"So what's in Panama?" Hellboy grunts. "Besides a canal."

"A canal that's infested with monsters," answers Manning. "It seems canal workers, fisherman, locals and the occasional sailor are starting to disappear around Gatun Lake. Now Gatun Lake is an artificial lake and the central part of the canal and since the canal is major shipping through fare, it's vital that we clear up this problem as soon as possible."

"What information do we have on this creature?" Abe asks.

"All we know so far is that they seem to like human flesh and prefers the nails, teeth and eyes," answers Manning. "We have one witness who claims that he heard someone crying before the victim was taken. The witness also claims that what came out of the water looked like a monkey's tail with a hand attached at the end of it. I've already sent a message to Mr. Chavez asking him to do some research."

"Do we know how many of them there are?" Abe inquires.

"No," Manning replies. "But we know there are at least a few of them in there. There have been attacks at several different locations all at about the same time. Abe, since you're going to be the one to do the investigation, you'll need to make sure your equipment is ready. If there's something you need that we don't have on board, let me know and I'll send a message to have it ready when we land."

My blood runs cold with Manning's statement. I always knew that what Abe did was dangerous, but I've never really thought about it. It was always a distant danger that never really sank in that it could cost him his life. The thought of losing him is more than I want to think about, so I force myself to think of other things.

"Dr. Manning," I say. "I'm not sure what help I can give in this case. I have no control of anything that is water based."

"I'm sorry, Miss Cavendish, but I'm afraid that you're just going to have to come along for the ride," he replies. "We won't be able to take you home first. And you never know maybe there will be a use for your talents."

"Very well," is all I can say.

"Are there any more questions?" Manning asks. After a few moments of silence, he says, "All right then, dismissed. We'll be arriving in Panama in about ten hours. I want everyone to make sure they get some rest."

Everyone leaves, including Abe. He's probably gone to check his gear, so I turn the TV back on and try to finish the movie. I can't concentrate so I turn it off after a few minutes. I wander off trying to find something to do.

Everyone else is busy getting everything ready for the mission. Guns are cleaned and loaded and spare clips are prepared. I even see Hellboy creating bullets for the Samaritan.

I find Abe working in a cabinet next to his tank. It's filled with a whole array of knives in plastic and rubber sheaths, spears and spear guns. Abe is honing one of the knives. Watching him do this brings home the danger he's about to go into once more. I turn to leave, not wanting to disturb him.

"You've always known what I do," he says without turning. "Why does it bother you now?"

"It's just," I start. I'm not sure how to say this. I stare at his tank when I finally do answer. "Abe, every mission we've been on together, I've been able to help with in some way. We were able to work together. This time is different. Once you get in that water, I'll be useless. Helpless. And quite frankly, I don't like that feeling. It scares me."

"Do you want to help me?" he asks.

"I don't see how I can," I answer quietly.

Staring at the floor, I start to walk away. I'm stopped by a blue webbed hand. I look at him as he hands me the honing stone and knife he was working on.

"Help me get ready?"

I nod. He shows me how to sharpen the knives. While I do that, he checks the spear guns to make sure they're functioning properly and that they're well oiled. Then he checks the spears for any rust spots or weaknesses. By the time we're finished a couple of hours have gone by and my arms are now a bit tired.

I try to rub the soreness out of my arms as I watch Abe pack the last of the knives in a special crate along with the spear guns and spears. As he shuts the crate, in the back of my mind I notice that it looks a little bit too much like a coffin.

"No it doesn't," he says. I look at him guiltily. "Hungry?"

My stomach grumbles.

"Yeah, I guess I am," I chuckle softly.

A short time later, we're finishing our lunches. My shoulders and neck are now starting to ache from my earlier work. I start trying to roll the tension out of my shoulders and neck. I'm so busy trying to ease the ache that I don't notice Abe stand and come up behind me. All of a sudden his hands are on my shoulders massaging them.

"Mmmm," is the most coherent thing I can say as I close my eyes and relax into his ministrations. He knows where are all of the knots are and methodically rubs them out. By the time he's done, I can probably be poured into a bucket.

"You should get some rest," he says quietly into my ear.

"You expect me to be able to walk after that?" I ask, opening an eye.

Chuckling, he pulls my chair back and scoops me up into his arms. I wrap my arms around his respirator as he carries me to the cots. Putting me in one, he helps me get my shoes off and then covers me with a blanket. He kisses me gently and strokes my hair as I feel my eyes close.

"Sleep sweet, my love," he whispers as he leaves.

Sighing, I roll onto my side and follow his suggestion.

I'm in the Outback and the sun is at its zenith. I can't see any buildings or hills. I'm not sure which way to go. I pick a direction and take a step. Suddenly I'm surrounded by a cage made of ice. I touch the bars and my hand burns with the coldness. The cage is so small that I can barely turn around. I definitely can't sit. I hear laughter coming from behind me. I carefully turn around and see Taylor standing just outside the cage laughing.

"It's time to defrost the Ice Princess," he snarls with a malicious look on his face.

He reaches through the bars and roughly grabs my breast.

"Don't touch me," I yell.

I try and 'push' him away, but all I do is shake the cage. I try and move away, but the frozen bars stop me. He tears my shirt with his other hand as the first hand continues to painfully grab me.

"NO!" I shout 'pushing' with all my might. The cage tips over and I start to fall, screaming.

