Subject: The Dream Weavers: Part one
Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2000 20:15:37 -0400
From: "RVaracalle" kittycat104@hotmail.com
To: brianrn@qis.net
Title: The Dream Weavers
Fandom: seaQuest - Second Season
Pairing: None
Rating: R - Violence
Status: New
archive: Yes, just let me know please!
E-mail Addy: kittycat104@hotmail.com
Series/Sequel: 1/?
Disclaimers: I don't own the series seaQuest or its characters, and I
receive no profit for this fic.
The Dream Weavers
By: RV
In his dream, Lucas was running. Turning his head to glance back at his
pursuers, he stumbled and fell; screaming as he felt their sharp claws
pressing into his skin...
Safe in his bunk on seaQuest, Lucas suddenly jerked awake. Breathing
heavily, he brushed the hair out of his eyes with a shaky hand. He shivered
and reached down to pull the blanket up around him, feeling the cool air
from the environmentally controlled room, wash over him.
The only noise in the otherwise quiet room, came from Tony, his roommate,
sleeping in the bunk below him. Lucas glanced over at the clock on his desk.
It was only 2 A.M.: much too early to be awake. Releasing a deep sigh, he
laid back against the pillows, and closed his eyes.
Lucas could hear Tony muttering in his sleep again. Rolling over onto his
side, he tried to clear his mind, but his thoughts kept going back to the
dream. He couldn't remember exactly when it had started. Lucas just knew
that he'd grown to hate the dark; hate the night, because that's when the
Dream Weavers came...
The Dream Weavers. When he was a little boy, somewhere around nine, or ten,
he had spent the night over a friend's house. As little boys do, they snuck
out of bed late one night, and while surfing the tv dial, came across a
horror flick. The movie had been terrifying. It had given Lucas and his
friend Chris, nightmares for weeks. Every time he'd go to bed, he'd end up
waking the entire household a few hours later, screaming that the Dream
Weavers were coming, but no one understood.
His parents had made the rounds between Pediatricians and Psycholoists. They
all said the same thing; night terrors are common fears in children. The boy
will grow out of it. Lucas did grow out of it, sort of, but every now and
then, the dreams would return; each one more frightening than the last.
Morning came and still Lucas couldn't shake his sense of dread. He had the
uncomfortable feeling that this time THEY were real.
So absorbed with his dark thoughts, Lucas was totally unaware of Tony. His
roommate had silently crept out of his bunk and seeing Lucas staring into
space, had thought that now would be as good a time as any, to get back at
the teen for all his past practical jokes. Quietly, Tony reached his hand
out and grabbed Lucas' shoulder. The teen clutched his chest, yelling a
string of expletives, some of which even Tony had never heard before. He
gave Tony a murderous look, as he angrily spat, "Don't you ever do that to
me again!"
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Geesh!" muttered his friend, walking away.
************
Wendy paced anxiously back and forth in her quarters. She hadn't slept well
last night. She kept waking up in a sweat, thinking that she felt a cold,
icy hand touch her -- such a creepy feeling! Yet, it wouldn't go away.
Wringing her hands together, the Doctor mentally debated with herself.
Should she go, and seek out Captain Bridger? What would she say? "Oh, excuse
me, Captain, but I have a funny feeling that something is wrong on this
boat." Yeah, right, and he'd laugh her right out the shuttle bay doors!
Nathan, had already made it clear, how he felt about her psychic abilities.
Would he just tell her that she was crazy and ignore the impressions she was
receiving?
Something was very wrong on board seaQuest and Wendy knew that she couldn't
just ignore it; too many lives could be at stake. Someone, or something, had
awakened her from a sound sleep last night, with the intensity of their
fear. Who ever it was, they were absolutely terrified. Wendy had
concentrated as hard as she could, trying to pick up clues as to who was
sending her these emotions, but all she could come up with were two words:
Dream Weavers.
