As the doctor left him to go speak with the guards, Judicael folded his hands together as he stared forward. The window across from him left nothing of note, obvious that it only worked one way. But the way he stared forward, his expression seemed blank, as though his mind had turned off. That was far from the case, as it went into overdrive. It seemed he'd have to switch his tactics to truly keep the doctor grasping for ways to 'fix' him. His chest rose and fell slowly, as though he was far too focused on staring beyond the one-way barrier to remember to breathe at a normal rate.

The moment she returned with the guards and apologized to him, he couldn't help but flash a warm smile up to the blonde. It seemed for now, she was the only one he'd recognize. The others were far too barbaric for his tastes. Besides, the Gods had spoken to him. Only Dr. Fleming was the one in this room who was worthy enough for his attention. When she finally spoke to him, he felt at ease. She'd been the first person in this forsaken place to use his name. With the revelation that he would be restrained in his chair, his smile remained as his eyes softened.

"It's a privilege to be restrained by you, I reassure that."

Judicael relaxed back into his seat as the restraints were fastened. The guards didn't leave much to the imagination: hands went first, followed by ankles. His torso was the third part to be restrained, and the entire time they tightened the straps, he seemed to comply just fine. Almost as though he understood the purpose of them. Did he enjoy them? Quite frankly, he could take them or leave them. Some were a little too snug, but he knew he was in no condition to argue. The moment the guards left, Judicael did his best to raise his restrained hand and wiggle his fingers in a pseudo-wave, not quite mocking them but the energy was certainly there.

Now came the isolation. The moment that she questioned about the picture he drew, the man blinked a few times before he realized that the doctor had genuine interest in what it meant. A breath in and harsh cough. The restraint around his chest was too tight, but he knew he had no right to complain. His eyes scanned the paper on the middle of the desk before he slowly looked up at Claudia once again.

"I suppose I can tell you, the guards didn't quite seem to understand when I tried to extrapolate to them. But you're smarter than they are, much more capable of understanding. I've always believed matters like this could be better understood with a woman's touch," he insisted. "I was born of the flow of time and space, and in the center of that flow lies one beast. I never got a proper chance to see it, but He tells me that His name is a simple one: He who ensnares time and space."

What the folks who found him recovered was enough to prove in his research findings. That before his mind succumbed to the exposure of horrors it never should have witnessed, that Josef had seen something within the center of the flow of space-time. He couldn't quite make it out, but it was after that entry that his mental entropy began to come to light. Following the report were mere scribbles of pen that were impossible to decipher. But the last entry he'd made read one word in thick, black, hastily scratched ink: help.

By the way his head lolled to the side and smile remained, it was obvious that he appreciated the question. Another breath in and his expression winced a bit. It was such a simple request that he figured Dr. Fleming would answer with no hesitation.

"I know I'm in no place to ask this of you, but this chest restraint is a bit too tight. It's difficult to breathe. May you please loosen it just a notch or two?"

Besides, what could he do when his arms and legs were fastened down to the chair?

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

Eden

Once the restraint that strapped him in by the chest had been loosened just a bit, he took a breath for safe measure, and soon felt his lips curl into yet another polite smile. That was much better. The entire time, he kept still to show he had no need to harm the psychiatrist. But that didn't stop him from the way he practically devoured the blonde with his eyes. The tactic was to play off her mercy, as she was so willing to loosen his restraints just a bit. It showed she had some sympathy, unlike the brutes that had brought him there in the first place.

"You are truly an angel, you have my gratitude," he remarked. "It's no wonder the chief was so concerned with you."

The latter comment held some sting to it. Did he suspect something? Perhaps, but that was up for the psychiatrist in front of him to dissect. Judicael allowed his head to relax back against the seat he was in and hummed to himself. It was so difficult to explain himself, to put his experiences into simple words. It was better to show people exactly what he meant, the horrors that gnawed just along the distortions. Perhaps...

"It's a long shot, but seeing is believing. The next time a distortion forms, take me there."

Awful bold of him to make a request like that. but he raised his hand as best as he could given the restraints on his wrists.

"Not that I don't trust you're capable of going yourself, it's just that someone with experience would be better adept to help you traverse the realm."

