Patient 1543 (1543 Series Story 1)

Rage & Aggression

1.

A few days later, Mel was meeting with Patient 1543 for their first session. Over the course of those few days, Mel had met frequently with McCoy and they discussed various treatment options and the probability of their success on 1543. All in all, there was virtually nothing they could do that someone else hadn't tired on 1543 before. It was like working a cold case, but Mel wouldn't give up the case. One, because he wanted to - needed to in some strange way, a form of compulsion - know more about Patient 1543, and also to see if McCoy was really right about his suspicions about 1543.

Mel met Patient 1543 in the same room where they had first met, and as before it was filled with other patients. Mel thought that holding the sessions there might throw 1543 off a little and thus enable Mel to do his job or at least satisfy - to one degree or another - his professional curiosity.

"Hello doctor." 1543 said as Mel sat down in a chair across from him. Mel smiled politely and returned the greeting after he had pulled out the tape recorder and started it.

"Hello. How are you feeling today?" Mel asked as he placed the recorder on the table next to him, then flipped open a medical file folder, one that was filled with blank paper. He pulled out his pen and clicked it ready, and dated the first blank sheet

"I'm good. The food here is a lot better than the previous medical facility." 1543 replied. "And you doctor? How are you?"

Before Mel could answer with the lie he'd been telling all day - Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry, I'm fine - 1543 answered for him.

"You haven't been sleeping well over the past few days...You have dreams, sometimes bad dreams...And the fact that you've been dreaming what you have worries you." 1543 said while staring intently into Mel's eyes. Mel tried to keep a straight face, but then 1543 hardened his stare and suddenly an image from the previous night's dream flashed into his mind. It was him butchering his wife with a machete. 1543 smiled as if he could see what the image was.

"Yes that's definitely bad doctor." He said. Mel looked at him and shrugged it off as best as he could.

"So, what can I call you, since I don't know your name or anything about you?" Mel asked as he wrote on the pad (1543 knows I haven't been sleeping well, and that I've been dreaming bad things. How? I haven't told anyone. It seems he only knows these things when he's staring into my eyes. If he can't look into my eyes can he still see these things?) then looked back up to 1543.

1543 smiled as he looked at Mel, and then looked out the window, as if disinterested. "Call me what you already refer to me as; my number is my name." He stated. Mel wrote on the pad some more (He wants be called by his number: 1543. Somehow, he already knows that is what I refer to him as, how? The same way he knows that I haven't been sleeping well? And why the number 1543? Why not any other number?).

"Why do you want me to call you by that number? Why not any other number?" Mel asked, a part of him genuinely curious, another part beginning to be freaked out.

1543 didn't answer at first, in fact he didn't even move. But then he turned to look at Mel. "You should stop asking so many questions." He simply said looking into Mel's eyes.

Mel quickly looked down, away from 1543's gaze and wrote in his notebook some more (Doesn't like me asking questions, why? What is he hiding?) then looked back up at 1543, who was now no longer looking at Mel, but across the room. Mel turned to see who 1543 was looking at and saw it was Devin, who was floor two's security guard in case one of the inmates became out of sorts and attempted to hurt others or him or herself. Devin wasn't armed with a gun; he had a baton, tranquilizers, and mace. Of which he'd only used the tranquilizers before; there never had been a reason for him to use the baton or the mace on anyone, inmate or not. Mel looked back to 1543 in time to see him harden his stare and cock his head to the side. And all too late did Mel realize what 1543 was doing.