The Disciple by Darin S. Cape

Author:Darin S. Cape
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: thriller and suspense fiction, mystery and suspense fiction, scifi mystery novellas, human origin scifi stories, thought provoking scifi novels, science fiction mystery books, psychological suspense fiction
Publisher: SHP Comics
Published: 2023-11-01T00:00:00+00:00

“WHEN DID YOU STOP TAKING your medications?” Dr. Siqueland asked. She was a tall and slender woman in her fifties with ginger hair and an aquiline nose, sitting with a small notebook in one hand and a pencil resting thoughtfully in the other.

“I started to taper down on my prescriptions about eight months ago. They were interfering with my ability to work,” John replied. He sat in a comfortable chair facing Dr. Siqueland, a haggard look on his face. The room was bright, sunlight streaming through a large picture window on the opposite wall.

“You thought it was wise to adjust your own prescriptions?” she asked, barely managing to restrain her disapproval. “How much did you taper?”

“Between thirty and fifty percent.”

“And when did the voices return?”

“A few weeks after I adjusted the prescription.”

“And yet you continued with the lower dose?”

“I needed to work,” John replied flatly.

“I honestly don’t know what to say, John. I frankly didn’t expect to see you again.” She consulted her notebook. “We met three times almost a year ago, and then you simply disappeared.”

“Yes,” John replied weakly.

“Can you tell me why?”

“After our last meeting, I was offered an extraordinary opportunity to join a remote research project.”

“What is the nature of the project?” Dr. Siqueland asked. She flipped her notebook backwards. “You told me when we first met that you worked for the International Marine Exploration Institute.”

“Yes. I’m a xenobiologist.”

“I’m afraid my Latin isn’t that good. What’s a xenobiologist?”

“Xeno comes from the Greek word Xenos, which means strange or foreign, or in our case, alien. I’m an alien biologist, or a biologist that studies life forms that did not originate on Earth.”

“I would think you would work with the Space Institute rather than Marine Institute. Are there alien life forms in the ocean?”

“That’s what we are trying to figure out. The project is classified and extremely remote. Security is high and communications with the surface are restricted.”

“Which is why you never contacted my office?”

“Yes,” John replied. “Before I left, I had one of the psychiatrists at the institute fill my prescriptions for a year.

“Being isolated for extended periods of time is difficult for anyone,” Dr. Siqueland continued. “What side effects, specifically, were you experiencing that prevented you from working?”

“Lack of concentration, brain fog, and headaches,” John replied. “I could power through the brain fog with caffeine, but I started to drink so much caffeine that the headaches became unbearable. That’s when I started to adjust my medications.”

Dr. Siqueland paused to consider him. John had lost a lot of weight. His eyes were red, and he was distracted, nervously twitching his foot while he spoke to her.

“Are you hearing the voices now?” she asked gently.

“Yes,” he replied weakly.

“Do you know who’s speaking?”

“It’s my mother’s voice but it’s not my mother.”

“What is the voice saying?”

“That I should leave ... That you are a false prophet ...”

“Do you believe I’m a false prophet?”

“I don’t know,” he said after a moment, lifting his head. He looked at her, but his eyes were vacant.

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