The Dancing

by Kristine Williams

  Jim walked up the slope slowly, pausing near the top while he gazed around the area. After a few seconds, he sat down silently beside Blair on the grass, picked up a stick, and began to slowly pick at the bark.

  "You should have asked me, Jim." Blair couldn't look at his friend, so he looked out over the village below them. "If you really thought I could do something like that, you should have asked me."

  "You're right, Chief."

  Slightly surprised, Blair faced Jim.

  "I wanted to talk to you about it the first night I came, but we kept being interrupted." Jim tossed a chunk of bark away and looked at Blair. "I never really believed you could skip out."

  "But you came here to find out, didn't you?" Summoning back that control, Blair maintained eye contact and persisted. "You must have believed some of it in order to drop everything and fly out here."

  Jim sighed deeply, glancing at the sky for a moment. "I wanted to come out here for a lot of reasons." He shrugged and looked back at Blair. "I guess when Professor Kinyon said what she did, she caught me at the right time. I fell victim to a foolish thought, Chief. You should be flattered."

  "Flattered?" Oh, that was a good one! "Flattered that you think so little of me you thought I could take off for a three week visit and never intend to come home, or even tell you?"

  Another piece of bark was tossed down the hill. "No. That I think so much of you I'd fly halfway around the world to ask a question I already knew the answer to."

  That reply took the heat, and the very words, right out of Blair's intended retort.

  "Sandburg, I've had it in the back of my head for weeks to come out here and watch you work for a change. To see what makes you tick, and meet this mentor you keep going on about. And yes, when Professor Kinyon asked me if I was upset that you were staying here, I panicked. I put in for emergency leave, bought a plane ticket, and before I could stop and think, here I was." Jim's gaze never faltered as he met Blair's eyes. "Yes, I know you better than that. But I also know you missed out on a great opportunity by staying with me instead of coming here. I know this is the type of work you've based your entire education on, right here. That isn't something you can easily dismiss."

  Blair sighed, buying time by pushing his hair out of his face. Obviously he'd failed to make some things clear. Possibly he'd failed both of them. "The only thing I've devoted my entire career to is the Sentinel study. I didn't miss out on anything. If you remember, I made the choice not to come here the first time." Blair's voice was quiet and directed down, now that his control had vanished again. "I'm committed to this Sentinel business, Jim. More than you are, I think."

  Jim had leaned slightly down, bringing his face closer to Blair's level while his friend was speaking. "Look, Chief, I've never lied about this. If I lost these Sentinel senses, I can't said I'd be upset." He paused and Blair looked up, meeting his eyes again. "But I can't seem to lose them." He took a breath, then continued. "So I can't afford to lose you."

  "Jim--"

  "No, this is my turn." Jim's hand came up again, stopping Blair's reply. "I know what kind of sacrifice you made in staying with me, Chief. I understand what it means to change direction. It isn't easy, even when it's a choice you make freely. And I know that you have enough on this Sentinel thing to finish your work and leave." He took a breath, then continued. "I like to think I mean more to you than the rollercoaster."

  "You do, Jim." Blair stood. His discomfort with situations like this always translated into a restlessness he couldn't control. But this time he was able to merely stand and raise both hands in an effort to both explain and protect himself. "I made a conscious choice to stay in Cascade, with you. This rollercoaster, it's..." Where were the interruptions when you needed them? "I'm only interested in the Jim Ellison rollercoaster. You don't think I hang around the station because Simon and I get along so well, do you?" His short laugh was meant to alleviate the tension that only he seemed to feel. It didn't help. At least Jim was still sitting on the grass, making it easier for Blair to look anywhere but in his eyes. "This Sentinel thing is more than senses, Jim. It's the whole package. Your personality, your life, the way you think and move. You didn't become a Sentinel. You are the Sentinel. The more I watch you, the more I learn about you, the clearer that is. The person that you are affects the Sentinel you are. I'm barely scratching the surface, here, man. But I know there's too much to learn from both of you for me to just up and quit or walk away from any of this. You're too important to just abandon." Jim stood and Blair realized what he'd been saying. He ran another hand through his hair to hide the flush of red he could feel coloring his cheeks. His voice dropped to a whisper. "I can't believe I'm saying this." Blair closed both eyes tightly, wondering what the chances could be that this was all a bad dream. God, his ego must be reaching meltdown!

