Post by Apocalypse Pro on Jul 22, 2024 13:00:15 GMT -5
MON, JULY 22, 2024 / 3:33PM
[Jacob Barker pulls down his baseball cap to conceal his face. Even without the hat, his face looks like a shell of itself, with his haunted eyes carrying the weight of unwanted suitcases from the continuous nights of sleeplessness. He sighs out deeply and walks through a door marked '66'.]
[The nondescript waiting room is on the other end of the door, and Barker takes a seat. He finds himself thumbing through a magazine and flips to a dog-eared page that displays an ad for Darkwood’s Traveling Circus, which sends Barker into shock and momentarily frozen in fear. Barker glances back down, and the magazine pages display an article entitled “Letting Go of Let it Go (5 Steps of Letting Go of Your Past).” Barker’s heart thumps like a drum in his chest while his eyes remain fixated on the article, half expecting it to change back to the ad about the circus. He thinks to himself, ‘Isn’t that what all this about anyway?’]
Receptionist: Barker?
[Barker is physically in the waiting room but does not hear his name being called. Causing the receptionist to raise her voice.]
Receptionist: Jacob Barker? Dr. Darkwood will see you now.
[At the sound of Darkwood’s name, Barker is violently smacked back to our reality.]
Jacob Barker: I’m sorry, I am Jacob Barker, did you say Dr. Darkwood?
[The receptionist looks confused and concerned, calming her tone and lowering her voice to a more empathetic level.]
Receptionist: No, hun, I have no clue who that is, but you’re scheduled to see Dr. Langenkamp this afternoon. No Darkwood here. Go on, hun, the Doctor will see you now, just past that door.
[Barker tentatively opens the door, not knowing what to expect from the other side. The door reveals nothing haunting and seemingly nothing dangerous. The room is warmly lit, and in the far corner sits an attractive woman with curly, deep auburn hair, short of one aesthetically pleasing white shock of hair. Her smile could seemingly start and stop wars. The woman rises to her feet and welcomes Barker.]
Dr. Langenkamp: Good afternoon, Jacob. Thank you for coming in today. I’m Dr. Nancy Langenkamp. How are you feeling right now?
[Dr. Langenkamp motions for Barker to sit, and he complies without thinking.]
Dr. Langenkamp: I want you to know that this is a safe space where we can talk about anything that’s on your mind. I’ve read a bit about the struggles you’ve been facing, and I understand that you’ve been experiencing some challenging symptoms. Can you share with me what you’ve been going through in your own words?
[Dr. Langenkamp flashes an enchanting smile, leans closer to Barker, and speaks sincerely.]
Dr. Langenkamp: I want to make sure we can work together to understand these experiences and find ways to help you feel more in control and at ease.
[Barker takes a cursory glance around the room. He sees the typical accouterments found in any psychiatrist’s office. Degrees, motivational artwork, and CLOWNS? Barker’s face screams in panic until he focuses his view and sees, but three small cats... presumably the fair doctor’s beloved pets. There weren't any photos of clows at all, in fact.]
Dr. Langenkamp: Do you like animals, Jacob?
[Barker feels his breakfast doing somersaults in his stomach as he stares at the three cats. Two tuxedo cats and a long-haired tortoise-shell cat. Were they not just three gargantuan, disgusting clowns? The demonically burlesque figures standing in as bastardized specters for the three small cats.]
Dr. Langenkamp: A penny for your thoughts, Mr. Barker...
[Barker, frozen in time and space, does not answer or, upon reflection, even blink.]
Dr. Langenkamp: Mr. Barker???
[Barker again sees Clowns... so large they block out the lamp light, and Dr. Langenkamp becomes a ghost of a shadow. Seeing perhaps what is truly there for the first time, in a long time, Barker realizes it’s more than just clowns... Two are clowns. For that, he was correct, but the third figure, the smallest by far, is no clown. As if to pronounce that thought, the third figure brandishes a large, thin sword, which he waves menacingly at Barker, who still sits unblinking and frozen. The sword is quickly raised to the sky and disappears in the gullet of a shadowy monolith.]
