Tommy quickly returned with their supply pouch and the blanket. He wrapped it around Kim's shivering form.

"All set?" he queried.

"All set," Kim agreed nervously. Tommy gathered her in his arms, then Kah-eee caught Tommy under his armpits and leaped into the air. Somehow, the flier managed to stifle his sounding as he became airborne.

"Oh man, Kim, this is fantastic!" Tommy gasped as they rose above the treetops.

"If I look, I'm going to throw up," Kim said through gritted teeth. She concentrated on keeping TJ warm; the wind was decidedly cool. In spite of her words, every now and again, Kim would take a peek. She never looked down, only straight ahead, keeping her eyes on the solitary mountain that loomed ever closer.

"It's probably a dormant volcano," Tommy realized.

The strain of carrying three passengers was beginning to take its toll on Kah-eee; however, they managed to reach their destination before the flier's wings gave out. He set Tommy and Kim down in a clearing before a stone archway. He pointed to the construct and shook his head as if to say "don't venture beyond that point."

"Yanna," the flier intoned solemnly, with a slight bow of his head.

"His god?" Kim wondered.

"Seems likely. Look at the pictures carved into the stones; they depict a flier that's been painted white," Tommy said. Kim stepped over to get a closer look.

"Yanna?" she queried, pointing to the white flier.

"Yanna," Kah-eee confirmed.

"If this is their holy ground, why bring us here?" Tommy inquired.

"Maybe Kah-eee feels this is a place of safety," Kim speculated.

Having caught his second wind, Kah-eee prepared to leave. Tommy stepped forward to offer his hand, but the flier didn't know what to make of the gesture.

"Thank you," he said, closing his hand around Kah-eee's and shaking it.

"Give our best to Eee-dah," Kim murmured, also coming forward to give Kah-eee a hug. Again, he was perplexed by the move. Kim exhaled in exasperation; she wanted Kah-eee to understand how grateful she and Tommy were for all his help. Recalling his pictures, she decided to try a form of communication that they hadn't attempted so far. She signed the words "thank you."

Kah-eee's expression lit up, and he returned the sign for "you're welcome" (or a close approximation of it).

"He knows sign language!" Kim exclaimed brightly.

"Too bad we didn't know that back in the cave," Tommy sighed. "Is it the same as the sign language you know?"

"Pretty close. Since he has fewer fingers than we do, some of the signs aren't quite right."

"What's he saying?"

" 'Must go . . . others look . . . him soon. Safe here. Baby make . . . female safe. Yanna make . . . mate safe. Yanna mountain . . . no kill . . . here.'" Kim translated.

"That probably means no hunting," Tommy mused. Kim signed his comment as best she could.

" 'No kill . . . white animals. Yanna animals,'" Kim relayed. "Makes sense. Yanna's color is white, so white animals are sacred to him or her."

"Too bad I don't have my Ranger Powers," Tommy joked.

Their conversation was interrupted by cries in the distance. The three adults turned to see fliers and skysleds rising above the treetops.

"You'd better go," Kim's fingers flashed out of Kah-eee. "Tell Eee-dah I think of her."

Kah-eee nodded, then swiftly and silently he took to the air. He stayed low to the trees until he was a ways from where he had left Kim and Tommy. The two watched until Kah-eee was safely away. Kim sank wearily beside the stone archway, and Tommy joined her. Kim unwrapped TJ, who was still sound asleep.

"Well, little one, you certainly had an eventful first day," she murmured, then she smiled up at Tommy who was watching them both with moist eyes.

"Is it just me, or has it been unusually quiet today?" Kim queried as she returned to her place by the fire.

She and Tommy had finished eating and were settling down for the evening. TJ had nursed and was fast asleep on Tommy's chest. Kim smiled indulgently as she watched father and son; Tommy never ceased to amaze her. He was so fascinated by everything having to do with TJ (except for dirty diapers, but he never shirked his turn). At the moment, Tommy was idly stroking the tiny fingers clenched around his index finger, a smile of amazement and pure love on his face.

Since their arrival on Yanna's mountain, their lives had been calm --as calm as life could be with a newborn. They had been in their new home for nearly three weeks without seeing a sign of fliers, slavers, or anything larger than small game. They had spent their first day in the mountainside forest out in the open, but the next day Tommy had found a perfect base for their dwelling --a section of trees had been blown over. Plugging the gaps between the stacked branches and trunks with mud, they converted the debris into a serviceable home. This way, it wouldn't look too obviously like a construct. It wasn't very large; Kim couldn't even stand up straight in it. That wasn't too much of a problem, for they spent most of their time outdoors. Still, there was room for Tommy to stretch out fully when he slept, a cradle, and a small fire pit. Kim wasn't sure what they would do when the weather turned cold, but she knew that they wouldn't be there when the seasons changed. Her dreams had been coming with more frequency of late, and each time their friends were closer to finding them.

The two explored the territory around their home as much as possible. They found a stream not too far away, and there were plenty of fruit and nut bearing bushes. They had even managed to find some roots that tasted rather like carrots (but they were blue!). The one area they didn't investigate was beyond the archway. Kim couldn't explain it, but she got cold chills whenever they ventured too close to the structure. Tommy had taken a peek at what lay beyond; he wouldn't tell Kim what he saw, but it had been enough to make him nervous.

"I don't know; it's been quiet ever since we set up camp here," Tommy pointed out. Kim held her hands out for TJ in order to tuck him into his bed. Tommy surrendered him reluctantly.

"I know. I don't like it."

"I thought you were tired of all the excitement of being chased and everything," Tommy replied.

"Believe me, I can live without that, but that's not what I meant," Kim elaborated. "The woods have been really still today; even the breeze hasn't made much noise. It's like the calm before a storm."

"I wish you wouldn't have said that; you have this annoying habit of being right." Kim made a face at Tommy, sticking her tongue out at him, and Tommy laughed. Then, as if on cue, in the distance, the two heard the sound of drums.

Tommy quickly doused the fire and covered it over with dirt. Kim snatched up TJ's makeshift cradle and carried it to the back of the hut. She kicked at the dirt in the far corner, revealing a crude tarp, which she pulled back, and under it was a mat of woven branches. Hidden beneath that was their "storm cellar." It had seen them safely through one wicked thunderstorm, but this was the first time they had had to use it to hide from unwanted visitors. Kim situated TJ inside then waited for Tommy to join them. Tommy dropped down beside her and pulled the camouflage back in place.

"Why now, Tommy?" Kim hissed fearfully. "Things were going so well . . . ."

"That's exactly why," Tommy joked grimly.

" . . . and the others are so close to finding us --that's what my dreams have been telling me. We'll be out of here soon, so why can't they just leave us alone?"

"Take it easy, Kim; we can't panic yet," Tommy reassured her. He put his arms around her, but this was one of those times where even his embrace couldn't banish her uneasiness.

Beyond the darkness of their hiding place, the drumming grew louder. There was movement--the sound of feet stamping the ground, and they could hear chanting voices.

"It sounds like they're saying 'Yanna,'" Tommy murmured.

