ooc: Memory (Sound/Smell)
[Taken from Season 2, Episode 4, "Belonging"]
--
The blackness that enveloped Genius was absolute and terrifying in its sudden onset. He wanted to flail against the sudden loss of sight but even as that thought came to him he realized that he could no longer feel his body. Then suddenly, before he could totally flip out, he began to hear street sounds--the rush of cars passing by combined with the sound of birds chirping. There was a sound of rustling paper extremely close to him, along with the thump of footsteps on concrete. He could also smell dirt, along with a faint trace of disinfectant and the slightest hint of aftershave.
"Vivid auditory hallucinations, paranoid delusions..." said a voice from the darkness. It had the steady cadence of someone used to rattling off facts. "She's all over the place. Usually incoherent. We've been working with a specialist in neuroleptics, and he's in there right now. He's been giving her daily treatments but none seem to take, poor thing."
Neuroleptics? A specialist in creating anti psychotics. What was going on....
There were more footsteps and then the sound of a door sliding open. He heard the faint sound of people talking that dimmed again as the door slammed shut.
Another voice. "I think she'll be sedate enough for evaluations."
"Thanks again Doctor K******. " The doctor's name was lost to the sound of the door opening again. This time he must have stepped into a building because he was overwhelmed with the smell of cleanser and dry, recycled air. The smell of isopropanol was overwhelming yet it only partially covered an underlining scent of urine and body odor. At the same time the chattering grew louder, along with the sound of shoes squeaking on a tiled floor. "This way."
It was disconcerting to hear things without visuals. It sounded like he was surrounded by people talking--no muttering, to themselves maybe--and he only caught snatches of conversations out of context. There was the faint sound of a phone ringing and chairs scraping against the floor. He seemed to be going towards one mumbling voice in particular, a woman speaking incomprehensible things in a low desperate tone that he couldn't make out. There was a rhythmical squeaking sound of a chair being rocked back and forth, back and forth.
"Priya? Priya, this is Doctor Br***. He's going to ask you a few questions."
Doctor who? Wait a minute--
"No!" The squeaking of the chair increased and there was a sound of cloth rustling. For some reason Genius was hit hard with the smell of sweat and something chemical.
"No no, extreme...bodies, horrible bodies--please--horrible bodies, horrible bodies gushing blood," the woman--Priya--ranted. She paused to take a breath and then continued relentlessly on, in almost a sing-song voice. "Horrible bodies bodies, more and more bod-diesss."
"Priya?" That was his voice talking! "My name is T**** Br***."
Wait! Why couldn't he hear his own name! It sounded like static being blasted in his ears, for only a moment. Just enough to keep his identity away from him.
"No--how could he get artists when every word is A LIE!" Priya's voice grew louder with each word till suddenly there was an explosion as several heavy things were knocked to the floor in a great crash--he could hear something being slammed against a table and the sound of paper being scattered. "Every word is a lie! EVERYONE IS A LIAR! HE'S A LIAR! HE'S A LIAR! He's a LIAR."
"I'm not a liar," the other Genius said quietly.
"He's a liar, he's a liar. He's a liar!"
"I'm not a liar," he repeated. He could hear harsh panting very close to him. "Priya--"
"Don't call me that!" Priya shouted. There was a pause and then she continued softer--"They're dissolving me, from the in...the inside out." She went silent again and he could hear the sound of people shuffling behind him.
"Do you know where you are?" He heard himself ask.
There was a pause. "I'm in hell?"
"You're in Los Angeles. I can understand the mix up."
He heard the other doctor clear his throat somewhere nearby. "You're in a medical facility--"
"NO," Priya groaned. "No."
She was cut off quickly. "Would you like to leave this place?" Genius asked.
There was a pause. "Yes. YES. Help me. Help me please. There are men with guns. They took me here, filled me with poison." She choked on her words and the rest came out like a sob. "They're filling me with poison to make me crazy!"
There was another pause as the Genius seemed to struggle with a comment. "It's not uncommon to believe that."
"They're TORTURING ME!" Priya screamed. It was deafening and distantly Genius could hear people around him reacting, murmuring, moving chairs and shifting restlessly. "They're torturing me," Priya's voice was suddenly softer, a sobbing whisper. She was so close to him now, her anguish and desperation obvious in the way she murmured her words. "They're torturing me. I'm a prisoner, I'm a prisoner."
He heard himself take a deep breath. "Not for long."
