Sorry I've been slow updating. I just started a new job so I haven't had as much time to write. Keep looking for updates though, especially this weekend!
Chapter Ten
Prisoner
--Linell's POV--
There were no walls or ceiling in the small room. If there were any, they must have been invisible, because I felt as though I was standing on a square of white tiles, floating gracefully through the starry skies of the universe. It was breathtaking, terrifying, exhilarating, and awe-inspiring. I turned round and round on the small square of ground beneath my feet. Somehow I wasn't queasy or nervous, although to my knowledge I could have stepped off the edge and fallen into the depths of space.
Somehow it didn't matter that I didn't have a clue where I was or how I had gotten here. My last memories were of eating yipblit berries on Ustfaria. Everything after that was gone. I knew that some time had passed since my visit to the orchard, but I couldn't recall a single thing. Where the memories should have been was simply a void.
Still, even though I couldn't remember, I wasn't worried. I was calm, wrapped in an endless blanket of stars and darkness. Finally I noticed the silence. Silence so loud that it pounded in my ears and blazed like a siren through my heart. I spoke my name aloud, just to break the soundlessness of my world.
"Linell."
It echoed around me and finally faded.
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"Linell."
I sat up.
"How are you feeling?"
The voice was familiar, comforting. It took a lot of effort to pull myself into consciousness. "Spock?"
"I'm glad you're doing better. You've been asleep for nearly two days. I'm afraid it took a lot out of you—getting you here."
I looked around me, my eyes adjusting to the dim lighting. I was in the Sick Bay of the Enterprise, lying on a bed. A tube was protruding from my left arm and I watched as my blood seeped slowly through the tube that led to…well, I didn't know where the blood was going.
"What happened?" I asked.
"Oh, just a minor accident. You'll soon be right. I was a bit worried when you didn't wake after the transport, but clearly all has turned out well."
I studied Spock's face, searching for more answers. I found none. "Where is the rest of the crew? Where's Kirk? And Bones? Scotty?"
He shook his head. "Rest now. You will see them later."
The way he said it caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand up. A chill ran down my spine. Something was not right. A buzz in some dusty corner of my mind told me that I needed to remember something important. What was it?
"We'll be arriving soon. Rest now."
"Arriving where? Spock, tell me what's going on!"
He smiled, and there was a strange look in his eyes that frightened me into silence. They were not Spock's eyes. They were not human eyes. I was in the presence of an alien...and I was not on the Enterprise.
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--Spock's POV--
"What do you mean you don't know where she is?!! You were just with her!"
I couldn't imagine what Kirk was yelling about, but he was clearly concerned about something involving Linell and myself. He had jumped out of his captain's chair the minute he saw me, his eyes wild, demanding to know where Linell was.
"Captain, I have been on the Enterprise all day. To my knowledge, you were supposed to be with Linell today. The professor that you two spoke with earlier sent me some files on the vampire that he thinks was impersonating Admiral Pike. I've been looking through them all evening."
"Spock." The fear in his voice was absolute. I felt a prick of it myself as his eyes met mine. Kirk's voice went cold. "Did you read about how Dreelith vampires sometimes hunt in packs?"
I nodded.
"I'm convinced that the one disguised as Pike wasn't the last one. There are more. And one of them has Linell. Spock…he was impersonating you."
Every muscle in my body tensed. Then I forced myself to clear my mind. Now was not the time to let my emotions take control. If I was going to save Linell, I had to be alert and focused.
"What do you suggest we do?"
Kirk ran shaking fingers through his hair. "Spock, do you remember when Vulcan had just been destroyed and I convinced you that you were emotionally compromised and therefore unfit to command?"
I nodded.
"Well, I'm afraid that is the case now. Spock, I can't think straight, knowing who has her. I need you in charge. Please." His eyes pleaded with me.
It was a tricky situation. In many ways, Kirk and I both knew that I should also be considered emotionally involved in Linell's case and therefore unfit to command. I returned my gaze to his blazing blue eyes. We made the decision together—right then—as our eyes locked. We would not abandon Linell to another commander, someone who may not try his hardest to find her. It had to be us. It had to be me.
