Prologue
Grumbling in his sleep, Riker turned on his side, something or perhaps someone was trying to pull him into consciousness, but for now he refused to give in. Objecting again, he now turned onto his stomach and unconsciously pulled the sheets off of the woman sleeping next to him. As the pull became stronger Will eventually stopped resisting and slowly gave in to waking up. With a bit of a struggle he managed to open his eyes.
Blackness surrounded him, depriving him of any vision at all. Still drowsy from sleep he slowly sat up, rubbing his hand through his tousled hair in an absent gesture. "Hello?" The loudness of his own voice piercing to the air around him startled him to full awareness. When the echoes of his own voice had died away he concentrated on picking up even the slightest or difference in shade of blackness.
Something was pulling him ahead, this force even stronger than the one that had woken him. Yet each time he tried to focus on it, it disappeared. He kept walking, however cautious and gradual. Then, after a dozen steps, he could hear faint noises in the background and with each step he took the noises became louder and louder.
After yet another dozen of steps he could identify them as screams of women, but apart from the overclear "NO" he wasn't able to make out their words. And still the pull kept luring him ahead. In the distance a tiny sparkle of light became visible, growing with each of his steps. The amount of time that had passed would suggest that he had already walked several miles, but he felt no exhaustion, not even a slight twinge of tiredness.
He could now see that the light was blue and within the round bundle there was a shadow. The air around him grew threatening and heavy, pressing upon his shoulders with the unspoken fear and terror that hid among the oxygen he so needed to breathe. His ears were still being tortured by the horrified screams that shrieked all around him. And yet, despite the panic rising within him, he kept walking.
As he got closer to the light, the screams became clearer and the voices seemed to resemble each other more and more, eventually merging into one. "NO! Please! Stop it!" His heart skipped a beat and suddenly, everywhere around him, eyes black as coal appeared and disappeared, flickering into and out of existence in the blink of an eye.
And still he kept walking.
In the bundle of blue light his eyes now recognized the curled-up shape of a humanoid, his explorer-instinct surfaced and he quickened his steps. The coal black eyes were replaced by luminous green ones, magically lightening his way, were it very faintly. The static that had been laced through the screams went silent and a nano-second later the screams themselves fell away as well.
Confused and suddenly feeling very self-conscious Will stopped and spun a circle; apart from the single burst of light, everything was dark and quiet. Then he heard someone sobbing so quietly he almost missed it. The figure framed in the light was shaking gently, urging him to continue his walk. Then, just as he had gotten used to the silence, a blood-hurling scream pierced through the air with a vengeance, "LEAVE ME ALONE!!!"
He recognized the voice instantly and for a second felt as if the Enterprise had dropped out of orbit and fallen right on top of him. "DEANNA!!!"
But there was no reply. He sped up his steps until he was running as fast as he could. The figure in the light became clearer and was without a doubt that of a woman. The wild flow of curls that was projected meant only one thing to him. Deanna.
"Deanna?" A slight tilt of her head told him she'd hear him and with renewed effort he ran towards her. He was so close, just five feet away from her when she lifted up her head and opened her eyes. Flames shot out the green gems and missed him by barely an inch. "Stay away from me." Her voice held a dangerous quality he had never heard before and it scared the hell out of hi. Nonetheless he approached her further.
"Deanna? It's me, Will."
"Go away." He could tell by her voice that she was pleading now, for some reason she was scared for --or off-- him. Looking closer at her face he gasped when he saw the cuts and bruises on her pale skin on the one half of her face lightened well enough for him to see that she was bleeding and crying. The way she sat there remind him of the rabbit he'd found when still living in Valdez; the white-furred animal had been grabbed by a predator but released before it had died. It's beautiful white coat had been stained with blood by the time Will had found it hiding in the hollow of a tree. It's dark eyes bright with terror and pain, much like Troi's now.
"Dea? What's happening? How did you get hurt?" Anger and fear burned in her eyes, but she stayed silent. Accusing him, yet pleading for his help. "Deanna, listen to me! Tell me what's happening, I want to help you!"
"Will?" Her quiet whisper surprised him, it was as if she only now realized who he was.
"Yes Imzadi, I'm here to help you."
To his utter confusion she shook her head, sending black curls flying about. "No, no, he'll kill you! You have to go."
"Who will kill me?"
She crawled to her feet and nervously glanced around before answering him. "You have to go now, he's coming."
"Come with me then!" The flimsy, torn robe she wore couldn't prevent him from seeing the injuries that covered her entire body. She had been hit, cut with a sharp object and he could even make out several burns. The remains of humans bites had marred the skin of her torso and stains of blood created a horrible pattern on the fabric that hung over her shoulders. She couldn't even stand without winching and trembling.
"I ca--I can't," she whispered, "this is my doom." The words he wanted to say never left his throat as a hand came up behind her. He tried to warn her, he tried to yell at her, but he couldn't make a sound. Until the hand seized her mouth from behind and drew her back into the darkness.
"DEANNA!!!"
Riker flew upright in bed, drops of sweat rolling down his forehead and face, smoothing his bare chest. His scream of horror rang through the house and woke-up his bedmate who immediately knew what was happening. "you dreamed of her again," she accused coldly, "that's it! That's the drop! I want you out of this house by tomorrow evening!" Angrily Lyana hopped off the bed and stormed out the room. "Sister, my ass!" she grumbled under her breath.