  "Neither can I." Jim's reply was quiet, but tinged with the humor creating a very tolerant smile on his face. "It's the most I've gotten out of you since we met."

  Blair let out a short laugh and glanced at Jim. "What? Come on, Jim. Even I know I've talked non stop since the day we met."

  Jim shrugged, pursing his lips for an instant. "Sure, you've talked a hell of a lot. You just never say much."

  "Ah, that's great."

  "Listen," Jim put a hand on Blair's shoulder, emphasizing his point with the other. "I'm sorry if I hurt you, Chief. I never meant that. If you tell me you don't regret any of your choices, then I believe you. And if this is your own unique way of telling me you're in this for more than the adrenaline rush, then I believe it."

  "It is, Jim." Unique or not, it was the only way he could explain things, for now.

  "Okay." He gave Blair's shoulder a squeeze, then let go. "Besides, in a few more years, I just might have enough on you to write a paper of my own."

  "Oh, I dunno, man. That could take quite a few years."

  Jim grinned, then before Blair could react, patted the side of his face good-naturedly. "Not with the stories Dr. Stoddard told me."

  Blair rolled his eyes and sighed. It was what he'd figured, anyway. Between Eli and Naomi, he'd be lucky to have any secrets left.

  "So, where are these bats?"

  Part 4

  * * *

  The caves weren't far, just over an hour through the jungle to the shore, a nice little cove where rainforest met sea and water carved out stone. Blair had been quiet during their trek, and Jim could sense he was still upset. Damn, he never meant to hurt the kid! In fact, after arriving the other day, he'd decided not even to bring up the reason behind his unexpected trip. Deep down he didn't really believe Blair would skip out and stay here. Mentioning it at all was the wrong thing to do. Not that he could have lied. And it did bring out more of Sandburg than he'd ever let show before this. But by his subdued attitude as they neared the caves, Jim could tell his words had struck somewhere deep. Somewhere painful.

  But he hadn't pulled away completely. That was a big step in itself. Blair usually pulled back and pretended not to be affected at all. This time he got angry, defended himself, and stayed put. Maybe he hadn't gotten over it yet, but he was there for Jim to keep working on. More important, he was there by his own choice. Of course, he was still referring to their relationship as Sentinel-based. One of these days he was going to get a straight answer from that kid.

  They were approaching a cliff. Large boulders and rocks jutted out from the jungle ground, pointing to the blue water below.

  "There's an entrance over to your left." Blair pointed, slipping slightly over some damp dirt. "Most of the caves are reached from the water, but there's one we can get to through this vent. It's the only one that stays dry."

  Jim spotted the dark area Blair was pointing to and walked to it. A wide expanse of ground fell away, surrounded by rock that led down at a steep angle. After a few yards, the vent opened up to the sea and a huge cave entrance that would be easier to reach by boat. Several large boulders provided steps into the cave, and Jim could see where the r
ocks were worn smooth by travel. He started down, reaching for a chip in the rock wall as a hand-hold.

  "Watch out for that--"

  Before Blair could finish his sentence, Jim felt the rock shift under his right foot. Instinct took control as he slipped down, landing on the third boulder down already mid-spring for his leap to the cave bottom. He'd felt the complete lack of support under both feet, and managed to turn a fall into a controlled jump, landing hard but safe on the cave floor.

  "Jim? Are you okay?" Blair scrambled down the rocks, staying more to the left and barely making it safely himself.

  "I take it this is where you lost that dignity?" Jim reached out to stop Blair's momentum as he landed fast himself.