The Dream Weavers? She turned the words over in her mind. The phrase meant
nothing to her. Releasing another sigh, Wendy decided to take a walk to
clear her head. She was too tired right now to think straight. She left her
cabin, and headed down to the Hydroponics Lab.
************
"Luke. Luke! Earth to Lucas!"
Startled out of his daze, Lucas looked around in surprise. He found himself
sitting in the Mess, a plate of eggs in front of him, cold and untouched. He
couldn't remember getting there at all.
"Hey Luke!" Tony called again.
Lucas blinked several times, then lifted his head up to look at his roommate
through bleary, red-rimmed eyes. "Yeah, Tony. What ?" he growled.
"Well, my, my. Aren't we Mr. Personality this morning! By the way, kid, you
look terrible; try a good night's rest!" snickered Tony, as he left for his
shift on the Bridge.
Lucas looked down at his congealed plate of cold eggs, muttering, "I would
if I could."
**************
Wendy heard a light tap on the Medbay office door. "Come in," she called
absently, turning to see Nathan standing before her. In a tired voice, she
asked, "What can I do for you, Captain?"
Nathan gave Wendy a quick sideways glance, before starting to pace
agitatedly back and forth. He was clearly worried about something. "It's
Lucas, Wendy. I'm concerned about him. Have you noticed how withdrawn, and
quiet he's been over the past few days? I've checked with Miguel and Brody
and apparently after his shifts are over, he just goes back to his quarters.
He isn't socializing with anyone. Miguel told me he found Lucas dozing off
in the middle of a systems verification scan for WSKRS. When he tried to
talk to Lucas, the boy became hostile, and started babbling some nonsense
about Dream Weavers."
Wendy's head suddenly jerked up. "Did you say, Dream Weavers?"
"Yeah. Does it mean anything to you?" Nathan asked, shaking his head,
somewhat confused.
"I'm not sure," Wendy replied, "But while we're on the subject, I did want
to talk to you."
Nathan looked at her, still perplexed. He could see now, that she looked
tired. Yes, something did appear to be bothering her.
"Last night, I received a psychic impression from something, or someone, on
this boat." On seeing his increasingly skeptical expression, she gripped
his arm continuing, "Until you told me about Lucas just now, I had no idea
who it could be. Nathan, the thing that scared me most was that I could feel
the person's fear -- they were terrified, and the phrase I kept hearing
over, and over, was the Dream Weavers have come..." Wendy shuddered as if
she had suddenly caught a chill and unconsciously wrapped her arms
protectively around herself for comfort. Looking back over at him, she said,
"Where is Lucas now?"
"He should be finishing his shift on the Bridge."
Wendy reached across the desk and picked up her PAL. "Lucas, could you meet
me at the Moon Pool. I need you to assist me with Darwin's physical."
A tired voice curtly responded, "Yeah. I'm on my way."
SeaQuest's Captain and the Doctor, looked at each other helplessly as they
heard the tone of the teen's response. Wendy smiled faintly as she placed a
reassuring hand on Nathan's arm. "It's going to be okay," she said, hoping
desperately that she would be able to draw Lucas out of the depths of the
emotional fortress he had trapped himself in.
************
Lucas slowly made his way to the Moon Pool. He was in no hurry to encounter
Wendy. Frankly, he was just too tired to deal with anyone. He didn't want to
be confronted about his behavior. Lucas had already been reamed out by Tim
and Miguel for falling asleep during the communications/sensor drill this
morning. It wasn't all his fault; he couldn't help it -- there was no one to
talk to about his little *problem.* Anyway, no one here would understand.
With a deep sigh, he wiped a hand across his face, brushing away the hot
tears that had started to slip out of the corners of his eyes.
As he walked onto the observation deck, Darwin suddenly surfaced, splashing
playfully.
"Lucas play with Darwin now?" the dolphin asked.
"Not now Darwin," replied Lucas sharply. Feeling totally exhausted, the teen
sat down on the deck floor.
"Lucas sick?" asked Darwin.
'No, I'm just really tired, okay, Darwin. I'm waiting for Wendy. We're going
to give you a check-up." Lucas closed his eyes and leaned back against the
wall.