"There seems to be an awful lot of feet out there," Kim whispered. She cast a worried glance at TJ, hoping he wasn't disturbed by all the noise. Whatever was going on outside was happening too close to their house; if he should start crying, the fliers would be able to hear it. "Do you think they could be gathering for some kind of religious ceremony --and not to hunt us down-- like they did for the mating flight?"

"Probably. This is holy ground, according to Kah-eee," Tommy added. The drums and the feet and the voices kept coming. The procession of worshippers was so near that they could hear the popping of torches and smell the charred wood.

"It's been rather dry lately," Kim said, "it wouldn't take much to start a forest fire if a hot ember fell in just the right place."

"Tell you what, why don't I go topside and keep an eye on things," Tommy suggested.

"Do you think that's wise?"

"If they're going up to that creepy altar I saw, they're not going to be paying attention a clump of muddy trees."

"All right, but be careful," Kim urged, giving Tommy a fierce kiss and hug. Tommy lifted the edge of the mat and peered out. Satisfied that the coast was clear, he crawled out of the cellar. Kim didn't replace the cover at once. Biting her lower lip anxiously, she watched as Tommy crept towards the crude windows. She read the depth of his tension in every taut line in his body. As she crouched in the safety of their shallow cellar, Kim felt the kiss of the breeze, and it brought the smell of smoke.

"Tommy, something's burning!" Kim gasped softly.

"I smell it, too."

"It's awfully close . . . one of those popping torches . . . ."

"Kim, you and TJ get out of here. Use the tunnel, and I'll meet you by the tree," Tommy instructed.

"What are you going to do?"

"Put out the fire."

"Tommy, you can't . . . ."

"If I don't, we'll all be caught in the forest fire. The last of the fliers has passed us by; I should be okay. Just hurry. For all we know, the hut's on fire."

Although she didn't like it, Kim knew Tommy was right. She ducked back into the cellar and transferred TJ to the sling-carrier. He stirred only slightly and quickly settled down as he snuggled against Kim's chest. While she was securing their son, Tommy uncovered the other safety precaution they had built into their home: a tunnel that would carry them a good distance away from the house. They didn't want to wind up trapped in their home.

"Do what you can, but don't . . . ." Kim murmured; she didn't dare voice her fears.

"I'll be careful, Love," Tommy assured her with a kiss. "Get going."

Her heart in her throat, Kim disappeared into the darkness of the earth. She couldn't have said which fear had ascendancy at any particular moment: her fear of the dark or her fear for Tommy's safety. She made the crawl in record time, and she emerged at the opening high above the stream. She slipped out easily and silently crossed the swift ribbon of water. Once on the opposing bank, she made directly for an enormous gnarled tree. Its twisted trunk was dotted with knots and knobs from branches long broken off; Kim could easily make the climb into the upper boughs, even while carrying TJ. The tree was one of the largest in the area, and they had designated their rendezvous point midway up the tree. There was a hollow spot in the trunk with an excellent view of the terraced hillside beyond the carved archway. They could see without being seen. Kim scrambled up to a sturdy limb and made herself comfortable, then she checked on TJ. He was still sound asleep.

"You'd probably sleep through a monster attack on Angel Grove, eh little one?" she whispered fondly. She stroked TJ's rounded cheek, then turned her attention to the spectacle before her.

Kim had not seen such a conglomeration of fliers since she had been on the auction block in the amphitheater. There were so many . . . and there seemed to be some sort of order to the gathering. Four major groups were further subdivided into smaller knots, each with its own banner. They're grouped by the style of their headdresses, Kim realized. The drums were still pounding, and the fliers were still moving into place. She thought it strange that the latecomers did not fly, unless that was forbidden on Yanna's mountain.

Since the fliers weren't doing anything of interest yet, Kim turned her attention to the dais; it was outfitted much as the ruined temple had been with a single stone table, the grey masonry stained nearly black. She glimpsed white shapes cluttered around the base of the altar . . . bones, Kim realized, recalling the debris in the trough she and Tommy had hidden in. She went cold inside as she wondered what sort of sacrifice the fliers offered to their god. Some of the skulls she saw looked rather like flier skulls.

Oh, God, Tommy, where are you? Kim wondered, frantic as the drumming ceased. In the silence, four fliers approached the steps of the dais --one from each of the four main groups. The blood in Kim's veins turned to ice as she recognized one of the females, the one who wanted her and Tommy dead. Suddenly, there was a rustling in the leaves below her. Kim turned to find Tommy climbing up to her perch. He looked all right, though his face was streaked with sweat and soot. He coughed softly.

"What happened?" she asked, hugging him gratefully.

"It was the roof," he replied. "I was able to contain it; we didn't lose much. What's going on here?"

"I think they're going to sacrifice someone to Yanna," Kim said. She prayed it wasn't a flier, for she had the most horrible feeling . . . .

The four leaders stood before the altar and called the assembled worshippers to order. Then, they turned their backs to the gathering, and, raising their arms as if in supplication, began a new chant. Behind them, leaders from the clans of one of the larger factions stepped forward; following them were warriors bearing a cage. Inside was an emerald-hued, wingless female.

"Tommy," Kim began nervously, her hand catching his arm.

"She's too small to be Eee-dah," Tommy assured her, knowing what she feared, "and she unmated --no veil. It's hard to tell from this distance, but she doesn't look afraid."

Kim had to agree with Tommy's assessment. The cage was set down, and the door opened. The female stepped out and approached the altar on her own. In fact, she climbed up on the surface and stretched herself out. The four chieftains took a position at each of the corners and fastened the offering down, then they stepped away. They remained on the stairs as they continued their invocation. The drums resumed their pounding, and the others in the gathering took up the resounding cry of "Yanna!"

Kim pulled TJ closer as her anxiety mounted. The tempo of the drums grew faster; she felt her pulse racing as if the drums dictated the pace of her heartbeat. She wished she could put her hands over her ears to shut out the chanting of the fliers. The sound crescendoed, the shouts of "Yanna" becoming a thunderous roar. Kim felt her cry bubbling within in her. No more! she wanted to shriek. Then, it stopped. Just like that. The only sound was the sighing of the evening breeze. Kim's heavy breathing sounded loud in her ears. In the silence, the fliers waited; Kim could almost feel the anticipation that hung heavily in the air.

A minute passed, then another. The chieftains looked at each other and nodded. Each drew a crescent shaped knife. Now the sacrifice showed signs of fear. She began struggling against her bonds.

"What were they waiting for?" Kim queried. "Why prolong that poor creature's torment?"

"I think they were waiting for Yanna to appear," Tommy hazarded. "Maybe since nothing happened, that was a sign that Yanna didn't like the offering and so the female has to die now."

"God, Tommy, I can't watch this. Let's go back to the house," Kim requested, shaking.

"I couldn't agree more."

The two carefully made their way down the knotty ladder on the treetrunk; however, as they reached the ground, they heard hundreds of voices murmuring in awe. Kim and Tommy exchanged puzzled glances.

