Disclaimer: I own nothing of Seaquest!

Fear Factor - Chapter 2

By Faith Childrey

Note: this is in the first season!

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Nathan stepped out onto the porch. He'd just finished talking with Kristin, checking to see if she had made it to her science conference. He scanned the surface of the water, searching for Lucas and Darwin. Sighing he turned to walk back inside. They were probably off playing, and didn't notice how far from the beach they had gone.

His attention was suddenly drawn back to the beach as the Darwin came speeding into view, chattering wildly. His brow creased as he strained to see the gray mammal coming up as close to the beach as possible. He saw no sign of the blond haired teen. His heart jumped up into his throat as he ran to the dock.

"Darwin, where's Lucas?" Nathan signed to his friend. He wished they had brought the vocorder with them. He was answered with a quick whip of the dolphin's head to the right, pointing out over the water. Nathan could see no sign of the boy, and turned back to his friend in confusion. Again, Darwin whipped his head to the side, chattering for Bridger to go find Lucas.

Frustrated, Nathan flung his shirt and shoes off, kneeling down to speak again to the dolphin. "Darwin, can you take me to Lucas?"

Darwin seemed to nod as the clear waves swelled up onto the beach. Nathan nodded and jumped into the cool after noon water. He quickly took hold of Darwin's dorsal fin, and the dolphin took off as fast as he could without losing the captain.

The two sped through the waters for about a minute. Nathan had expected Darwin to stop and dive down, fearing that Lucas had drowned, but a large, white boat came into view, it hit him what had happened. The boat was moving at a high speed, and Darwin was having trouble catching up with it.

Sputtering as water slapped at his face, Nathan encouraged Darwin to go faster. The dolphin, acknowledging Nathan, pushed to go faster. Bridger clung to Darwin as water rushed by them faster with the force of Darwin's propulsion. Within five minutes, the two were at the side of the speeding vessel.

Reaching up with his free hand, Nathan grabbed the side of the boat, letting loose his grip on Darwin's fin. Halfway onto the boat, it hit him that he had no idea what he was going to do when he got all the way on. He would just have to find out when he got up there.

Claudia and Keith were sitting in the main cabin, watching over their captives as they lay unconscious on the floor. There were two boys and one girl, and they had all been reasonably easy to capture.

Claudia's head snapped out of the magazine she had been reading as her communicator went off. Without hesitation she answered it. It was Richard Clayton calling from the control room.

"Claudia, here."

"It seems we have a visitor. He's just now climbing onto the back."

We'll handle it. Stay on course. Claudia out."

The brunette looked to the man beside her and nodded. They soon moved into action, stepping out of the room and onto the outer deck.

Nathan had pulled himself onto the deck and froze when he heard a door softly open and close around the corner. Shortly after, he was met with the sight of a rather buff man with long black hair pulled back into a pony tail. The man looked calm, a small smirk on his face. It was obvious to Nathan that this man had no intention of telling him what he needed to know, but he asked anyway.

"What have you done with Lucas?"

The man's smirk disappeared as he quickened his pace towards him. Strong fists rose up, his knuckles cracking as he loosened them up.

The first swing was easy enough for Nathan to avoid, but as the heavy man rushed past, a fist swung back hitting him off his feet. He caught himself on the cushioned benches lining the back of the boat. Quickly, he turned back to see the man barreling towards him. With lightning speed, Bridger was up, ducking the fist, throwing his own into the man's gut. Spinning towards the man, he lifted his fists up ready to give the man another bashing, but found himself flying backwards as the air was knocked out of him. The man's shoulder had connected, throwing him once again onto the cushioned seats. Before he regain his composure, a large fist smashed into the left side of his face.

Dark spots were filling his vision making it hard to concentrate. The attacker was now lifting him off the bench and into the air. His vision clearing, Nathan was able to catch the site of the boat rushing by as he was hurled into the churning ocean. The cool water rushed around him as he tried to determine up from down. The haze of his mind made it hard to concentrate, and he was running out of air. He reached his hands out, trying to find his balance, when a smooth nose came up against the palm of his hand. Darwin! His hand ran down the smooth surface of the dolphin's back to the dorsal fin. Hanging on, the two headed for the surface.

Nathan gulped in the fresh air when his head broke the surface. He turned to see Darwin floating next to him. The boat was gone, leaving only a foaming wake.

"Damnit!" He smacked his fist against the water in frustration.

It took him a few seconds to compose himself. He'd have to hurry back to the island and inform his crew about the kidnapping. He just hoped Lucas would be ok until they found him.

He grabbed onto Darwin's dorsal fin and hurriedly swam back to shore.

Tbc…

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Hey guys! Sorry about the delay ^^;;;;; college life kinda got in the way… I still don't know how I found time to finish this one but here it is! Hopefully ill be able to get the next one up. I only have 2 more weeks left but then im off to Cali to meet a friend of mine I met online! WOO HOO!!! *-* Well hope yall enjoyed this chapter!

Next chapter:

The captives find themselves in a strange building, uninformed on how they got there or why they had been taken captive.