"Lucas have bad dreams," the dolphin said.
"What?" Lucas' eyes snapped open and he sat up abruptly. He ran over to the
pool. Leaning forward, towards Darwin, he asked anxiously, "What do you know
about my dreams?"
"Darwin knows many things about Lucas, that Lucas does not know about
himself. Darwin knows the Dream Weavers are coming..." replied the dolphin,
as he swam away.
Lucas carefully stood up, as if in a daze; a bewildered expression on his
face. Then, as his senses took control, he grabbed the vocorder. "Wait!
Darwin, come back!"
***********
Seeing Lucas by the pool, Wendy called out to him, as she made her way over.
"Lucas, great, you're here. Now we can get started."
Lucas turned, startled to see her. For a fleeting moment, he had no
recollection as to why she was here. Then, as he started to relax and became
able to think again, Lucas remembered. Something about a check-up. He walked
over to the supply cart that held the medical equipment used for Darwin's
care. Opening various drawers, he started picking out the necessary items
needed to conduct a medical exam on a dolphin.
As Wendy got closer to the young man, she inwardly gasped, shocked as she
took in Lucas' tired, disheveled appearance. She noted the dark,
bruise-like shadows forming under his blood-shot eyes.
Still observing Lucas out of the corner of her eye, Wendy went over to the
edge of the pool and called for Darwin. As the dolphin swam over, she leaned
ovet the edge of the pool, and gave him a friendly rub. "Good Darwin," she
said, smiling at the mammal's antics. Looking over her shoulder, she called,
"Lucas, could you come over here a minute please. I need to get a blood
sample from our friend here."
Pushing the cart over to Wendy, Lucas leaned over the edge of the pool and
held Darwin as the Doctor obtained the required specimen. Giving the dolphin
an extra rub for cooperating, Wendy turned and handed the tube of blood to
Lucas to take to Sea Lab I for analysis. She placed the tube carefully in
his hand. As Wendy turned back to Darwin to continue the medical exam, she
suddenly heard a loud crash behind her. Ripping the stethoscope from her
ears, she turned around to see Lucas laying on the floor, pinned under the
overturned supply cart, with the glass specimen tube shattered in his hand;
a thin trail of blood trickling over his wrist.
"Lucas!" Wendy screamed, running over to where he lay unmoving. Checking his
neck for a pulse, she gave a sigh of relief, then pulled her PAL from her
lab coat pocket and called for help.
*********
Lucas stirred in his sleep; the dream had returned. He was running and as he
turned to see his pursuer, he stumbled and fell. The creature reached for
him. Lucas franticaly tried to crawl away. IT reached out again and this
time, Lucas screamed as the creature's needle sharp claws pierced the skin
of his leg. Raking its claws, the creature shredded the skin of its
terrified victim. The creature sniffed the air around it -- it could almost
taste the fear of its victim, as he succumbed...
Lucas bolted upright in his cot in Medbay, screaming in pain, crying
hysterically . Wendy and Captain Bridger, hurried over to his bedside. As
the Doctor prepared a tranquilizer, Nathan tried his best to subdue the
agitated teenager who was struggling desperately in his arms; the adrenalin
flowing. Uttering what soothing words he could think of, Nathan suddenly
felt his heart constrict as he saw the look of sheer terror in Lucas' blue
eyes. With the Captain holding Lucas firmly, Wendy administered the
sedative.
Gradually, as the effects of the medication began to overtake him, Lucas
stopped struggling in Nathan's arms. Eventually, the teen grew quieter and
his breathing slowed. Pulling away from Nathan, Lucas suddenly started to
sob, finally able to release his buried emotions. Offering soothing words of
comfort, the Captain put his arm around Lucas, saying, "It's alright kiddo,
I'm here," holding him tightly.
Much later, after Lucas had quieted somewhat, Nathan looked across the room
at Wendy, beckoning her over. She nodded at the Captain, and sat down next
to Lucas on the edge of the cot. Grasping his hand, she said in a gentle
tone, "Let me try to help you, Lucas."
