Chapter 8

Will Riker couldn't sleep. He felt as though he had been staring at the ceiling for hours. The compound was surrounded with an eerie silence. The earlier storm having finally blown over. Realising that sleep wasn't going to come anytime soon he rose quietly from his make shift bunk. Heading to the window he looked out into the darkness. He wondered if the Enterprise didn't come for them whether he would find a place in a community like this. Would he feel at home spending his remaining days in communal environment like this? Smiling to himself he realised that in many ways he already did. What was life on a federation starship if it wasn't communal living?

He turned from the window and peered through the darkness at his sleeping companions. The flashing red lights of Geordi's implants stood out against the blackness of the room, but he could tell that it wasn't a restful sleep that Geordi was having. He wondered what demons where invading his friends dreams. Sensing someone watching him he turned his attention to Deanna. He smiled gently as he saw that she was awake and watching him,

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," he whispered.

"You didn't" she replied getting up to join him by the window. Will put his arm around her and pulled her close to him. She rested her head on his shoulder and they stayed in that position for a while taking comfort in each other, neither feeling the need to say a word enjoying a rare moment of tranquillity in what had been a stressful few days.

A disturbance from across the room pulled them back to the present. Geordi was sitting up in his bunk sweating profusely and on his face he had a look of fear and disorientation. As Will and Deanna rushed to his side he recoiled into the corner of the room. Deanna could sense the terror radiating from him and she knew she was going to have to call on all her professional training to help him. Will stepped back allowing Deanna and Beverly to try and draw Geordi out of the nightmare he appeared to be locked into. He was cowering in the corner shaking and speaking in incoherent sentences.

"Geordi" Deanna said carefully touching him on the arm. "Geordi. Its Deanna you're dreaming. You need to wake up" Will wished there was something he could do to help but he knew that if the women needed his assistance they would ask. He retreated to the other side of the room, watching as Deanna tried in vain to wake the terrified engineer.

"Geordi" Deanna repeated this time somewhat firmer but it did no good, he remained trapped in his nightmare. Shaking him gently she tried again. "Geordi!" Watching from a distance Will noticed Geordi was starting to react a little as his breathing started to return to normal and his facial features seem to relax slightly as he turned his head in Deanna's direction. His blind eyes blinked rapidly as he became more aware of his surroundings.

"Deanna?" Geordi sounded confused as though he wasn't expected her to be next to him. "Is that you?"

"Yes Geordi it's me. Dr Crusher and Commander Riker are here as well" she responded gently. Geordi nodded hesitantly as Deanna helped him to his feet. He winced as he stood. His aching body reminding him of the horrific time that he was having.

"Commander?" He asked tilting his head slightly to one side listening for a response that would enable him to pinpoint Will's location.

"Over here Geordi" he acknowledged from the edge of the room. "Are you okay?"

"Commander we need to get out of here." Geordi's voice was shaky as he spoke but the absolute certainty in his statement couldn't be doubted "Something's not right Sir. We need to leave now."

"We have to wait until dawn Geordi. We need to wait for the sun to come up. If we leave now we wont be able to see a thing"

"Welcome to my world" Geordi muttered sarcastically under his breath. Deciding it was best to ignore the comment Will pressed on trying to get an explanation from Geordi.

"Why is it so important we leave now?"

The distress in Geordi's voice was obvious, as he spoke "I don't know. I just know something's wrong and if we wait until dawn and travel to the palace with Sebastian and the other village elders it will be a mistake. Something terrible is going to happen. I heard you all scream Commander I heard it so clearly and I couldn't make it stop."

"Geordi, I sense no hostility from either Sebastian or anyone else here. The only person who has any appeared to have any malice against us was Sebastian's son." Deanna told him. "Everyone else we have met seems to only want to offer us their friendship. Geordi I know how hard this is for you but you have to believe me when I say that I am convinced that we are perfectly safe with these people. For some reason that we have yet to discover you are consider some kind of hero. A God even and I have every reason to believe that many here would give their own lives to protect us" She paused for a short moment before rephrasing her last remark. "They would give their lives to protect you."

"I know that Deanna but for the life of me I can't think why. But despite that I still know we need to leave. Get as far away from here as we can. It's not safe we have to leave." Geordi was starting to get agitated. Will was finding it hard to watch his normally composed Chief Engineer fall apart.

