Chapter 4

He looked down at his watch and noticed that it was getting late, it was nearly 0030. He was tired but too wound up to head to bed straight away; a nice amble through the boat would calm his mind and help him relax so he could drop off to sleep when he finally climbed between the sheets. He headed down the passageway from his quarters relishing the feeling of contentment as he communed with his sub, a slight smile on his lips.

As he moved through the boat he gradually became aware that things were somehow not right. He stopped in the middle of the passageway and listened intently. He picked up on it immediately, the reassuring, pulsing thrum of the boat's powerful engines was absent. An eerie silence now consumed the space around him. His ears nearly ached from straining to hear any sound that was out there. He moved quickly to the nearest mic and snatched it up from its cradle.

"Control room, this is Crane." Lee waited impatiently for a response to his page. Nearly a minute passed and no one responded. "Control room, this is the captain, report! … Admiral, this is Crane, please respond… Morton this is Crane, respond…. If anyone is aboard respond!"

Each hail resulted in only silence and with that lack of response his degree of discomfort and concern with the current situation ratcheted into high gear. He shipped the mic then turned and began making his way forward to the control room to try and get a handle on what was happening. As he walked quickly down the corridor the only sound was the click of his leather oxfords against the deck. Reaching the ladder to descend into the control room he stopped and listened for a moment for any sound that anyone else was aboard.

As he strained to pick up any indication of movement he nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a soft snort and muffled shuffle. "Who's there?" he called out. Again he was greeted with silence. He waited a moment and then heard the shuffle again accompanied by what sounded like claws clicking on the deck plates. Lee inhaled deeply shoring up his courage and beating down the fear at what he might find and crept stealthily towards the sound.

Moving silently towards the corner he cautiously peeked around it and was greeted by the nightmareish sight of a full grown male mandrill. The animal looked up at him and seemingly smiled maliciously having found the prey it was after. It opened its mouth wide, hissing as it did, and displayed its imposing 3 inch fangs.

Lee froze momentarily as he regarded the beast then slowly slid his right hand down to his hip to find his holster and .45. He gripped the handle and pulled it slowly out so as not to spark the animal's attention. He carefully began backing away from the mingehe putting as much distance between it and him as possible. As he backed away the mandrill moved slowly towards him like a predator taunting its prey before the attack. Its beady golden eyes were fixed on its quarry and occasionally sniffed the air relishing the scent of fear and desperation wafting over the artificial breeze.

Having made it midway down the corridor Lee watched as the animal stalked him and came to the realization it was ready to strike. He raised his weapon and rapidly fired 9 shots, all finding their mark knocking the thing off its feet and eliciting a ferocious roar of rage. It sprang to its feet unaffected by the bullets, then bolted down the corridor towards Lee slamming into him hard. They both fell to the floor knocking the wind out of Lee as his back met the deck and the ape landed on his chest. The thing roared again, its eyes glazed with a crazed bloodlust as it looked down at its intended victim, foul drool dripping onto Lee's face as its fetid breath washed over him.

Lee having regained some of his wind struck out desperately at the hulk pinning him to the deck. His punches bounced off pathetically, his efforts to unseat the thing from his chest were no more effective than an infant batting at a grizzly bear.

The mandrill sneered in derision at Lee's feeble attempts to save his life. It slowly opened its mouth giving its victim a full glimpse of its horrific teeth. Pinning Lee's arms to the deck it lowered its head going directly for his unguarded throat. As Lee began to scream in pain and terror he was brutally silenced as its jaws snapped shut.

(oo)

Lee's terrified cries had Harri and Chip on their feet instantly as they tried to wake their friend from the nightmare that apparently held him hostage. Lee was trembling badly, his pajama shirt soaked in sweat and his breath coming in ragged gasps as he tried to flee whatever was tormenting him in his dream.

"Lee! Lee! Can you hear me son? Lee wake up it's just a dream. Please wake up," Harri pleaded as he tried to calm his captain and son.

"Come on Lee wake up! It's only a dream, you're safe. We're here with you," Chip implored, shaking him harder.

His screams having carried beyond the door had Jamieson barreling down the hallway into Lee's room. "What the hell's going on?!" Jamieson inquired as he elbowed his way next to his frantic patient.

"I think he's having a nightmare. His sleep started becoming restless then all of a sudden he let loose this bloodcurdling cry," Harri related as he stepped back allowing Jamie to assess Lee's condition.

