While Laura was sinking deeper into the velvet trap of Dr. H’s office, Detective Miller was standing in the mud of the alleyway where the "Barber" had last been seen.
He stared at the brick wall. No blood. No struggle. Just a single, clean lock of dark hair left on the ground like a calling card.
"It doesn't make sense," his partner muttered. "How do you get a girl to stand still while you hack off ten inches of her hair? Why didn't she scream?"
Miller picked up a small, metallic shard near the brick. It looked like a piece of a tuning fork. "She didn't scream because she didn't want to. He’s not using a knife to catch them. He’s using something else."
The Park Meeting
Later that afternoon, Laura met Mia at their usual spot in the park. Mia was wearing her favorite bright blue ribbon in her hair, her energy a sharp contrast to Laura’s paleness.
"Okay, spill," Mia said, leaning in. "What did the hot-shot doctor say? Is he actually helping with the 'alley-hallucination' thing?"
Laura blinked. She looked at the trees, then back at Mia. A weird, hollow feeling settled in her chest. "He... he said it was my amygdala. You know, from the bullying. He said I projected my fear onto a stranger."
"And the masked guy?" Mia pressed. "The tuning fork? The white eyes?"
Laura frowned. Her forehead crinkled as if she were trying to read a book through a fogged-up window. "What tuning fork? Mia, I told you, it was just a mugger. I think... I think I exaggerated it because I was tired."
Mia’s smile vanished. "Exaggerated? Laura, you were shaking for three days! You told me he held a silver fork and her eyes rolled back into her head. You were specific!"
"I don't remember saying that," Laura said, her voice dropping into a flat, mechanical tone. "Dr. H says memories are reconstructive. I probably just watched too many horror movies."
Mia reached out and grabbed Laura’s hand. She felt a chill go down her spine. "Laura, look at me. Your eyes... you're not even blinking."
"I feel calm, Mia. For the first time since the bullying, the noise is gone. Dr. H says the noise is the enemy."
Mia looked at her best friend and didn't see Laura. She saw a shell. She saw the "obedience" Laura had described in the alley woman.
"I'm going to find out what's in that office," Mia whispered to herself as Laura stared blankly at the horizon. "Before there's nothing left of you to save."
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