Dodging flailing branches, they ran. The storm swirled around them and thunder crashed overhead. Chakotay and Kathryn clung tightly to each other for support as they braced against the maelstrom.

"We're almost there!" Chakotay shouted. Kathryn glanced up and could see the clearing with the shelter ahead of them. But something seemed off about their view. It was obscured by a large, dark cloud that hovered over the ground between them and safety.

"What's that?" Kathryn shouted.

"I have no idea."

The shadow swirled and coalesced into a thick mist. A deafening roar came from it and it began to charge at the two of them.

Chakotay tucked Kathryn against him and threw themselves to the ground. They felt a searing heat as the shadow passed over them.

"Did you bring a phaser?" Kathryn asked.

"No. I didn't think we'd need it," Chakotay replied.

The cloud of malice resumed its position between them and the shelter. It had no face for them to read, but Kathryn sensed that it was taunting them, daring them to make another move.

"I'm going to make a run for the shelter to see if I can grab the phaser," Chakotay said. "Stay here."

He dashed off towards the grey house, but as soon as he came near the black cloud, he was thrown backwards into the air and landed heavily on the ground.

"Chakotay!" Kathryn ran to his side. "Are you hurt?"

"No." He picked himself up. "I don't think we can get past it."

"What does it want?"

"If it wants a fight, I don't think we can give it one. It's too strong."

Kathryn closed her eyes and opened her mind. She sought out the presence that loomed before them, but she did not find what she thought she would find. There was no greater consciousness behind this creature. It seemed to her senses to be nothing more than a swirling mass of unbalanced emotion, volatile and dangerous. Its entire being encompassed them completely but was focused here on the point where the cloud hovered. It was not malevolent, simply chaotic.

She opened her eyes when Chakotay touched her arm. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yes," she said. A crash of thunder shook the world around them. "A phaser isn't going to work. You'll need a massive amount of energy to disperse that thing."

"Like what?"

"Leave that to me." She snatched a fallen stick off the ground and turned to face the wind.

"What are you doing?"

"Just trust me!" She braced against the maelstrom around her and trudged step by step towards the enormous wall of shadows.

"I know you're upset," she called out to it in her mind, "but we have no choice about being here. You'll have to leave us be, or I will make you go."

The creature roared in defiance.

"Okay, so much for diplomacy." Kathryn held the stick out before her like a phaser and closed her eyes. She called up energy from deep within herself, from deep into her connection with life itself, and began to channel it into the solid wood in her hands.

Chakotay watched from the edge of the clearing as Kathryn stood in front of the creature, eyes closed and hands extended, holding the stick in front of her. He saw the wood in her hands begin to glow a bright golden and the hand that had been tugging at his ear paused. Suddenly, a flash of golden light emanated from Kathryn's position, blinding him momentarily, and when his eyes focused again, he saw her rushing at the creature before them.

The shadows coiled in on itself, poised to strike, but Kathryn swung her arm around in front of her and a fluid string of light swung like a whip into the creature. The whip cracked and the creature howled. Kathryn spun and swung the lightning whip again and the shadows fled backwards. Kathryn stood her ground and aimed the golden weapon, which began to glow brightly again. It grew brighter and brighter until Chakotay couldn't bear to look at it any longer. Suddenly, with a resonant boom, the light exploded.

The shockwave knocked Chakotay off his feet and made his ears ring. He rubbed his eyes to clear the stars swirling before him. Slowly, he began to make out a figure walking towards him through the swirling clouds of dust and debris.

"Kathryn?"

"Are you alright?" she asked, kneeling beside him.

He nodded and looked around. The dust was settling. The sky was clear. The air was calm.

He looked down at her hands. All that remained in them was charred wood chips and splinters.

"What…" he looked up at her face, then back at her hands. Despite being at the epicentre of the explosion, there was not a mark on her. "What are you?"