TRUST
By Vega
 
 

"ETA Kitt?"  Michael asked around a huge yawn.

They were on a stretch of road that cut straight through the desert.
It was, by far, the fastest route home, but it was also the most
monotonous.  Miles and miles of broiling desert.

"Four hours and twelve minutes Michael.  Enough time for you to get
some rest. If you had not stayed out until all hours last night, you
would not be so tired today.  The human body requires a certain
amount of sleep…"

"Yea, yea, yea, I know Kitt.  But give me a break huh?  We just came
off a lousy assignment.  I had to blow off steam somehow."

Michael still couldn't believe Devon had handed him the assignment
from hell. Stanley Kirk was a wizard at numbers.  So good in fact,
that he played himself into a hand he couldn't get himself out of.
While he was holed up in a casino at a local Indian Reservation, his
son Hector became a pawn between Kirk and a syndicate hit man, Trent
Newman, who he tried to swindle. At face value, the assignment seemed
a piece of cake.  Keep the kid safe until Kirk was safe.  But all
bets were off when Michael met Hector, the kid from hell…

"I must admit, playing bodyguard to a precocious twelve year old boy
was more work than I ever expected."

"No kidding.  You only had him when he was in the car.  I had him
twenty-four hours a day.  If Newmen hadn't showed himself when he did
I was ready to call him up and tell him where the brat was."

"Now, now Michael.  It is not his fault that his parents spoiled him
rotten.  I had some time to go over some parenting literature and… "

"Please Kitt, please, no more."

"Very well, but if the time ever arises again when you need…"

"It won't Kitt.  Believe me, it won't.  Now, I'm going to take that
nap if you don't mind."

"Please, be my guest.  I'll wake you when we reach the Foundation."

Michael was about to adjust his seat back when a sudden flash of
light engulfed the car.  He screamed in agony as the light pierced
his eyes like daggers.  He felt Kitt react, terror streaming down the
neuro link.

For a split second he saw blackness so oppressive that he could
barely breath, then he lost consciousness.

Kitt, all his systems shut down, simply rolled to a stop… Lifeless.
 
 
 

Alexander Rehies sat back in his chair and smiled smugly.  So far his
plan had gone off without a hitch.  Michael Knight was recovering
well from the procedure, and would be ready to begin the experiment.
Kitt, as well, would be ready on time.

It had taken two long years to prepare for this.  All from the
confines of his cell on Rykers Island; thanks to Devon Miles and his
cohorts.  First a suitable site had to be found.  Something large
enough to accommodate his lab, and comfortable enough to satisfy
him.  He had spent four long years in a six by six foot cell.  He
needed room to roam.  It also had to be somewhere isolated, safe from
prying eyes and local authorities.

And this, he thought, as he looked around the room, was made to
order.  Built in the Cold War days of the 1960's, it was once home to
an elite Special Forces units.  Here they secretly trained for
missions that no one but the upper echelons of government knew
about.  Abandoned after the Cold War ended it was literally
forgotten, by some, but not all.

By chance Rehies hired Harry Brewster, nicknamed Bruce, to coordinate
the operation.  Once stationed at the facility, he convinced Rehies
that this would be the perfect place.  Bruce was right.  Not only was
the building perfect, the surrounding area was just what he needed
for his experiment.  Open desolate land, visited only by the
wildlife, and even they tended to shy away.  One hundred and fifteen
degrees during the day, some nights bitter cold, others never dipping
below the nineties.  So, no one saw Bruce bury the shoebox-sized
container in the road.  Lined with lead, Kitt could not detect the
small nuclear device inside.  With an explosive charge not much
larger than a hand grenade, it's impact was minimal, but the effects
were staggering.  Knight was instantly rendered unconscious and
Kitt's functions were shut down.  A helicopter was brought in to the
hoist the Trans Am away.  No tracks, no evidence, except for a small
hole in the ground.

He looked through the glass partition that separated him from
K.I.T.T. and smiled. The day he was released from Rykers and walked
through the gates to freedom was the day that Michael Knight and
Kitt's lives, as they knew it, would be changed forever…
 
 

One minute he was screaming in agony as he felt the pain shooting
through Michael's eyes, his systems shutting down, the next he was
powering up, slowly.  As each function came back on line it was
tested and retested automatically.  Finally, after what seemed to be
an eternity, his sensors came back on line.