The words seemed to hang in the air for a moment before all the sounds and smells faded away.
--
The blackness that enveloped Genius was absolute and terrifying in its sudden onset. He wanted to flail against the sudden loss of sight but even as that thought came to him he realized that he could no longer feel his body. Then suddenly, before he could totally flip out, he began to hear street sounds--the rush of cars passing by combined with the sound of birds chirping. There was a sound of rustling paper extremely close to him, along with the thump of footsteps on concrete. He could also smell dirt, along with a faint trace of disinfectant and the slightest hint of aftershave.
"Vivid auditory hallucinations, paranoid delusions..." said a voice from the darkness. It had the steady cadence of someone used to rattling off facts. "She's all over the place. Usually incoherent. We've been working with a specialist in neuroleptics, and he's in there right now. He's been giving her daily treatments but none seem to take, poor thing."
Neuroleptics? A specialist in creating anti psychotics. What was going on....
There were more footsteps and then the sound of a door sliding open. He heard the faint sound of people talking that dimmed again as the door slammed shut.
Another voice. "I think she'll be sedate enough for evaluations."
"Thanks again Doctor K******. " The doctor's name was lost to the sound of the door opening again. This time he must have stepped into a building because he was overwhelmed with the smell of cleanser and dry, recycled air. The smell of isopropanol was overwhelming yet it only partially covered an underlining scent of urine and body odor. At the same time the chattering grew louder, along with the sound of shoes squeaking on a tiled floor. "This way."
It was disconcerting to hear things without visuals. It sounded like he was surrounded by people talking--no muttering, to themselves maybe--and he only caught snatches of conversations out of context. There was the faint sound of a phone ringing and chairs scraping against the floor. He seemed to be going towards one mumbling voice in particular, a woman speaking incomprehensible things in a low desperate tone that he couldn't make out. There was a rhythmical squeaking sound of a chair being rocked back and forth, back and forth.
"Priya? Priya, this is Doctor Br***. He's going to ask you a few questions."
Doctor who? Wait a minute--
"No!" The squeaking of the chair increased and there was a sound of cloth rustling. For some reason Genius was hit hard with the smell of sweat and something chemical.
"No no, extreme...bodies, horrible bodies--please--horrible bodies, horrible bodies gushing blood," the woman--Priya--ranted. She paused to take a breath and then continued relentlessly on, in almost a sing-song voice. "Horrible bodies bodies, more and more bod-diesss."
"Priya?" That was his voice talking! "My name is T**** Br***."
Wait! Why couldn't he hear his own name! It sounded like static being blasted in his ears, for only a moment. Just enough to keep his identity away from him.
"No--how could he get artists when every word is A LIE!" Priya's voice grew louder with each word till suddenly there was an explosion as several heavy things were knocked to the floor in a great crash--he could hear something being slammed against a table and the sound of paper being scattered. "Every word is a lie! EVERYONE IS A LIAR! HE'S A LIAR! HE'S A LIAR! He's a LIAR."
"I'm not a liar," the other Genius said quietly.
"He's a liar, he's a liar. He's a liar!"
"I'm not a liar," he repeated. He could hear harsh panting very close to him. "Priya--"
"Don't call me that!" Priya shouted. There was a pause and then she continued softer--"They're dissolving me, from the in...the inside out." She went silent again and he could hear the sound of people shuffling behind him.
"Do you know where you are?" He heard himself ask.
There was a pause. "I'm in hell?"
"You're in Los Angeles. I can understand the mix up."
He heard the other doctor clear his throat somewhere nearby. "You're in a medical facility--"
"NO," Priya groaned. "No."
She was cut off quickly. "Would you like to leave this place?" Genius asked.
There was a pause. "Yes. YES. Help me. Help me please. There are men with guns. They took me here, filled me with poison." She choked on her words and the rest came out like a sob. "They're filling me with poison to make me crazy!"
There was another pause as the Genius seemed to struggle with a comment. "It's not uncommon to believe that."
"They're TORTURING ME!" Priya screamed. It was deafening and distantly Genius could hear people around him reacting, murmuring, moving chairs and shifting restlessly. "They're torturing me," Priya's voice was suddenly softer, a sobbing whisper. She was so close to him now, her anguish and desperation obvious in the way she murmured her words. "They're torturing me. I'm a prisoner, I'm a prisoner."
He heard himself take a deep breath. "Not for long."
The words seemed to hang in the air for a moment before all the sounds and smells faded away.