The Nightmare Continues

Posted on Wed Apr 24th, 2013 @ 3:24pm by Commodore Samantha York & Lieutenant JG Elizabeth Jackson & 1st Lieutenant Kara Melo & Lieutenant Jourdan Abbott & Lieutenant Khalpek & Lieutenant JG Anthony "Shade" Benge & Ensign Mandy Lane

1,065 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: What Dreams May Come?
Location: Various

ON

The trees were talking to her. Whispering, really. "Lizzie...Lizzie...Feed us!"

Lizzie Jackson turned from planting cuttings and listened. It couldn't be her trees. Trees talked, she knew that, but not in Standard. But the whispering continued. "Lizzie, feed us. We hunger!"

Deciding she needed to see who was playing a prank on her and get it over with so she could get back to work, Lizzie walked out of the workroom into the main arboretum.

As she stepped into the room, the trees began to wail, causing a small breze to stir her hair. Their branches reached out, grabbing at her and pulling her towards them. "Wait a minute! I'm the one who takes care of you," she argued.

"We need you, Lizzie! Feed us!" they wailed. One of the trees wrapped a branch around her and pulled her towards its trunk. It was then that she saw the mouth gaping open in the side of the tree. Lizzie screamed and struggled to pull free, but the tree was too strong.

The other trees complained and asked to share, but the one large tree laughed, the sound echoing through the wood.

Just as it was about to pull her into its maw, she woke. It was just a nightmare. Trees didn't eat people. HER trees wouldn't eat her. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling of something watching her. She got out of bed and made herself a bowl of ice cream and a stack of cookies. "Computer, play Bon Jovi." Music would help. So would cookies and ice cream. Chocolate chip cookies helped almost everything.

====

Shade snapped awake and started patting himself over. "Fire! Son of a weasel! Im on f-" Looking at his arms and chest and around his quarters to see nothing. "Computer, lights." As they snapped on he looked around and saw no scorch marks, nothing. The dream had been so vivid, so real that he just didn't know what was what. Getting dressed quickly he made his way to Ten-Forward, a shot or two would get his mind off of that.

====

Engineering was full of smoke. Jourdan looked around to see several of the consoles explodre throwing her engineer's away badly burnt to the deck. "Warning warp core breach in one minute" the computer announced flatly. "I know! I know!" Jourdan shouted back. "There is nothing you can do" the computer replied. "Oh now you tell me..." Jourdan said. The warp core began to hiss loudly, a giant clock emerged on the face of the dilithium intermix chamber. "What the..." it was counting down. Then a hand grabbed her shoulder, it was made of badly burnt charred skin. She looked around to see her engineer's pulling her away, their faces no more, their bodys burnt and zombified.

"Goodbye Jourdan. Warp core breach in progress". Jourdan sat bolt upright in bed breathing heavily. "Computer what is the status of the warp core?" she asked immediately. "The warp core is operating at one hundred per cent efficiency" the computer replied. She relaxed and settled back down on the bed.
"It was just a dream, just a dream" she told herself. "Nothing bad can come of a dream"

====

Khalpek was standing in the living room of her Father's home. She found herself looking up at him as if she were a small child. "You have brought shame on your whole family." his voice boomed. "You have shamed our entire House."

She stood there trembling. For the life of her she could not recall what she might have done to deserve this reprimand. She tried to speak to defend herself, but no words would come.

====

Mandy looked down at the charred body of her sister, laying on the table in front of her. A vitals screen beside her read that she was alive, barely. Mandy looked for the medical supplies that would help her, but none could be found. She needed them, now, but the shelves were bare.

"Someone bring me a hypospray! I need a dermal regenerator!" She shouted, but nobody came. The lights went out, except for the monitors, bathing the scene in front of her with eerie blue light. The heart monitor showed that Cress's pulse was declining, fast.

All of a sudden, Cress jerked upward, looking into Mandy's face, and grabbing the front of her uniform. "You could never save me." And the heart monitor went flat, as her dead sister fell to the table in front of her.

Mandy jerked awake in her bed. "Computer, is Cressidia Lane on the ship!"

"No officer by the name of Cressidia Lane is present on any decks."

Mandy sighed her relief. Thank god it was just a nightmare.

====

Kara was restless. She tried to sleep, but at first she couldn't get comfortable and then she couldn't relax. Finally, she fell into a fitful sleep, only to wake up two hours later when she heard the door to her quarters open.

"Hello?" she called. It had to be someone in the wrong place. No one had access to her quarters. She wasn't even sure how they were able to get in.

The footsteps came towards her bedroom. "Computer, lights."

When they came on, she saw Cam standing in the doorway. She sat up and gave him a half smile. Their relationship hadn't developed far enough for him to simply walk into her bedroom. "Is something wrong, Cam?"

He said nothing, just stood there, staring at her.

"Are you okay?" Now she was concerned. She got out of bed and walked to Cam, putting a hand on his chest. "Cam?"

Instead of replying, he backhanded her across the face.

Kara stumbled back, shocked. "Cam, it's me, Kara. What's going on?"

Cam walked towards her, picked her up and threw her onto the bed. Then he started to beat her.

Kara screamed. Not again. He promised.

She sat up, panting hard and shaking. The room was dark and she was alone. A dream. It had only been a dream. "Computer, lights."

She got out of bed and dressed. Maybe a session in the gym would help her relax. She wasn't going to get any more sleep tonight.

OFF

Lieutenant JG Elizabeth Jackson
Botanist

Lieutenant JG Anthony "Shade" Mauro
Assistant Chief Intelligence Officer

Lieutenant Jourdan Abbott
Chief Engineer

Lieutenant Khalpek
Chief Security Officer

Ensign Mandy Lane
Medic

Staff Sergeant Kara Melo
Alpha Platoon Leader

 

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