Was he truly adept with the space-time distortions? That was such a bold claim, but one that he held steadfast. Eyes left Claudia so that he could focus on the one-way window and flashed a look that couldn't quite be discerned. Annoyance? Disinterest? Disgust? Whatever it was, it seemed negative. He didn't care to have an audience. With his breath steady now, Judicael turned his attention back to the psychiatrist and allowed the mask of compliance to take over once more as his features eased.

"I don't wish to cause anyone harm, I know that's what the chief thinks," he insists as his brows furrow. "But I can understand why he's so fearful. I'd be jealous too. Your skin looks so soft, so fair. If given the opportunity, I don't think I'd be able to keep my hands off of you, Dr. Fleming."

The latter words came out in a soft breath, almost like a sigh.

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

Eden

"I assure you that you would be worth all the trouble and more," he reasoned.

Alas, he'd listen to her suggestion for now. He tore his predatory gaze off of her the moment that he closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the chair's back. A thoughtful hum escaped his lips as he took the time to truly think it over. A shame, he remembered nothing before he found himself on the other side of the space-time distortion. But it didn't stop the frown that tugged at the corners of his lips.

"People keep insisting that I'm someone that I am not," he offered, expression hurt. "I don't know who Josef Gordienko is and why people insist he is me. Space-time was unkind to him, his body couldn't survive it."

Josef couldn't, but Judicael could. But the more he tried to articulate himself, the more the thoughts in the back of his mind swarmed. "She doesn't believe me." "Then make her believe you." "How?" "We chose you for a reason, we won't do the thinking for you." With each negative thought that entered, the more Judicael's muscles tensed and attempted to fight against the restraints that held him down. His breath came out shaky, his psyche was fractured from trying to remember anything before now.

"I saw God. And He's abandoned us," he spat.

Blood began to pool at his feet as leather dug into the tender flesh of his wrists.

A shame, their thirty minutes was cut about five short.

The doors flew open as the chief and two nurses within the psychiatric facility made a run in. Judicael couldn't help but stare up at Claudia with a look of that of a cornered rat mixed with the faintest twinge of betrayal. His voice croaked.

"You told me thirty minutes."

Before he could thrash, one of the nurses carefully injected Midalozam into his neck. It seemed their time for questioning was up. But an opportunity would present itself again. They simply couldn't have let a patient continue self-harm or even successfully break through the restraints. He shot Claudia a blank stare, almost soulless, before his body slumped.

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

Eden

They'd fed him drugs like they were candy. Each one was meant to help with his mental state, but all they did was make him fatigued. He supposed he'd be easier to question when he was a thoughtless pile of flesh. They'd tried a cocktail of medicines: Midazolam at night, Zeldox, Risperidone... The list went on. The latter looked like ibuprofen and matched in size. It became easy to switch that one out with a patient who had chronic headaches. And Zeldox was a capsule. All it took was pulling it apart and emptying the contents. He'd played along well enough for them to allow him to take his medicine unsupervised. A relief that was.

As Claudia opened the door, she no doubt could see him placing the pills necessary for that morning into his mouth and swallowing them with a glass of water. (Little did she know he'd already swapped out the Zeldox and emptied the Risperidone's contents from the capsule prior.) He met her entry into his room with a pleasant smile. The exposure to the drugs allowed him to keep record of how he was supposed to act when under the influence of them.

"Dr. Fleming, it's been a while, how are you?"

A genuine question. It was impressive how quickly his state had taken a pivotal turn. (Or rather it was impressive how well he was able to fake it.) Judicael took his seat on the edge of his bed and gestured to the small table nearby where she could sit down and take notes. It's where the other doctors sat, so he figured it would work best for her, too. Hands folded neatly into his lap as he sat with his legs crossed. They finally had some privacy, something he'd urged for.

"I've had a handful of visitors with the staff here, but you're the only one I've been thrilled to see," he admitted. "You're the only one who has treated me like a human and had the utmost faith in my turn around. You really are a gifted doctor."

The way he spoke seemed so flattering in a genuine manner, juxtaposed heavy to the way he tried to charm her before. Was it a way to grow closer to her? No, not quite. But as he spoke once more, it was a ploy to sew some doubt into her mind. Brows knit in a way that showed some frustration as he spoke again.

"It's a shame that chief security officer doesn't see it that way. He made some rather... Crass comments when he was throwing me into solitary confinement my first week. He probably figured he could say those things to me because you'd never believe me if I told you."

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

Eden