The Good Doctor (Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow)

V.

"What kind of help?" she asked timidly.

"I believe I can help you overcome your fears, harness them," he explained animatedly. "I believe that we can directly confront whatever part of you that was in control the night that you set the fire."

"But I didn't -"

"Oh, but you did, Astrid. The evidence is overwhelmingly clear," he cut off any protest of innocence she was prepared to make.

"How does it work?" she remained on course for the topic at hand.

"An injection," he said as he moved to the table, filling one syringe from a vial of clear liquid. He watched with pride as a bead of the serum ran down the needle.

"This particular form must be taken intravenously. It's... Therapeutic effects last approximately one hour," he continued, making his way to her side.

He waited for her to proffer her arm - something which happened quite slowly and without her total appreciation for what she was doing - before prodding at the crook of her elbow to find a useable vein.

She shuddered as he ran his fingertips over the thin, silvery scars that laced over the skin of her forearm in a millisecond of touch that she barely registered. The scars were only just visible in the direct lighting and so close up.

"And this will help me remember?" she asked, her eyes full of childlike naïveté as she gazed up at him. Her mind was rife with possibilities of understanding what it was that had happened, of getting real answers.

"I did say it would help," he answered cryptically.

He held the skin of her arm taut and held her gaze even more tightly. Before she even registered the pinprick of the needle, the liquid was being injected into her veins.

-

"Case number one twenty-five. First dose of serum administered at approximately eight fifteen A.M. with an onset of effects six minutes later.

The session concluded one hour and twenty-seven minutes post-injection when the subject succumbed to exhaustion.

Subject responded ideally to the administration of the toxin in terms of physical tolerance. No adverse side effects were apparent and vitals remained strong in three separate checks.

Subject was unable to articulate specific hallucinations as they occurred but made several verbal indications that she was being burned to death. Possible pyrophobia. Issue needs revisiting.

In summary, the subject displayed a typical response to the serum. Reactions hold much promise for future sessions provided -"

Jonathan shut off the pocket-size tape recorder with a snap. His fingers ceased their fluttering over the keys of his laptop and he removed his glasses, using the opportunity to rub at his eyes.

Attempting to listen to his own voice as he typed up his personal report from the dictation never failed to result in a terrible headache for the doctor.

Notes were necessary, however, and he was frankly incapable of jotting them down when Scarecrow had taken center stage.

He needed files in order to compare and contrast results, to rework the formulations of his toxin. He also needed files in order to relive each experience in detail.

He knew that, in particular, Astrid Monaghan would make for an interesting case study indeed.

He couldn't be certain that she had the same propensity for darkness in her that his mind called home, but oh, how many coincidences there had been in their stories.

He was quite intrigued by the idea that something not so unlike Scarecrow could be carefully cultivated if brought out in enough measure.

He sighed and placed his glasses back on the bridge of his nose, hitting the button on the tape recorder to back up the tape just slightly before hitting play.

"- promise for future sessions provided subject can withstand the mental duress of subsequent sessions.

As proven in case number one ten, there is a limit to the amount of fear the human psyche is able to withstand before either disassociating or triggering a more volatile response.

The next session has been scheduled for two days from now. It remains to be seen how much pressure the subject can withstand."

He chuckled darkly to himself as he looked at the words on the screen; he supposed they would find out likely sooner rather than later just how much it took to break Astrid.

But exactly what happened when she was did finally break?

That, he was genuinely thrilled to find out.

✖ ✖ ✖

Woo! There's some quick progress being made, here. I hope you guys are enjoying.

How do you think Astrid will react to having been dosed with the toxin?

Let me know what you think with a comment or vote!