"Geordi nothings going to happen" Deanna persisted; trying to calm him down but Geordi was having none of it.

"Your wrong counsellor. Why won't anyone believe me?"

"Geordi Its not that we don't believe you" Will answered with slight hesitation in is voice. They needed to get to the bottom of this soon. He normally trusted the gut feelings of his senior crewmembers but in his present mental and physical state Will wasn't sure that Geordi's instincts could be fully relied upon. He thought carefully before speaking again. " Is this feeling anything to do with your dream?"

"It didn't feel like a dream Sir" Geordi said, " I know that sounds ridiculous but it felt so real. It felt like it was really happening."

"We were on our way to the palace. Somehow I found myself separated from you all. You were all screaming and I could do nothing to help. I could hear movement, but I couldn't reach you. All I could do was stand there helpless and listen to your cries." Geordi swallowed fighting the emotion that was threatening to submerge him. I had no idea where I was and all around me I could hear movement in the nearby undergrowth. I felt like someone or something was watching me. Next thing I knew I was trapped in what felt like a small room. The walls were damp and it felt like they were closing in around me," he continued. He spoke slowly and carefully as though he was trying to remember every intricate details of his dream. "At first I was sure I was alone but then I heard someone calling me. Telling me to find the door. I kept telling them that I didn't know where it was and I could tell that they were getting annoyed with me for not following them. I started to feel my way along the damp walls but I couldn't find the door. I knew I had to reach this person that somehow they could help me. I didn't recognise the voice but I was sure I could trust them whoever they were."

"Could it have been a member of the Crew?" Will interrupted

"I don't think so Sir" Geordi replied.

"And you didn't see who it was?"

"Um no." Geordi replied with a bitter note in his voice. Will felt his cheeks flush slightly as he realised the stupidity of his comment. "Commander please we need to leave?" He said nothing more as he had nothing else to say. Geordi knew that if he hadn't convinced his commanding officer by now he never would. As to why he felt that they had to leave he didn't know. It was just a feeling and it was a feeling more powerful than he had ever known.

Will turned and looked at Deanna and indicated silently for her to follow him.

"What do you think?" he asked her quietly. "Do you think we should take his concerns seriously?"

"He's very scared Will and he truly believes that there is some sort of danger here. Where that thought has come from I have no idea. As I told him I sense no hostility, but something tells me we should listen to him and be prepared to leave quickly if the necessity arises."

"But do you think we should wait until dawn and leave with Sebastian and the others or leave now as Geordi suggested?"

Deanna looked across the room to where Geordi sat with Beverly. Whilst outwardly he appeared to have relaxed a little she sensed that his anxiety hadn't diminished one bit. She turned back to face Will and was just about to speak when she suddenly froze. The colour drained from her face shock radiating from every pore. "Oh my God. Geordi's right. We need to leave NOW!" Her emphasis on the word "now" made Will and Beverly jump to their feet.

"Deanna?" they both questioned but at the same time readied themselves for immediate departure.

"Lets go" was her only reply. Beverly helped Geordi to his feet and as silently as they could they crept from the room and out of the compound. The ground was wet and slippery as a result of the recent bad weather and very little moonlight penetrated through the dense forest roof. They worked there way through the undergrowth as fast as they could. No one speaking. Whatever it was that Deanna had picked up on was not questioned. They trusted her implicitly. Geordi was holding tight to Beverly's arm as she guided him the best could, his grip so tight she knew he was bringing up bruises.

It was Beverly that saw her first, She had hidden herself in the bushes awaiting their arrival and as they passed she stepped out of her hiding place.

"I wouldn't be going very far if I was you " Lucille announced calmly. "If you think you are just going be leaving without saying goodbye. Well I would think again my friends" The kindly look of earlier had been replaced by a look of sheer hatred and loathing. Walking up to Geordi she stared straight up at him. " I don't know how you knew that I was on to you, but did you really think you would get away with it? Did you really think that you would defeat the One?" She paused a moment before she continued. "My idiotic husband believes you can as did my daughter, but you must never be allowed to get away with it."

"Geordi move!" yelled Will as Lucille reached into a pocket hidden deep within the folds of her skirt and pulled out a hand phaser. A look of triumph on her face as she fired.