losthunter | The Stories We Keep Secret

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?"

"Depends on your definition..." April explains.

She looks at Hunter in concern, as the young man attempts once again to close his eyes and rest. And is unable to fall into a proper sleep.

"A mental dreamscape would connect your mind with his. And you would be able to 'visit' his mind. The imaginary would be very real. But everything would be a representation of what is going on in his head."

"So this would help us get the curse out? I'm in." Jim does not even hesitate.

"Good. I need you to relax and just let me into your mind, to make the connection. I am going to have to assume I have his permission..." She nods to Hunter. "Anyone else?"

"Not me," McCoy says. He has a patient to care for, and he can't do that inside Hunter's head.

"I shall participate also," Faris volunteers.

Jim's not used to telepathic contact that doesn't require her to touch them, so it's a bit weird to try to think of letting her in. But he gives it a shot.

April does take Hunter's hand in her own. Then she projects her mind to both Faris and Jim. They will feel her mental connection caressing at their minds. And once they open up to the experience, they will feel a sensation of being pulled into Hunter's mindscape.

Which right now, is a twisted maze of rose thorns.

Jim is... not terribly surprised to find rose imagery in Hunter's mind. But this is nothing like the lovingly tended, pruned garden out back. It's wild and overgrown, with sharp edges at every turn.

Faris is fascinated by the experience, though of course it's tempered by the task at hand. "We must tread with caution."

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