Dr. Langenkamp: Jacob, please answer me.
[Dr. Langenkamp moves out from the shadows, and her smile is now grotesque, the lovely locks of auburn hair turn ashen gray and are now devoid of brilliance and luster. Her beautiful face now turned to HIS. Based on the sheer magnitude, this figure should be the least revolting, yet its mere presence causes Barker to damn near void his bowels and his bladder. In the distance, a phone rings...]
[Brrrring-brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiinnnnng!]
[The smile full of daggers opens as the tormentor begins to laugh... The face undulates with laughter as the mouth fills up with red other-worldly spiders, and they begin to bellow out, almost flying at Barker.]
[Brrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiinnnggggg-brrrrRRRRRIIIIIIIIINNNGGGG!]
Dr Langenkamp: Jacob, Mr. Barker... Please, wake up!
[Barker opens his eyes right before the spiders would have surely swarmed him. His eyes focus on the lovely blue eyes and perfectly straight smile of Dr. Langenkamp, who welcomes Jacob Barker to a more pleasant reality. He darts his eyes, and three small cats in a well-placed, colorful frame stare back at him.]
Dr. Langenkamp: I’d almost take it personally that you fell asleep, but it was pretty apparent that you were long overdue for a nap. I’ll tell you what if you promise and come back for a second appointment...
[Her hair is back to that deep shade of auburn with those delightfully shocks of white.]
Dr. Langenkamp: ... we can say this appointment was a half session. I am curious about hearing how you are feeling in your own words. Take care of yourself, Mr. Barker.
[Dr. Langenkamp extends her hand out to Jacob Barker, who meets her hand with a firm shake. Barker settles himself as he lifts his baseball cap back firmly on his head in an effort to cover his worn out mug.]
Dr. Langenkamp: Hope to see you soon, Jacob...
[Barker leaves the room, opening the door, which leads back into the non-descript waiting room and walks through the door marked ‘66’ on the other side. Barker is dismayed when he sees the elevator is out and must descend using the stairs from the sixth floor down to the lobby level...]
[Fade out.]
[Jacob Barker pulls down his baseball cap to conceal his face. Even without the hat, his face looks like a shell of itself, with his haunted eyes carrying the weight of unwanted suitcases from the continuous nights of sleeplessness. He sighs out deeply and walks through a door marked '66'.]
[The nondescript waiting room is on the other end of the door, and Barker takes a seat. He finds himself thumbing through a magazine and flips to a dog-eared page that displays an ad for Darkwood’s Traveling Circus, which sends Barker into shock and momentarily frozen in fear. Barker glances back down, and the magazine pages display an article entitled “Letting Go of Let it Go (5 Steps of Letting Go of Your Past).” Barker’s heart thumps like a drum in his chest while his eyes remain fixated on the article, half expecting it to change back to the ad about the circus. He thinks to himself, ‘Isn’t that what all this about anyway?’]
Receptionist: Barker?
[Barker is physically in the waiting room but does not hear his name being called. Causing the receptionist to raise her voice.]
Receptionist: Jacob Barker? Dr. Darkwood will see you now.
[At the sound of Darkwood’s name, Barker is violently smacked back to our reality.]
Jacob Barker: I’m sorry, I am Jacob Barker, did you say Dr. Darkwood?
[The receptionist looks confused and concerned, calming her tone and lowering her voice to a more empathetic level.]
Receptionist: No, hun, I have no clue who that is, but you’re scheduled to see Dr. Langenkamp this afternoon. No Darkwood here. Go on, hun, the Doctor will see you now, just past that door.
[Barker tentatively opens the door, not knowing what to expect from the other side. The door reveals nothing haunting and seemingly nothing dangerous. The room is warmly lit, and in the far corner sits an attractive woman with curly, deep auburn hair, short of one aesthetically pleasing white shock of hair. Her smile could seemingly start and stop wars. The woman rises to her feet and welcomes Barker.]
Dr. Langenkamp: Good afternoon, Jacob. Thank you for coming in today. I’m Dr. Nancy Langenkamp. How are you feeling right now?
