Legs

by Jeff C. Carter

Dr. Loomis winced as the old door grated open.  He held his breath and waited for the lights to activate.  The darkness refused to yield and he exhaled a quiet curse.  He stayed in the dim column of light that spilled from the tunnel outside.

“Welcome, doctor.  We were just about to begin our session without you,” Dr. Thaani Lev’s voice rasped from the corners of the black room.

“Give yourself up, Thaani.  Come quietly or I’ll call the enforcers,” Dr. Loomis commanded.

“So you came alone, then?”

Dr. Loomis took a small step back towards the open doorway. “I suspected your behavior was becoming erratic.  I should have stopped you sooner.  Had I known what you were doing to those poor patients…,” Dr. Loomis’ voice faltered.

“Former patients, doctor.  Cured.  Set free!”

Dr. Lev’s voice exploded into a fit of ragged wet coughs that bounced off the walls, making it impossible for Dr. Loomis to trace.

Dr. Lev regained his breath and continued his taunts. “If you disagree with my methods you had better come in.  I have new friends inside who will be disoriented when they awaken.  Try to make them feel comfortable until they find their…legs,” Dr. Lev chuckled.

Dr. Loomis stepped fully into the room and the door squeaked shut behind him.  His eyes soon began to pick out grey contours from the shadows of the room.  The old storage bay was thick with the hard angles of dusty furniture and the manufactured edges of equipment.  Nestled among them were the glistening curves of countless large orbs. “You don’t have to hurt anyone else.  Release your patients and I’ll take care of them,” Dr. Loomis said.  He moved deeper among the strange mounds looking for Dr. Lev’s captives.

A wet pop echoed in the distance, followed by an unrecognizable yet horrid stench that clawed at Dr. Loomis’ eyes and nose.

“You have my word, doctor.  I will release them all,” Dr. Lev croaked.

A slow tapping hit the floor.  Its tempo quickened into a hissing splash.  As the steady drizzle increased the odor became overwhelming.  Through his watering eyes Dr. Loomis saw that the mysterious globes were deflating. Dr. Loomis shielded his nose and mouth with his sleeve and stumbled towards the door.  It slid open automatically, the light from the tunnel flaring across his blurry vision.  Blocking the exit was something dark skinned and hunch backed, like a man on all fours. It must be Thaani, Dr. Loomis thought, catastrophic schizophrenia. “I’m not going to hurt you, Thaani.  Do you understand?”

The shape in front of him replied with a slow chitter.  It sounded like teeth clicking together. 

Dr. Loomis squinted and rubbed his eyes.  I must be seeing double, Dr. Loomis thought.  It looks like he has eight legs.

A sudden sharp pain stung Dr. Loomis’ neck and he whirled around to find Dr. Lev holding a thin syringe.  His eyes danced with manic glee from their red rimmed lids and sunken purple hollows.

“Relax, Doctor.  It will all be over soon,” Dr. Lev cooed.

Dr. Loomis’ legs turned to rubber and he crumpled to the ground.  He heard a sharp smack of his skull hitting the floor but he felt no pain. Thaani drugged me.  But if Thaani was behind me… who is crouching at the door?

Dr. Lev looked around and gave an asthmatic chuckle before slipping into the shadows.  More of the hunched shapes shambled into the light. 

Eight legs…eight eyes.  Dear God, not up here…not on Avenir!

Dr. Loomis grasped the true nature of the crawling things and tried to shriek in horror.  The growing chorus of clicking mandibles swallowed the thin gurgle from his paralyzed throat.

Revelation

by Jeff C. Carter -

It was too quiet. Nurse Vuong had long ago grown accustomed to the constant tapping and rambling of the patients at St. Christina’s Clinic for the Neuro-Atypical, even the occasional outburst of profanity or violence. For the past two weeks her job had never been easier. The inmates had all been model patients, but that didn’t stop her intuition from screaming that something was wrong. Something terrible was about to happen.

She leaned over her monitor and scrolled through the timeline of the art therapy wall. Red handprints crawled up and swarmed over every inch of white surface. No matter how many times she had deleted the giant touch screen the patients had recreated the same pattern. They were still at it now, reverently smearing digital splashes of crimson across the large surface. Nurse Vuong punched the controls and deactivated the wall, wiping it black and clean.

“We regret to inform you that the art therapy wall is out of order,” she said over the intercom.

The patients drifted away, returning to their rooms or sitting quietly on the Rec Room floor.

