To Sleep. Perhaps to Dream. Part II
Posted on Mon Apr 7th, 2025 @ 4:13pm by Lieutenant Vura & Lieutenant Colonel Cornelius Tremble & Captain Edmund Merrick & Lieutenant Mira Jayna
Edited on on Mon Apr 7th, 2025 @ 9:25pm
2,204 words; about a 11 minute read
Mission:
Episode 16 - Silent Cries
Location: The Quarters of Vura - Deck 3/The Quarters of Cornelius Tremble - Deck 2/The Quarters of Edmund Merrick - Deck 3 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD009 0300hrs
"You're not him!" Vura screamed at Edmund. "You can't erase him! I was going to propose to him! You know that!"
Edmund's face changed momentarily to Hermia's, "Maybe if you would take things seriously once in a while, this sort of thing would not happen."
Tears now freely flowing, Vura screamed in anguish as she turned on her heels and started running in the opposite direction.
He was falling.
Neil liked free falling but this wasn’t that. He was falling back first and no matter what he tried, couldn’t get himself shifted around as the wind ripped at his body. The first time he tried to turn, he was sent spinning off. He tried ducking his shoulder into the spin and that kinda worked, but he still couldn’t get himself righted.
He didn’t recognize the atmosphere he was falling through, nor the land masses he could glimpse as he craned his neck around. Neil also realized he wasn’t wearing any kit. He wasn’t cold like he expected and he could breathe in the strange atmosphere.
But he was falling and the surface, strange as it appeared to him, was coming up fast.
Then he heard Jayna’s voice telling him to reach out and take her hand. Problem was he couldn’t see Jayna. She whispered into his mind that things would be alright. He had to trust her. Close his mind. Find inner peace and trust in her to help him.
He could feel his heart hammering. Wanting to explode out of his chest. Neil did trust her. He closed his eyes. Reached out and felt it her reassuring grip on his hand. But it didn’t feel like her hand. Opening his eyes, he saw he was holding a spider in his hand. But it wasn’t a normal spider. It had Lieutenant Vura’s face on and it was gnashing its teeth as it skittered from his palm up over his shoulder. Each of the spider/Vura’s legs had hooks on them, which embedded into his skin, leaving bloody welts up his arm as he flailed at it, his arm going numb.
Spider/Vura reached his ear and, even though he tried to avoid it, the little hooks grabbed a hold of his ear and started burrowing in.
Jayna’s voice took on the lilting scornful tone he was used to from the Counselor as it said, “You deserve to die. My Eddy doesn’t belong to you. The Corp. Or any of those other ‘itches or the Marines. He belongs to me. He’s mine!
The ground was coming up quick and Neil could feel the spider burrowing into his head as he looked around frantically for Jayna. She said she’d rescue him. Then he saw the welts on his arms. More spider/Vura’s ripped themselves out of the welts, then swarmed up his arms, over his chest and started burrowing in, eating him alive as they changed: mine mine mine mine mine mine mine mine mine mine mine mine mine mine mine mine mine, while others whispered :where’s Eddy where’s Eddy where’s Eddy where’s Eddy where’s Eddy, filling his head as they consumed him.
He lost an eye, screaming in agony as more spider/Vura’s took the opportunity to pull themselves up his throat and through the eye socket as the ground came hurtling up.
Neil was saved. The spider’s consumed him just before the he hit the ground.
And then he was awake. Drenched in sweat, tangled up in the bedsheet and Jayna’s arms. His heart hammering, Neil saw Rommie’s face appear through a data-ribbon as she reacted to his bio-sign spike and he waived her off. He remembered falling but nothing beyond that and even that was rapidly fading from his mind.
The VuraSpider began to laugh as it continued to glare at Jayna. "I'll poison that Marine of yours before I let him take my Eddy."
Her Eddy? Jayna looked around, half expecting to see Edmund wrapped in spider silk hanging from the wall... And then he was there. But he had no arms or legs. He was just a body, wrapped in a cocoon of silk. He looked like he was trying to scream, but his mouth was covered.
She considered cutting him down, but he was guarded by the large web and the larger VuraSpider.
Jayna spun around. Where was Neil? She had to find him. Did the spider have him somewhere else? She paused as a thought struck her like a wall of bricks. Did the VuraSpider have eggs? She had to find out. She had to rescue Neil. She would rescue him.
She picked up a rock and threw it at the spider. "I don't want Edmund." She threw another rock. "I want Neil." Then she threw another. "Where is he? What have you done to him?"
Suddenly the cave faded and she was falling through the air. She twisted to see where she was, but her back was to the ground. She twisted again and saw Neil...but he wasn't wearing any sort of parachute or jetpack. Did she? It didn't matter. "Take my hand. I'll help you," she called, trying to get close enough to him to grab hold.
She maneuvered closer to him, fighting back the rising panic. She would not, could not, lose Neil. Almost there. Then she heard the mocking voice. It sounded just like her, but the tone was definitely not hers. Jayna lunged for Neil and missed. She tried to scream, but she was falling too fast now. She couldn't reach him. Still, she tried again. She wasn't going to make it.
Spiders crawled out of his skin and swarmed over his body. Spiders that all had the face of Vura. Someone screamed. She didn't know if it was Neil or her.