As Jamie peeled back one of Lee's eyelids to check his pupil, he suddenly came to and brought his hands up forcibly shoving Jamieson back and onto the floor. There was a wild look of terror in his eyes as he tried desperately to figure out where he was and where it had gone. He jumped up out of bed tearing the IV out of his arm and started making his way to the door. Chip was there first and grabbed him, pinning him against the wall triggering a vicious struggle on Lee's part to try and break free.

"Lee, Lee wake up! Come on bro, wake up it's all a dream," Chip said trying to calm the terrified man and to avoid becoming a victim of Lee's advanced self-defense training. "Lee listen to me, it's Chip. Just focus on my voice, come on."

Lee continued to struggle fighting hard to break free of what was pinning him down. Intense fear over what lived in his dream still had sway and nothing was making it past that wall.

"Captain! That's enough! Stand down immediately, that's an order!" Nelson bellowed hoping the lifelong training and discipline would trump whatever was haunting his son.

Whether it was the tone or the voice, Lee wasn't quite sure, but suddenly he found himself calming down as he struggled to comply with the order he'd just received. As he began to relax he felt hands gently grab him before he crumpled to the floor. He felt strong arms wrap around him making him feel safe as he slowly fought his way back to reality.

"Admiral? Chip? What happened? What am I doing here?" Lee asked obviously confused as he began taking in his surroundings and for the first time processing them. Chip gave him a comforting squeeze letting him know everything was okay. Harri reached up and gently patted him on the face and slipped his hand behind his head and cupped it reassuringly.

"It's all right now son, you're safe. Whatever demons that were after you, they're gone," Harri replied trying to comfort the confused and dazed young man.

"Chip, help Lee back over to the bed, I need to put a stop to the bleeding from his arm and he definitely needs to lay down and relax," Will ordered from across the room as he dusted himself off.

"Okay Lee I want you to just lay back and relax, breathe deeply and evenly," Jamie ordered as he applied some gauze and a piece of med tape to his arm. He then took up Lee's wrist and began measuring his pulse all the while watching him intently for any signs of neurological distress.

Lee laid his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes breathing deeply trying to rein in the fear that had him dreading the night. He took numerous deep breaths as he attempted to find his inner calm and reestablish what shreds of dignity he had remaining.

"Can you remember what happened Lee?" Jamie finally asked after completing his exam.

Lee swallowed hard steeling his resolve and steadying his voice to relate what had been tormenting him once he closed his eyes for the night. "It was just a dream. I'm sorry that I disturbed you."

"What was the dream about?" inquired Harri. "Can you remember it?"

"Ye…yes sir. They're all basically the same. The only variable is whether it's just me or if someone else is part of it. It always ends the same. There's always pain and terror and death."

"Tell us about it son," Harri urged, truly concerned at the fear he still observed in his captain's eyes.

"They always take place on Seaview. Sometimes you're in it or Chip or Jamie or one of the crew, otherwise it's just me. I start my evening walk through the boat and then something happens to draw my attention. When I finally track down the source it turns out to be the mingehe and if someone else is in the dream, they're already dead. I pull my gun and empty the clip into it and it does absolutely no good. It springs back to its feet and charges me, pins me to the floor then tears out my throat." Lee finished with a shudder.

"How long have you been having the dreams Lee?" Jamie asked.

"I had them off and on in sick bay and med bay, but they got really bad when I came home starting my second night. I would wake up screaming like a child, drenched in sweat and unable or unwilling to go back to sleep. They're just so bloody real," Lee answered as he averted his eyes.

"I wish you had said something sooner, Lee," Jamie replied. "I might have been able to give you something to make you sleep and I could have arranged for you to talk to someone about the dreams."

"I don't think there's a drug powerful enough to quell these dreams, Jamie," Lee replied miserably. "Knocking me out would only keep me under and allow them to return again and again. At least when I wake up they stop. I honestly don't think talking to a shrink about them would be of value either. There's something different about these, like that damn thing is forcing its way into my mind and trying to scare me to death since it didn't succeed in doing me in outright."

The three men exchanged surprised and concerned looks as they processed what Lee had said. No wonder he looked like death warmed over.

"What about Henderson? Is he having any problems with recurring nightmares?" Chip asked.

"I asked him about it this morning when I ran into him on Seaview. He said he was feeling great and although he had had a couple of dreams right after it happened they hadn't come back," Lee answered.