He found he was in a huge white sterile room.  Banks of monitors
lined the walls in front of him. A dozen speakers hung from the
ceiling.

Something hard and cold was crushing up against his wheels, filling
his underbelly, spilling over his rear bumper and oozing up around
his front sensor, blocking his peripheral vision.  The only thing he
could see was straight ahead.  He was trapped.

Frightened for himself and Michael, he opened the link, searching for
Michael's amber presence.  He found him, comatose.  He carefully
floated within the link gently probing his mind.  Even in an
unconsciousness state Michael would transmit pain if he were
injured.  The only discomfort he could find was a steady throb from a
set of cuffs around his wrists.  Kitt explored further.  He wanted to
know what had happened.

Suddenly he slammed a block in place.  Fear overwhelming him.  He
couldn't believe what he had just seen.  Blackness.  Total
blackness.  Even with his eyes closed light should have penetrated
Michael's eyelids.  He could feel the warmth of the sun bathing his
face, burning his skin. But the only thing Kitt. picked up in his
partners optic nerves was complete profound blackness…

Panicked, he ignited the engine and slammed the transmission into
drive…  Nothing.  He didn't move an inch.  He tried rocking the car
back and forth. His wheels were held tight.

One of the many monitors on the wall popped on.  He saw his own image
on the screen.  Dread spread through his C.P.U.  He was incased in
cement up to his scanner in front and up and over his bumper in
back.  He was trapped…  Hopelessly.

Another monitor popped on.

"Welcome K.I.T.T."

Kitt saw the face of a man in his late sixties smiling benignly at
him.

Kitt quickly accessed his data banks and pulled up a name to go with
the face.  Alexander Rehies.  Once on staff with the Foundation, he
was fired for reasons not stated on his file.

"I hope the accommodations aren't too uncomfortable.  You are, after
all, a force to be reckoned with."

"What do you want?" Kitt demanded.

"You."  The man on the screen said simply.  "And your partner Michael
Knight."

"What have you done with Michael?"

"You will find out in time.  For now, just know that from this moment
forth every decision you make, every thought you have will have a
direct impact on him."

"If you hurt Michael..." Kitt warned.

"K.I.T.T., K.I.T.T., please," the man on the screen
chuckled, "refrain from the histrionics."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because I am curious.  I have watched you and Michael for the past
four years.  I have seen how you have grown from a mere computer to a
sentient being.  And I have seen Michael become more and more
dependent on you.  There is something intangible about your
friendship.  It's the first of its kind in the world.  I want to know
what it is.  I want to know just how much Michael Knight trusts you.
How much you trust yourself."

"I don't understand."

"Allow me to explain then."  Another monitor popped on.  Kitt saw a
close-up of Michael's face bathed in bright sunshine.  More dread
coursed through his C.P.U.  That kind of light would have penetrated
Michael's eyelids, unless…

Another monitor popped on.  This one showed Michael lying motionless
on his back in the desert sand, his hands hidden beneath him.

"Your partner should regain consciousness within the next hour or so,
depending on how fast his system assimilates the drug.  When he does…"

Another monitor popped on.  The camera slowly panned around in a 360-
degree sweep showing a desolate terrain of hot desert sand and
limestone cliffs.  It zoomed a few feet beyond where Michael lay to
the edge of a cliff.

"There is a two hundred foot drop to the valley floor below.  A drop
you might survive but certain death for Michael."

"What do you want?" Kitt asked in a sickening voice.

"It's simple.  You are going to guide Michael out of there.  It will
not be easy.  There are traps and dead ends.  It should take four
days.  You must cover five miles in each twenty- four hour period or
one of the monitors, your lifeline to Michael, will be cut off.  If
you lose too many monitors you will simply not be able to get him
out.  I have provided water.  Eight bottles.  However only six are
fresh.  Two have been tainted.  So choose wisely."

"I can't…" Kitt said, staggered by the thought of one wrong move
costing Michael his life.

"If you don't he will die there.  It's up to you.  When he awakens he
will be confused, scared and… profoundly blind."

The words sliced into his C.P.U. like a knife blade.  He already
knew, he had seen the absence of light through the link, but to hear
the words…

"Permanently…?"

There was no answer.

"How will I communicate with him?"  Kitt didn't know if Reheis knew
about the link.  He hadn't made a reference to it.  And if that was
the case, he could never know about it.