Slowly, he raised his red-rimmed eyes to meet her, uttering a barely
audible, "Okay."
Holding both of his hands in hers, she took a few deep breaths, then closed
her eyes. At first, the images that came into her mind were fleeting, the
impressions too hazy; she couldn't get a clear picture. Then, the picture
in her head grew sharper, more defined. At first Wendy was puzzled by what
she saw; the image she was receiving from Lucas seemed to be coming only in
bits and pieces. She took another deep breath, pushing herself to
concentrate harder. As Wendy was about to speak out loud to Lucas, she
suddenly began to feel strange. It was as if someone had readjusted the
environmental controls. The temperature in the room had begun to get
chilly. She felt a shiver pass through Lucas and his pulse rate began to
increase.
The image forming in Wendy's mind slowly began to assemble itself and take
shape. She felt herself break out in a cold sweat, beads of moisture forming
on her brow and over her lip as she strained to concentrate. She could feel
herself growing colder by the minute, as the temperature in the room
continued to drop.
Lucas began to whimper, anxiously trying to pull himself free of her grasp,
but Wendy held on firmly. As he began to struggle against her, Wendy
released an anguished cry, and pulled him protectively into her arms. The
image was complete now...
The creature turned and looked at the two humans standing nearby. The air
around them was ripe with the strong emotion that this particular creature
required to exist. Inclining its large, mishapen head at them, it grinned
-- exposing multiple rows of razor sharp teeth. The creature was
curious; it wanted to test the reaction of this new play-thing. Holding up
something resembling a hand, it flexed its sharp pointed talons towards the
younger of the two humans. The creature grinned as the older human pulled
the younger one closer to its side for protection. It lingered a moment
longer, then twisted its hideously, malformed body into a strange
contortion, disappearing into nothingness.
Breathing heavily, Wendy abruptly released her hold on Lucas, gasping, "Oh
my God! Lucas, What is that thing?"
To be continued.....
Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2000 20:15:37 -0400
From: "RVaracalle" kittycat104@hotmail.com
To: brianrn@qis.net
Title: The Dream Weavers
Fandom: seaQuest - Second Season
Pairing: None
Rating: R - Violence
Status: New
archive: Yes, just let me know please!
E-mail Addy: kittycat104@hotmail.com
Series/Sequel: 1/?
Disclaimers: I don't own the series seaQuest or its characters, and I
receive no profit for this fic.
The Dream Weavers
By: RV
In his dream, Lucas was running. Turning his head to glance back at his
pursuers, he stumbled and fell; screaming as he felt their sharp claws
pressing into his skin...
Safe in his bunk on seaQuest, Lucas suddenly jerked awake. Breathing
heavily, he brushed the hair out of his eyes with a shaky hand. He shivered
and reached down to pull the blanket up around him, feeling the cool air
from the environmentally controlled room, wash over him.
The only noise in the otherwise quiet room, came from Tony, his roommate,
sleeping in the bunk below him. Lucas glanced over at the clock on his desk.
It was only 2 A.M.: much too early to be awake. Releasing a deep sigh, he
laid back against the pillows, and closed his eyes.
Lucas could hear Tony muttering in his sleep again. Rolling over onto his
side, he tried to clear his mind, but his thoughts kept going back to the
dream. He couldn't remember exactly when it had started. Lucas just knew
that he'd grown to hate the dark; hate the night, because that's when the
Dream Weavers came...
The Dream Weavers. When he was a little boy, somewhere around nine, or ten,
he had spent the night over a friend's house. As little boys do, they snuck
out of bed late one night, and while surfing the tv dial, came across a
horror flick. The movie had been terrifying. It had given Lucas and his
friend Chris, nightmares for weeks. Every time he'd go to bed, he'd end up
waking the entire household a few hours later, screaming that the Dream
Weavers were coming, but no one understood.
