Star Trek: The Predicament About Demons

5

He stood in a dark room with not a single glint of light. It was a dark abyss everywhere he looked, and it didn't seem like there was any way out of it. After desperately walking in circles, finally, there came a bright light up ahead, and it grew brighter and closer. It grew to be so intense he had to shield his eyes. He took one step at a time towards the light, slowly and with caution, and just as it came, the light dimmed. Suddenly he now stood in a place very familiar to him....

"Daddy?" The small voice of a child came, echoing in his mind, and the man's heart skipped a pain-staking beat. Leonard knew that voice from anywhere.

"J... Joanna?"

No reply.

The last time he had seen his daughter was some fifteen years ago in March when the SSSIS had allowed him to see her for the day. It was rare that he was ever let to see his girl, and the SSSIS hardly ever allowed him to see his daughter--the only other times he'd seen her was at least one to two days every few years. The Secret Society of Supernatural and Inhuman Studies was very strict when it came to him visiting his only living relative. They always believed that he would be a bad influence and distraction for her to concentrate on acting "normal like all the other kids." Obviously it was bullshit, because all they did--as far as he knew--was strip her of her right to socialize and attend public schools. The pit of his stomach bubbled with anger at the thought of them doing tests on her.

Slowly Leonard walked through the empty room, wary of what might be beyond it. He knew of what dwelled downstairs, but somehow he couldn't bring himself to venture there--not again. But then there, the one staircase he remembered descending before. Down there was more light than up where he stood, but it wasn't enough to fully persuade him to walk down there.

"Daddy!" Called his little girl once more. Only this time she sounded as if she were in danger. This is what made Leonard come running down the stairs, stumbling down in a panic.

"Joanna!" He called back, and frantically began whipping his head around in a frenzy search for Joanna. As he got closer and closer to the bottom of the stairs, so far no signs of her. "Jo?" Leonard's voice softened, knowing completely well of where he was; he was one-hundred percent certain this time. His mind carried on yelling at him to get out of there--it was a trap. But the part of his mind that conquered told him to continue his search for Joanna, and so he did.

The room was spacious, with lit torches lining the walls between pillars on either side of the room. In front of Leonard was a large, stone slab with miscellaneous items sitting atop of it. Something that stood out most though was the spilt blood that smeared all across the floor. What was displayed in front of him triggered his memory into confirming his suspicions. Leonard's own blood ran cold in his veins as an unforgettable figure stepped out from a darkened corner. He gulped as there stood Le Valliant with his dark, cold eyes boring into the depths of his soul. This couldn't be real. How could it? This is all just a dream--a nightmare--right? Right.

Le Valliant let out a low rumble of laughter as an evil smirk slid into view on his lips, sharp teeth showing menacingly. "Oh, Harry," said he, "how I've missed you. Luckily for you, it's not a dream." His head tilted to the right, his smirk falling slightly.

"You really have outdone yourself, I must admit: what with creating a new life for yourself; a life that you don't want to lose," he teased. "Wouldn't want that to fall apart, would we. Oh, wait, but it is; it's slowly all crashing down and you can't do anything about it."

"What do you want?" Snapped Leonard, ignoring his taunting words. He didn't--he couldn't--believe that this was real; he tried to convince himself in his mind, but surely it wasn't enough as Valliant let out another rumble of laughter.