"Hmmm. Well maybe it's because his injuries weren't as severe as Lee's," postulated Jamie. "He wasn't attacked multiple times and traumatized as much by the experience."

"Could be," replied Harri as he pondered all the implications of what had been revealed. "What about the pain Lee's experiencing? Is Jim also foregoing that?"

"Jim's 100% now," Jamie answered. "He completed his rehab last week and has full use of his arm. He's reported no problems with residual pain. Again I think that goes back to the severity of the wounds Lee received compared to Jim's. It would have been nice to know you were having problems," Jamie finished as he glowered at Lee.

Lee just stared at him unrepentant wondering if he was really that dense. They all knew if Lee had reported any of those problems Jamie would have slapped him back in bed immediately until things were resolved to his satisfaction regardless of Lee's feelings or desires.

Breaking the awkward silence, Chip spoke up. "So why do you think the dreams became so bad after you got home, Lee?"

"Probably because I actually relax and sleep when I'm home. I don't when I'm in the hospital or sick bay; I'm too tense and hate the lack of privacy. I'm always counting the minutes before I can go home," Lee offered as a possible explanation. Will's face began to cloud as he considered Lee's response.

"Now don't get upset with Lee, Jamie. I react exactly the same way when I'm locked up here, and I suspect Chip does also," Nelson interjected. Chip nodded in vigorous agreement.

"Well be that as it may, you're in desperate need of sleep now Lee. I'm going to give you something fairly strong to give you at least a chance to catch up on your rest," Jamieson replied.

"Please Jamie, don't. As much as I hate to admit it I actually slept better in med bay because I was on edge. I don't think I really got deep enough to dream so at least my body recouped a bit. You put me under I may not be able to escape what comes calling," Lee pleaded, a hint of desperation and fear tinged his words.

"All right, I'll let you go for now, but you have to promise to at least try to sleep and definitely rest. No talking, just lay back and relax."

"I will, thank you," Lee replied and sighed in relief.

"I'll hold you to that. Harri, Chip let's step outside for a bit and give Lee a chance to relax and hopefully drop off," Jamie said as he moved to the door and opened it inviting them out.

"Okay Jamie," Harri replied. "Just relax son and try to behave." Lee smiled, nodded and closed his eyes.

"If you need anything I'll be just outside," added Chip. Lee nodded again then blew out a sigh and tried to find a comfortable position in bed.

(oo)

Now out of Lee's room, Jamieson herded the other two men down the hall towards his office so they could discuss in private what they had learned. Once they entered Jamie offered them a cup of coffee which both Harri and Chip declined. They all quickly claimed chairs sat down and stared at each other in silence for a moment thinking over what had just occurred.

"Well Will what do you think?" Harri finally asked.

"I'm not sure what I think at this point Harri. I wish he would be more forthcoming when he's having problems and not wait until the point he's ready to collapse from them. I find the dreams he described very disconcerting; that's a huge road block for him having any chance of getting any restorative sleep."

"I find it odd that Henderson isn't reporting any of the symptoms Lee is complaining of, given they both were bitten at the same time by the same…thing," Chip added. Both Harri and Jamie nodded in agreement with Chip's observation.

"I'm hoping it's as simple as the degree of the injuries they each suffered as opposed to anything else," Jamie added. "If there's a toxin involved it realistically should be affecting them both."

"When do you expect the results from your sample analyses?" Nelson inquired.

"I should start getting results back early tomorrow morning from the local labs. It's going to be a day or more for the ones I sent to the CDC and other labs back east. As of right now he's not in immediate danger from the toxin, it's progressing very slowly through his system."

"Damn," Harri swore as he pounded his fists on the chair arms. "Nothing's ever easy with him. The frustrating part is that he had no hand in this whatsoever. I just hope Amherst is rotting in hell for bringing this down on him." Both Chip and Will nodded in complete agreement.

Harri pushed up from his seat and began pacing around Will's office. "I'm going back to his room and will sit with him tonight. If I think he's going into a dream I can wake him before things get too far along."

"I'll help out on that too Admiral. How about you take the first watch and I'll relieve you around 0300 that way you don't run down your batteries as well," added Chip.

"I think that is an excellent idea gentlemen. Maybe if he knows someone he trusts is keeping watch he'll be better able to relax and may be able to keep the dreams at bay," Jamie agreed.

(oo)