Author's Note: We're in the thick of it now. This chapter was hard to write and I'm not sure I'm happy with how it turned out, so I may end up changing it later. I'd like to know what you all think of it so I can gauge how effective it is. Again, a huge thanks to all of you that continue to read. I hope more of you will let me know what you think of the story so far.

Chapter 10

"Fear is the mind killer." - Frank Herbert

Jeremiah waited as Mattias worked to override the airlock on Serenity's main cargo bay doors. He could feel the others around him, their senses running wide open. He kept his own senses closed off, having them open when Tara was running wide was to dangerous, a tactic reserved specifically for battle, and that was the last thing they wanted.

Next to Mattias, Tara stood waiting for the door to open. He loved to watch her work, her energy flaring in brilliant color around her. Hers was the only pattern he could easily detect among the myriad of fluid signatures that twisted in the air around them.

The airlock hissed open and they all moved forward into Serenity's cargo bay. No one spoke as they followed Tara through the open space and into the interior of the ship. She moved to the front of the group and stood still for a moment.

Turning back to look at Jeremiah she said, "Most of them are asleep."

"Most of them?"

"There are eight distinct signatures on this ship. Six of them are in their sleep cycles, the other two are awake."

"Which two Tara?"

"The girl," she paused, "And the Flux."

"Fuck," Jeremiah swore under his breath, "You have a line on her yet?"

Tara grinned, "Please," she said, "I picked her up the minute we walked in here. She's in a bad way Jeremiah."

"Catorina, you and Mikal keep tabs on our sleeping beauties, keep them out. We're going to have enough to handle trying to get out of here as it is."

Leaving Catorina and Mikal, Jeremiah and Mattais followed Tara through the winding hallways of Serenity. She stopped in what looked like a common area of the ship and looked over her shoulder, "Her trail stops at the door to the infirmary over there."

As Jeremiah moved past her toward the door, she put a hand on his arm, "We may already be to late. Her trail was warm until here, it's ice now. Like death."

Jeremiah opened the door to the infirmary and swore. The girl lay supine on the floor, here eyes closed. On the floor next to her were a vial and needle. He slammed his fist into the wall, "I told her we needed to get to her sooner."

Tara stared down at the form of the girl on the floor in front of them. She was pale. Her dark hair covered part of her face, her legs curled under her. She stepped around Jeremiah and knelt by the girl, placing to fingers on her neck. "She's still alive Jeremiah. Barely, but she's still there."

Jeremiah knelt down next to Tara, he opened his senses slightly, feeling for the girls energy. It was there, just barely. He looked over his shoulder at Mattais, "You need to pull her back, she's slipping fast and I'm not going to lose this one."

Tara stepped back to give Mattais room. He looked at the girl and at the small cramped space, "We need to move her to a larger area, I need more room."

Jeremiah picked the girl up and stepped back out into the common area. Carefully, he laid her on the floor and stepped aside so Mattais could get close to her.

"This is going to hurt her, she's likely to fight the process," he said, "It's going to feel like fire in her veins and she'll have no idea what's happening."

"Tara, go and get Cat and Mikal, we're may need them here."

Tara disappeared down the hallway and Jeremiah watched as Mattais laid his hands on either side of the girls head. He watched as Mattais pushed energy into the girl's now lifeless body and waited. Seconds later the first scream tore from her throat as she lurched up on the couch.

"He's coming," Tara said from behind him.

Jeremiah moved to the stairs that led from the crew quarters into the common area and looked up, "The Flux?"

"Yes," she answered, "The others have been awakened as well. I can feel them."

"Catorina, you and Mikal need to get them under control."

The pair moved to stand closer to each other, their eyes closed. A few moments later Catorina opened her eyes, "We have taken care of it...for now. We do not know how long we will be able to hold the illusion without risking damage to their fragile psyches."

Jeremiah looked at Tara, "The Flux?"

She shook her head, "No, he's still heading our way. Jesus Jeremiah, he's strong. If we can't get him stopped..." her words trailed off.

Jeremiah took a deep breath and opened his senses a little, "I know. But I really don't want it to come to that."

oOo

Jayne slapped one of the alarm buttons as the third scream echoed off the walls. She was screaming for him now, his name mingling with the sound of pain. He didn't break stride, didn't wait to see if anyone else was coming, he just kept moving. As he rounded the corner another scream pierced the air. He felt his heart lurch into his throat. He took the stairs to the common room two at a time and what he saw when he burst into the room brought him up short.

