Flash Flood Of Memory

Participants:

jim_icon.gif kaylee3_icon.gif

Scene Title Flash Flood of Memory
Synopsis A trip into the mind of a precog is always unpredictable.
Date April 29, 2019

Elmhurst Hospital


It was dinner time at Elmhurst hospital.

An uptick in activity in a normally quiet section of the hospital. Well… Quiet for everyone else. The constant hum of her ability at work keeps the silence away. Coupled with the soft beeping of the monitors, Kaylee was starting to feel ready to get out of that place.

That wasn’t even the worst of it…

A heavy sigh that leaves the telepath as she looks at the tray of what they call ‘food’ on her little table. The small square bit of paper on the tray states her name and that she was one a clear liquid diet. The six small cups do not promis much nourishment, while the smell of what others are having drifts into the room and makes her stomach growl unhappily. Sadly, doctors orders were to give her poor abused stomach a rest which mean bland things with no taste.

She couldn’t complain though… Kaylee put herself here, by the sheer stubbornness and her refusal to back down.

So with another quieter sigh the telepath picks up the little cup of apple juice.

Jim has been in here at various points — well, he works here, right? So it’s easy for him to pop by. Of course, he’s also concerned about her, and so he’s been in a little bit more than he would for many patients in a non-work capacity.

He happens to be coming by now, and there’s a little knock on the door before he opens it, just enough to see around the door. “Hi,” he says, and he smiles, though doesn’t quite step in yet. “I saw you’d woken up. Feel like company?” He waits for her to say whether she’s up to it or not, though.

There is a glance up from the little cup of apple juice which she is plucking at the foil top of, before Kaylee relaxes and smiles. “Jim. Hey… I thought I might get to see you here. Come in. Come in.“ The cup is set down and she motions him in. “I should have guessed that was you I heard.” Oh yeah, right, telepath.

“Any distraction from everything around me, is always welcome.” Kaylee glances at the doorway and adds a touch blandly, “Not to mention someone who isn’t going to yell at me.” Eyes travel back up to her visitor and motions him to sit. “Any luck with the vision you had? I’m… I’m sorry I haven’t check in, I got caught up in some family business.” She looks a bit embarrassed over that slip up.

Oh yeah, right, indeed. Jim lets out a short laugh, and he nods, pointing a finger at her as though she’s got him on that one, but he comes in then, shutting the door behind him and starting toward one of the chairs in the room. He leans forward once he’s settled, resting his forearms on his knees and clasping his hands in front of him.

“I hadn’t planned on yelling at you,” he confirms. “Should I?” However, it’s not said seriously, and he shrugs after a moment, his mouth twisting a little wryly even though there’s still a smile there. “Not yet,” he says. “Don’t worry about it, though. Meanwhile I saw something else that didn’t have to do with the other thing.” He pauses, before he admits, “At least, I don’t think it did. It didn’t seem the same, but really, I have no idea.”

“Maybe,” Kaylee chuckles out the comment as to whether he should yell or not.

Settling back against her bed, the telepath gives him her full attention. The idea that he’s had yet another vision gets a raise of eyebrows. “Really?” Her eyes unfocus for a moment, head turning slightly to the door. A slight tilt of her head might suggest she’s listening, but after a moment she is looking back at him.

“Let me show you a trick of mine.” Kaylee offers out a hand to him. Anticipation fills her. It always did when using her ability. Thankfully, there wasn’t the same temptation that use to torture her mind. Mischief turns up the corner of her mouth, “Just don’t tell anyone.” It was her free will now.

“Well, I’ll save it for later when I’m in more of a yelling mood,” Jim replies. He doesn’t really seem like he ever has yelling moods, though. He nods, though, confirming the vision. “Yeah. I don’t know, I’m definitely getting them more frequently. It’s strange — I could never predict how often they’d come before, but three in a couple months is definitely more than usual.” He glances away briefly, before looking back to her just as she extends the hand.

He looks at it for a moment or two with clear hesitation. “Are you sure?” he asks. “You’re not fully recovered yet.” And it’s mostly true — she’s still in the hospital, after all. But partly it’s that he’s not sure about any of this, really. Visions coming more often, more intense…more than he’d like, honestly.
“It’s just my stomach at this point. It always starts there, so it’s the last to heal.” An annoyed look is shot at the closed door. “I think they are just being overly cautious, keeping me here for observation. I don’t think they would believe me if I told them I wouldn’t have a relapse.” It is irritation from the noise in her head that is probably talking. “I’m supposed to be out in a couple of days, though.”

“My mind,” and subsequently her ability, “on the other hand, is fine and clear. Better than it had been in some time, really.” There is a flash of teeth in that smile, turning a bit mischievous. “I won’t tell if you won’t.” The hand stays there waiting to see he’ll fall a little further down the rabbit hole.

“There’s nothing wrong with being cautious, Kaylee,” Jim says, but he says it with a smile and without the weight of judgement. “People worrying about how you are is a good thing. And hey, I can sneak in some good food, so that’s a plus, right?”