"Come on, we can take a peek at the arch," Tommy suggested. Kim felt the hair stir on the back of her neck; every instinct told her to retreat to their house, but curiosity overrode the other voices within her. She clasped Tommy's hand and followed.

When they arrived at the gateway, they found that the avenue leading up to the altar was unobstructed. To their astonishment, the stone decoration behind the altar had opened up, and standing just inside was a white flier.

"Yanna?" Kim wondered.

"He's probably just an albino flier cast in the role of a deity," Tommy surmised.

The other fliers, the chieftains included, were all on their knees, their heads bowed. Yanna proceeded forward and paused at the altar. He glanced down at the female and touched her cheek, murmuring softly. Then, he continued around the stone and past the chieftains. He was headed down the avenue.

"Tommy, let's get out of here," Kim hissed. "I think he's seen us."

"Right."

They two started to retreat, but the white flier raised his hand and issued a command. Warriors broke ranks and hastened to obey.

"Run, Kim," Tommy shouted as he drew up and assumed a defensive stance

"Tommy, no!" Kim shrieked, knowing what Tommy was doing. He was trying to buy her and TJ a chance by sacrificing himself. If she had been alone, she would have stood with Tommy, falling or succeeding by his side, but she had TJ to protect. There was no way the fliers were going to get their hands on her son! However, the matter was soon academic as a pair of warriors emerged from the trees ahead of her, cutting off her escape. They quickly had Kim by her arms.

"No!" Kim growled, struggling. Then, to her astonishment, one of the warriors made the sign for patience. Kah-eee? Kim tried to get a closer look; it was difficult to tell what the flier looked like under his ceremonial headdress. When the same warrior made the sign for hope, Kim had her answer. All the fight went out of her, and she allowed herself to be led back to where Tommy had been subdued.

"Kim, no," Tommy groaned, his spirit deflating. Kim sensed that he had been clinging to the slim hope that she and TJ had gotten away.

"Tommy, it's Kah-eee," Kim whispered, nodding to the flier on her left.

"What can he do to help us? There are too many others for him to fight," Tommy pointed out. Tommy's captors suddenly pushed him to his knees and bent his head forward. Kim watched as Yanna drew nearer. Behind him came the chieftains, and she saw recognition and fury in the eyes of the female Tommy had angered; however, she held her tongue. Still, Kim could see that she could hardly wait to get her claws on Tommy; Kim struggled against Kah-eee and the other guard. There had to be something she could do to save Tommy!

Yanna studied Tommy, an expression of curiosity on his face. Then, he waved the guards away. He reached down and tilted Tommy's head up, then he helped Tommy to his feet.

"Why you still here?" Yanna asked. Kim was utterly dumbfounded; he was speaking English! Tommy shot Kim a stunned look. She shrugged.

"Why you still here when someone looking for you," Yanna repeated, and he gestured toward the sky. The clouds overhead began to swirl, creating a funnel cloud. The winds howled and gusted wickedly. Had her guards not had such a firm grip on her arms, Kim felt as if she would have been sucked into the vortex. Black, white, and grey . . . the colors spiraled farther and farther down the inverted cone to the eye, calm and black, a patch of night sky. Then, a voice came rolling down from the stillness of the epicenter, magnified as it filtered through to the whirling end.

"Billy?" Kim gasped, recognizing the voice. She strained forward, hope surging within her. "Billy! It's Kim!" she shrieked.

Just then another fierce blast of wind swept Tommy off his feet, and he went tumbling into the whirlwind.

"Tommy!" Kim screamed, shaking off her guards and hurrying forward. "Tommy, no! Don't leave me . . . !"

" . . . can't stop . . . ." Tommy's voice echoed down the funnel. "I'll be back for you, Kim; I promise . . . ."

"No!" Kim sobbed, reaching out for Tommy, but the winds were already dying down. The vortex was receding. In the blink of an eye, Tommy was gone. Kim's entire being went numb with her grief. This couldn't be happening. He couldn't have left her behind! Why hadn't Billy taken both of them? Powerful sobs racked her body as she fell to her knees. "Tommy . . . ." She couldn't bear the thought of being alone --again-- on a strange world . . . she'd rather die!

Suddenly, Kim's grieving was pierced by a forlorn cry; it pulled her out of the cold dark place to which her mind had retreated. TJ was hungry. Kim was oblivious to everything happening around her as she focused on the cries of her son. She felt her fear abate. She had to be strong --for TJ.

"All right, sweetie, mommy's here," she soothed, bringing TJ to her breast. Kim tried to view the situation rationally. Zordon and the others had gotten Tommy home. Tommy knew where she was; he'd be able to help Billy pinpoint her location. It would take a little time --probably to recharge whatever device it was Billy used to pull Tommy home-- but they would come for her. Tommy promised, and Kim knew that he wouldn't break his word. She just had to hang on . . . keep herself and TJ alive, and she'd be home soon.

Easy to say, less easy to do. Kim could not stop crying; her heart felt so empty without Tommy. Slowly, bits and pieces of the activity around her started to intrude on her sorrow, and she realized that she and TJ were still in danger. She felt the steel of her determination rising within her, and she looked up defiantly at the fliers facing her.

As Kim looked around to try and judge her situation, she realized that everything was in absolute chaos. Apparently, the fliers had never witnessed anything like the vortex before. Kim tried to seek out Kah-eee. Instead, she found herself face to face with Yanna. The pale flier smiled at her kindly.

"Mother Kimberly safe here," he said softly. He reached out and gently cupped TJ's head. "No worry. Tommy come again."

Before Kim could ask how he knew her name, Yanna turned and proceeded back up the avenue to the dais. He turned to his dwelling, pausing only to free the female on the altar. Once the stone door slid back in place, pandemonium erupted among the worshippers. Everyone began crowding toward the archway, and Kim suddenly found herself faced with the seething queen who had hounded them. Kim returned her glare of hatred with a fierce glare of her own. If the bitch tried to hurt TJ . . . .

The female issued orders to her retainers; it was easy for Kim to guess that she meant to take Kim captive. However, one of the other chieftains countermanded the order, and an argument ensued. Kim wished they were using gestures so that she could know what was going on. She felt a tap on her shoulder, and there was Kah-eee.

"Nah-neen would have your heart," Kah-eee signed surreptitiously. "Nah-kahn tells her she must not. You are mother with young and cannot be touched. Nah-neen demands payment for the insult against her. Tee-nak says that the male has been punished by Yanna, sent away from mate and youngling. Dah-neek reminds Nah-neen that Yanna gives mother and young shelter."

Kim missed most of Kah-eee's explanation, but she got the drift. Nah-neen eyed her evilly then threw up her hands and marched off.

* * *

Kim took the charred tip of the stick and made another mark on the tree trunk: ten days since Tommy had vanished. What could be taking Billy so long? She prayed it wouldn't be much longer. At times it was all she could do to keep the emptiness from overwhelming her. God, she missed Tommy so much. The nights were so cold and lonely without him beside her. She missed his touch, the warm security of his embrace . . . his smiling face and shining eyes . . . however, all she had to do to see Tommy was glance down at the child sleeping in the sling-pouch. He resembled his father so much it almost hurt.

