Disclaimer: I don't own Seaquest!
Note: I hate having to write all this at one time but if I don't ill never finish this thing x.x Im having a few writers block issues but I may have sorted a couple of them out. If you have any ideas on the Lucas phobia pleeeeeeeease do tell!
Fear Factor
Chapter 6 - Time to Talk
By Faith Childrey
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The sun had finally set over the horizon, leaving the sky a dingy dark blue. The search had grown larger as information about the four other teens who had been kidnapped came in. Five kids were now missing and there were no clues as to where they had been taken.
Nathan rubbed the bridge of his nose. They had been search for almost ten hours now. They weren't going to get anywhere searching in the dark. It was time to head back to the ship and see what information they had.
Lucas followed David through the door that had opened just after Tippy and Adam were back at the top of the pit. It led into a large room like the one they had awoken in. along the walls were five metal frame beds. The others followed after, Tippy and Adam shivering from their wet clothes. As Amanda entered last, the door behind them slammed shut, giving them no exit from the room. Not surprised, they started looking around the room. The beds were plain metal with a worn out mattress.
"Looks like something from my d-dorm." Tippy pointed out.
As if on cue, the intercom buzzed on, "You are correct, Ms. Johnston. I hope they make you feel at home, I know you must miss you own dorm bed right now," the voice teased. "Once again, I'm happy to see everyone healthy! But now its time to sleep. You can't expect me to stay up and send you kiddies through more doors now can you? There are no exits from this room at the moment, so I suggest you all get a good nights rest. See you in the morning!" The madman let out a little giggle before the intercom went silent.
Lucas let out a tired breath as he sat down on one of the beds. He turned to see David and Amanda do the same. Adam and Tippy had found their beds, taking off their soggy shoes and socks. Lucas blinked as he noticed something. They were all wearing the same type of clothing. Shorts and a t-shirt. They were different colors, but very much the same. And wasn't he swimming before all this happened?
"Hey guys, do you notice anything odd about what we're wearing?" He asked the group. They all looked at one another, check out each outfit. Realization came quickly.
"Why is it all the same???" Amanda asked. She and Tippy were wearing green khaki shorts with Tippy in a dark blue top and her in a black on. Adam, Lucas and David were wearing tan khaki shorts that came to the knee, David in a black tee, Lucas in a dingy orange, and Adam in a red. She was amazed she'd not noticed this earlier.
"What does this mean?" Tippy asked.
"I'm not sure." Lucas spoke, "But there's definitely something strange about this place. Some of it isn't possible. There are no spiders I can think of that grow that size."
"And then there's the fact that things keep disappearing from the walls," Adam indicated, "Unless this place is wired to the core, there's no way this stuff could be real."
"But we feel it, right?" Tippy questioned.
There was silence as Lucas tried to understand what was happening. Finally, he turned to David, "Still got the gun?"
David raised the AK-47 up indicating he did.
"Try shooting out part of the wall where the door was." David nod and walked up to the wall, raising the gun. It clattered to life as he let the rounds smash into the wall, but nothing was happening. He took his finger off the trigger and crouched down in front of the wall.
"Not even a scratch." Lucas stood and walked over to the wall. The wall was a grey, stone surface and should have easily been damaged by the assault. He finally stood again and turned to the others.
"I think we're in some kind of virtual reality simulation. I haven't heard of any that can produce pain like this one, its definitely not reality."
"No way!" Amanda chimed.
"Is there any way we can bypass this guy's system and get out of here?" Adam asked.
"Without any equipment, I can't hack into the system." The groups faces fell at the thought of having to go through with the madman's maze. "The only thing I can think of," Lucas began, "is to make it to the end. There should be a system box that shuts down the simulation."
"Well, it seems we have no choice, but to keep going. We've already been through tree phobias. Tippy and Lucas, you two seem to be the last ones left." Adam turned to them. "Any ideas on what they might be."
"No idea here." Lucas admitted.
They turned to Tippy who was sitting on the bed, her cheeks flushing slightly. "Tippy?" Adam asked from the bed to her right.
"I have one idea of what it might be…" she spoke timidly.
"And that would be?"
She let out a breath and mumbled something no one could hear.
"Say again?" David asked.
"…balloons…" The group stood in silence that was broken by Adam.
"Well, it shouldn't be too hard to get through. I mean balloons aren't dangerous are they?" He tried to comfort.
"I don't know about that." She laughed nervously.
Adam let out a breath before speaking again. "Well lets just try to get some sleep. We'll deal with whatever's next in the morning."
The group nodded, David and Lucas heading back to their beds. Unfortunately, they were void of blankets and pillows. It was going to be a rough night.
Dr. McAlivin let out an annoyed sigh. The teens had figured out his little game, but no matter. They'd still have to get through the phases, and he'd get his chemicals. The level was a little over three fifths now. Surely tomorrow would complete his plans and he could execute his scheme on the world. Everything was going his way.
Tbc…
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Wheee there's chapter 6 hope yall liked it! I hope it explains a bit that I missed x.x the end of this fic is still a bit fuzzy to me but hopefully it will work out! Thanks for reading guys!!!!