"MAGGIE, WAKE UP!" Abe shouts into my ear.

My eyes snap open. I'm lying on top of Abe and he's lying on the floor next to the cot. I'm shaking so hard I can barely breathe. I gasp for air as tears start coursing down my face. Wrapping one of his arms around me, Abe carefully sits up. I can hear yelling from other parts of the plane. Hellboy and Manning come charging in.

"What the hell happened!?" Manning yells. "Why was she screaming!?"

"Maggie had a nightmare," Abe calmly answers as he cradles me in his lap. "Please leave. She's upset enough as it is."

I instinctively burry my face into Abe's bare chest. I can hear Manning draw a breath to say something, but Hellboy grabs him and drags him away. As I slowly calm down, Abe holds me and strokes my hair. I finally notice that he's damp and it's not from my tears.

"Why are you wet?" I ask.

"I was in my tank when you started having your nightmare," he answers. "You were using your powers in you nightmare. It spilled over into the real world."

I shudder at the thought that I could have killed everyone on the plane. Abe holds me closer.

"Why was I lying on top of you?" I ask. "And why are we on the floor?"

"You fell out of the cot," he answers. "I barely managed to get under you before you hit the floor."

I finally notice the half dried wet streak running half way across the floor.

"You slid across the floor to catch me, didn't you?"

"Yes," says into my hair.

"I feel like such an idiot," I say quietly. "I haven't had a nightmare since I was ten. The last one was on the one year anniversary of my parents' death."

"So what caused this one?" asks Hellboy.

I nearly jump out of my skin. I hadn't noticed his return. I look up and see Manning standing just behind HB.

"Taylor was attacking me again," I answer.

"What causes these nightmares?" asks Manning.

"Something traumatic," I reply. "When my parents died, I had them every night for six months. Then it went down to once a week. Then once every couple of weeks until the anniversary."

"So we can expect these every night for at least six months?" Manning asks irritably.

"I don't know," I tell him. "I've heard of some Mages having nightmares for years."

"Great," Manning grumbles. "You could be doing this for years and we have no way of stopping it."

"It's not stoppable, but it is manageable," I say. "It only requires at least one other Mage of the same element. After my parent's died, Guillermo was able to stop any of the earthquakes that I would have started. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to stop the wind storms. Both he and my grandmother had to work together for that first year."

"What exactly does he have to do?" Manning asks.

"He has to be close to me when I'm sleeping," I reply. "Not in the same room, but at least in the same building. That either means he has to come and live with me, or I have to start sleeping at the bureau."

"Why didn't you have a nightmare last night?" asks Hellboy.

I stare at him because I have no answer.

"I stopped the nightmares last night," Abe replies.

I turn and look Abe in the eyes. I'm too stunned to speak at first.

"No one has ever been able to stop a nightmare before," I whisper.

I hear a door open near by.

"Dr. Manning?" a man wearing pilots' wings says. "We'll be landing within the hour and Mr. Chavez is on the radio for you."

"Thank you, captain," Manning responds.

The pilot nods, turns, and heads back through the door to the cockpit. Manning follows the captain through the door.

"I guess it's time to get up," I say.

"That might be a good idea," Abe replies.

A short time later, I'm in the cargo area with HB and Abe when Manning walks in.

"Ok, I've talked to Mr. Chavez," he tells us as he looks at a piece of paper. "He thinks this thing is an Ahuizotl. It's half man, half monkey and there's a hand that comes out of the tail. It's totally aquatic, so we don't have to worry about it leaving the water."

"Did he have any idea why these things are suddenly appearing?" I ask.

"No, he didn't," Manning answers. "We'll just have to see if we can figure that one out once we get there. We'll be landing at night, so we should be able to get into position without any one noticing."

"Does this mean that Abe and Hellboy won't have to ride in the crates?" I inquire hopefully.

"Sorry, we can't take a chance of anyone seeing them," he tells me.

He leaves as I feel the cabin pressure change. We're starting to descend. A short time later we're on the ground. Abe and HB are packed up and the ramp lowers. Soon we're heading out into the jungle. As we come to a secluded spot near the lake, I can see the false dawn on the horizon.

Abe and Hellboy are released from their boxes. The crate with Abe's equipment is brought out and I watch as Abe straps knives to his lower legs, arms and thighs. There's also one on his hip. Then he cocks and loads two of the spear guns. He's ready to enter the water just as the sun starts to come over the horizon. I meet him at the waters edge and kiss him.

"Good luck," I say. "Please be careful."

"Thank you," he replies. "I will."

In a blink of an eye he's gone, leaving not so much as a ripple in the water. I walk away from the water toward the trees passing agents cocking the other spear guns and loading them. Hellboy is stationed a ways into the forest. He's close enough that he can get to the water easily, but far enough back that he's not easily seen. He's smoking a cigar and I put it out. He scowls at me.

"If you burn down this forest," I warn him. "I'll tie your tail in three knots."

He mumbles something about him thinking that Liz was irritable as I walk past him and sit at the base of one of the trees. I lean my head back against the tree and try not to think about the danger Abe's in. Suddenly, something moves underneath me. I 'feel' around and a smile starts to spread across my face. I stand and start to follow my 'feeling.'

"Where're you goin'?" Hellboy asks.

"To see a friend," I tell him as I walk away.