His parents had made the rounds between Pediatricians and Psycholoists. They
all said the same thing; night terrors are common fears in children. The boy
will grow out of it. Lucas did grow out of it, sort of, but every now and
then, the dreams would return; each one more frightening than the last.
Morning came and still Lucas couldn't shake his sense of dread. He had the
uncomfortable feeling that this time THEY were real.
So absorbed with his dark thoughts, Lucas was totally unaware of Tony. His
roommate had silently crept out of his bunk and seeing Lucas staring into
space, had thought that now would be as good a time as any, to get back at
the teen for all his past practical jokes. Quietly, Tony reached his hand
out and grabbed Lucas' shoulder. The teen clutched his chest, yelling a
string of expletives, some of which even Tony had never heard before. He
gave Tony a murderous look, as he angrily spat, "Don't you ever do that to
me again!"
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Geesh!" muttered his friend, walking away.
************
Wendy paced anxiously back and forth in her quarters. She hadn't slept well
last night. She kept waking up in a sweat, thinking that she felt a cold,
icy hand touch her -- such a creepy feeling! Yet, it wouldn't go away.
Wringing her hands together, the Doctor mentally debated with herself.
Should she go, and seek out Captain Bridger? What would she say? "Oh, excuse
me, Captain, but I have a funny feeling that something is wrong on this
boat." Yeah, right, and he'd laugh her right out the shuttle bay doors!
Nathan, had already made it clear, how he felt about her psychic abilities.
Would he just tell her that she was crazy and ignore the impressions she was
receiving?
Something was very wrong on board seaQuest and Wendy knew that she couldn't
just ignore it; too many lives could be at stake. Someone, or something, had
awakened her from a sound sleep last night, with the intensity of their
fear. Who ever it was, they were absolutely terrified. Wendy had
concentrated as hard as she could, trying to pick up clues as to who was
sending her these emotions, but all she could come up with were two words:
Dream Weavers.
The Dream Weavers? She turned the words over in her mind. The phrase meant
nothing to her. Releasing another sigh, Wendy decided to take a walk to
clear her head. She was too tired right now to think straight. She left her
cabin, and headed down to the Hydroponics Lab.
************
"Luke. Luke! Earth to Lucas!"
Startled out of his daze, Lucas looked around in surprise. He found himself
sitting in the Mess, a plate of eggs in front of him, cold and untouched. He
couldn't remember getting there at all.
"Hey Luke!" Tony called again.
Lucas blinked several times, then lifted his head up to look at his roommate
through bleary, red-rimmed eyes. "Yeah, Tony. What ?" he growled.
"Well, my, my. Aren't we Mr. Personality this morning! By the way, kid, you
look terrible; try a good night's rest!" snickered Tony, as he left for his
shift on the Bridge.
Lucas looked down at his congealed plate of cold eggs, muttering, "I would
if I could."
**************
Wendy heard a light tap on the Medbay office door. "Come in," she called
absently, turning to see Nathan standing before her. In a tired voice, she
asked, "What can I do for you, Captain?"
Nathan gave Wendy a quick sideways glance, before starting to pace
agitatedly back and forth. He was clearly worried about something. "It's
Lucas, Wendy. I'm concerned about him. Have you noticed how withdrawn, and
quiet he's been over the past few days? I've checked with Miguel and Brody
and apparently after his shifts are over, he just goes back to his quarters.
He isn't socializing with anyone. Miguel told me he found Lucas dozing off
in the middle of a systems verification scan for WSKRS. When he tried to
talk to Lucas, the boy became hostile, and started babbling some nonsense
about Dream Weavers."
Wendy's head suddenly jerked up. "Did you say, Dream Weavers?"
"Yeah. Does it mean anything to you?" Nathan asked, shaking his head,
somewhat confused.
"I'm not sure," Wendy replied, "But while we're on the subject, I did want
to talk to you."
Nathan looked at her, still perplexed. He could see now, that she looked
tired. Yes, something did appear to be bothering her.
