Fingerprints

by Jeff C. Carter

Enforcer Keepagami stood before the St. Christina’s Clinic video wall and watched red handprints blink into existence, swarm and fade like a frenzied school of squid.

“Take me back further,” he said.

Nurse Vuong dialed back the art therapy wall’s timeline, jumping days into the past.  The crimson marks dwindled, crowded out by finger painted beetles, faces and space ships.

“Run it forward.  Stop,” he said.

The first handprint appeared, roughly forced onto the digital canvas in blood red, wavy strokes flaring out from the fingers like tentacles.  Enforcer Keepagami double tapped on the handprint and information blossomed forth.

St. Christina, Smitz.  AKA ‘Smudge’.  No last name on file.  Ward of Avenir.  Committed for pyromania, self mutilation, and violent behavior.  He was the first to draw that handprint symbol, the ‘mark of Rahab’.  Could he have incited the inmates into the bloody riot?  His I.Q. and social skills were non-existent.  Was his simply the spark of madness that ignited a mass psychosis?

“Who was his doctor?”

“Smudge?  His therapist was Dr. Loomis.  But Smudge hated everyone.  He would only talk to Dr. Lev,” the nurse said.

“When can I speak with the doctors?”

Nurse Vuong stared at him, confused. “Dr. Lev went missing during the riot and Dr. Loomis disappeared a week ago,” she said.  “I thought you were trying to find them!”

Enforcer Keepagami rubbed his face to mask his irritation.  He was semi-retired.  He didn’t mind thawing out a cold case now and then for extra income.  This case was still bloody and raw, and he would have to build it from the ground up.

“We’re still gathering info for our investigation.  Can you pull up the video for the day of the riot?”

Nurse Vuong glared at the enforcer and then prodded her control panel.  A renewed look of confusion crept across her face. “It’s gone.  The entire day!” she gasped.

Enforcer Keepagami confirmed it for himself.  A full twenty five hours, deleted.  He closed his eyes and stood motionless for a long moment.

Smudge hardly seemed capable of breaking into the computer and erasing the video, either.  Did he have help from the staff?  The nurse seemed an unlikely suspect.  Where were the doctors?  Dead?  One went missing during the riot.  One vanished only days ago.  Was it connected?  Was there more behind the ‘mark of Rahab’ than the feverish chaos of a broken mind?        

“Enforcer?”  Nurse Vuong rousted him from his meditation.

He opened his eyes and they sparkled with renewed light. “I need personnel records for everyone on staff, including doctors.  I want patient files, therapy recordings, and specs for the clinic,” he said.

Nurse Vuong prodded her control panel. “I can transmit most of the files now.  Some hard copies from the archives will take longer,” she said.  Her shoulders drooped suddenly under an invisible burden.

He realized that she was completely alone.  The clinic had been empty since the riot, leaving her with nothing but grief and survivor’s guilt.

“You will find the doctors, won’t you?” she asked.

Enforcer Keepagami nodded. “I promise to do my best.  I’ll get started looking for them right now.” 

His footsteps echoed in the hollow clinic as he headed towards the morgue. 

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.”