Chapter 4
There was smoke everywhere. Janeway coughed. "Where do we go now?" She turned to Chakotay. He dragged her away from the burning railing and held his arms around her protectively.
"Up! We go up," he said grimly, probably realising that secrecy didn't matter any longer. All the cards were on the table. They walked quickly back through the corridor, towards the door to the fourth floor. Janeway saw it stood open. She wondered what the Doctor had found.
It was strange; as they walked, she realised she was fully immersed in the story. Not the one intended by the programme's author, obviously. But this was the kind of situation she always dealt with on Voyager – danger, life and death decisions – and she was walking through this burning mess with the one man who was always by her side. Even though she kept reminding herself that it wasn't him, to have kissed him and felt so close to him, only minutes before disaster struck, somehow felt perfectly all right.
She was surprised that it didn't distract or unbalance her. On the contrary, she was more sure than ever what she was fighting for. To save the lives of her friends.
Harry walked through a corridor, only lit by emergency lights. He stepped through a door and sealed it behind him.
"Computer, confirm that all crew members have left deck nine."
"Confirmed. Deck is emptied of all personnel."
"Seal all entrances to deck nine."
"Deck locked."
"Shut down all power on deck nine, including life support and gravity. Authorization Kim, Gamma Five."
"Shut down complete."
Harry let out a breath, turned and almost jogged to the turbolift. He was finally through his share of decks. He and Tuvok, being the only senior officers left, had shut down all non-essential systems, while Neelix was taking care of some of the crew in the mess hall.
"Deck four," Harry ordered and waited. A minute later, he rushed into the last active transporter roon. "Kim to Tuvok. All decks cleared and secure, I am coordinating the energy patterns now."
"Acknowledged," came Tuvok's reply from the bridge. "I have clearance from all areas, so you may proceed as soon as you're ready."
"Will do, Kim out."
Captain Janeway carefully stepped up the tight steps. Hand in hand, she and Chakotay had made it through a dark and dusty corridor, which led to a old, spiral staircase. She felt the cold and wet practically radiate from the stones. They were both silent. She wondered what was going on in the rest of the house; the guests were probably fleeing for their lives by now.
"Here we are," came Chakotay's voice in front of her. He stood at the top of the stairs, where a dark wooden door opened up to a small room. When he helped her in, she took in the atmosphere. The walls were covered in wood, a few candles were flickering peacefully along the walls. Nobody was there. The place looked unremarkable – but to Janeway it felt heavy with the anticipation of danger. A door led to another room, and Chakotay turned to it.
But then he hesitated and frowned. "Before I show you, Lucie, I need to know one thing."
She looked at him, blue eyes boring into brown.
"Do you love me?"
She was taken aback by that, it was unexpected, somehow. Of course, there was only one answer to be given. She stepped closer to him and swallowed. "With all my heart." She thought herself a brilliant actress before she realised she'd meant it. Only not intended for him.
His jaw set and he seemed content. "Then know, that I love you – know that, no matter what you might think of me when you see this." He went to the door, and slowly turned the key.
Suddenly, there was a scream. Only not from in front of them, but from below. They heard voices, loud shouting and more frightened screaming. Chakotay drew back from the door and quickly walked back to the staircase. A yellowish glow was coming from below – and shadows were playing on the walls. Someone was coming up, probably fleeing from the fire.
"Hurry!" It was Tom's voice! "Here, take my hand!" They heard a woman whimpering. Chakotay looked back and shared a worried look with Janeway, before two people staggered into the room. Drama demanding no less, George and Adelaide Pearson, dressed only halfway, their faces smothered with soot, came on stage for the final act.
"My Lord! We didn't know-- I mean, we were cut off, the... the whole house is on fire! Is there another way down?" Tom was out of breath, B'Elanna looked on the verge of collapsing. "Edward--" she breathed. He stepped forward reluctantly and took her outstretched arm. His gaze flickered back to the Captain.
Janeway's thoughts raced – they needed to get out of this situation, and quickly. Then she nearly jumped out of her skin when the Doctor stepped through the wall right next to her. He saw who had arrived and quickly hissed in her ear, "I see we're all here. Seven is in there. She's not doing much, but she seems to play some sort of lunatic."
Yes, of course she does. Janeway tried not to turn and whispered as quietly as possible, "are there other ways out of here? The corridor has been cut off. We need to get everyone out of the house! Including Seven!"
Chakotay caught some of that. He turned and looked at them all. "There is another way over the battlements." He hesitated.
Tom stepped forward and supported his sister. "What are we waiting for then!"
Chakotay nodded. "Very well. Follow me."
"Captain, we need to stall! There's no other way we can prevent this," the Doctor said. But it was too late. Chakotay returned to the door and turned the key.
Harry touched a few panels before him and turned. "Okay, give it a try."
Ayala was working with him on the transporter controls, and now worked one of the wall panels. As it beeped, he nodded. "It all checks out. We should be able to do it now."
Harry let out a breath and nodded. He slowly slid his hand over transporter control to beam the away team back.
On the holodeck, Janeway thought she heard a familiar sound, seconds before a blue glimmer surrounded Chakotay and the others. She almost sighed in relief, but then the beam flickered.
Ayala's hands frantically worked the panels. "No, no stop! It's going too fast!"
"I got it, I got it!" Harry's heart raced as he reversed the transport in progress, just before any more relays burned.
Suddenly, red lights sprung on around them, and the sound of the red alert filled the room.
"What now!" Harry hit his commbadge. "Kim to Tuvok! What's going on!"