"Last night, I received a psychic impression from something, or someone, on
this boat." On seeing his increasingly skeptical expression, she gripped
his arm continuing, "Until you told me about Lucas just now, I had no idea
who it could be. Nathan, the thing that scared me most was that I could feel
the person's fear -- they were terrified, and the phrase I kept hearing
over, and over, was the Dream Weavers have come..." Wendy shuddered as if
she had suddenly caught a chill and unconsciously wrapped her arms
protectively around herself for comfort. Looking back over at him, she said,
"Where is Lucas now?"
"He should be finishing his shift on the Bridge."
Wendy reached across the desk and picked up her PAL. "Lucas, could you meet
me at the Moon Pool. I need you to assist me with Darwin's physical."
A tired voice curtly responded, "Yeah. I'm on my way."
SeaQuest's Captain and the Doctor, looked at each other helplessly as they
heard the tone of the teen's response. Wendy smiled faintly as she placed a
reassuring hand on Nathan's arm. "It's going to be okay," she said, hoping
desperately that she would be able to draw Lucas out of the depths of the
emotional fortress he had trapped himself in.
************
Lucas slowly made his way to the Moon Pool. He was in no hurry to encounter
Wendy. Frankly, he was just too tired to deal with anyone. He didn't want to
be confronted about his behavior. Lucas had already been reamed out by Tim
and Miguel for falling asleep during the communications/sensor drill this
morning. It wasn't all his fault; he couldn't help it -- there was no one to
talk to about his little *problem.* Anyway, no one here would understand.
With a deep sigh, he wiped a hand across his face, brushing away the hot
tears that had started to slip out of the corners of his eyes.
As he walked onto the observation deck, Darwin suddenly surfaced, splashing
playfully.
"Lucas play with Darwin now?" the dolphin asked.
"Not now Darwin," replied Lucas sharply. Feeling totally exhausted, the teen
sat down on the deck floor.
"Lucas sick?" asked Darwin.
'No, I'm just really tired, okay, Darwin. I'm waiting for Wendy. We're going
to give you a check-up." Lucas closed his eyes and leaned back against the
wall.
"Lucas have bad dreams," the dolphin said.
"What?" Lucas' eyes snapped open and he sat up abruptly. He ran over to the
pool. Leaning forward, towards Darwin, he asked anxiously, "What do you know
about my dreams?"
"Darwin knows many things about Lucas, that Lucas does not know about
himself. Darwin knows the Dream Weavers are coming..." replied the dolphin,
as he swam away.
Lucas carefully stood up, as if in a daze; a bewildered expression on his
face. Then, as his senses took control, he grabbed the vocorder. "Wait!
Darwin, come back!"
***********
Seeing Lucas by the pool, Wendy called out to him, as she made her way over.
"Lucas, great, you're here. Now we can get started."
Lucas turned, startled to see her. For a fleeting moment, he had no
recollection as to why she was here. Then, as he started to relax and became
able to think again, Lucas remembered. Something about a check-up. He walked
over to the supply cart that held the medical equipment used for Darwin's
care. Opening various drawers, he started picking out the necessary items
needed to conduct a medical exam on a dolphin.
As Wendy got closer to the young man, she inwardly gasped, shocked as she
took in Lucas' tired, disheveled appearance. She noted the dark,
bruise-like shadows forming under his blood-shot eyes.
Still observing Lucas out of the corner of her eye, Wendy went over to the
edge of the pool and called for Darwin. As the dolphin swam over, she leaned
ovet the edge of the pool, and gave him a friendly rub. "Good Darwin," she
said, smiling at the mammal's antics. Looking over her shoulder, she called,
"Lucas, could you come over here a minute please. I need to get a blood
sample from our friend here."
Pushing the cart over to Wendy, Lucas leaned over the edge of the pool and
held Darwin as the Doctor obtained the required specimen. Giving the dolphin
an extra rub for cooperating, Wendy turned and handed the tube of blood to
Lucas to take to Sea Lab I for analysis. She placed the tube carefully in
his hand. As Wendy turned back to Darwin to continue the medical exam, she
suddenly heard a loud crash behind her. Ripping the stethoscope from her
ears, she turned around to see Lucas laying on the floor, pinned under the
overturned supply cart, with the glass specimen tube shattered in his hand;
a thin trail of blood trickling over his wrist.
