Jonathan Chiccino

THE PENUMBRA CHRONICLES
Book 1
Chapter 1

Carter Vann sat outside the office of Dr. Nathaniel Coyne. Instead of the congested waiting rooms to which he was accustomed, he found himself sitting in what could have been a large closet if not for the three red chairs and the paintings on the walls. He opened the door expecting to find a conventional waiting room complete with a type A receptionist, bad magazines, and other patients lost in their own worlds, instead he found a slender young woman in her late twenties wearing a blue dress and matching heels. When she looked up, Carter took an instinctive step backwards; the contacts she wore gave her eyes a dusky purple tint. The boy who sat next to her appeared to be no more than twelve; his lanky build reminded Carter of himself at that age. A silver haired man, presumably Dr. Coyne was seated across from them. He was wearing faded jeans and a tweed jacket.

Carter mumbled an apology and closed the door being careful not to make another sound. Ten minutes later when the doctor came out and introduced himself, Carter apologized again, "I never do stuff like that."

Taking Carter's offered hand, he said, "I'm sure you were just confused; most people are the first time they come in, it just feels too quiet, ya know. By the way, call me Nathan."

His last patients were grabbing their coats, before they reached the exit, the mother commented, "Nice entrance, did you practice that one?"

It was said with a smile, so Carter responded in kind, "No ma'am, actually that was a first."

Tucking her Irish red hair behind her ear, she joked, "Do I look old enough to be your Grandmother?"

Carter said, "No way, I was just…"

She cut him off, "Then let's lose the ma'am, I'm Connie and this is my son David."

Carter dropped down to David's level, "Ninja Turtles, I love them."

David said, "Yeah, aren't they awesome, this is my favorite shirt. Why are you here, do you turn into other people too?"

Connie scolded, "David."

Carter said, "No, no, it's alright. Does that happen to you a lot?"

"Yeah, some of them are pretty nice guys. One of them was lion tamer, he's totally cool; his name is Mike. He used to travel with PT Barnum, imagine that."

Connie broke in, "David, we really need to go."

He answered, "Coming mom." He showed Carter a brief look of exasperation before running for the door.

Carter turned to Nathan, "They seem like nice folks."

The doctor said, "Nice isn't the word. And that woman; she's a saint. She takes care of David almost entirely by herself; the husband can't seem to adjust, but with ten soul prints in the picture, who can blame him."

Carter let the term "soul print" pass without comment. Trying not to stare at the red circular brand on Nathan's cheek, he added, "You're definitely not what I was expecting."

Nathan clapped Carter on the back leading him into his office, "I guess that means I'm on the right track. Now let's see what your story is."

On the desk Carter noticed a green lamp, a rendering of Auguste Rodin's The Thinker in miniature, and a box of tissues that sat just inches away from his right hand. He also saw a painting above Nathan's desk; it showed a bright moon, half hidden in shadow by a pair of voluminous dark clouds.

Nathan asked, "So, what do you think of that?" pointing to the piece behind him.

Carter answered, "It's definitely interesting, I like your taste in art."

"Thanks, most people don't feel that way. So tell me about yourself?

"Woo, can we narrow things down a bit?"

The doctor smiled, "Just tell me whatever crosses your mind."

Carter resisted the urge to say, "There's someone else living inside my head." Instead, he explained that he worked as a college advisor at Codderly University and how the job made him feel like a babysitter. He finished by talking about his wife, who was now enjoying the house they were supposed to share. As Carter spoke he found himself glancing at a door next to Coyne labeled, Diagnostic Wing.

Nathan took a cigar from his breast pocket and lit it taking a puff. Carter felt that the smell was obnoxious, but said nothing.

Nathan observed, "That's great, love and marriage, it goes together like a horse and carriage with one of the wheels missing."

Carter wiped his eyes, which had begun to tear, "You've got that right."

"So, when did things between you and the wife go sour?"

"Our troubles started about a year ago. The money just wouldn't stay in the bank; of course we blamed each other. But, now I realize my roommate was taking the money."

The doctor asked, "When did you guys take in a border?"

Carter's urge to laugh was so strong that he hacked out a series of sputtering coughs. Nathan said, "Sorry about that," smothering his cigar against the daisy shaped ashtray.

Carter took a moment to catch his breath, then sighed, "No, you don't understand, I'm talking about my alter; or at least that's what my last shrink called him."

"I take it you think he's missing something?"

Carter was studying a silver globe on top of Nathan's crowded bookshelf. From where he sat the only word he could make out was Emberton, which was marked by a black star inside a circle.

Nathan cocked his head, "Carter?"

"Sorry, I guess I lost myself for a second. Zach is too real to be some kind of imaginary friend. I mean, he volunteers at the Northampton library and is dating a woman who lives down the street from me. He has more going on than I do. Even when he's not in control, I still hear him babbling on inside my head."

Nathan leaned back asking; "Before you lose control of yourself do you feel drawn to any particular object?"

Carter answered, "The catalogue card from his favorite book, 1984 ."

Nathan asked, "Are there any other triggers?"

Carter shook his head.

Nathan theorized, "Sounds like you just might have a soul print."

"You mean like that boy David, so is this some kind of personality disorder after all?"

Nathan said, "Well, sort of. When people die most of the time they just move on, but sometimes they find people in their travels willing to help them place their soul inside the mind of a living human being. That's how you end up with a soul print."

Carter asked, "Can they be dangerous?"

Nathan answered, "It depends on what they want, from time to time a print will look to replace his host. If that happens things can become pretty tricky."

Carter whose heart began to piston inside his chest, admitted, "Sounds pretty scary to me."

Nathan reached inside his coat pocket, bringing his hand out empty he then pulled the red stirrer from the coffee cup in front of him. "Relax, before we jump to conclusions we need to run some tests. First up is an EEG to see if we can find evidence of alternate brain patterns. As for what we do after that, it'll depend on what we find."

Carter stuttered, "Can I be honest? I'm a little scared right now."

Nathan tried to calm him, "Don't worry, we might not find anything."

Carter laughed, "You mean I just might be crazy?"

Nathan said, "No matter what's going on with you; you're not crazy. You haven' t knocked over any convenient stores lately, have you?"

Carter grinned, "Not today, maybe I'll get around to that on the weekend."

Nathan continued, "And even if we do find prints, they might not be.

dangerous. If that's the case, you won't always be comfortable, but you'll manage. So here's where we are, I'll need you to come in this Friday with your trigger."

Carter grunted, "Are you insane, I'm not going anywhere near that book on purpose. As soon as I touch it, he'll have me going for the card."

Nathan rolled his eyes, "Where's my head? Do you have anyone who could help you out?"

Carter thought, "I'd ask my wife Jeanette, but the moment I tell her I'm doing it for you; she'll pop a blood vessel. Dr. Hollings made you out to be some sort of quack."

Nathan whispered, "Great, and there's nobody else?"

"I'll be damned if I can think of anyone."

Nathan said, "Okay, I guess it's up to me then. How about this, you give me directions to your place and I'll pick it up for you."

"You would do that?"

"Sure, but there's still one more thing we can do today. Follow me."

Jonathan Chiccino lives in Philadelphia.