And then she was in bed, holding Neil, and they were both drenched with sweat. For just a moment she couldn't let go, listening to the beat of his heart, his rapid breathing. The faint sound of laughter echoed in her head.
Then it was gone. She couldn't remember why she was afraid, but she couldn't make herself let go of Neil, either.
Edmund's mad dash out of the arena was perhaps an ill-fated choice for him. For when he went down that hall he found himself falling, down what seemed to be a never ending pit. He saw what appeared to be himself that was just a torso webbed against the wall, spider Vura's running along their multiple silken threads, which made Edmund confused. He thought he heard what sounded like Vura screaming, and two others as well. Those faded as he continued to fall, the sides of the pit reminding him of the tree in which Alice had fallen in, when following the white rabbit.
A burning stinging sensation drew his attention, gelatinous tendrils like that of a Jellyfish wrapped themselves around his wrists and ankles, and were rapidly pulling him down towards some maw with rather sharp teeth, eyes that were white with no color in them. He didn't know what gender they were, in the end did it matter? For he was yanked into the mouth, the mouth closing with a snap him screaming, then silence.
Edmund sat straight up from his pillow panting heavily, feeling his heart almost bursting from his chest. Another dream that he'd not remember but the distinct feeling of terror lingered. What the heck was that?
Vura ran as fast as she could down the corridor. It was getting darker, the sterile white walls disappearing as she continued forward. She dared a look backwards to see if she was being pursued. However, this precaution caused her to not notice something in front of her that caused her to trip.
The Counselor flew into the air until she was caught by someone. Whoever it was felt strong and confident. She looked up to thank the person who caught her and looked straight into the malicious smiling face of Neil. "Finally succumbing to me, are you, Counselor?" he asked evilly.
"Don't you see that you are always in my hands? In my control? Now, just make sure that you get up and put all my fighters back into action."
Vura squirmed out of Neil's arms, repulsed. "No! We're here to explore! We're here to help! We don't fight until the absolute last resort."
"Well, this is the last resort." He pulled out a phaser and pointed it directly at Vura. He then took another phaser out from behind him and told Vura, "I'll even give you a fair shot. Make it sporting. Dual on ten."
The Counselor did not pick up the phaser and shouted at Neil, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! You're supposed to be an XO, not a stupid jarhead!"
Neil just turned his body around and said, "I'd pick up that phaser if I were you, Counselor. You might even have a chance." He then took a step. "10...9..."
"I will not fight!"
"Then you will die.... 8...7...."
Not knowing what else to do, Vura took the phaser and started running in a perpendicular direction as fast as she could. There was a door on the right. She did not question it. She merely tried it and to her surprise and pleasure, it opened.
Vura bolted the door behind her and a light came on. Inside the room, a doll sat in a chair. She was petite but life-sized. Vura decided to inspect her. There was Japanese blood in this woman. She was mixed with something else because she had blue eyes.
When Vura got close enough, the woman rose and in a high-pitched voice said, "I have been waiting for you. I am Emiko Marley. We saved your share." She handed her a bag that had not been visible when she had entered the room.
Tentatively, Vura opened the bag. Inside was part of Edmund's face and the left upper part of his body. Edmund told Vura, "Vivian did this. Put me back together. Please, Vura!"
The Counselor screamed in horror. Emiko merely told Vura, "Isn't he lovely. He should be all mine, but we agreed." Vura barely could utter the words, "Who?"
Emiko answered, "Vivian, Mira, Emiko, and you."
"I would never do that!" Vura protested.
"But you did," Emiko replied emotionlessly. "I will take this part of him, if you do not want him."
"He's mine!" Vura replied harshly and then pulled her phaser on Emiko. "Now, give me what you have of his."
"I will seek it, you know. I will never stop. He's mine." Reluctantly, the petite woman handed Vura another bag containing another quarter of Edmund's body.
Vura started to back away from Emiko. She believed Emiko might likely be more dangerous than Neil and Vura had no idea why. Vura opened the bags and promised, "I will make you whole, Edmund. I promise."
Edmund did not seem to weigh Vura down that much while she ran. Once again, she looked behind her to see if Emiko or Neil was chasing her. This time, however, she turned in time just to avoid crashing with Jayna.
"Jayna!" Vura exhaled while trying to catch her breath. She bent low, exhausted from all of the running. "You have to help me. Edmund's in pieces in these bags. There's still half of him missing! Then there's this crazy doll-like woman chasing me who had part of him. Please, Jayna!"
"I'm not here to help you, Vura. I came to understand you. I cannot understand why you hate Neil. You seem nice but because you hate him, you must be evil."
"Two people can not get along. We have an independent relationship."
"No, we don't. You don't understand, Vura. We are one." She turned around and Neil faced Vura. He said, "1," and fired his phaser.
Vura looked at the hole in her stomach and watched as her body faded into nothingness.
Her eyes opened immediately as she clutched her blankets tightly into her hands. The room was dark but nothing seemed amiss other than her breathing which was rapid and ragged. I should talk to Edmund first thing. We have to get back on track sooner rather than later.
A Joint Post By
Captain Edmund Merrick
Company Commanding Officer, The Cure
USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Mira Jayna
Intelligence Officer, The Cure
USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Vura
Chief Counselor, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Colonel Cornelius Tremble
Executive Officer, USS Pioneer
Battalion Commander, The Cure
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