He’s avoiding the real subject, though, because it’s a little bit scary to think about, especially on top of the changes that already seem to be happening without his go-ahead. Probably Eve’s fault. Thanks, Eve. But eventually, he lets out a little sigh and reaches forward to take the offered hand. “Sorry in advance.”

There is a considerable of brightening of the telepath’s mood, brows lifting high. “You’d do that?” Maybe she figured as a medical professional he’d be above such things. Though at the moment that wasn’t important. Kaylee shakes her head and clears the thoughts, “Either way, I might take you up on that.” A glances goes to the tray of bland foods. “For my sanity’s sake.”

Taking the hand in her cooler one, Kaylee allows him to feel the slight pressure of her presence in his mind. The tendrils of it wrapping around his mind in preparation. “You’ll feel a touch disoriented, but you might get a kick out of this trip.” The telepath doesn’t give him too much time to think about it. The world feels like it shifts, as if the earth itself moves to the left or… was it the right.

The truth is much stranger as in the blink of an eye, Jim isn’t sitting in the hospital, he is standing by a fully dressed Kaylee. He can feel her hand let go of his so she can move it to his elbow to steady him. With her other hand, she motions to the world around her.

“Welcome to your mindscape, Jim.”

Jim sucks in a breath at the sudden shift — not unexpected, sure, but to be suddenly thrust into your own mind is a little bit strange in the best of times.

They are looking at a stark landscape — almost bleak, really, but beautiful in its way. It’s a desert, with beige sand stretching almost as far as the eye can see. It’s broken up only by little scraggly shrubs here and there, the kind that survive well in a place with very little water, as this place surely has.

In one direction, there’s only more desert — in the other, there are hills that rise up, looming dark above the landscape. They’re colored with black stripes across them from what can be seen at this distance — and somewhat incongruously to the desert surrounding them, there are rolling black clouds above, a harsh juxtaposition to the sense of peace where they’re standing. Looking in that direction for too long inspires a very real feeling of foreboding.

“Wow,” Jim murmurs. “Wow.” His eyes seem inexorably drawn to those hills — even if he looks away at other things, his gaze ends up there again in another second or two. “So this is my mind.”

“It is,” Kaylee says. Her hand drops away as she looks around herself, taking in the scenery. While the desert breeze seems to move the plants around them, neither her hair or clothing moves. After a moment, she breathes out and offers, “This is beautiful.”

“I took a chance, since you are still fairly new in your ability.” Kaylee turns to look at the dark scenery beyond. There is concern as she watches the clouds. “If you ever get to the level of Eve, we won’t be able to do this.” Her head shifts a bit so that she can look at Jim out of the corner of her eye, “A precog’s mind is vast since you, in a sense, see through time. See the rivers, she calls it. And Eve’s mind wanted to tell me everything. Which… was consuming.”

Speaking of, Kaylee turns her attention to the darkness. “As it is… this part of the trip won’t be fun.” Arms lift and eyes close as the telepath searches for the thread of memory related to the vision, mentally skirting the edges of the storm. He can feel her ability again moving though his mind. In the distance the storm intensifies, lightning flashes and thunder rolls across the desert.

It takes a moment, but Jim feels the ground under his feet start to vibrate and a loud rumbling fills there air. Through the land that cuts between the hills he can see movement. It winds through the hills, seemling slowly, but picking up speed. The desert will always finds relief in the wake of an intense storm; but, it always brings the change of danger and the pair were currently facing it down.

It was a flash flood.

“Not new,” Jim replies with a little huff of amusement. “Just not that powerful.” And obviously not that concerned about it, considering he is not only not trying to become more powerful, but actively trying not to. “Let’s hope I don’t.” Get to the level of Eve, that is. Or at least, he hopes not; anyone else can hope for whatever they want.

He shifts a little bit uncomfortably when he feels her mind start to move through his — he doesn’t shy away, necessarily, but it’s an odd sensation, and one he hasn’t really felt before. However, he’s mostly still, letting her do what she’s going to do.

That is, until the crack of thunder makes him flinch.

He brings his gaze back to the hills where the storm had gathered, staring for a few seconds…before his eyes widen and he takes in a gasp of breath when he sees the water coming. It’s rolling over everything in its path, knocking down the few scraggly trees like they were nothing, picking up brambles and launching them forward. “No!” he yells, and he grabs her to try and turn to run.

When he grabs her, Kaylee is startled a bit and blue eyes open up to see what is coming at them. A hiss of surprise escapes her; but, instead of allowing instinct to guide her, Jim will find her holding her ground. Her hand moves to clamp down on one of his own. «Don’t move.» The voice of the telepath echos all around him calmly… tho it was tinged with a bit of nervousness. This was a precogs mind, after all.

Ribbons of muddied water starts to thread in around their feet, thickening until their feet are covered and bits of debris bounces off their calves «I need you to trust me.» Her attention finally pulls from the oncoming river of destruction to Jim, knowing that she was asking a lot from him. «It is only a memory and you can’t out run it.». The only felt like a bit of a stretch.

