losthunter | The Stories We Keep Secret

"Can't physically?" McCoy asks, wanting to make as much sense out of these readings as he can. He can see the drain on Hunter's systems, but not the reason.

"The images I see when I close my eyes..." His eyes flutter restlessly for a moment. "They are just... I just can't rest easily with those images."

He shakes his head. "I thought it was all the PINpoint travelling I did today. But Faris is not showing any symptoms..."

Right, Faris was there. Jim looks down at the K'da. "What exactly happened? Where were you?" Though he doesn't entirely mean to, his tone automatically shifts to the one he uses onboard the Enterprise, the one he thinks of as his Captain Voice.

As a warrior, Faris responds well to the demand for a report. "We were traveling and speaking to other humans that were aided by aspects of the oracle. Most were pleasant, and spoke positively of her. However, the last human was clearly agitated and upset by the subject. I was not required to intervene before the situation became violent, though it could have. Hunter did not appear ill until after our departure from the medical facility."

"Medical facility?" McCoy repeats, looking up with a frown. Since his scanner isn't giving him much useful information, he resorts to an older diagnostic technique, manually checking Hunter's vitals and pupil response.

"It's not possible he picked something up there, is it?" Jim asks, frowning in worry. "That's way too fast."

McCoy shakes his head. "I doubt it. I've never heard of any disease that strikes that fast."

Hunter's heart is going a tad faster than a normal heart would. And there seems to be a slight discoloration at his left arm, almost hidden underneath the rose-bush tattoo.

"The others... they were all given magical abilities by Kendra too." Hunter explains softly. He doesn't like to think about it, but he has to make the suggestion. "This could be an effect of Austin's abilities."

"Magic?" McCoy repeats. He's still wary of the whole thing, aware that it's because he doesn't understand it. Magic isn't something he can diagnose or treat. "If it is, I don't know how much I can do."

Jim is the one to spot the discoloration, since he's much more familiar with Hunter's tattoos than McCoy is. "That almost looks like a bruise."

"Austin grabbed my arm right before we left..." Hunter trails off. He struggles to collect his breath for a moment.

McCoy digs into his medkit for a hypospray and presses it to Hunter's shoulder. "I'm giving you a shot of tri-ox," he explains as he does so. "It should help you breathe." That's the immediate concern, but now that that's been addressed, they have a bigger issue at hand. "You should be in a hospital. There's only so much I can do here. But if it is magic, all I'll be able to do is manage symptoms."

"We should contact someone who could help diagnose if it is magical..." Hunter feels a little better with the tri-ox. He is not struggling to breathe.

"I know of a few people..." He closes his eyes briefly. "But I don't know if they would be reachable or nor."

"There is no harm in trying," Faris says reasonably. "It is better than doing nothing."

"Will's mother... April... would be good at this. But I haven't heard from Will in ages." His number is still in Hunter's contact list, with his picture near it.

He still wants to sleep. But those troubling images still bother him every time he closes his eyes.

[Jim is more than welcome in noting April gave him her contact information, if you would rather not have Will dragged into this]

Jim doesn't know any of April's kids' names, but he does recall meeting someone with that name a few weeks ago, after he'd first gotten out of the hospital. "Do you mean April Kent?"

"Yes. Her home dimension has many different types of magic in it..."

"I've got her number." Jim ignores the look that McCoy gives him, like the doctor thinks he was flirting with yet another person. He's just glad that he can avoid possibly having to go through a middle man, as it were. "I'll give her a call."

He's never called her before, so he certainly hopes that she picks up.

It is a good thing that Hunter is too out of it to even see the look that McCoy gives Jim. He is too busy trying to stay focused as it is.

April's phone is picked up quickly. "April Kent here."

"Mrs. Kent, it's Jim Kirk. We met in the Nexus a few weeks ago," he adds, in case she's forgotten him. "I have a friend who's in trouble... it might be some kind of curse. He recommended I call you in on it."

"A curse." She repeats. "And a friend in trouble, who recommended me."

Something tells her that this is important. "Give me your PINpoint location. I will come over."

"Yeah, his name's Hunter. He's a friend of Wil's." Jim hopes that's one of the kids she currently has, since she told him her family's timeline tends to do whatever the hell it wants in the Nexus.

"Sending coordinates now."

This is definitely one of these cases of older versions of her children visiting the Nexus, since currently her Will is just old enough for playschool. April keeps that in mind, as she steps through the PINpoint.

It is a strange sight awaiting her. The man on the couch is surrounded by a dark aura. She assumes the man in the white coat is a doctor of some type. And there is an unique creature sitting by Jim.

April herself is dressed in a light sundress. Her blonde hair is loose right now. And she didn't bring any supplies with her.

"What happened?"

Faris is the one who answers, since he was there. "Hunter and I were visiting other humans who had been blessed by an oracle on his home Earth. The last human was hostile in his demeanor towards Hunter and nearly provoked violence. Once we had left, Hunter became extremely exhausted with no apparent cause. We nearly did not return to his home in time."

"An oracle..." April frowns. She takes a seat near the man on the couch.

She gently touches Hunter's face, it is a little warm right now, but she is not bothered by it.

"You said there were others blessed by an oracle. Is this man one who was blessed?"

McCoy is monitoring the patient, so he doesn't move away, but he does shift a little so he can be out of her way and still be able to scan Hunter with his tricorder.

"He is," Faris answers. "Quite some time ago."

"That explains the strong magical energy I see around him..." April closes her eyes for a second. She tilts her head slightly. "But there is another magical energy. Twisted inside. Draining his energy."

"I can see his symptoms but not the cause," McCoy says. "It's like a parasite of some kind."

"It is exactly like a parasite. And it will tear him apart slowly from the inside, unless it is removed."

She opens her eyes. "I don't know him well enough to distinguish apart from his magical energy from the parasite."

"But I could open a mental dreamscape, to allow others to take a closer look."

Jim frowns a little. "Is that like a mind meld?"

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