There were five people in the room, all looking at him. River was on the couch, a large black man crouched next to her, his hands on her face. As he watched, her slim frame jerked up and she screamed. He raised Vera, "I don't know who the hell you are, but I suggest you get the hell away from her or I'll fill your ass full of holes."

oOo

There was pain everywhere. River fought against it, tried to hide from it, but it followed her, pulling at her. She could hear herself screaming, but she was blind. The darkness was overwhelming. She clawed at it, trying to tear it away from her eyes. The pain came in waves now, tugging at her mind, burning her veins. She heard herself scream again, calling out for the only person she knew could help her.

oOo

Jeremiah studied the man standing in front of them, a gun aimed at Mattais's head. He was almost as large as Mattais and the look of rage on his face was unmistakable. He heard footsteps under the sound of the alarm. Things were starting to go south. They needed to get out.

Catorina?

The others have slipped from our control. The illusion did not hold. We believe it is the girl, the connection with the Flux is stronger than we imagined it would be.

Tara?

There are three signatures heading out way fast.

Mattais?

I have her, she's back, but not conscious. It's going to take a while for her mind to fully recover, but we can move her now.

We need that fire now Mikal.

oOo

Mal woke up to the sound of the ship wide alarm going off. He jumped out of bed, pulled his pants on, grabbed his gun and climbed out of his bunk. As soon as he was clear of the hatch, he broke into a run. Within moments he was joined by Zoe ,Simon and Kaylee. They all stopped when they heard the first scream..

"That's River," Simon said as he started to move again, "What the hell is happening?"

"No idea Doc, but we're damn sure gonna find out."

They made it a few more feet down the hallway when Mal stopped short, "Smoke," he said, "Ai ya, we've got a fire on board."

Seconds later they all saw flames shoot up the staircase in front of them, engulfing the entrance. They fled back the way they had come.

"Go," Mal yelled.

They ran into the galley and Mal hit the button to seal the door.

"Captain, my sister is out there."

"And there's nothing we can do about that now Doc," Mal said. He looked at Zoe, "Get everything sealed off."

Zoe started to move toward the other entrance in the galley. She stopped when she saw smoke coming in through the door. She bolted across the room and sealed the door, "We're trapped sir."

oOo

Jayne watched as the man nearest River picked her up from the couch. Her screams had stopped, but her eyes were still closed. He raised Vera a little, aiming for the man's head. As he started to pull the trigger and sharp pain shot through his head. Vera fell from his hands and he collapsed to his knees.

Through the haze of pain, he saw the group move out of the common area, taking River with them. He closed his eyes and pushed the pain aside. Staggering to his feet he picked Vera up and stumbled after them. His eyes blurred, and his breathing was coming fast, but he kept moving. He had to get to River.

oOo

"Jeremiah, he's still coming."

"Get her on the Chronos, I'll be right behind you."

As the others moved quickly to the airlock, Tara stopped next to him, "Jeremiah, you can't. You could kill him."

"And if I don't stop him, sever their connection, he will die," he said as he looked into her eyes. "I don't want to do this, but he's going to keep coming, even if it means he kills himself."

"I'm not leaving, you're going to need me."

Jeremiah didn't respond. He opened his senses wide and mentally reached out for Tara, connecting to her mind. He could feel her pulsing energy into him, stabilizing him. He saw the man come into the doorway. How he was still on his feet Jeremiah didn't know, the amount of pain he must be feeling would have stopped any other person. He waited a moment, hoping the man would pass out. When he didn't Jeremiah sent a pulse of energy out, pushing his way into the other man's mind. He found the connection easily and severed it quickly and cleanly. The man fell to his knees, his eyes rolling back in his head as he collapsed onto the metal deck of the cargo bay.

He closed his senses off again and turned, "Let's get out of here."

Tara looked at the man lying on the floor and stopped herself from going to check on him, to reassure herself he was still alive. They had the girl, that was the only thing she could focus on now. They needed to get her back to Morpheus, where she would be safe.

oOo

Jayne groaned and raised his hands to his head. It felt like it was going to split open. He opened his eyes carefully. The lights were low, but he recognized the room immediately. He was in the infirmary. Why am I on the Doc's table? He tried to remember what had happened. It came back to him in a rush...River. He tried to sit up, but there were hands on his chest, pushing firmly against him.

"Whoa, slow down, you need to stay still big man."

Jayne tried to focus his eyes, but his head felt like it was on fire. He closed his eyes again, "What happened? Where's River?"

"We were hopin' you'd be able to fill us in on that Jayne. Found you on the deck in the bay and we can't find River anywhere."

"Ta me da...They took her Mal. Damn freaks took her."