"I have attached the com-link to the front of Michael's shirt
there..." the camera zoomed in on the watch minus the watchband
clipped to Michael's shirt pocket.  "You will have complete access to
all the monitors here.  The speakers are sensitive enough to pickup
the sound of a beetle crossing the sand.  You have everything you
need here to keep Michael alive..  Now it's up to both of you to
trust each other enough to survive."
 
 
 

Michael dragged himself up through the depths of drugged sleep.  He
knew the feelings.  The groggy mind, the dry pasty mouth.  He was
lying on his back, his wrists bound behind him.  He could feel the
hard ground, the warm sun baking his face and plastering his shirt
with sweat.  A light hot breeze tugged gently at his hair.  A bird
screeched somewhere above him and the sound disappeared in the
distance.  He didn't hear anything else.  Where ever he was he was
alone.

He cautiously reached out for Kitt, touching the gentle white essence
and feeling it back away, frightened.

//Kitt...?//

//I'm here.//  Kitt answered, his voice tenuous.

//What happened?//

Kitt pulled aback again.

//Kitt...//

Michael tried to remember what had happened.  Why and where he was.
But his mind was still foggy.  What he did know was that he was
outside somewhere, desolate from the sounds of things, and it was at
or near noon by the feel of the sun blasting down on him.  He took a
deep breath steeling himself for the glare of the bright sun and
opened his eyes.  Blackness.  He slammed them shut, his heart racing.
Now he remembered...  The searing light that exploded around them.
Kitt's scream of agony as his own pain flooded the A.I..

He rolled over onto his right side, the shackles digging deep into
his flesh, but he didn't care.  He curled up into a fetal position
and laid very still... feeling his heart beating inside his chest,
listening to his clipped breathing.

//Michael...?//  Kitt hesitantly moved toward him.

He lay there, too afraid to move. Kitt came closer, like a frightened
child, wanting to help but not knowing how.  He gently touched
Michael to let him know that he was there and waited. Time passed.
Now the sun was not directly overhead.  It no longer burned his skin
with the same blistering strength. Fear crept over him like a living
entity.  If he opened his eyes would he see blue sky?  Or blackness.

Slowly he opened his eyes...  and stared into blackness.  He
whimpered silently.  The heat of the sun still burned his face, his
eyelids.  The air he drew into his lungs was hot.  Sweat plastered
his shirt to his chest.  Kitt's presence flowed over him, holding him
gently.

//Michael, I'm here.//

Michael grabbed onto him, scared.  Kitt tried to pull back,
confused.  Michael was the one who always took care of him.  Now the
tables were reversed.  He was Michael's lifeline to survival, both
mental and physical.  It wasn't supposed to be this way.  He didn't
know if he could do it.  If he was strong enough.

// Kitt...  Am I blindfolded?//  Panic broiled up inside
Michael. //Kitt... Am I blindfolded?//

 He rubbed his face across the hot sand trying to scrape the
blindfold off.

//Michael!! No… you are hurting yourself.//

He dropped his cheek against the dry hot sand feeling graduals of
sand tickle his nose with every breath..

//There is no blindfold...// Kitt said gently.

Warm tears welled up in Michael's eyes.  He was blind.  He was
completely blind.

Kitt stroked the amber essence that was his partner, his life.  He
searched for anything that would explain Michael's sightlessness.
There was no reason.  He found no injuries, no drugs, nothing.

Michael took a deep breath.  //My eyes?//

Kitt cradled him tighter.  //I believe it is flash burns from the
light.  It burned the retinas of your eyes.//

//That's good... Right?  Retinas heal...//

Kitt nodded.  //That's good.//  What he didn't say was that most
severe flash burns never healed. Michael needed to have something to
hang onto.  He needed a will to live. Kitt could feel Michael slowly
regain his composure.

//Where are you?//  Michael whispered.

//I don't know.  In some kind of lab.//

//Are you hurt?//

Michael waited for an answer.

//No...// It came finally.  //Not physically.//

A tendril of fear touched Michel then whipped back as if he were
afraid to let him know how scared he felt himself.

//It's Ok, we're both scared.//  He said softly.  //Can you tell me
what happened?//

//We were abducted by a man named Alexander Rehies.//

Michael knew that name.  He had heard it before, somewhere.

//We are his experiment.//

//What...?//  Anger began to replace the fear.