[Dr. Langenkamp motions for Barker to sit, and he complies without thinking.]
Dr. Langenkamp: I want you to know that this is a safe space where we can talk about anything that’s on your mind. I’ve read a bit about the struggles you’ve been facing, and I understand that you’ve been experiencing some challenging symptoms. Can you share with me what you’ve been going through in your own words?
[Dr. Langenkamp flashes an enchanting smile, leans closer to Barker, and speaks sincerely.]
Dr. Langenkamp: I want to make sure we can work together to understand these experiences and find ways to help you feel more in control and at ease.
[Barker takes a cursory glance around the room. He sees the typical accouterments found in any psychiatrist’s office. Degrees, motivational artwork, and CLOWNS? Barker’s face screams in panic until he focuses his view and sees, but three small cats... presumably the fair doctor’s beloved pets. There weren't any photos of clows at all, in fact.]
Dr. Langenkamp: Do you like animals, Jacob?
[Barker feels his breakfast doing somersaults in his stomach as he stares at the three cats. Two tuxedo cats and a long-haired tortoise-shell cat. Were they not just three gargantuan, disgusting clowns? The demonically burlesque figures standing in as bastardized specters for the three small cats.]
Dr. Langenkamp: A penny for your thoughts, Mr. Barker...
[Barker, frozen in time and space, does not answer or, upon reflection, even blink.]
Dr. Langenkamp: Mr. Barker???
[Barker again sees Clowns... so large they block out the lamp light, and Dr. Langenkamp becomes a ghost of a shadow. Seeing perhaps what is truly there for the first time, in a long time, Barker realizes it’s more than just clowns... Two are clowns. For that, he was correct, but the third figure, the smallest by far, is no clown. As if to pronounce that thought, the third figure brandishes a large, thin sword, which he waves menacingly at Barker, who still sits unblinking and frozen. The sword is quickly raised to the sky and disappears in the gullet of a shadowy monolith.]
Dr. Langenkamp: Jacob, please answer me.
[Dr. Langenkamp moves out from the shadows, and her smile is now grotesque, the lovely locks of auburn hair turn ashen gray and are now devoid of brilliance and luster. Her beautiful face now turned to HIS. Based on the sheer magnitude, this figure should be the least revolting, yet its mere presence causes Barker to damn near void his bowels and his bladder. In the distance, a phone rings...]
[Brrrring-brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiinnnnng!]
[The smile full of daggers opens as the tormentor begins to laugh... The face undulates with laughter as the mouth fills up with red other-worldly spiders, and they begin to bellow out, almost flying at Barker.]
[Brrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiinnnggggg-brrrrRRRRRIIIIIIIIINNNGGGG!]
Dr Langenkamp: Jacob, Mr. Barker... Please, wake up!
[Barker opens his eyes right before the spiders would have surely swarmed him. His eyes focus on the lovely blue eyes and perfectly straight smile of Dr. Langenkamp, who welcomes Jacob Barker to a more pleasant reality. He darts his eyes, and three small cats in a well-placed, colorful frame stare back at him.]
Dr. Langenkamp: I’d almost take it personally that you fell asleep, but it was pretty apparent that you were long overdue for a nap. I’ll tell you what if you promise and come back for a second appointment...
[Her hair is back to that deep shade of auburn with those delightfully shocks of white.]
Dr. Langenkamp: ... we can say this appointment was a half session. I am curious about hearing how you are feeling in your own words. Take care of yourself, Mr. Barker.
[Dr. Langenkamp extends her hand out to Jacob Barker, who meets her hand with a firm shake. Barker settles himself as he lifts his baseball cap back firmly on his head in an effort to cover his worn out mug.]
Dr. Langenkamp: Hope to see you soon, Jacob...
[Barker leaves the room, opening the door, which leads back into the non-descript waiting room and walks through the door marked ‘66’ on the other side. Barker is dismayed when he sees the elevator is out and must descend using the stairs from the sixth floor down to the lobby level...]
[Fade out.]