"I will do everything that I can. Start by telling me what you saw happen. I'll have Ensign Barrett in the transport room check with those on shore leave to see if anyone knows where she is and then I'll start a mass return to the ship." I laid a hand on Kirk's shoulder. "We'll find her, Jim."
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"Set a course for Dreelith. We'll start looking there."
Lieutenant Sulu nodded and turned back to his controls, but not before I had seen the worry in his eyes. We were all on edge. Searches in the areas surrounding the club on Nartho 113 had turned up no sign of Linell. All crew were back on board, and everyone went about their orders silently.
Kirk had retreated to his quarters briefly, but soon he returned, determined to be of help, even if he wasn't the one making the decisions.
"It's a two day journey," I told him quietly. "I hope we aren't wasting time."
"I feel so responsible," Kirk admitted after a long pause. "She told me as we were leaving the university that she couldn't trust anyone. But I made her come to the club. I got drunk. I acted like a big enough ass that she left with you. And I didn't notice that something was wrong. I should have known better."
"No one knew, Jim. I spoke with Ensign Matthews and Mr. Scott. Both of them would have sworn that it was me sitting with them at the club. They, too, were deceived."
Kirk nodded in silence. I wasn't entirely sure that I had helped to clear his conscience, but it surely wasn't his fault.
"Do you have a plan for when we get there?" he asked.
"I'd like to put as few members of the crew in danger as possible. Perhaps it would be best to take only a small party down to the caves. I don't know what will be there to meet us, but we will have to attempt negotiation. Worst case, we have to kill them. The professor's files indicate that they can be killed with normal weaponry."
"Do you think we should take the mazipini?"
I was impressed. Even I hadn't thought of that.
"Yes. Yes indeed. Although I can only guess at the extent of their powers… but if Linell is there and if she is still," I swallowed, "alive…we might have a fortunate ally in her rescue. Yes, let's bring the creatures along."
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--Linell's POV--
I was back in my cocoon of stars. Again, I was overwhelmed by the beauty surrounding me on all sides. This time the sky wasn't still. The stars were falling, a vast meteor shower was unfolding before my very eyes. I stood entranced as the darkness seemed to explode around me. A faint humming began as I watched, and soon the humming grew louder and deeper. It felt almost as though it was coming from inside my own body.
I closed my eyes and listened to the hum, feeling it spill from the inside out. It gradually became more than just a sound. It was also a feeling—warmth—and an image—flame. I opened my eyes just as the sky flashed. Then everything was light. I could see nothing but whiteness, brightness.
Then came the pain.
I was screaming. Endlessly screaming. I focused in on the scream, slowly returning to myself. My eyes popped open and the pain flooded my body. It was more terrible than anything I could ever have imagined. It was deeper than just physical pain, it was as though my very soul was being touched by evil.
With a huge amount of effort I lifted my head, my eyes meeting the hollow, diseased eyes of a hideous creature. I stopped screaming immediately, too shocked to make a sound. The creature cocked its head, licked its lips, and grinned.
"Welcome back. Most do not regain consciousness after the first feeding. Bravo."
I gulped. My body was soaked in sweat, my hair plastered to my face in damp curls.
"What do you mean?" I rasped. My throat hurt from the screams, although the pain was starting to ebb. "Who are you?"
"My name is Ralchezir. I am your hunter. The first, Ephinizir, was killed during the hunt. I replaced him. The whole pack will share you, even though it was I who caught you. We will share you as we share your mother."
I was simultaneously disgusted and intrigued.
"Tell me what you mean."
"In time, you will know more. For now you must rest. It will take time for your blood to reproduce itself enough that we can feed again. You are lucky that my pack prefers your taste above all others. Perhaps if you were less appealing you and your mother would have been finished long ago. We are lucky to have found you, for now we may feed twice as often."
I shuddered. Slowly, and then with more speed, my memories began to return. The accident on Ustfaria, the visit from an imposter Admiral Pike, the discussion with the professor, the club, kissing Spock.
I was being held hostage by Dreelith vampires.
It was a thought almost more terrible than I could handle. Only one thing kept me from going mad with fear…the belief that my mother was still alive. Somewhere, they were keeping her too.
And somewhere, Kirk and Spock would be looking for me.
I apologize if it was hard to make sense of this chapter. I'll try to be more concrete in the next one!