//He has designed an obstacle course.  If I can lead you out, you
will live.  If I can't..."

Michael felt the fear rise in Kitt again.

//What kind of course?//  He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
How could anyone put Kitt through such an ordeal?  Kitt was like a
child, still learning his way in the adult world.  While he was
equipped to handle life and death situations, he wasn't supposed to
have to control them. He gently pulled Kitt closer to him, hugging
him.

//I'm not sure yet. He wants to know how much trust a human will put
into computer.//

//Complete trust, if you are the computer and I am the human.//

Michael suddenly felt Kitt flinch.

//Kitt?//

//It's Rehies.  He wants to know why you are just lying there.  He's
anxious to get started.//

//What happens if we don't cooperate?//

//Michael, I have no idea where either one of us is.  Rehies says it
is a five-day trek out of there.  You won't survive without water.  I
can't contact the Foundation.//

//So, we cooperate for now.//

//I'm afraid we have no other choice.//

//All right.  Does Rehies know about the nuerolink?//

//I don't believe so.//

//Good.  Lets keep it that way.  Do I have my comlink?//

//It is attached to the front of your shirt.  Rehies has positioned
cameras in every location possible along the route.  I can see
everything you do, hear everything around you.//

//My eyes and ears, so to speak.//  Michael smiled.

//So to speak.//

//Then, why don't we get this little show on the road?//

//Michael//  Kitt said hesitantly, //what if I can't do it?  What if
I can't make the right decision?//

//Kitt,//  Michael wrapped himself around the shivering entity.  //I
trust you with my life.  I always have.  I can't think of anyone I
would rather place my trust in.  Just...// Michael squeezed him
tightly, //...trust yourself.//
 
 
 

Rehies watched Michael regain consciousness on one of the many
monitors that sat on his desk.  He had seen his first initial
reaction to the blindness, frantically trying to rub the blindfold
off, then he had simply rolled onto his side and remained
motionless.  Rehies expected more from the great Michael Knight.  He
reached back and grabbed a soda from the small fridge that sat next
to the desk.  He had water, food, and soda, everything at his
fingertips.  He could sit twenty-four hours a day there and not be in
want of anything, except the occasional pit stop in the bathroom.  He
didn't want to miss a minute of Knight and K.I.T.T.'s interaction.
He specifically made it so Knight would be forced to rest once the
sun went down.  He had cameras with infrared lenses but he planned to
cut off the comlink during the night.  That way he could get a little
rest.  Five days was going to be a marathon no matter how you looked
at it.  But one of the most important things was that he remained in
complete control.  K.I.T.T. was smart and Knight was strong.  They
could easily do things he was not aware of during the night if he was
not careful.  He would record every moment throughout the night just
in case.

"He's awake K.I.T.T."  Rehies said into the headset.  "Aren't you
going to talk to him?"
 
 

//Rehies is asking why we are not talking...//

//We can't let him know about the nureolink// Michael cautioned.
 

Michael cleared his throat trying to drag some moisture into his dry
mouth. "Kitt?  Kitt are you there?"  He rasped into the black void,
knowing Kitt was nowhere near.  "Kitt…   Buddy, I need you."

"I am here Michael."  He heard Kitt's reply through the comlink.

"What happened?  Where are you?"

Rehies voice filled Kitt's cabin.  "He doesn't need to know that."

"I am close Michael."

"My eyes...  I can't see Kitt."  It didn't take a lot of acting on
Michael's part to make his fear seem real.  It was.

"I know.  I'm here to help you."

"Where is here?"

"Tell him to get off his damn ass and start moving.  The clock has
begun to tick K.I.T.T."

"Michael, it isn't safe for you there.  I know a safe place."

"Where?"

//Michael. We must begin.  Do you think you can stand?"//

//One question:  Will I bump my head?//

//No Michael..// There was just a hint of a smile in Kitt's
voice.  //Your head will be fine.//

Michael struggled to climb to his knees.  The blackness affecting his
equilibrium. He swayed, nearly pitching forward on his face.
 

Rehies watched Michael push himself onto his haunches then rise very
carefully to his feet, balancing and counterbalancing every movement.
 

//Can you do anything about these cuffs?//

//I'm sorry Michel.  They are soldered together.//

//He's thought of everything//

Michael set his feet slightly apart, firmly balancing himself.  He
could feel and smell the hot breeze in his face.  Slowly he turned
around, feeling the sunlight shifting on his face.
He stopped.  //North West, right Buddy?//  Michael asked with a sight
smile.

