January 2009 Archives

Tutoring by Dr. Joanne

'Thanks' he said, lifting the glass. She started to clean the table he'd sat at, wiping away some stains.
'You're welcome' she said with a smile. He drank. And breathed deeply. And drank again.
'Rough day?' she asked.
'Little bit' he said, forcing a smile. He noticed how young she looked. No more than sixteen, tops. He looked at her name badge. Looked back at her. Looked back to the name badge. His breath caught in his throat.
'About to get a bit rougher' she said.

'Precipice of some promised land' by Dr. Joanne

'Over here' said a man's voice, from somewhere in front of her. There was no-one there. She looked up at the painting on the gallery wall - The Taking of Christ. She said nothing, swallowed deeply.
'Give a brother a hand, ha?' came the voice again. It seemed to be coming from inside the painting. She stood up, and slowly, carefully walked over towards the wall.
'Getting warmer' said the voice with what sounded like a snigger.
'What the fu...'
'Language'
And then she saw him. The face in the top right of the painting, young, bearded. Peering over the shoulder of the throng of bodies jostling to get at the figure of Christ. He looked at her. Right at her. And winked.

Cleanliness is next to Godliness by Dr. Joanne

'This isn't the first time that this has happened, is it?' he asked, leaning back in his chair.
Michael paused, chewing on his answer before speaking. 'No. No it isn't. But...'
'But what? Go on.'
'Well, it wasn't exactly the same when it happened before. Not really. It was different. This was, this was more intense. More real.'
'How many times has this happened?'
'I don't know' Michael answered.
'Can you describe to me what happened the first time? The first memory you have of this happening...'
'I can try' said Michael. And he did.

Primal Scream by Dr. Joanne

Of all the cities that you could choose to go mad in, Berlin would probably not be the best. Not that Michael had much choice. It just kind of happened. Sure, it could have been worse - he could have been in the middle of the desert, a superpub in Brighton or a Vegas tittybar. But Berlin, given it's somewhat haunted nature, does provide a rarified backdrop for a psychotic episode.