losthunter | The Stories We Keep Secret

"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."

There is a slight path that they will be able to follow. As they start to follow the path, there is a single red rose blooming from the thorns. The rose opens, and there is a wisp of light that emerges. It soon takes shape.

Forming into a slightly familiar face. Kendra. It should make sense to both Jim and Faris that she is still in Hunter's mind.

"Caution is wise." She speaks softly.

In the real world, Hunter thrashes slightly, as he struggles to make sense of what is going on in his head. April places a steady, but firm hand on his chest, keeping him in place on the couch so that his thrashing doesn't interfere with the need for the constant medical care from McCoy.

Faris bows his head slightly in greeting. Jim doesn't, trying to figure out what's the best move here. "Kendra," he greets her, like he would greet a visiting ambassador. Mind melds aren't like this; there's some element of a constructed, shared setting out of memory, but it's more about active thoughts and old memories than something that will actually interact with you.

Kendra nods slightly to both of them. She is here as their guide, only to act in their best interests to navigate the twisted paths of the mind.

"You are here to find the poison..."

"I am here to lead you."

Jim's used to being the leader, not to being led. But he's also had a harsh reminder recently about the need to listen to others and follow their guidance, especially when he's out of his depth. This certainly qualifies. So he doesn't object, just nods slightly. "All right. Which way from here?"

Faris has no hangups about the need to follow. As a symbiont, cooperation with others is in his nature. So he simply waits patiently for her wisdom.

"We follow the maze to the heart..." Kendra starts walking, making her way through the maze as if she is very confident in knowing the way.

"The poison has not reached the heart yet. We are fortunate."

Jim and Faris follow, both keeping an eye out for danger out of reflex. This is unknown territory to them both, and they don't know what shape the danger will take here.

The presence of so many thorns without roses is a bit eerie to Jim. "Is it supposed to look like this here?" he asks.

"No." Kendra answers. It is a good thing that she is taking lead, as sometimes the path twirls and crosses itself at times, but she always knows which way to go. Which way to follow the path.

And eventually, the path starts to brighten, with more roses.

"These roses are what it should look like. The roses are still bright around his heart."

"This is far more pleasing," Faris agrees. But the extent of the poison is concerning. "What shall we find at the heart?"

"Only roses. We have protected the heart." Kendra pauses. Turning to them. "If the poison reaches the heart... we have lost."

Jim frowns a little. If this was a real rose garden, they would have to cut and burn the diseased plants, and separate them from the healthy ones. But this is Hunter's mind, and Jim doesn't have the first idea what that would do to him. "So how can we stop it?"

"Once we reach the heart, we follow the darkest path to the source of the poison..." Kendra pauses. "And then... I am not sure."

"Then we'd better hurry." Jim's not sure how much time they have, but if it's spread this far in such a short amount of time, there's little time to waste.

They soon reach the mental representation of Hunter's heart. It is a bright and sunny rose garden. Hundreds of trails all lead to the heart, with the paths twisting upon itself. Kendra pauses at the center of the paths... closing her eyes for a moment.

Then she points to one, which is darker than the rest.

"This one." And she starts down that path. The roses disappear quickly among this path. And there is an ominous feeling around them.

Ominous is right. Jim's fingers itch to hold a phaser, even though he knows it would do little good here. He's entirely out of his element, both in terms of dealing with magic and in being inside of another person's mind.

Faris casts a slightly critical eye on the thorny tangles where roses no longer bloom, inspecting them for differences from the healthy plants further towards the heart. "The poison is a corruption. Perhaps by destroying the source, we may save the heart."

"You speak a truth. The poison is corrupting every part of him. Of us." Kendra looks concerned. "You can not hear the doubts that it is casting."

"Doubts?" Jim repeats, something inside of him twisting uncomfortably. "What kind of doubts?"

"His most recent journey gave him an opportunity to meet with many others, who were gifted by abilities."

"But all of their stories had a few common traits. None of them had to learn a lesson. Instead, they were struggling in some way. And he of course had wondered why he was selected..."

"And then there is also the fact that the others all had found someone special in their life." Kendra shakes her head slightly.

"The poison is making small concerns even bigger."

Faris had known that these doubts were weighing on Hunter, but this seems more serious than simple nagging thoughts. "Is there no way we can ease these fears?" The easiest path would be to go straight to the source, but sometimes, symptoms must be managed before a disease can be cured.

"It would help delay the poison from growing stronger..."

Kendra pauses at one of the wilted flowers. "They say plants can hear you. When you talk to them. Remember that he can hear everything we say right now."

For Jim, it's a strange parallel. All those days where he lay in a coma, he still sometimes remembers things that people said to him, when he was out. Not necessarily whole conversations, more like vague impressions of topics and emotions, enough that he remembers he wasn't alone.

And now they're inside Hunter's head, and it's almost like the script has been flipped.

Faris knows little about that, but he knows at least one thing that he can say that might help. "Hunter, you would not be the person that you are without your struggles and hardships. You have spoken to me of the man you once were. Regardless of why you were chosen, you have grown into a better person than you would have been."

A small trail of flowers seem to flourish at Faris' feet, as he says those words. Kendra smiles a little.

"Just the fact he was chosen makes him special." She whispers.

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