Maybe she should call Dr. Loomis and tell him…what? That the patients were too well behaved? Dr. Lev was already well aware. He had been at the clinic all week and seemed delighted with the patients’ progress.

Nurse Vuong rubbed her eyes. She had been on high alert for days now and she was exhausted. She lowered the lights in the Rec Room.

“It’s time for bed, ladies and gentlemen. Have a good night.” She announced.

The patients shuffled to their small rooms in an orderly fashion. Nurse Vuong shivered. She decided to go to her own quarters and try to forget this place for a while.

The clinic was dark and quiet and still.

The vid wall flickered to life, casting its pale light into the Rec Room and onto Dr. Lev. He stood before the projected image of a dark skinned man.

“Dr. Singh, thank you for joining us again,” Dr. Lev said.

Dr. Singh nodded nervously on the large screen.

The patients slipped back into the Rec Room and gathered in front of the vid wall.

“Dr. Singh, will you tell us again about your experience under the ocean? About your vision?” Dr. Lev prompted.

Dr. Singh swallowed and cleared his throat.

“Yes, of course. I feel like it is my duty to share it.”

The patients stared up at the large face, waiting.

“I saw the oceans boil. Everything in the water died. There were tidal waves the size of mountains that erased everything from the face of the planet. The volcanoes all erupted at once, even places were there hadn’t been volcanoes…” he said.

Smudge, one of the bigger patients, began to rock back and forth excitedly.

“The sky was on fire!” Smudge shouted.

A small boy stood up and screamed.

“I can see it!” he said.

The patients all joined in, chanting along with Dr. Singh’s words.

“The planet began to crack. The ground shattered with a furious thunder! Steam hissed into the icy blackness in a vast dying breath.”

The patients jumped and thrashed under the pale light of the vid screen. Their collective madness strained against its leash, lashed into frenzy by visions of destruction and the malignant will watching behind their eyes.

Dr. Lev smiled. Something terrible was about to happen.

A New Voice

by Jeff C. Carter -

Nosey put her small ear to the locked door that separated the patients from the staff.

“I didn’t know whether to kick him out or have him committed!”

Dr. Loomis’ normally breathy voice was now breathless. Nosey supposed he was still upset about the riot.

“I’m sure Dr. Singh didn’t mean to cause any trouble. Besides, no one was hurt.” Nurse Vuong said.

Her high-pitched, nasal voice penetrated the door easily. Nosey liked that about her. Of course, Nurse Vuong knew better than to badmouth a doctor. You never knew who might be listening.

“It’s a miracle no one was killed. I would have held Dr. Lev personally responsible. What was he thinking?” Dr. Loomis said.

Nosey imagined she could hear Nurse Vuong shrug. When it became clear that no more gossip was left, Nosey drifted down the hallway to the Rec Room.

It was a short trip. St. Christina’s Clinic for the Neuro-Atypical was small and dingy. Smudge said that the Rich Man’s Happy Bin was a zillion times bigger and everything was fancy and clean. Nosey wished this place wasn’t quite so dirty but she was glad it wasn’t very large. Open spaces terrified her. The miles of hallways circling Avenir. The maze of tunnels twisting above and below. The bottomless void outside the hull. She pressed her back against the padded wall and shivered.

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” Smudge screamed.

Nosey peeked around the corner and saw Smudge ripping the earphones off his head. He stomped on the soft foam head set, silencing the virtual therapist program. Nosey didn’t mind the VT unless it tried to counsel her while she was eavesdropping.

Dr. Lev walked down the hallway and gave Nosey an oily smile. His black eyes always held the threat of dark empty spaces. The thin doctor brushed by and her skin crawled.

The doctor approached Smudge.

“Are the voices in your head bothering you again?"

Smudge didn’t look up, he just kept picking at the thin layers of spray-skin that covered his self inflicted wounds.

“Did you enjoy the speech by our guest, Dr. Kwame Singh?” Dr. Lev tried again.

Smudge perked up.

“Seas boiling. Volcanoes exploding. Boom!” Smudge whooped.

Dr. Lev smiled.

“That’s right, very good. Would you like to hear more?”

Smudge clutched his thin, grubby smock and nodded emphatically.

“Very good. Come with me please.”

Dr. Lev led the excited patient to the entrance of the medical ward. The heavy locks clicked loudly and the door slid open.

Nosey inched forward to watch them go. She heard Dr. Lev say one last thing before the solid door slid shut.

“We’re going to put a new voice in your head.”