TJ wasn't the only thing getting her through the long days and nights. Once the fliers had completed their pilgrimage to Yanna's temple and returned to their respective homelands, Kah-eee returned with Eee-dah and Tah-nee. When she first learned the child's name, Kim almost cried; it sounded so much like Tommy. Kah-eee assured her that there would be no more hunts--at least until TJ was fully grown.

Kim had been overjoyed to see that Eee-dah had fully recovered, and little Tah-nee was quite a handful. He was already attempting to stretch his wings. Kim was grateful for the fliers' presence; it kept life interesting. To keep herself from succumbing to bouts of depression, she put endless questions to Kah-eee and Eee-dah about their people--they called themselves the Skyborn--and their way of life. She felt a surge of triumph when she learned that her Romeo and Juliet scenario was not far off the mark. They had been outcast from both their tribes and had been accepted into a third, but when it was learned that Eee-dah was a viable breeder, her people wanted her back, and neither wanted any part of that. Kim had also been astonished to learn that Kah-eee's tribe was the only one that knew sign language. His ancestors had learned the "hand speak" from a group of pale slaves much like Kim and Tommy.

In spite of all Kim's questions and her friendship with the fliers --even in spite of caring for her son-- there were nights when she would cry herself to sleep. At those times, she'd feel Eee-dah stroking her hair and hear her crooning the same lullaby that she sang to Tah-nee.

Kim tossed her stick back into the fire. Ten days. She sighed. TJ interrupted her musings as he began fussing; Kim wrinkled her nose as she identified the cause. Oh well, it was time for his bath anyway.

"Eee-dah, I go to the water," Kim signed. Eee-dah was still learning sign language, but she caught on quickly. Eee-dah made a noise that Kim had come to interpret as meaning that something was bad. She made it when ever Kim cooked her meat or when TJ filled his diaper.

Once at the stream, Kim took care of the mess in the diaper, then she stripped as well and sat down in the water. The normally cool water was actually a rather nice temperature --the sun was full in the sky, and the day was almost hot. Kim set TJ into the water, and he howled in protest.

"I hate cool baths, too, kiddo," she murmured. With the bath out of the way, Kim took them both back to the bank. She was scarcely out of the water when TJ was rooting around for his lunch. "With that appetite, one would think you were Rocky's kid." It was such a warm afternoon that Kim didn't feel like getting dressed right away. The sun felt absolutely delicious as it penetrated her body. Kim reclined against a tree trunk and set TJ to nursing. She felt herself getting drowsy. It was so tempting to drift off to sleep, but she really couldn't . . . although Kah-eee and Eee-dah would warn her if there was any danger . . . and TJ would be nursing for quite a while . . . it wouldn't hurt to close her eyes for just a minute . . . .

"Tommy?" Kim queried sleepily.

"Tommy! Is that really you?" Kim's eyes snapped open and found herself blinded by the brilliance of the sun. It seemed so close, right in her face. She brought her arm up to shield her eyes from the glare. "Tommy, where are you? I can't see . . . ."

Kim reached out a flailing hand and felt a firm grip close around her. She gathered TJ close and allowed herself to be pulled along by the hand that held hers, not caring if she showed up in the Command Center butt naked.

"TJ, it's daddy! We're going home, baby!" she said joyfully. However, her heart felt heavy as she realized that she wasn't going to be able to say good-bye to Kah-eee and Eee-dah. She hoped they would understand.

"Come on, Kim. That's it," Tommy encouraged.

"We're coming, Tommy!"

The light was getting brighter, so much so that she was forced to close her eyes. She felt herself drifting away from the mountainside . . . the alien world . . . .

"Welcome back, Beautiful."

Kim opened her eyes and found herself staring up into a bright lamp; she flinched and threw her arms up. The light disappeared. As she blinked back the spots, she discovered herself laying on an examination table in the Command Center. She stretched and yawned, feeling for all the world as if she was waking up from a sound sleep. As she sat up, she noticed that all her teammates were gathered around her, and Tommy was smiling at her. Kim's eyes lit with her joy at seeing him, and she flung her arms around his neck.

"Oh God, Tommy, I thought I was never going to see you again," she all but sobbed.

"It's all right, Kim. You're awake now, and . . . ."

Something wasn't right, Kim realized. It was in the way Tommy hugged her. It wasn't as tight --as sure-- his embrace was as guarded as it had been before they had been lost on their adventure. Surely he wasn't that self-conscious about letting the others see how much he cared. She pulled back, unsettled. His eyes were warm, as was his smile, but there was none of the intimacy, the depth of feeling she had come to know over the last year. Tommy's lips brushed her cheek --an affectionate peck, but it lacked the emotion . . . it wasn't the kiss she expected after so long an absence.

"Tommy, what's going on?" Kim queried, feeling lost. Fear's icy hand gripped her heart. She reached up as if to pat TJ reassuringly, only he wasn't there. "TJ? Oh, God, Tommy, where's TJ?"

"Take it easy, Kim," Tommy said as he tried to restrain her. He gestured for Billy to take up a position on Kim's left. "You were dreaming. Lord Zedd zapped us with a ray that put us in comas . . . ."

"NO! We gotta find TJ . . . ." Kim broke free of Tommy and Billy's grip, frantic to find their son. She didn't know what was wrong with Tommy; how could he be so casual about the fact that his son was missing? Why was he saying those awful things? All the things that had happened to them --she hadn't dreamed them; they had been real! She didn't know what Tommy's problem was, but he could wait; TJ could not. Kim jumped off the table, and before anyone else could stop her, she tore through the Command Center searching for the portal to return her to the mountainside.

"Kimberly, stop!" Tommy called out as he chased after her. He caught up to her and held her fast.

"Let me go! I have to find TJ!"

"I don't know who TJ is, but he isn't real. None of it --whatever it was-- was real," Tommy said.

"How can you say that? You were there," Kim insisted, tears gathering in her eyes.

"Remember when we were playing frisbee in the park and we got hit with some kind of energy beam?"

"Yes . . . ." Kim admitted grudgingly, fighting a rising tide of panic.

"That was one of Zedd's spells. After we all collapsed, Zordon teleported us back to the Command Center; you . . . me . . . all of us have been asleep for two days."

"No . . . we wound up on a strange planet . . . ."

"Zedd tried to trap us by making us dream of our heart's desires and imprisoning us in our dreams."

"That's impossible! This is a trick!" Kim shrieked, putting her hands over her ears to shut out Tommy's words. This wasn't happening . . . this had to be a dream --no, a nightmare. She had to wake up . . . she was still at the stream . . . TJ had no doubt finished nursing and had drifted off to sleep . . . .

"Kim, look at yourself; you're wearing the same clothes you had on two days ago."

Kim looked down and was astonished to see her pink knit dress; it had all but disintegrated long ago. They used the last scraps of it to diaper TJ after they delivered him.