Jim can feel the incoming memory as the water starts to rush in faster, there is a familiarity to it and he knows she was bringing it to them, rather then move closer to the distant chaos.

As the bulk of the water rises up before them, riddled with everything it’s take before them, Kaylee adds one more thought and a squeeze of her hand on his. «It will be okay,» she offers with a voice filled with reassurance.

When the flood finally crashes into them, there is no impact. Instead, the memory of the vision pulls them in and makes them relive the moment. Silent observers in what has already happened.

At the conclusion, the pair find themselves back in the quiet and calm of Jim’s mindscape.

Usually, Jim is calm. He has to be, in his profession. Where the doctors are in and out quickly, seeing as many patients as they can, the nurses…well, they are too at a certain level, but it’s different. They have to be more steady, and it would probably be pretty clear to anyone who was under his care why he’s doing what he does.

He is not calm now. For someone who has spent over a decade trying to keep a lid on a power that could easily drive him over the edge, well…being in your own mind with a storm coming at you seems a lot like the kind of thing that would do exactly that.

Since she won’t run, he just braces himself.

When it’s over, it takes him a little while to come back. It’s slow, like someone who’s somehow been living underground and sees the sun for the first time in years. He squints against the glare of his mind which is sharper now than it had been before — at least, it seems so. Just enough to notice. “What day is it?” he murmurs, looking at Kaylee but not really looking at Kaylee. At her, but not at her. “Is it yesterday?”

However, the words seem to sort of bring him back to himself, and he shakes his head as though to clear it. “Sorry,” he says. “I know it’s today.” It’s still a little weird, and like he’s trying to convince himself, but he looks more coherent than he did a second ago.

There is a relieved sigh as the last of the memory fade and Kaylee regains control over the mindscape. It leaves them standing on the sand again, the storm still rumbling there in the distance. She watches it for a moment, before finally speaking up, “I’m sorry. I — “ She finally looks at him. Despite the reassurances from Jim, there is concern in the eyes of the telepath. “That wasn’t what I was going for. I- I was going for a drive-in movie screen or something.” Not that. “I didn’t mean for that to happen. Even with your ability in check, it seems it is just as wildly unpredictable as anyone with a predictive ability.” A lesson learned moment for her.

“This was a bad idea,” Kaylee breaths the words out, clearly embarrassed and ashamed with herself.

This time the shift of realities is smoother. From one blink to the next, Jim is sitting in the hospital, again, with the telepath in the bed and her hand clasped in his; looking at him with that same concern. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay, Jim?” Kaylee asks as she finally draws her hand from his.

Jim sits back at the shift, his hand falling away when she lets go. He stares ahead of him, his eyes a little unfocused now. “I know her,” he says, instead of answering her question. “I know I know her. The lily of the west.”

Whatever that means, though, he shakes it off, blinking and focusing on Kaylee. “Yes,” he confirms after a moment, and he smiles. “I’m okay. Don’t worry.” And now at least it seems like he might be telling her the truth, so that’s good. He reaches over to pat her hand, before he withdraws it again and stands up. “That was…an experience,” he says with a little laugh, and while it doesn’t necessarily sound amused, it’s not harsh at all. It sounds…kind of awed, in a way.

“I should leaf.” As soon as he says it, his mouth twists a little and he says, “Leave. Not leaf. I mean, I should let you rest. Do you need anything?”

The telepath doesn’t look overly convinced, even though Kaylee knows he’s telling the truth. It isn’t pushed, just given a small nod that she heard him and she understands. “It’s like that for everyone, but now you know what to expect. If you ever end up there again, it won’t be such a shock.”

Then he makes that pun and a small bark of laughter escapes. Surprised at her reaction, she flushes slightly and covers her mouth briefly. “Sorry.” Kaylee says, clearing her throat and shakes her head. “I’m good. Thank you.” A glance goes towards the door and then to the tray again. “It was good seeing you again. Visit anytime. No strings and no mind trips… through bringing tribute wouldn’t be turned down.” Food that is. Settling back on the bed, she seems ready to let him be on his way.

Almost…

“Hey, Jim?” Kaylee looks up at him, thoughtful. “I might have a an idea. I… I think ‘the one who saw’ might be Eve.” There isn’t a lot of confidence in that idea. ”You might talk to her, see what she has to say. She is far more intune with the world then most of us. Even without her ability.”

Jim is on his way out already — possibly with a headache, judging by the way he carries himself. It’s slight, but noticeable if you are someone who is either perceptive, or gets headaches. He does, however, turn back to Kaylee when she gives him that last piece of advice, and there’s a moment’s hesitation, before he nods once.

“Yeah,” he says. “You’re probably right. Hopefully she’s in all one place.” With that hope expressed — whatever the reason for it — Jim lifts a hand to Kaylee in farewell. “I’ll come by and see you,” he promises, before he turns away again and disappears through the door.

Though not literally. He opened it, walked through it, then closed it behind him. Just so we’re clear.


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