Star Trek: The Predicament About Demons

21

All was silent on the ground below. Jim watched as Leonard and Le Valliant flew up into the clouds, out of sight. His heart pounded in his chest. Adrenaline still ran through his veins. He ran a hand over his dirt-covered face, wincing at the pain that shot through his leg.

Immediately Spock stood to his own feet and clasped a hand on Jim's bicep, lifting him up easily. Jim thanked his first officer and wrapped his arm over his shoulder for assistance. By this time Uhura and Sulu had run over, both with their phasers still at the ready.

"The hellhounds aren't attacking anymore," Uhura informed them. "All they're doing now is... whimpering." She shrugged her shoulders in a confused manner. But it did appear to bring good news–assuming that they were afraid of Leonard–so it eased their nerves. Speaking of Leonard....

Jim nudged Spock and limped as they walked over to Benny and Joanna. The fourteen-year-old girl was huddled on the ground with Benny's arms around her, a look of horror befallen her face. Tears stained her cheeks. "What happened?" Jim asked gently.

Benny looked up at him, her fingers running through the teen's brown locks. Her hands appear to be less flaky than before. "Valliant tried to take her heart." She softly hushed Joanna when she let out a mewl. As she's holding her, she's looking up at the sky, where Leonard disappeared. Jim and the others did as well, all waiting and hoping he returns. All was silent as the minutes passed. The unsettling silence carried on through the atmosphere. Jim's body ached from just standing there, but he didn't have the will to move; Jim ignored the need to sit down and rest. Spock had at one point suggested that he rest, but the captain kept looking onward at the sky.

Then it happened.

A light as bright as the sun, penetrated through the clouds. It was the explosion Benny was talking about. Jim's heart sank deep within his stomach and his eyes filled with tears. The light spread far across the earth's atmosphere, diminishing the dark that filled the sky. Over where the hellhounds were, Benny watched as one by one, they all eroded away like ash in the wind. People began flooding the area that previously held a battle. Citizens that were under Le Valliant's control, their irises are brought back to full color–they stand free, staring up at the sky as well. None of this would be possible without Leonard's sacrifice.

Sacrifice.

Jim didn't want to think of it, but it was hard not to. Before he knew it he was crying, warm tears falling down from his eyes. His legs are more shaky than before. A heavy shiver runs down his spine and shakes him to the bone. He becomes feeble and he lets himself crumble to the ground. Spock is there to catch him. He sits down with him. It might've been against the customs of his people, but as Spock, too, stared up at the bright sky, his own eyes glisten with tears. The loss of a close friend takes a toll on him, and he's even reminded of the loss of his mother.

Benny had already known this would be coming. It was inevitable, and it was something that needed to be done. Her chest filled with the feeling of guilt–guilt for not being the one to sacrifice herself. She was the one who didn't have as much of a life like Leonard did. She wonders why she let him do it; she wonders why it ever had to come down to this outcome, this "only way" of defeating Le Valliant. She looked down as Joanna pushed herself out of the woman's embrace. With shaking limbs she stands. She tries running forward but falls down on her hands and knees. The pull-out of her heart weakened her more than she thought it would. Then again, why would it not? It was her heart, of course her body relies on it more.

The brunette screams at the sky in anguish, as if it would ever bring back the man she knew as her father. Joanna rocks herself back and forth as she wraps her arms over her torso. She's not afraid to cry in front of anyone anymore. Uhura goes to kneel next to her and rubs her back. She knows that it wouldn't change anything, but it was better to let her know that she wasn't alone in grieving for the one man they all knew in one way or another. "I never even got to know him...."