"Look at my watch; check the date," Tommy continued, showing her his timepiece. Kim's eyes blurred with tears as she looked at Tommy's wrist. The scratch was missing . . . the one he had gotten the time he fell in the briar patch . . . .

"I know it's hard to believe," Tommy murmured, "but it's the truth. I didn't want to believe it, either, and some of the others had just as hard a time accepting it as you, but we were all dreaming."

"No . . . ." Kim shook her head in denial. She backed away from Tommy fearfully, her hand going to her chest. There was no comforting warmth, no weight of her child's body. Her breasts weren't heavy with milk. TJ had only started on one side; the other should have been so swollen as to almost be leaking. She looked up at Tommy, desperation in her eyes. She saw his sympathy, his affection, but not his love. "No!" The cry was torn from her soul, and she turned and fled.

"Kimberly . . . ! Oh man . . . Zordon, this is Tommy. Kim's run off; I'm going after her," Tommy radioed.

"Right. I think she's headed outside the Command Center."

It's a lie; it has to be! Kim sobbed as she sat on the rocky ledge outside the Command Center. Tommy was wrong; he had to be.

But Tommy wouldn't lie to you, the voice in her head argued.

He would if he was under Zedd's spell or something, Kim countered, but her assertion lacked certainty. It had to have happened; it had to have been real . . . the thought that it wasn't was unbearable. Kim pulled her knees tighter against her chest as her body shook with her sobs. She had been so happy . . . they had been so happy together in spite of everything they had endured. Their love --both emotional and physical-- had been so strong; it had been what she always hoped it might be, and for it to have been nothing more than her imagination . . . ."

"Hey Kim," Tommy called out as he finally located her. He sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulder. "I know it's hard. I didn't want to believe it when I woke up; I was crushed to know that everything we had fought and suffered for was for nothing. Zedd was still alive and . . . ."

"What are you talking about? Zedd was nowhere around unless the aliens harassing us had been his pawns. We weren't fighting Zedd; we were fighting to stay alive and stay a step ahead of the slavers."

"You may have, but I was fighting Lord Zedd --we all were," Tommy explained, "and we finally defeated him, Kim! Then, I woke up and learned that none of it had ever happened."

"I can't believe that . . . I won't! It was real. Zedd's ray didn't knock us out; it transported us to another planet. I was captured by slavers and brought to another world where I was tossed in the slave pens. It was horrible . . . the heat . . . the stench . . . the whippings . . . then you arrived with a new batch of slaves. After you managed to piss off Queen Nah-neen, we escaped into the jungle."

Kim closed her eyes and let the vivid memories carry her away. Her words came out in a rush. "I was so scared that we'd be recaptured at any moment, yet we managed to keep ahead of the slavers. Running all the time . . . the sleepless nights . . . there was only one time when we nearly got caught. That was the time I killed the slaver . . . ."

Kim paused and looked at Tommy, searching for the tiniest flicker of recognition. His expression was one of amazement and disbelief. She just had to get him to remember!

"It wasn't all fleeing and fighting," she continued, trying a different tact. "There was the time I caught you skinny dipping . . . ." Tommy's eyebrow arched inquiringly, and she felt herself blushing. Still, there was nothing. "You can't tell me you don't remember the kiss you gave me in the temple." The memory made her shiver with delight "We were hiding under the altar, squeezed into a tiny space . . . I don't think you ever held me so tightly . . . the guards were right above us . . . we were as good as dead . . . then, you kissed me . . . ." Her face shone with rapturous joy at the memory; Tommy's only reflected keen interest. A tear trickled down Kim's cheek as she plunged on stubbornly.

"Your mouth . . . your hands on my body . . . the look in you eyes . . . you --you finally told me how you felt . . . that night, we made love for the first time."

"I wish I had been there," Tommy said softly. "It sounds like it was pretty awesome."

"But you were there!" Kim insisted. "You had to be! I mean, I hadn't had the foggiest notion of what you looked like naked until I caught you skinny dipping. Sure, I've seen you without a shirt, but I couldn't have told you what was under your shorts. I never knew you had a scar on the inside of your right thigh."

"I never told you about that," Tommy protested.

"Sure you did, the night we made love on the hillside while watching the mating flight. You told me lots of things you'd never told me before . . . ."

"I can't explain it, Kim, but I really wasn't there," Tommy said, "although I wish I had been. I think I'd have preferred your dream to mine. We were lovers? Wow."

"Tommy, it had to be real," Kim sighed, thinking furiously of a way to dispute his claim. "You say Zedd wanted to give us our heart's desire? Then why would I be dreaming of aliens and being captured by slavers and all that?"

"You still had Rocky's sci-fi double feature on your mind. Remember? You told us that you had alien slimewads running amuck in your dreams afterward," Tommy pointed out.

"What about . . . what about . . . all the details . . . they were so precise . . . I mean, I even had my period, for pity's sake! It's such a nuisance in reality, why would I want to dream about having it?"

Her directness had Tommy blushing as he answered her. "Kim, the dreams had to be exceptionally detailed in order for us to believe them. How long were you --were we-- on this alien planet?"

"A little over a year," Kim answered.

"Wouldn't you have thought something was wrong if you hadn't had a period for little over a year?"

Kim had to concede that point; of course, she hadn't had one while she was pregnant . . . .

"While we were on our adventure, did I ever have to shave?" Tommy asked suddenly.

"Huh?"

"It was something Aisha mentioned from her dream; none of us guys ever had to shave, and she never had to do her legs."

Kim thought about it, and had to admit that Tommy never so much as had a serious bout of razor stubble. In fact, she couldn't recall ever seeing him unshaven.

"Shaving doesn't seem like a big thing, but it's part of a guy's daily routine. You probably wouldn't give the matter a second thought," Tommy elaborated.

Kim felt cold all over; panic began to settle in again as she felt her certainty crack. Just then, a teleportation beam flashed next to Tommy, leaving a data pad in its wake.

"What's that?" Kim wondered. She picked it up and nearly dropped it. She had seen it before . . . in one of her dreams. It was the data pad that Alpha had handed Billy upon his return to the Command Center . . . the one that had quelled his doubts . . . .

"Alpha and Zordon had us hooked up to monitors . . . ."

". . . and this charts our bio-signatures for the last 48 hours," Kim murmured, letting the chart fall. She stood up and wrapped her arms about herself. Her dreams . . . the others returning to the Command Center . . . their denial . . . talk of being in other places . . . . Were those visions really dreams or had they been snippets of reality creeping through the images?

"Please . . . ." she entreated silently, her tears streaming down her cheeks again. All her arguments began to crumble in the face of the evidence. There was one last thing she hadn't checked . . . . "Tommy, take off your shirt."

"Sure," he agreed, puzzled. He pulled off the button down and tugged the white muscle tank over his head; Kim wandered around behind him and skimmed her hand down the smooth, tanned flesh. No scars . . . not a one, and Tommy's back had been crisscrossed with lash marks, even as hers had been.