Janeway and the Doctor had both frozen in their places, staring at their friends. They rematerialized on the spot and moved on as if nothing had happened. Another scream made Janeway turn in shock. Something tall and blonde lunged at her. The monster that was Seven buried her teeth in Janeway's shoulder and grabbed her hair. She was snarling and growling like a beast.
Strong arms ripped that beast away. "Enough!" came Chakotay's bellowing command. "Enough, now!" He held Seven tight, and managed to subdue her quickly. She continued to struggle, and he added, his voice more cynic than ever, "ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce my wife."
Tom simply stared, Janeway rubbed her injured shoulder. She quickly took in her surroundings – a small, room, tapestries on the walls, a fire, a bed. A small table, a chair. Everything looked... scratched.
"Your wife?!" B'Elanna shrieked. She was backing off from Chakotay and his bundle as if they were contagious.
"Yes, my wife. But can anyone blame me for choosing another, for wanting something else but this?"
B'Elanna ruffled her nose in disgust. "I certainly can't." She was obviously thinking of herself, but Chakotay only barked a joyless laugh.
"I'm not talking about you, you silly cow." He turned to Janeway, and his voice became more gentle. "Her."
Now B'Elanna looked positively offended. "Her? What do you mean, her?! Your governess?!"
"Not that it matters any more," he said, resigned. Janeway still stared at Seven, her hair flying wild about her, a white nightgown her only piece of clothing. She was trying to bite Chakotay but he held her tight in one arm. With the other, he ripped off a strip of white cloth from the bedclothes and bound her hands. The picture was so grotesque, it made Janeway's stomach turn in pain.
Everyone was still too shocked to speak now. Tom was the first to come to his senses.
"I'm sure we can sort this all out – but now we need to get out of this house!" He let go of B'Elanna, who staggered and steadied herself on the wall. She continued to stare from the Lord to Janeway to Seven, her mouth hanging slightly open; she was shaking all over.
This was too much. Janeway grabbed her arm. "Please, pull yourself together--"
"Do not touch me!" B'Elanna ripped her arm out of the Captain's grasp and started shaking even more violently. "You low, inferior thing! Don't you dare touch me!" She was even flashing her teeth.
There was a loud crack - "This way, quickly," came Tom's urgent voice. He had broken through the wooden boards covering a window and snapped off the lock. A cold night wind blew into the room. B'Elanna stormed forward and began to climb out. Tom helped her and then turned to Janeway.
"Lucie, take my hand! Come on!" She hesitated. It was her custom, and her instinct, to be the last to leave the sinking ship, if at all; but in this century, she was obviously required to go before the men. She threw a last pained look at Chakotay, and he only nodded. Seven had calmed down a bit, and was watching the others with narrowed eyes. Madness sparkled out of her beautiful eyes, as if she was planning another move to plunge them all into more trouble than they were already in.
The Doctor was also watching her. He was pained to see her like this. He would stay by her side, Janeway knew. She scrambled through the open window, its frame cracked and broken in a few places. She felt a sharp pain in her arm and flinched. A sharp metal rod from the frame had pierced the underside of her arm and ripped her dress. She tore her arm away to release it. Tom, looking back at Chakotay, didn't notice. She tried to see where she would land. She jumped, and stood shakily on the broad battlements of the Dunmoore mansion.
The silver light from the moon was mingled with a red glow coming from somewhere below. The fire had spread quickly, and was eating up the entire house. Janeway breathed in the fresh air and tried to think. What next? Where would they go? She needed to distract herself from her throbbing arm. She pressed on the wound, but her sleeve was quickly soaked in blood.
"There's no way off! We're stuck! He lied – there's no way down!" B'Elanna was running from one side to the other, quite mad with fear. She kept repeating "we're all going to die!" and when Janeway tried to get near her to calm her down, she just became more furious. The Captain didn't know who she should worry about most – a lunatic Seven, a hysteric B'Elanna or the daring Tom, who would probably try something heroic to save them. And suddenly, everything shook.
Tom had climbed out, and Chakotay was handing Seven through the window; and everything started shaking again. Tom was thrown against the wall, and let go of Seven, who stumbled away from him. Chakotay was thrown down from the window and grunted in pain. The Doctor walked through the wall. "What was that!"
Janeway had to hold on to the balustrade. They shared a look, telling them both that it was definitely not--"
"An Earthquake!" B'Elanna looked like she was about to faint. She held onto the balustrade as well, clinging on for dear life. "God help us!"
Suddenly, things started to happen very quickly. Seven grunted, and tore at the cloth around her hands. Her crazy laughter echoed into the night, as she succeeded and shook it off.
Chakotay jumped forward to catch her. "No! Stop!" He was holding his arm, it looked broken.
Voyager gave another violent lurch and they were thrown around again. Janeway took a step forward, but was hurled against the masonry. Her head collided sharply with a jutting stone. Seven took another step back. She reached for the balustrade.
"Tuvok to Kim. Status!" Harry heard the sound of exploding consoles.
"What's going on up there!"
"It seems that we are under attack." No kidding! Harry could only marvel at Tuvok's ability to stay calm even in situations such as these.
"Try to give us one more minute, Commander, we're almost done!"
Ayala was hammering against the transporter controls. "Yes! I think I have it!" Harry spun around and looked at Mike, who nodded. "Try it," he said.
Harry let out a breath. "Here it goes," he murmured.
Janeway lunged forward. Time seemed to slow down. Seven's hands found the low stone wall behind her, she closed her eyes. Chakotay reached out and tried to grab her hand. She leaned backwards, there was nothing to hold her now. She sighed and stretched out her arms. "Freedom," she said. And fell.
"No!" "Seven!" "STOP!" The Doctor desperately tried to reach her, but he was too late.
She was gone.