  "Yeah, man, I'm sorry. I should have remembered that sooner. Are you okay?"

  "I'm fine." Jim glanced at his right hand, slightly scraped from the crack in the wall he'd been holding onto. "Is that the way out, too?"

  Blair nodded, pulling his little flashlight from its belt hook. "Yeah, but going up is easier." He started shining the light around the vast cave entrance, adding to the light streaming in from the wide mouth that opened to the sea.

  "You were pulled up last time, weren't you?"

  "Yeah." Nodding again absently, Blair started walking into the cave.

  Great. The kid falls down here last time and gets rescued, could have gotten killed, and all he can think about is what's back there. Sometimes Jim forgot just how fearless-- and at times absentminded--his partner could be.

  "Jim, take a look at this."

  Blair was standing several yards farther in, shining his light straight up and moving the beam around. As Jim approached, he looked up, focusing easily through the faint light to the moving ceiling above them.

  "They estimate there's about 2 million of them."

  "I thought you said they harvested bird's nests in here?" Jim glanced around at the massive numbers of small, brown bodies hanging from their toes several yards up.

  "They do, at the mouth of the caves. But these things go on for miles. And over here it gets interesting." Blair moved the light to his left and walked farther into the darkness. "There are some cave drawings back here that date over 1,000 years old."

  Jim followed, looking ahead to where Blair's light was searching. After some hunting around on the dark, wet rock, he found what he was looking for. Several figures carved into the wall just above the water line of a large, saltwater pool that was fed from below. Jim quickly glanced out the way they had come.

  "Sandburg, does this cave fill in with the tide?" It didn't appear to be rising at all, but he was unfamiliar with their surroundings and wanted to be sure.

  "Huh? Oh, no, it doesn't." Blair glanced around, then looked back at the wall. "Check this out, man. These pictures show the gathering of those nests from a thousand years ago."

  Jim turned back to the drawings, but found himself watching Blair more closely than the figures. His friend had known right where the drawings were, and that they were even here to begin with, so he'd seen them before. And yet, even now, he was scrutinizing the figures as if they were brand new discoveries. His incredible capacity for enthusiasm never ceased to amaze and amuse Jim.

  "How far do these caves go?" Jim straightened up from his study of the drawings and glanced down the darkened passageway.

  "I don't know exactly. They did find more drawings in some of the other caves, all depicting pretty much the same thing."

  The sound of ocean waves crashing through the caves beside them drew Jim's attention, and his focus. Water could be heard surging well inside the rock caverns, splitting as many as twelve times that he could hear, before fading even beyond Sentinel ears. Their particular cave was littered with small pools and bubbling ponds being fed from underneath the rock. Shining up from the dark waters of one, Jim could see more of the drawn figures Blair had been showing him. He stepped closer and peered through the inky waters.

  "Hey, Chief, how come these look different?"

  "What?" Blair's light found Jim, then danced around the rock floor as he walked over.

  "These, at the bottom of this pool. They look different."

  "Where?" The excitement in his friend's voice was obvious, as was his heedless progress toward the pool.

  Jim reached out and stopped him before Blair stepped into the deep waters. "Right down there, on the bottom and sides of this pool." He pointed, then had to squint against the painfully bright reflection of Blair's light off the water's surface. "Ow! You'll never see them with that."

  "Here." Blair handed over the flashlight, then pointed downward. "Show me, Jim."

  There was no way this cheap light was waterproof. But Blair's insistence, and the fact that Jim could see in the caves just fine, convinced Jim to plunge the top of the light under the surface. Even then, the light barely reached the top drawings.

  "Oh, man!" Blair leaned closer, almost falling over the edge as his eyes darted around what little he could see. "There's no record of those in Dr. Stoddard's notes."

  Jim moved the light and caught a few more of the figures etched into the stone.

  "These pools probably used to be holes in the ground, then as time passed, fissures opened up and flooded them from below." Reaching out to move Jim's hand more, Blair lowered himself even farther, almost touching the water's surface with his face.