Kim turned away from Tommy, drawing in on herself. "A dream. A miserable dream . . . and I was stupid enough to fall for it," she muttered angrily. "I hope Zedd's happy." She wiped at her eyes, but the tears wouldn't stop.

"Don't cry, Kim." Tommy scrambled to his feet. He tried to wrap his arms around her, but she shrugged him off. "Don't shut me out," he said softly, trying to soothe her. He ran his hand up and down her arm. "I would like to help. I can see why your dream meant so much to you, why you wanted it to be real. Your heart's desire was for us to have a life together, wasn't it?"

"You wanted the same thing --only Zedd had to be destroyed first," Kim sniffled forlornly.

"How did you know?" Tommy asked, startled by her statement.

"You told me the night we first made love. You told me lots of things that night."

"I'm curious about something; if we were together . . . as lovers . . . who was TJ?"

"It doesn't matter; he wasn't real," Kim answered bitterly.

"It does matter. Somehow, he meant something important to you. Please, I'd like to know."

"My baby," Kim choked out in a low whisper. She refused to meet Tommy's eyes. "Our son."

"We had a baby?" Tommy gulped, stunned.

"He looked just like you," Kim continued, unable to stop herself. "He was conceived that night we spent under the stars; you helped me deliver him . . . you cried when you first held him, and I brushed the tears from your cheeks. You were so full of wonder, joy, and pride; he meant so much to you . . . family was so important to you, being adopted and all . . . you were a good father." Kim turned her brimming eyes to Tommy; he wore an expression of shock and bewilderment and looked a little pale. Tommy suddenly held her tighter.

The sky was growing dark. Rays of orange and pink light formed a halo above the distant hills. Kim's tears finally began to subside, and she and Tommy stood there in silence watching the sunset. Kim shivered as the temperature dropped, and Tommy placed his shirt on her shoulders.

"Thanks," she murmured. For a moment, she thought she saw a flicker of the warmth she had come to know in his eyes.

"Thank you for telling me about everything," he said, kissing the top of her head gently. "By the way, what did TJ stand for?"

"Tommy James Junior, what else?" Kim replied. This time, Tommy's flinch did not go unnoticed. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just that I'm sure I never told you my middle name, and I know I never mentioned being adopted --at least not to anyone in Angel Grove."

"Then how could I have known all those things in my dream?" Kim wondered.

"I don't know; maybe Zordon can tell us. Come on, we should probably get inside. I wonder what Zordon came up with to tell our folks about our absence."

"Tommy, if you wouldn't mind, I think I could use a few minutes alone," Kim sighed.

"Are you going to be okay?" Tommy asked, concerned.

"Yeah. It's just going to take a little time."

"All right. I'll let the others know that everything is okay."

"Will you tell them about my dream?"

"Do you want me to?"

"No . . . at least, not right away."

"Then I won't say anything."

Tommy left Kim with a parting hug, and Kim stood in the cool of the evening watching the sunset with a heavy heart.

Kim sat on a picnic table in the park with her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. She sighed heavily as she watched the people go by. It was hard to believe that only a week ago she and the others had been having a picnic. Now, she could scarcely be out here without getting weepy. She'd see a couple walk by holding hands . . . another couple under the trees necking . . . the worst was seeing a mother or father with a baby carriage.

Stop torturing yourself, Kim scolded as she sniffled. You promised Tommy . . . you promised to let this go.

It was just so hard. Tommy, bless him, had been unusually patient with her, respecting her need to be alone or simply holding her when she needed to be held. At those moments, he came so close to being the Tommy she had known in her dream, and her heart would ache all the more. Kim sighed again. Where was Tommy, anyway? He had asked her to meet him in the park . . . . That had been one of the nice things about her fantasy --they never had to worry about what time it was or being late. Just simply being together had been enough, and they couldn't be together like that in the here and now. Kim would have to learn to accept that, just as she'd have to accept that Tommy would probably never open up to her as he had in her dream.

Not Tommy, she corrected herself, merely your idealized version of him. She had to be careful; she had to stop comparing what was with what is. That wasn't fair to Tommy; he couldn't possibly live up to her expectations.

Damn, she swore, brushing away the tears that had gathered in her eyes. She didn't want Tommy to know that she had been crying again.

"Hey there, Kim," Tommy called out as he hopped up onto the table top next to her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze.

"Hi, Tommy."

"How're you holding up?" he questioned more seriously, picking up on her melancholy tone.

"I'm doing better. At least seeing a baby in a stroller doesn't send me running home in tears," she replied wryly. She looked up at him and flashed him a brave smile. He looked so concerned . . . she didn't want him worrying so much. "I'm going to be all right. It's taking longer than I thought to put this behind me."

"I understand. If it helps you any, we all have parts of our dreams that we haven't been able to lay to rest yet."

"Yeah, Aisha and I have talked a little. At least she can laugh about hers now. I just seem to be clinging to mine a little more stubbornly," Kim murmured. Kim met Tommy's gaze and frowned. He appeared unusually somber. Kim had been so wrapped up in her own disillusionment, that she hadn't really considered Tommy's possible difficulties. He hadn't said a word all week long, and while he had asked her about her dream, she had never asked about his. Kim realized that she had been very selfish in dwelling on what she lost. The others had lost things, too. "Are you having trouble with your dream? Do you want to talk about it?"

"Actually, right now, I think I'd rather go for a walk, if you don't mind," Tommy said evasively. He jumped up from the table and offered Kim his hand. Kim took it hesitantly. Something was bothering Tommy; she could sense it in ways that she had never been able to before. At times during the week she had unsettled Tommy --and herself-- with her uncanny ability to read his moods. "Oh, I almost forgot!" Tommy held Kim's left hand and removed the communicator from her wrist.

"What are you doing?" Kim wondered as he also removed his own.

"Okay, Billy," Tommy radioed. A moment later, the two devices vanished in a teleportation beam. Tommy met Kim's puzzled expression with a surprisingly warm smile. "As of now,

the two of us are off duty for the rest of the afternoon."

"What do you mean, off duty?" Kim couldn't believe her ears. Was Tommy seriously suggesting that they would get to spend some time together without thoughts of the communicator going off nagging at the back of their minds?

"I went to Zordon and told him that we needed some time to talk without interruption; the others backed me up. Short of the team being completely wiped out, we're not going to be called into battle."

"I can't believe it," Kim murmured, astonished and grateful. A chance just to be with Tommy . . . it was almost too good to be true.

"Come on," Tommy said, and taking Kim's hand in his, he led them down a nearby path.

For the longest time, neither spoke. Kim almost couldn't let herself relax; her nerves were geared towards expecting a call into action. Slowly, however, she began to let herself go, taking pleasure in the feel of Tommy's sure grip and his nearness. It was a ridiculously small thing --a tiny bit of her dream become real-- but Kim treasured it all the same. When Tommy glanced down at her, she was able to smile with a little more warmth, and his grip tightened.

"By the way," Tommy began, "when I was talking with Billy earlier, he said that he was really impressed with your imagination."

"Huh?" Kim fumbled, wondering where that comment had come from all of a sudden.