//How did you know that?//

//My Boy Scout training.  The sun always sets in the West, and this
time of year that would be North West.//

//I'm impressed.  Can you tell what time of day it is?//

//Late afternoon.//

The light banter helped them both.  It was something that came
naturally to them, long before the nureolink was activated.
 
 

Rehies was getting bored.  "K.I.T.T., it's time to begin.  Here is
your first destination."
A map appeared on one of the monitors on the wall.  It showed a route
outlined in red.  Symbols appeared at the top indicating places and
objects along the way.  "As you can see, " Rehies continued, "the
first part of your journey takes you down through a natural limestone
tunnel which leads to an open tundra."

"He needs water.  He is beginning to dehydrate."

"There is water waiting at the base of the tunnel.  If you can find
it, it is his."

The transmission stopped and so did the image.

//Kitt…?//

//Did you hear?//

Michael nodded.  //How long is the tunnel?//

//I'm not sure.  The image wasn't complete.  I only saw the beginning
of the tunnel.//
 

//Ok, we better get started.//
 

At first Michael took small shuffling steps.  Instinct fighting
against reason.  Instinct told him to stay still, not walk into the
unknown blackness.  Reason told him if he stayed there he would die,
either of thirst or exposure.  Probably both. But in the end it was
Kitt that gave him the courage to move forward.

With each step he grew braver.  He moved his head from side to side,
feeling the differences in air currents and heat.  His audio senses
seemed to be more acute than they had ever been before.  He heard his
every footstep crunch into the limestone sand.

"Where am I kitt?"  He called out.  He heard his voice echo off walls
that were only a few feet away, traveling up and over him to
disappear in the air above.

"You have entered a narrow limestone ravine.  It is approximately two
hundred feet long."

"Can you see me?"

"Yes Michael, there are cameras situated all along the route.  You
are doing fine.  Just keep walking."

"I'm getting awful thirsty here Buddy…"

"There is water waiting at the end of the ravine."  Kitt promised.

Michael felt the ground begin to slant downward beneath his feet.

//Kitt… //

//It's alright Michael.  There is a gradual decent to the tundra
below.  It should not be steep enough to…//

Suddenly Michael's foot got caught up in something, tripping him.  He
couldn't keep his balance.  He staggered forward his momentum sending
him sprawling toward the ground.

//Michael!!// Kitt felt the terror envelope Michael as he plummeted
face forward into the blackness.

Michael tried to whip his hands out in front of him to break his fall
but the shackles bit deeply into his wrists.

//Kitt…!// He screamed into the link.  He waited for Kitt to
respond.  There was only silence.  Kitt was blocking…

His shoulder slammed into the ground and he slid down the ravine on
the loose limestone sand on his stomach as if he were a tobogganist
on a luge run. His shoulders and hips scoured the sides of the
mountain until he came to rest, sprawled face down in the sand.

He lay there breathless, trying to make his body stop trembling.  He
felt the sunlight full on his face again.

//Kitt…?//

Michael felt the block strengthen.

//Kitt, please don't do this.  I need you…//

The block didn't move.  He tried pushing against it.  Kitt was
stronger than he was now.  All his energies were used up fighting the
fall.

//Kitt, please,// he begged, //it wasn't your fault.//

Michael felt the block drop just a bit, like a child opening a door
just enough to peak out.

//It wasn't your fault.//

//I can/t do this.// the A.I. whimpered.  //I can't do this.//

//Yes you can.//  Michael gently pulled Kitt closer to him.  He was a
frightened child, left to deal with decisions an adult would find
hard to make.  //Yes you can.//

//No!//  Kitt tried to retreat again.

Michael grabbed him, shaking him roughly.  //Kitt, listen to me.  You
can't fall apart every time I fall down. I won't make it out of here
alive.  I'm Ok.  I'm hungry, thirsty and pissed off like hell, but
I'm not hurt.  Scan me, take my vitals.  I'm Ok.  Just scared.//

//I didn't see the limb.// Kitt said, his voice full of self
loathing.  //I should have seen it.//

Michael gently coaxed Kitt out from behind the block.  //Of course
you didn't.// He said gently.  //You weren't supposed to. Its all
part of Rehies's game.  He wants to undermine the trust we have in
each other.  But// He gently stroked the white essence,  //we can't
let that happen.  We can't.//

//I don't know if I can do this.//

//One step at a time Pal. One step at a time.  Now, we better make
this look good for Rehies.  Tell me where I am, through the comlink//

"Michael, are you injured?"  Michael heard Kitt ask over the comlink.