  "I'm not surprised they've been missed. Unless you can see these holes without water in them, it's nearly impossible to pick them out. And the low tide mark is still well above the first of them."

  Absently, Blair nodded, leaning farther out.

  "Sandburg, you're going to fall in." Jim reached out and caught Blair by the upper arms, pulling him back. The flashlight drained of water when it was pulled out.

  "Jim, I need to document these. They've been missed all this time, we have to make a record." As he spoke, Blair began to pull out a pen and notebook from his back pocket.

  Jim was going to suggest they merely go tell Dr. Stoddard the drawings were here, and let him come back with better lights and notebooks, but the sparkle in Blair's eye stopped him. "Here, this light isn't going to hold up much longer." Handing Blair the light, he took the pen and notebook. "Just sit down before you fall in, and I'll see what I can do here." He pulled the cap off the pen. "And sit behind me. I don't want to have to fish you out of this pool."

  "You'll have to get them exact. And position them like you see on the walls."

  "I think I can handle this, Chief." Jim shot Blair a dirty look, one that was probably not even visible in the darkness, and sat down on the rock. With his legs crossed under him, he had a good Sentinel view of the drawings under the murky, guano infested water. After a bit of pushing, he got Blair to kneel behind him where he was less likely to lean right into the pool while he watched.

  "And don't forget any other marks you see, not just the figures, Jim." Blair pointed over Jim's right shoulder at the water he couldn't see through.

  "I know." Jim focused through the darkness and picked out the topmost figure, giving it a complete exam before refocusing to the pen and notepad, where he began to reproduce what he alone could see. Water was dripping down his shoulder from the flashlight Blair was holding, shining dimly down on the paper. "Sandburg, do you mind?" Jim reached up and moved the hand holding the weakening light so it wouldn't drip on his notepad.

  "Oh, right."

  Moments later the flashlight was back again as Blair tried to study Jim's drawing. This time, he moved the pad farther up one leg. After drawing three of the figures, Jim switched to the other markings he could see, lines above and between each figure. As he drew, Blair leaned into his back, trying to see the notepad. Hands pressed down over Jim's shoulders as his partner tried to get a closer look without falling straight into the water. The flashlight had not faired well with its submersion, and was dimming more and more.

  "Sandburg, do you mind?" Jim took one hand and pushed Blair's forehead, trying to clear some room between his own face
and the notepad. Room that had been slowly taken over by his friend's fascinated observations.

  "Are you sure that line was there, Jim?" Blair touched the notepad, indicating one of the wavy lines just drawn. His body had completely conformed to Jim's back and shoulder, trying harder to lean far enough down to see what was being drawn.

  "I put it there, didn't I?"

  "Yeah, yeah. What about this? Is this really angled to the left like that?"

  Before Jim could answer, Blair's light gave up the ghost, leaving them both in near complete darkness.

  "Damn." Blair smacked the light once, but got nowhere.

  "I guess you'll just have to take my word for it now, huh?" Not that he could see what Jim was seeing, but now at least his comments on the reproductions would be limited.

  Blair, not to be outdone, leaned farther over Jim's shoulder, pressing his shorter body into his partner's back for support as he squinted through the extreme low light at the notebook.

  With a sigh, Jim resumed his drawing. He angled the notepad just slightly so his friend could take advantage of the light filtering in from the cave's mouth. It took nearly two hours to get every marking and figure drawn, then Blair insisted Jim examine all of the other pools to see if he could make out anything inside. The light from outside was dimming every minute, as the sun outside their tunnels began to set over the mountains. Jim's eyesight adjusted easily, but Blair was without his flashlight and still insisting he follow along in case they missed an area.

  "All right, just keep your hand on my belt." Jim put Blair's left hand onto his side, waiting until he felt his friend take hold of the leather belt around his jeans. "I don't need you breaking your neck in here."