"He was referring to your aliens . . . the ones with the wings --what did you call them?"

"The Skyborn."

"He liked the way you integrated the elements of your personality with outside influences," Tommy paraphrased. "You got the idea for the aliens from Rocky's movies; the fact that

they were fliers reflected your connection with your Ranger Powers --you know, the Pterodactyl and the Firebird-- and they communicated in sign language, which you're proficient at."

"Thanks, I think," Kim mumbled. She wasn't sure if it was a compliment or not, but it was awfully hard to impress Billy.

"Billy also told me that he and Zordon have figured out why our dreams were so real and how you could know all that stuff about me."

"Oh?"

"Billy said it was my dream that helped them piece it together because all of us were in it so much. While we were asleep, we were linked; basically, we had access to each other's minds."

". . . when you discovered that their minds resonated on the same wavelength . . . ." Kim recalled from her dream. "We were able to read each other's minds?"

"Not quite. It was more like our minds animated ourselves in each other's dreams. For example, in my dream, Adam was the first of us to fall in battle," Tommy explained. "He didn't die, but he was hurt pretty badly and we had to leave him at the Command Center. In reality, Adam was the first to wake up. His mind left the link, so his character left my dream because he wasn't there to provide the details about himself. Billy fell next, then Aisha and Rocky, until only the two of us were left to face Zedd. Billy was the next to awake and so on until you and I were the only ones still asleep. When I woke up, I was no longer able to provide you with the details of myself, so in your dream, you had me sucked up by a vortex."

Tommy had completely lost Kim. As she struggled with trying to make sense of his words, the two wandered to the limits of the city park and crossed into the neighboring section of the state park.

"Where are we going?" Kim queried when she noticed where they were; she had never been in this part of the park before.

"Have you ever been up to Cathedral Pointe?"

"What's that?"

"You'll see."

Tommy directed Kim along the confusing twists and turns of the hiking trails; she could almost believe that they were wandering around the forests of the fliers' world. It was so quiet, almost as if there wasn't another soul in the world. Kim was finally beginning to tire as they made their way up a fairly steep incline.

"What's that up ahead?" Kim wondered, pointing to an unusual grouping of trees. They grew up on either side of a wide path, evenly spaced as if they had been deliberately landscaped. The lowest limbs cleared Tommy's head with room to spare, and the upper branches curved inwards to form an arched ceiling.

"That's the entrance to Cathedral Pointe," Tommy explained. As they progressed through the leafy archway, Kim looked around in astonishment. It was like walking down the nave in a church. The tree trunks were like pillars, and the branches formed a perfect vaulted ceiling. When they cleared the trees, they came to a set of natural steps leading to a grassy dais.

"Tommy, this is absolutely spectacular," Kim whispered in awe. The view that stretched in front of her was breathtaking. A sea of trees spread out before her, and beyond that the mountains. She could just glimpse the curve of the lake, and there wasn't a sign of the city anywhere.

"I know," Tommy murmured thickly. Something in his tone made Kim tear her eyes away from the gorgeous panorama. A fond smile touched his lips, and there was a wistfullness to his gaze.

The breath caught in Kim's throat; Tommy looked so unguarded . . . so open . . . .

"How'd you find out about this place?" she wondered, almost afraid to speak. She didn't want to send him back into his protective shell.

"Billy," Tommy answered with a wry chuckle. "He was working on some experiment or another and had me, Jason and Zack help him lug his equipment up here. I've only been back here a couple of time since then." Kim waited for Tommy to say something else, and she sighed heavily when he didn't and retreated into himself again. She tried to hide her disappointment.

"Speaking of Billy," she prompted, getting back to Tommy's attempted explanation, "if you were in my head, a part of my dream, how come you don't remember any of the things that happened to us?"

"My conscious mind wasn't there, Kim, just my subconscious. You were in my dream, but you have no memory of being in battle with Zedd, do you?"

"No."

Tommy took a seat on a low stone wall and gestured for Kim to join him. He propped his right leg up and rested his chin on his knee. He seemed to be considering what to say.

"Apparently, yours was the most real of all the dreams; according to Billy you drew on my subconscious to fill in the blanks in your imagination more than any of the rest of us made use of on the others. I had to be as real as possible in your dream; otherwise it wouldn't have held you as strongly as it did." Kim still wasn't convinced. Seeing this, Tommy took her hand.

"What is it?" Kim asked, eyeing him puzzledly.

"I want to show you something." He then slid her hand up inside the right leg of his shorts. Kim's eyes went wide with astonishment; Tommy tried to appear nonchalant, but his cheeks burned with a fiery blush. Still, he guided her hand as far as he could. Her fingers were scant inches from his inseam when they brushed a ridge on the inside of his thigh.

"What in the . . . the scar!" Kim gasped. Tommy nodded. Her fingers stroked the puckered flesh gently. "You mean you really have a scar from . . . ."

" . . . a wreck I had on my cousin's motorcycle," Tommy concluded.

"But I didn't know about the scar before I had my dream."

"You didn't, but I did. My subconscious made sure I was as physically correct as possible. You see . . . all the stuff you learned about me --my being adopted, my middle name, how much a family means to me-- was real. In a lot of ways, you probably know me better than I know myself."

That went a long way to explaining the weird incidents from the past week, but it also made Kimberly a little sad. She knew Tommy better than she ever did, but to Tommy, she was still a

stranger. Why wouldn't he have drawn on her mind as she had drawn on his to make herself real in his dream; it was like he was afraid to open up to her even in his heart.

Kimberly Ann, you're not being fair, she chided herself. Tommy was so busy fighting Zedd that there wasn't time for him to get to know anybody. Besides, he said that he wanted to wait until Zedd was destroyed . . . maybe he would have gotten to know me if he wouldn't have woke up when he did. In my dream, it took us a year to achieve the intimacy that we did, and Tommy didn't say anything about how he felt until he thought he was going to lose me. It'll take time in reality, too.

Kim took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm sorry I've been so difficult all week. I mean all this fuss over a silly dream . . . ."

"Kim, it isn't a silly dream," Tommy insisted, his words coming out in a nervous rush. "It's a good dream, and it can come true, someday, if you really want it to."

Kim didn't react at first; then, slowly, his words sank in. She looked up at him in amazement.

"Do you really mean that?"

"Uh huh."

A brilliant smile lit Kim's face, but the light was quickly clouded by concern.

"What's wrong. I thought that was your heart's desire."

"It is. It's just . . . things were so real in my dream, I'm afraid that . . . I know things will be different, but what if they aren't as good? What if my expectations are too high?"

"Don't worry; things will be . . . uh . . . mm!" Tommy's words were lost in the moan that suddenly echoed up from his chest, catching Kim by surprise. Then she realized that her hand was still up the leg of Tommy's shorts and she was idly stroking Tommy's scar as she used to in her dream. She noticed the shiver that shuddered through his body, and she observed an even more

pronounced reaction just slightly beyond the reach of her fingertips. Tommy's eyes had fluttered shut, and he sighed contentedly. The sound was at once familiar and strange. Blushing furiously, Kim pulled her hand back. The suddenness of her withdrawal startled Tommy.