"I'm alright." He answered, his voice husky from lack of water.

Kitt watched Michael slowly pull himself together.  Trying to move
with his wrists shackled behind him proved to be more of a problem
that Kitt had expected.  Michael had to flop himself over onto his
stomach then use his shoulder to push himself up to his knees.  It
took him five minutes to finally get into position to stand.

Michael swayed a bit, the blackness still playing with his
equilibrium.

"That was some E Ticket ride."  He grinned.

"Are you ready to proceed Michael?"

Michael nodded.  "Lead the way Kitt."

Kitt could never understand how Michael could find levity in every
situation, no matter how dangerous or complicated.
 

Kitt studied the monitors mounted in the wall getting his first look
at the next challenge ahead.  Each one showed a different angle of a
flat dry riverbed.  At one time, eons ago, water rushed through this
canyon leaving it scarred and ripped with deep gouges some three feet
wide and hundreds of feet long.

//Kitt… What's wrong?//

//Nothing Michael,// Kitt lied,  //I'm just studying the valley floor
ahead to find the easiest way across.//

Michael moved his face into the slight warm breeze and listened
carefully.  It was deathly quiet.  The only sound he heard was the
wind passing by his ears.  Where in the hell was he?  He could feel
Kitt's hesitation.  Something was making the A.I. very nervous.

"Kitt, talk to me Buddy, what am I looking at here?"

"Michael, you are standing at the edge of a dried up riverbed a
quarter mile wide.  It is covered with channels dug out by the
rushing water, some are only a few inches wide while others at least
three feet wide."

"Can we go around?"

"No Michael.  There is no other choice, you have to cross it."

"How?"  Michael felt new dread seep into his tired body.  He couldn't
keep this up.  The mental strain of keeping the link open with Kitt
was draining.  That combined with the terrors he felt walking into
the blackness threatened to overwhelm him.

//Michael…  you can do this.  I will be with you every second.//

Kitt watched Michael on the screen.  He looked like he was ready to
collapse.  He started to shuffle forward.  Small plumes of dust
billowed around his ankles.  No human had stepped foot in this part
of  No Man's Land in many years.  The sun continued to beat down
relentlessly.

Another angle popped up on the number three screen in front of Kitt.

"Michael, stop!"

Michael stood stone still, panting.

The screen showed Michael standing six feet in front of a channel
carved into the desert floor.  Three feet wide, five feet deep.
Unimposing under normal circumstances.  Michael could leap over it
with ease.  But this was far from normal circumstances.  If he miss-
stepped, if he panicked in the middle of the jump he could fall into
the crevice.  With his hands shackled behind his back there would be
no way of getting out.  He would be trapped.
 

"What's wrong K.I.T.T.?"  Rehies' voice suddenly filled Kitt's
cabin.  "Michael Knight already doubting you?"

"This has gone far enough," Kitt snapped.  "End it, now."

Rehies chuckled.  "I'm afraid, for your friend, it's just begun."

"Why, why are you doing this to us?"

"I told you before K.I.T.T., to see how far he will trust you."

Kitt quickly threw up a block.  He didn't know what Rehies would
say.  Michael couldn't know what lay ahead for him.  He would give up.

"I will do anything you want, just don't hurt Michael anymore."

"How gallant of you K.I.T.T. But, the only one who will be hurting
Michael is you my friend."

Kitt felt a shiver pass through his C.P.U.

"What does that mean?"

"You will find out soon enough.  Now you better contact him again
before he looses his nerve."

Kitt heard a click and all was quite again.  He looked at Michael,
standing there, looking lost.  He must have noticed the link
blocked.  How alone he must be feeling.  Kitt had never experienced
the kinds of feelings he had since the neuro link activated itself,
and he was still trying to sort through emotions that made no sense.
But love and hate were emotions he felt long before the link, they
just intensified.  His love for Michael and his safety were
paramount, but his hate for Rehies was growing more intense by the
second.  He wasn't sure if he could control himself if he were to
meet him…

He felt Michael pushing at the block, gently at first then harder
until he was nearly beating at it.  He steadied himself, not wanting
Michael to feel the fear and despair that was dragging at him.

