“So, you’re saying you see… Things.” Dr. Miles, a slim blonde woman in a sleek beige coat and square-framed glasses trailed off.
Valerie kept her head bowed, letting her hair fall in front like a curtain. Through the gaps of it, she could make out the outline of an emiciated figure, blood trickling down its ribs, stretched over by papery grey skin. She’d been seeing this thing, along with others like it, for as long as she could remember. In fact, she’d seen them so much that she almost considered them childhood friends.
Almost.
Valerie’s fingers crept up to the tiny silver cross at her throat, hung on by a thin silver chain that was barely visible unless you looked really closely. Her mother had always told her that the cross would ward off all bad things and that God was always watching over her, protecting her from those bad things. It never worked on these monsters, but Valerie reached for the cross anyway out of habit.
Dr. Miles was looking at her expectantly. “Well?”
Valerie tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come. Instead she settled for nodding.
Dr. Miles typed something onto her computer, perfectly manicured nails clacking against the keyboard. Valerie raised her head a little, determined not to look at the ghoul standing right next to her. It wasn’t even the only one in the room. Over in the corner, next to a polished wooden bookcase, a thin old man in a long robe tapped it with a long, claw-like hand with even longer fingernails. Right behind Dr. Miles’ chair was a badly burned woman who looked to be in her thirties or forties, cradling a charred black mass that appeared to be a remains of a swaddled baby.
“So, Valerie. When do you have these hallucinations?” Dr. Miles had finished typing, and had turned back to her.
Valerie fidgeted a little. It was her first session with Dr. Miles, but for some reason she couldn’t get comfortable even after forty-five minutes on a perfectly cushy, comfortable couch. In fact, nothing about this session made her feel comfortable or at ease.
“All the time. I’m seeing a lot even now.” Valerie replied, her voice trembling slightly.
Dr. Miles nodded and made another note. “What exactly do you see, then?”
“I’m not sure what to call them. Some of them look like ghosts, but others just look…” Valerie shuddered. “Monstrous.”
“So you’re seeing things right at this moment?” Dr. Miles fixed her with a look that made Valerie fidget again.
“Uh, yeah…”
“Can you describe them?”
“I’m not really good at describing stuff.”
“Try.”
Valerie snuck a glance at the ghoul next to her, and its bulging yellow eyes and stretched face met hers. She looked away immediately, not wanting to acknowledge it more than she’d already have.
“There’s one next to me right now. If you have a pencil and paper, I can draw it.”
Dr. Miles complied with her request. Valerie’s hand was shaking as she set down the pencil on the paper. She’d never considered herself a good artist, and the finished drawing looked more like a stick figure than the actual monstrosity itself. The ghoul next to her bent over to look, and Valerie could hear it make a sound like a muffled snort.
Dr. Miles picked up the drawing delicately, examining it as if it were an important specimen. If she’d thought anything of Valerie’s drawing skills, she didn’t show it.
“I see.” She promptly put down the paper and her fingernails were clacking away at the keybord again, making more notes.
“So what’s wrong with me?” Valerie asked.
Dr. Miles turned back to her. “Well, at this point I don’t have enough information to make a proper diagnosis, but from what you’ve told me, I have reason to suspect some sort of psychotic disorder.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“I’m not going to prescribe anything to you for now. At least, not until I’ve gathered more information.”
Dr. Miles glanced at a clock on the wall, its hands pointing to 7:30. “Well, time’s up. Have a nice evening, and I’ll see you for your next appointment.”
Her father’s minivan was already waiting outside when she’d stepped out of the psychiatrist’s office. Silently, she pulled the doors open and stepped into the car. Neither of them spoke a single word the whole way home.