“Didn’t you hear it?” Tim asked with a wild-eyed look. His voice cracked as he spat words out like a rapid fire machine gun. “The voice! It came from the sink; only I don’t think it was really the sink at all. It’s inside my head. It wants me to kill myself. But I won’t! I’m not gonna crack!”
Robert grabbed Tim by the shoulders and shook him like a rag doll. “Tim! Focus on me. Look me in the eyes. There, that’s good. Now, I want you to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.
“Yes, just like that, but I want you to take deeper, slower breaths. You need to calm down so I can test you. Here, grab my arm and come with me.”
“Robert, I… The voices are telling me…”
“Tim, stop. I’m not interested in what the voices are telling you right now. Save all that for the psychiatrist. I need to get you tested and make sure your hearing hasn’t changed since the last test. Now let’s get a move on.”
Tim continued breathing as instructed. He followed Robert down the hallway to yet another room. His friend probably thought he was crazy, probably didn’t believe him.
In the hearing test room, Tim saw a sound-proof enclosure just big enough for one person. The beige box had a single door with a window in it. Through the window, he could see a metal chair inside with a pair of headphones lying on the seat.
Beside the booth was a table and chair. Special testing machines sat on the table. Knobs and gauges covered most of the equipment. What if the machines knew of his guilt? Would printed accusations scroll across the digital display for Robert to read?
He couldn’t stand it any longer. He had to confide in his friend. “I didn’t kill her, you know.”
Robert looked at him with a frown. “I beg your pardon.”
“I didn’t kill her,” Tim repeated.
“Kill who?” Robert asked.
“I didn’t kill her! The voices think I murdered her, but they’re wrong. At least I’m pretty sure they’re wrong. Hee-hee.”
“Tim, you’re scaring me. Just stop and think about what you’re saying. I don’t think you’re capable of murdering a mouse.”
“Ha-ha! That’s just the thing you see! If you can’t see it’s the thing, maybe you can hear it! Maybe the little voices will tell you. Hee-hee. They’re good at telling things! Oh yes! HA! HA! Your darkest secrets aren’t safe from them!”
“Tim! Please! I’m trying to help you here! Please stop this madness!”
“Am I mad? HA! I don’t know. But the voices! – I bet they know! Maybe they’ll tell us!”
Without warning, Robert sharply slapped Tim’s face. The tone of hysteria left his eyes as Robert yelled at him. “Good God, Man! Get a hold of yourself! You haven’t killed anyone.
“Now please, just focus on this last test. Afterwards, I’m taking you to a psychiatrist. You’ll need additional help beyond my expertise.”
Robert opened the test-booth door. Tim looked inside the enclosure as though it were a gas chamber. He moved reluctantly inside, looking down on the metal chair.
Robert took the headset from the chair seat and handed it to Tim. He motioned Tim to sit and then placed a black, plastic wand in his hand. The wand had a red button on one end and a black wire running out the other. The wire made a loop on the floor before exiting through a sealed hole near the bottom of the wall. As if an afterthought, Tim placed the ear piece on his head.
Despite the headphones, Tim heard Robert explain the operational procedure of the test. “When I close this door, I’ll start the machine and monitor the equipment. All you have to do is press that red button whenever you hear a tone of any intensity. If your hearing has changed, this test will show it.”
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