//I'm here Michael// he said, gently wrapping his white essence
around Michael.  //I was talking to Rehies.  I didn't want to take
the chance that he would discover the link//

//Don't ever leave me alone like that again// Michael pleaded.

//I won't.  I promise.//  He stepped back giving Michael time to
regain his composure.  //Rehies says there is water across the
riverbed.  It will be waiting for you.  Are you ready?//

Michael nodded.  //I guess as ready as I ever will be.  But Pal, tell
me, how hard is this going to be?//

//The truth?//

//The truth…//

//If you fall into one of the crevices you will have no way of
getting out.  But that's not going to happen because I'm going to get
you across.//

"Ready Michael?"  Kitt asked through the comlink.

Michael nodded, "Piece of cake."

"Very well.  I want you to do exactly what I say when I say it."

"You got it."

"Starting on your left foot take three running steps then leap as far
as you can.  You should be able to clear the ditch by at least a
foot.  Ready?"

Michael took a deep breath, his mouth dry from the lack of water and
the ever-present fear.  "Ready."

"Now!"  Kitt shouted.

Michael pushed off his left foot and ran as hard as he could leaping
into the air on the third step.  It felt like he was in the air for
an eternity.  Without his arms to balance himself he came down on his
feet then toppled onto his right side, but it was firm ground.  He
had done it.

"How was that Kitt?" He grinned.

"Perfect Michael.  Although I think the landing could use some
refining. We'll work on that on the next one."

Michael stopped grinning.  "How many are there?"

"Three more.  But you can do it."

Michael struggled back to his feet, swaying with fatigue.

"Let's get this over with," he growled.  "I'm thirsty."

"That's the spirit Michael.  The next one is twenty yards ahead."

Michael negotiated the next two with little difficulty. But it was
beginning to get late and he was at the point of shear exhaustion.
His body and mind were fighting with him at every step.  The fatigue
intensified his fear of the blackness and the unknown.  He trusted
Kitt with his life, and so far today he had proven that.  But now he
was beginning to wonder if this was all worth it.  If he survived
today what was ahead tomorrow?  And the next day.  And once they got
out of here…  What would life be like without his sight?  He couldn't
carry on at the Foundation, except as a desk jockey, not something
that suited him.  Then what?  His knees buckled.  He hit the ground
hard and didn't move.

//Michael…?//

//I can't Kitt…  I can't do this anymore.//  He tried to raise a
block.  He wanted to be left alone.  He didn't care anymore.  He
stared into the blackness.  Who would care anyway if he was gone?
Kitt and Bonnie and Devon, but beyond them, who?  Not his family,
they thought he was already dead.  Friends?  He had few really true
friends.  He went through life touching other peoples lives, risking
his own, then simply walking away.  No attachments.  That was the key
to his life.

//Michael…//

//Leave me alone Kitt…  Please, just leave me alone.//  He tried to
strengthen the block but Kitt was too strong.

//You are tired Michael.  You'll feel different tomorrow.  You have
one more jump then you can rest for awhile.  I promise.//

Michael shook his head.  //No…//

Fear and anger rose in Kitt. //Yes!//  He pushed through the weak
block shattering it like glass.  //I will not let you die.  Do you
hear me?  You are going to get back on your feet and you are going to
jump that last channel.  I will not have your death on my
conscience.  Now get up!//

Michael obeyed the voice.  He was too tired not to.  He stood up,
swaying.  He nearly pitched forward.  He took a step to balance
himself and he felt the toe of his shoe slip off the edge.

"Michael, carefully take five steps back.  Good."  Kitt had to be
precise.  Michael's gait would be different, slower, shorter, because
of his fatigue.  If he under estimated Michael's jumping
distance…    "Now just like before take three running steps and leap."

Kitt watched Michael take the five steps back, but his movements were
lethargic.

"Now!"

Michael began to run, his legs feeling like fifty pound weights were
attached.  He jumped into the blackness.  He came sprawling down on
his stomach, the air punched out of his lungs, with his legs dangling
over the edge.  He felt the loose sand begin to break away beneath
him.  Panicked, he dug his chin into the dirt to anchor himself and
began pulling with his shoulders.  One inch at a time.  It took him
an eternity before his knees were on solid ground and he could wiggle
his entire body to safety.

