Disclaimer: Paramount owns Star Trek, not me. The title came from the book "The Silence of the Lambs" by Thomas Harris Teach Us To Be Still By Krystal Banzon Rylus heaved and grunted as he dragged the heavy body across the jungle floor. He hadn't meant for the crash to occur. He didn't want anything bad to happen, but something did. Someone shot at the shuttle, causing it to crash in the middle of the jungle. He shook his head, and told himself that he didn't want anything bad to happen. That he didn't cause this terrible crash, but somewhere, deep, in the back of his mind, this was exactly what he wished for. Rylus ducked and weaved through the hot jungle, dragging the body behind him. He got to a nice spot, under a tree and far from the shuttle and set the body down. He took out the strong ropes he had in his pocket, and tied the body to the tree. As he worked tying the large ropes together, he thought of something someone told him once, *Teach us to care and not to care. Teach us to be still.* Rylus's eyes became wet, and he pulled the ropes tighter. How Rylus wished to be still. *************** When Rylus walked back to the shuttle, he saw one of those same purple flowers he gave B'Elanna, hanging on a vine. He picked it off, and breathed in it's sweet fragrance. Rylus held the flower in his hand while walking back to the shuttle. He knew his way back easily. His kind had a gifted sense of direction. You had to have it living on this symetrical jungle planet. When he got back to the crash site, she was still unconcious. Good, he thought. he wanted to be there when she awoke. He wanted to be the first thing she saw when she woke. After all, he saved her life in the crash. She could only be grateful. Rylus walked over to B'Elanna, knelt down nxt to her, and held the flower out to her nose. B'Elanna started to stir. B'Elanna smelled a familiar fragrance. It was the faint smell of nectar, or honey, something sweet... Her mind wandered drowsily, Tom, Rylus... She felt something hard against her back... A shock of pain went though her head. The crash! She thought, she remembered the shuttle, a jolt, then...black. Tom...where was Tom, she thought. Then she opened her eyes. Rylus was squatting in front of her smiling. *How could he smile at a time like this?* she thought. "Rylus?" B'Elanna said drowsiliy "Shh, you're hurt..." Rylus said shyly. Rylus took the purple flower and put it in B"Elanna's hair right above her ear. She looked so pretty with the flower there. *I've finally got my own prettygirl!* he thought. "Rylus, where's Tom?" B'Elanna asked. Rylus didn't answer, and stared at the moist dirt. "Rylus, answer me. Where is Tom?" "When I woke up he was gone. He didn't take anything from the shuttle. I don't know where he went." Rylus lied. He put his hand on B"Elanna's cheek and caressed it lightly, like he saw Tom do. *So pretty, so pretty...* he thought. B'Elanna tried to bring her hand up to remove Rylus's hand, but she couldn't. That was what she felt against her back. She was tied to a tree. B'Elanna started to stuggle furiously against the ropes. Rylus was bewildered. He stood up and took one step back in surprise. While B'Elanna struggled to break the ropes, the purple flower, placed so delicately above her ear, fell down, out of her hair, and onto the ground. Rylus stared at the flower in sadness, and picked it up off the ground. "Rylus! Why did you tie me up? And where is Tom? Where is he, Rylus? Tell me!" B'Elanna screamed at him, while still struggling against the tree. "I saved your life! I thought you'd be happy!" Rylus cried out in despair. "Where is Tom?!" B'Elanna cried. "He's somewhere out in the jungle. B'Elanna I saved you..." He said quietly. "Rylus, untie me, I need to go look for Tom!" "No..." Rylus said softly. "Rylus, you lose Tom, then you try to hurt me! You tie me up to this tree..." "NO!..." Rylus screamed. B'Elanna stopped talking. "I didn't want to hurt you. I tied you up, because I didn't want you to run away. Rylus, saved you...Rylus, loves you, B'Elanna." Rylus said, still holding the flower, but looking at the shuttle, not B'Elanna. B'Elanna sat there, shocked at his deeply said words. B'Elanna remembered Tom's words in the shuttle, *I think Rylus has a crush on you!* He was right. "Rylus, if you care so much about me, then you would let me go. Let me go look for Tom. Please Rylus." B'Elanna pleaded. Rylus sat cross-legged against the shuttle, which was about five feet to the left of her. The flower was in his lap, his eyes were closed, and he seemed to be asleep, but B'Elanna knew he wasn't. Soon, B'Elanna fell asleep too, her head drooping against the tree that still held her. Rylus thought. He did the wrong thing. She wasn't thankful to him. He was so sorry. He didn't want B'Elanna, his *prettygirl* to be sad. He scolded himself for being so stupid. He knew he was stupid. Everyone he encountered in his life, told him that. The pain, the loneliness he goes though. No one cares about him, no one. The loneliness drove him insane. So many he killed, he wanted to finally prove to someone that he changed. This was his chance, he knew what he had to do. B'Elanna woke up, and had to blink her eyes a bit. The night was coming, it was at that point where almost all of Tarkon's sun's had set, but not completely. She looked at Rylus, who still sat in his same position against the shuttle. Except now, he was awake. He sat there staring at her the dim light of the early night. She moved her hands, and realized they were free. Rylus had cut her loose while she was asleep. She moved her hands around and rubbed her wrists. Rylus stared at her intently with his caring and gentle, yet lonely eyes. B'Elanna stood up and smiled at him. A silent thank you for letting her go. Then B'Elanna saw Rylus's eyes glitter. "Thank you, Rylus." B'Elanna said. Rylus blushed, then a golden tear ran down his cheek. B'Elanna smiled and ran off into the Jungle. Leaving Rylus alone and crying. *Teach us to be still...* he thought. **************** B'Elanna ran though the jungle, looking for trails or any clues to the whereanouts of Tom. As she ran, she remembered a passage from a 20th century book he had seen once. *Teach us to care and not to care. Teach us to be still...* As B'Elanna ran deeper and deeper into the jungle, she got tired. She needed a place to rest for the night. She found a nice tree, and sat under it. She hoped there weren't any dangerous animals in this part of the jungle. She leaned against the tree, and combed a hand through her hair. Then she felt something... she took it out of her hair, and looked at it. It was the purple flower Rylus gave her. She put it to her nose and smelled it. As she breathed it in she thought of Rylus and his good intentions. He let her go in the end... Her eyes started to water, and she thought, *Teach us to be still.* End of Part Three Copyright 4/14/98 Krystal Banzon Feedback can be sent to StartreX@Webtv.net