"Lucas!" Wendy screamed, running over to where he lay unmoving. Checking his
neck for a pulse, she gave a sigh of relief, then pulled her PAL from her
lab coat pocket and called for help.
*********
Lucas stirred in his sleep; the dream had returned. He was running and as he
turned to see his pursuer, he stumbled and fell. The creature reached for
him. Lucas franticaly tried to crawl away. IT reached out again and this
time, Lucas screamed as the creature's needle sharp claws pierced the skin
of his leg. Raking its claws, the creature shredded the skin of its
terrified victim. The creature sniffed the air around it -- it could almost
taste the fear of its victim, as he succumbed...
Lucas bolted upright in his cot in Medbay, screaming in pain, crying
hysterically . Wendy and Captain Bridger, hurried over to his bedside. As
the Doctor prepared a tranquilizer, Nathan tried his best to subdue the
agitated teenager who was struggling desperately in his arms; the adrenalin
flowing. Uttering what soothing words he could think of, Nathan suddenly
felt his heart constrict as he saw the look of sheer terror in Lucas' blue
eyes. With the Captain holding Lucas firmly, Wendy administered the
sedative.
Gradually, as the effects of the medication began to overtake him, Lucas
stopped struggling in Nathan's arms. Eventually, the teen grew quieter and
his breathing slowed. Pulling away from Nathan, Lucas suddenly started to
sob, finally able to release his buried emotions. Offering soothing words of
comfort, the Captain put his arm around Lucas, saying, "It's alright kiddo,
I'm here," holding him tightly.
Much later, after Lucas had quieted somewhat, Nathan looked across the room
at Wendy, beckoning her over. She nodded at the Captain, and sat down next
to Lucas on the edge of the cot. Grasping his hand, she said in a gentle
tone, "Let me try to help you, Lucas."
Slowly, he raised his red-rimmed eyes to meet her, uttering a barely
audible, "Okay."
Holding both of his hands in hers, she took a few deep breaths, then closed
her eyes. At first, the images that came into her mind were fleeting, the
impressions too hazy; she couldn't get a clear picture. Then, the picture
in her head grew sharper, more defined. At first Wendy was puzzled by what
she saw; the image she was receiving from Lucas seemed to be coming only in
bits and pieces. She took another deep breath, pushing herself to
concentrate harder. As Wendy was about to speak out loud to Lucas, she
suddenly began to feel strange. It was as if someone had readjusted the
environmental controls. The temperature in the room had begun to get
chilly. She felt a shiver pass through Lucas and his pulse rate began to
increase.
The image forming in Wendy's mind slowly began to assemble itself and take
shape. She felt herself break out in a cold sweat, beads of moisture forming
on her brow and over her lip as she strained to concentrate. She could feel
herself growing colder by the minute, as the temperature in the room
continued to drop.
Lucas began to whimper, anxiously trying to pull himself free of her grasp,
but Wendy held on firmly. As he began to struggle against her, Wendy
released an anguished cry, and pulled him protectively into her arms. The
image was complete now...
The creature turned and looked at the two humans standing nearby. The air
around them was ripe with the strong emotion that this particular creature
required to exist. Inclining its large, mishapen head at them, it grinned
-- exposing multiple rows of razor sharp teeth. The creature was
curious; it wanted to test the reaction of this new play-thing. Holding up
something resembling a hand, it flexed its sharp pointed talons towards the
younger of the two humans. The creature grinned as the older human pulled
the younger one closer to its side for protection. It lingered a moment
longer, then twisted its hideously, malformed body into a strange
contortion, disappearing into nothingness.
Breathing heavily, Wendy abruptly released her hold on Lucas, gasping, "Oh
my God! Lucas, What is that thing?"
To be continued.....