"You --um-- didn't react like that . . . when I did that in my dream," she stammered. It was Tommy's turn to blush.

"I couldn't have," he faltered as he tried to regain his composure. Kim politely looked away as he tried to make himself more comfortable. "I didn't know that would feel so good; no one's ever played with my scar before. In your dream, my responses were based on your imagination and on my self knowledge. A lot of the things that made me feel good in your dream probably will still do so, but there's bound to be stuff --like having my scar stroked-- that you never considered and I don't know about yet.

"You see, if we do become lovers, it can't be the same as in your dream. Similar, maybe, but most definitely better." Tommy had caught Kim's hands in his and was gazing at her earnestly.

"I want to believe that; I really do," she whispered.

"Believe it. You'll see --someday."

"Someday," she echoed, managing a brave smile.

"That's my girl," Tommy murmured, kissing her forehead. Kim leaned into him and scooted around until she was sitting with her back up against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, and the two of them sat quietly for a while.

A sense of peace --of rightness-- settled over Kimberly as she relaxed against Tommy's strong chest. She thought about everything Tommy had just told her. In his own way, he had tried

to tell her how he felt. "It's a good dream, and it can come true . . . ." Didn't that mean he wanted them to be together? In her dream, he had claimed that he wanted Zedd gone so they

could have a future together --and that had come from his subconscious. Kim felt a bubble of hope and happiness swelling inside her. There would be a someday because she knew now that

it was what they both wanted.

"Tommy, I love you," Kim sighed, snuggling closer. She hadn't planned on saying it; the words had come pouring out automatically, but she wasn't sorry she had finally said them. She wanted Tommy to know what was in her heart. She glanced up shyly and saw the surprise in his eyes. She smiled at him briefly then resumed watching the scenery. She was perfectly content to spend the rest of the afternoon sitting with him just as they were. "I'm so glad you brought me up here."

"I . . . ." Tommy murmured, but he paused nervously. Suddenly, he pushed himself up and he got to his feet.

Kim watched in stunned silence as he wandered to the far side of the terrace. His muscles were strung as tight as wires. Kim wondered if she had pushed too hard with her admission. Maybe Tommy felt like she expected him to reciprocate. "Tommy?"

"I've been meaning to bring you up here," Tommy said in a rush. "I don't know . . . this place has always felt kind of special to me. You can't see the city, and at night, it's so dark except for the stars. There are so many of them, Kim; you can't begin to imagine . . . it all seems so big, and yet, when you're out here by yourself, you feel like you really belong --you're a part of everything somehow . . . ."

Tommy looked back at Kim, perhaps to see if she understood. Her smile was full of her love for Tommy at that moment. She appreciated that he had taken a chance and shared a piece of his

soul with her. "That was beautiful, Tommy; thanks for sharing it --and this place-- with me."

"We came up here in my dream," Tommy continued, almost as if he hadn't heard her. Something in his tone drew Kimberly closer. She reached out to take his hand. "Actually, we had little choice; your zord crashed here. While I was trying to pry you out of the cockpit and praying that you survived, I kept thinking about all the things I had always wanted to do with you and all the things I had wanted to tell you . . . ." Suddenly, Tommy pulled her to him and crushed his lips to hers.

Kim was startled, but only for a moment, then she melted into Tommy's embrace. She knew what he was trying to do; he was opening himself to her. He couldn't trust his voice so he let his heart speak for him. With the softness of his lips, the intensity of his mouth on hers, he projected his love and made his promise . . . almost like in her dream. And Kim did her best to reciprocate. She wanted Tommy to know that she understood, and with her kiss she offered herself to him, conveying her love and making him the same promise that it would be for always. As Tommy's tongue slowly slipped around her own in a loving caress, she knew that he understood and accepted what she offered.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as they broke for air. Tommy gently brushed them away. Kim smiled radiantly. She knew where Tommy's heart lay now, and she had his promise that someday they would both have their heart's desire.

"Kim, I . . . ."

"Sh, you don't have to say it, if you're not ready," she murmured softly, her heart going out to Tommy in his frustration. She no longer needed to hear the words as she once did; she had

heard them with her heart. "I know."

"I want to say it --I have to say it," Tommy insisted. "In my dream, I nearly lost the chance to tell you how I felt; it made me realize that the same thing could happen in reality. I'm not going to let worries about Zedd hang over our relationship any longer." Tommy held both her hands tightly and looked deep into her eyes. "Kim, I love you. I want us to be together and share all those things that we shared in your dream . . . I want to know you in all the ways that you know me from your dream . . . ." Tommy kissed Kim again, more softly this time. Instead of lingering over her lips, his mouth trailed down her throat, and Kim shivered with delight. Her neck was so sensitive . . . she hadn't remembered his nuzzling affecting her this much. When he pulled away, she was breathless.

"Kim, would you like someday to be today?" Tommy queried softly, hope shining in his eyes. Kim knew exactly what he meant, and her eyes widened for a moment with surprise; she almost couldn't believe he had asked, but she wasn't about to refuse. She smiled in invitation --a smile that Tommy returned a little nervously. "Would you mind . . . ?"

"What?"

". . . if we . . . right here?" Tommy stammered. Overjoyed, Kim threw her arms around Tommy and kissed him. Her enthusiasm knocked Tommy back on his heels; he fell, taking Kim with him.

She wound up splayed out on top of his body, her lightweight dress askew. Tommy's hand rested on her bottom. As he slowly followed the swell of her behind, Kim could feel him trembling,

even as she felt a shiver run through her body, and she broke the kiss as a tiny moan slipped out.

"I take it that means yes." Tommy mumbled as he caught his breath. Kim matched his bashful grin with one of her own as she sat up.

"I'm not sure I know what to do," he confessed.

"Just use your imagination; that's what I did," Kim said with a giddy chuckle. Tommy suddenly rose up to meet her and silenced the giggle with his mouth. The merriment died in her throat as Kim was aware of Tommy's other hand --his fingers slowly sliding her zipper down.

Kim shifted in Tommy's arms, snuggling closer against the chill of the night air. She raised her head and gazed sleepily at her partner, a gentle smile curving her lips. Tommy looked so beautiful in the moonlight. She lazily traced the outline of his lips. After their love making, the two had cuddled together and watched the stars come out. Neither of them knew much about astronomy, but they had fun attempting to name the constellations. The sky never looked so big, and for a time it felt as if they were the only two people in the whole world.

She couldn't have said when they fell asleep or who had drifted off first. All Kim knew was that she was resting in Tommy's arms, and it was the safest, most wonderful feeling in all the world. It was where she wanted to be . . . in her heart, she knew it was where she belonged.

Kim laid her head on Tommy's chest, letting herself be lulled back to sleep by his deep, even breathing so warm against her hair, the steady beat of his heart . . . the silky steel of his chest . . . his musky scent . . . and she couldn't help but feel that someday was off to a wonderful start.

The End