Chapter 1
"Do you know why you're here, Vivian?" The man scanned my file once, and then a second time. He was a disheveled, scraggly fellow with sunken eyes and sallow skin and long, bony fingers to match. I counted 15 wrinkles on his forehead alone, marking a long life of grueling work schedules and sleepless nights.
"Yes."
He examined the document once more. The room was completely vacant aside from the psychologist's desk and to the left a clock embedded into the wall above the door. The time read 1:07.
"Could you tell me why you are here?" His voice was calm, professional.
"Why are any of us here, doctor? Existence is such a mysterious commodity."
"Vivian." He let out a small sigh and overturned the paper with his skeletal hands. "It says here on March 20th you stabbed an officer in the throat seven times using a broken chair piece. They died from the injuries they sustained. Do you have anything to say about that?"
"No." The time read 1:08.
"On May 13th you stole a walkie talkie and reconfigured the device into a taser. You used the contraption to stun a guard, steal his firearm, and shoot five nearby personnel to death. Anything you'd like to tell me?"
"The clock is slow."
"Excuse me?"
"By noon it'll be off by 6.52 minutes." The psychologist glanced at the time then back at me. He flipped through the file yet again and his eyes hovered over a specific section. They widened a bit, and for the first time anxiety flashed across them. He set the file down and pushed it away from him.
"We're out of time, I'm afraid. I hope you enjoy your stay here." He scrambled out of the room and locked the gigantic reinforcement door with an obnoxious beep. We had 42 minutes left in our session.
