A city of white and silver, doctors from all over the world come to converge here and find work. Hospitals of all kinds decorate the white walkways of the city. There are many notable ones you can visit if your pet is in need of some attention. (+3 Precision)

Moderator: Retired Staff

Return to Medicai City

Chamomile and Morphine

Postby crow » 07/10/2017 3:17 AM

Image


"Burning the midnight oil again, huh, Yu?"

Philip straightened at a voice at his door. Turning in his chair, he smiled at the man leaning against the frame. "Ah, I hadn't realized it had gotten so late. Are you going, Doctor Grewal?" The doctor, a man who was in his fifties and looked it, laughed and shook his head.

"You bet. I'm not a masochist, unlike some people I know. That's, what, the third time this week? Geez. What are they teaching you in school these days, I wonder."
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Chamomile and Morphine

Postby crow » 07/10/2017 3:20 AM

Philip kept smiling, and Dr Grewal straightened with a sigh. "Don't stay too long. You're going to run yourself into the ground like that." With that, he walked off, yawning to himself.

Philip suppressed a yawn of his own, and shifted his attention back to the screen in front of him. Truth be told, however, he was just killing time. His eyes were starting to sting behind his glasses, so he removed them, setting them on the table as he rubbed at his face.
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Chamomile and Morphine

Postby crow » 07/10/2017 3:25 AM

It had been a long day. He honestly doubted he would get any more work done. But he was waiting for the patients in the facility to drift off to sleep, and while he was still lucid enough to focus, it was a good way to pass the time.

He closed his eyes for a moment, and let his mind wander out, feeling for the soft butterfly-wings sensation as his consciousness brushed up against others, sequestered away in their rooms in the sprawling building. A few were restless, but most were blunted with the lull of sleep.
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Chamomile and Morphine

Postby crow » 07/10/2017 3:29 AM

This was good enough. By the time he got to them, the ones who were still awake now will have drifted off, he was sure. He came back to himself briefly, to remove himself from the chair. It was as comfortable as office ergonomics could make it, but it was still a bad idea to stay sitting in it unmoving for hours on end, especially after having done so most of the day.

Unrolling the small yoga mat he kept in the corner, he laid himself down on it, feeling his spine ache in protest at his change of posture. He should probably do something about that... but he knew he wouldn't.
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Chamomile and Morphine

Postby crow » 07/10/2017 3:32 AM

Besides, the ache would subside with time, and lying down would help, in the long run. And he wouldn't really be aware of his body much longer.

He closed his eyes again, drifting into the sea of consciousness outside himself. He found his own patients first; their mental signatures were the most familiar, though he wouldn't have called it comfortable. Almost immediately, he registered a nightmare--- Victor's. It was Victor today. He took a moment to brace himself, then waded into the dark that he knew was waiting for him.
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Chamomile and Morphine

Postby crow » 07/10/2017 3:41 AM

He knew what was coming, but Philip never could get used to it. He could see nothing, feel nothing; disembodied voices spoke from no place in particular, distorted and viscerally terrifying for reasons he couldn't put into words. The darkness was so encompassing that even he felt disembodied for a moment, panic rising in him despite all that he could do with logic and mental faculties to convince himself it was merely a familiar dream.

It had... explained a lot, when he'd first seen it.

"Victor," he said softly into the dark.
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Chamomile and Morphine

Postby crow » 07/10/2017 3:45 AM

There was no answer, but Philip had expected this. "Victor," he said again, more firmly this time. The voices ebbed and redoubled, while a pervasive nausea roiled through the space. He had to fight to keep from letting it claim him.

No.

It wasn't a voice. The no was more akin to a notion, or a sensation. But Philip recognized it, and smiled. "Victor," he said again. "I know you're here." The voices ebbed a little more, as if shifting out of focus. That was a good sign.
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Chamomile and Morphine

Postby crow » 07/10/2017 3:47 AM

"Remember what we talked about?" he said gently. "In our session two weeks ago. Just think of the dark like a place--- like a closet. What can you find in a closet?"

There was no reply for a long, drawn-out moment, but already the dark was beginning to feel less hostile, less invasive. Shapes and half-formed shadows dogged the periphery of it now, and Philip could vaguely smell the scent of linens in the air. "Yes, just like that. And what else does a closet have?"
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Chamomile and Morphine

Postby crow » 07/10/2017 3:53 AM

A door. He didn't need to hear or even feel the thought; he knew it was there, just as Victor did, now. "Good. And if you open the door..." Under his encouragement, a rectangle of light appeared. Victor's closet went back a long way, but that there was a way out was some improvement. A shadow detached itself from the back of the space and crept forward on hands and knees. Its shape wobbled, solidifying slowly as it drew closer and closer to its escape.

It reached up to grasp a hand, and the darkness ebbed away with that. They were standing in a white space--- Victor, in his sleeping clothes, and himself. A figment of himself, anyway.

Image
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Chamomile and Morphine

Postby crow » 07/10/2017 3:57 AM

It was always strange, seeing himself in dreams. It wasn't really him; the real him had no form in places like this, unless he chose to do so, which he didn't, for the sake of interfering as little as he could. But it was a little odd. When he said, "That wasn't so hard, was it?" the double opened its mouth, and smiled Philip's usual smile.

Victor said nothing, staring only at their linked hands. It was like that, sometimes. 'Going dark', they'd called it, in sessions. Sometimes they just... lost themselves.
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


cron