He lay there panting, feeling Kitt surrounding him, comforting him.
He fought the desire to just let his mind float off into peaceful
sleep.  He still needed water.

"Water…"  He croaked.

"Two hundred yards ahead of you Michael."

Two hundred yards.  It might as well have been two hundred miles.  He
struggled to his knees and sank back on his haunches.  The sun in his
face was nearly gone, and there was a new stillness to the land.
Nightfall.

He began to move toward the water on his knees. Slowly, painfully he
made his way forward.

"Two more feet Michael."

"Where?"

"Above you."   A leather pouch hung from the limb of a long dead
tree.  It had a cup with a shunt that could be opened with the tongue.

"You have to stand Michael.  It's right above your head."

Michael struggled to his feet, falling back on his knees twice when
his legs gave out.  At last he was standing, his legs trembling.  He
searched the air with his face looking for the bottle.

"To your left."  Kitt guided him, "forward, just an inch."

The bag brushed Michael's chin and he grabbed it with his teeth and
coaxed the cap open with his tongue.  Cool fresh water spilled down
his throat.  He gulped at it.

"Michael!  Slow down.  You will make yourself sick.  Save some for
the morning."

Michael couldn't hear him, the only thing that mattered was the water
that filled his stomach, splashed over his mouth and down his chest.
He sucked on it until it was dry.

Mental and physical fatigue enveloped him and the spiraled to the
ground, face down in the sand, unconscious.

Kitt settled in beside him, feeling Michael's amber essence relax.
He would stay by him through the night.
 

Kitt embraced Michael gently as his partner sank into a deep
exhausted sleep.  Rehies had turned off all the video monitors and
his comlink for the night leaving Kitt with just the neuro link.
Through the link he felt the pain of Michael's tortured muscles and
the beginnings of stomach cramps caused by his drinking the water too
fast.  He blocked the pain impulses as best he could so Michael could
get the sleep his body so urgently needed.  He wasn't sure how much
more Michael could endure.  He was driven to the point of exhaustion,
and this was only the first day.  He wondered idly if Devon and
Bonnie were looking for them.  Of course they were.  They had been
missing for days now.  He had tried earlier to access his homing
device but Rehies blocked the transmission.  He had tried to reroute
signals, tapped into the emergency protocol, nothing worked.  It
seemed that Rehies knew as much about him as anyone at the
Foundation.  They appeared to be on their own.
 

Michael moaned softly and changed his position just a little, letting
his right cheek rest against he sand.  Kitt moved in closer assuring
Michael all was well.
 

It was toward the early morning when Michael snapped his eyes open.
He held his breath waiting, hoping that what he had just gone through
was terrible nightmare. His heart sank when he realized it was all
too real.

//Kitt…?  Can you hear me?// He whispered across the link.

//Yes Michael.  You should be sleeping.  You will need your rest for
tomorrow.//

//What time is it?//

//About four thirty in the morning.//

//Are the stars out?//

//I don't know Michael.  Rehies turned off all the video monitors and
the comlink.  This is the only way we can communicate.//

//Blind too, huh…?// He asked with a touch of bitterness.

//At the moment.//

//What do you think Rehies has in store for us today?//

//I don't know.  He has gone to great lengths to prepare these
courses for us.  I'm afraid there are parts of the human psyche that
I don't understand..//

//Rehies is a madman.  What makes him all the more dangerous is that
he is also brilliant.  I've been thinking about him and remembered
where I had heard his name.  He worked for the Foundation during your
development.  He was fired just before I came onboard.  They found
him trying to upload his own program into you.  Even back then he was
fascinated by your ability to communicate.  Now…//

//Michael, do you think he will let us survive even if we finish the
course?//  Kitt asked hesitantly.

There was a long pause.  Michael had often had to come to grips with
the realization that his life was in mortal danger. It came with the
job.  He had prepared himself more than once.

// We'll find a way, somehow, to fight him.  We just have to take it
one step at a time.//  Michael wondered how long this renewed
confidence would last.  Somehow the blindness didn't seem so bad now,
in the darkness of night. It felt natural.  But in the morning when
the sun was beating down on his face and he couldn't see, that's when
the terror would start eating at him again.

//Michael, you had better try to get some more sleep.  Tomorrow may
be a long day.//

Michael closed his sightless eyes and let himself drift back into
sleep feeling Kitt surrounding him, protecting him.