Disclaimer: I don't own Seaquest!

Note: *grumbles at herself* ok I just noticed I left Lucas with only his swimsuit on…so to make things a little less complicated lets just say he has clothes on… this is a- oops cant tell you it's a secret you'll have to find out later ^_^

Fear Factor

Chapter 4: Onward and Upward

By Faith Childrey

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Captain Nathan Bridger stood beside the white dock wondering what to do next. After hours of searching, the crew had found the yacht that had taken Lucas. There was no one on board the boat and no signs as to where they had gone. His only option would be to search both land and water areas.

He had been hoping to hear from the kidnappers. Even if it was just to make their demands at least he'd know Lucas was ok.

The crew reassembled for their orders. Half of the crew would search on land while the other half took launches to check for underwater hideouts. Nathan had no idea where to start looking, but he knew he couldn't stop until Lucas was found.

The tunnel was dark but there was enough light from behind and ahead to keep from bumping into the spider covered walls. It had taken the group a lot of convincing to get Amanda to go through the tunnel, but with the aide of a blindfold, they were able to lead her through. Lucas's eyes wondered from wall to wall, peering at the spiders as they seemed to be starring back.

"Creepy…" He shivered. David had taken lead with the AK-47 in hand and ready to blast anything that moved. Adam had taken the back, making sure Amanda was doing ok.

Tippy was behind, eyes focused on the ground in front of her. From the dim light that was seeping into the tunnel, Lucas could see the unnatural glow on her face caused by a thin layer of sweat. He couldn't see how pale she was, but he had a feeling there was something wrong. Continuing the walk, he had noticed himself getting overly hot and sweaty, not to mention dizzy.

He looked up to see the end of the tunnel just up ahead. It looked as though it lead into another hallway. David stopped at the edge and peer right then left. Nothing. They all stepped out of the tunnel and into the bright light of the next room. As they exited, Lucas caught site of how pale David looked. He too was sweating. As Tippy emerged, her pallor matched David's. Their eyes were on him as well.

Amanda exited, followed by Adam, who untied the blindfold. They were about to move on when Adam took notice of their conditions. From what Lucas could see, Amanda and Adam seemed to be just fine.

"Is everyone ok?" He asked in a serious tone, addressing the three of them.

There was silence as the three looked to one another, unsure of what to say. "well…" David started, "It seems that the spider bites may have been venomous. You two weren't bitten so you're not affected."

Adam's face was grim as he tried to figure out what they'd have to do next. Hopefully the venom wouldn't be fatal and they'd all bet better in an hour or so. Watching their faces, he could see the slow fatigue that was taking over. They'd have to hurry if they wanted to get out of this place and get them to a hospital.

"Ok, then we're gonna have to hurry if we wanna get out of her. But if you three need to take a break let it be known. You're not gonna help yourself if you collapse. Okay?" He said this last part with meaning, praying that the three wouldn't get any worse.

From the short time they'd known each other, it seemed as if they'd created a trusting friendship. The fact that they were letting him lead was amazing all in its self.

The three nodded and waited for him to continue on down the hallway. The hallway T-ed at the end, they'd have to make a decision on which direction to take. "Right or left?" The others stood, looking down each hall. To the right, the hall continued and turned left at the end. To the left was a door.

"Left looks ok…" David spoke. "if there's nothing there we can turn back and go right."

"Left sound good?" He asked the others. They nodded, not exactly sure where they were going anyway. Taking lead, Adam made his way to the door. There was not code panel this time, only a silver knob. Carefully he opened it a crack and was surprised to see a tarantula crawl out. Amanda let out a yelp and ran behind everyone to get away from the creature. Adam quickly closed the door before any other spiders could escape.

"Not that way." He noted, and the group turned to go the other direction.

It had only been five minutes since they stared walking down the right path when Lucas started having trouble catching his breath. The other two seemed to be having the same problem. He couldn't understand why he was so fatigued after only a short time of walking.

The group was halted by Adam, who had turned to check on the others only to find them trying to keep their balance on the grey walls and out of breath. "Why don't we stop here to rest?" The three where more than happy to take a seat on the cool floor.

His body was burning, and his head was pounding, not to mention he was having problems seeing straight. Tippy had brought her knees up to her chest and was resting her head atop her folded arms. David had his head leaned up against the wall, staring at the ceiling above them. Across from them stood Amanda and Adam, their faces riddled with concern. There was no possible way they were going to get out of this place alive. They had gone from bad to worse in over five minutes. Who knew what they'd be like an hour from now. Suddenly, his thoughts turned to the Captain. He must be worried sick. He's probably looking for me right now, that is if he knew what happened to me. Lucas let his head lay against his chest, he burning eyes closing for some ounce of relief.

He wasn't long into his nap when the intercom came on again, waking him and the others out of their troubled doze. "Good morning kiddies. I see that a few of you have had a chance to meet the spider venom, yes? Well leave all your worries behind! I have an antidote just for you." The group stared into the empty area wondering what the madman was talking about. "Mr. Caine, if you would, please press the button to your left."

Adam turned to see that a small red button was now protruding from the wall. How was this guy doing it? He pressed the button expecting an explosion of some sort, but instead a small tray ejected from the wall. Inside the tray were three syringes filled with an off-white substance. "This medicine will cure the spider bite and let you on you merry way!" The voice chimed again as Adam removed the medicine filled syringes. "Have a nice walk kiddies!" And the voice was gone.

"I wish he'd stop calling us that." David mumbled, but as his eyes fell upon the objects in Adam's had, his eyes widened and he found himself scooting as far from the needles as possible. The others just stared wondering what was wrong. His eyes were glued to the syringes that Adam held, and with this came the realization that David had a fear of needles.

"What's with the phobia devices?" Amanda asked, shivering from the memory of the spiders.

"Don't know, but it looks like this isn't going to be easy giving him his shot." Adam proceeded to hand Amanda one of the syringes. "Give that one to Tippy. I'll get Lucas, then we'll see about David." The first two were a piece of cake, they were both fast asleep after a few moments, plagued by the earlier fatigue. Now it was David's turn.

David had wedged himself into the corner, his eyes still glued to the syringe in Adam's hand. His breathing became more ragged the closer he and Amanda got.

"David," he spoke soothingly, "You need this medicine ok? You're not going to get better without it. Now, Amanda and I are going to come over to you and I want you to keep your eyes on her. Can you do that for me?" The teen's dark brown eyes were still fixed on the syringe, but slowly he nodded. Amanda went first, kneeling down beside him. Gently, she turned his head so that he was looking at her. Slowly Adam moved in, syringe in hand. David seemed to jump, but was quickly regained by Amanda.

Adam pulled up the sleeve of David's black T-shirt, looking up to check on him. "Hold real still for me…" And with that Adam gave the shot as quickly as he could. When it was over, David let out a long sigh of relief and closed his eyes. He fell quickly to sleep after the energy he used during the process.

Adam stood, "We'll stay here for a while longer, then we'll try and wake them. Hopefully this stuff with work fast." And with that said, he set the syringes back in their tray.

Dr. McAlivin watched giddily as the teens rested. His plan was working out perfectly. He turned to the gage on his machine and noted that it was a two fifths of the way full. By the time he was done with the teens, he'd be able to take over the world!

He let out a small cackle as he again turned his attention back to the screen.

"Soon…very soon…."

Tbc…

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WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE im loving this!

Hope yall like it as much as I do!

Thanks for reading!