Merging Memories
Posted on Sun Oct 6th, 2024 @ 10:52pm by Lieutenant Mira Jayna
Edited on on Mon Oct 7th, 2024 @ 6:25pm
761 words; about a 4 minute read
Mission:
Episode 16 - Silent Cries
Location: VOQ, Empok Nor
Timeline: MD002 0320 hrs
Jayna looked around the too-familiar woods. She hadn't been here for a long time. Well, not in person, anyway. She did visit this place on the holodeck shortly after she arrived on the Pioneer, but she hadn't been back since. She hadn't even thought of her former home in a while. So, why was she here now?
She didn't want to see the house, but it might be nice to see where she and her sister often played. Those memories were still good ones. She found the path and was soon within sight of the old tree. It looked like all the others—with the exception of the trio of thick branches that twisted and branched off from the trunk, leaving a perfect hollow in the center that was just right for two little girls.
She was too big to fit in the hollow now, but she still wanted to see it, so she climbed up to a branch where she could look down at the old hiding place. But it wasn't what she expected. Instead of the familiar space between the branches, the center was full of water that was so dark she couldn't see to the bottom. It felt familiar, like she'd seen it before somewhere, but she couldn't remember where.
The water rippled, causing Jayna to hold tighter to the branch. Was there something in the water? As she looked, a putrid breeze made the leaves quake. It smelled like death. It was followed by a soul-deep feeling of agony that took her breath away. She wrapped both arms around the branch to keep from falling.
Jayna was so focused on the water she didn't see the tentacles drop from the branches above. One latched on to her arm, pulling the memories of the day her parents were killed from her memories.
"No!" She tried to pull away, but the tentacle wasn't detaching. She never saw the bodies because another family in their cell stopped her and her sister and took them in. But now she could see her parents half-burned bodies entwined in the tentacles. They were accompanied by the other members of their resistance cell.
She grabbed the tentacle with her other hand and pulled with all her strength, but it wouldn't let go of her arm. It began to pull her towards the faces which now looked like the people in the underwater research facility.
Terror pulsed through the tentacle, leaving the taste of rancid plums. She had to get away. She had to leave here. She would not let whatever this nightmare was control her.
She jumped off the branch, hoping to pull free or rip the tentacle from the tree, but it just stretched to stay with her.
She landed on the ground and felt for the knife she always kept at her belt, but it was gone.
The combination of fear, pain, and despair coursing through her made her whole body shake. She stepped backwards, hoping that more distance from the tree would lessen the overpowering emotions--and stepped in water.
The ground was covered with the same dark, putrid water from the tree, threatening to inundate the forest. She had to get out of here. Maybe go to her old house, or back to the city. Somewhere she could find help.
Then she tripped over something in the water and fell. Only then did the tentacle release her.
The water was only a foot deep. It felt slightly sticky. She quickly sat up, wiping at her arms and chest to remove as much of the water that clung to her as she could, but as she did so, the water turned to blood.
And then she saw him, just under the water. His eyes were open and staring blankly at the sky. "Neil!" She screamed and reached for him, unwilling to accept what she was seeing.
As she touched him, she woke. The room was cool with only a dim light indicating the bathroom. She remembered then they were on Empok Nor. Jayna reached out and gently touched Neil, comforted by his warmth and the steady rhythm of his breathing. It was just a dream. He was alive and he was here.
Still feeling shaky, she curled up next to his back, listening to the beat of his heart. As the nightmare slowly faded, so did her fear. Even so, it took a while to fall back asleep.
A Nightmare by
Lieutenant Mira Jayna
Intelligence Officer, The Cure
USS Pioneer
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