THE NEW SIXTH SENSE #13

THE NEW SIXTH SENSE # 13 Doctor Johnathan Rhoades, medical doctor, and licensed psychiatrist. A man who DARES to look PAST the obvious, and discover what is at the HEART, of patients conditions. The following is case-file number 13, of Doctor Rhoades highly unusual approach to treatment, of mental disorders. "According to the file, sent to me, by Doctor Madsen, the case seemed quite baffling. In summary, a man, who was thirty years old, with a wife, and three children, had, for some, unknown, reason, regressed to his own childhood. The man claimed he was a grade-schooler, and has no, apparent, memory, of either being employed, or having a family. The enclosed note would state: "Doctor Rhoades, this facility is enlisting your assistance with a condition, which we are at a loss to understand. While it can be factually proven that injuries, to the head, may cause amnesia, the patient referred to, within, has been found to have no such injuries. In fact, our staff are at a loss, to explain the condition. This is why we have requested your intervention. Your work, with psychiatric patients, has yielded positive results. Results which, granted, are difficult to quantify, however, improvement, of patients conditions, are impossible to dispute." While Doctor Johnathan Rhoades would note "Until I meet the patient, I am un-sure, of the diagnosis, but the fact that a man does not recognize his own family, AND he believes that he is a grade-schooler, leads me to question what event might have lead to his condition. I will offer no conjecture, at this point. I have, only, agreed to review the patient, at the request of his attending physician." While the hospital facility had offered to send a "courtesy" car (limo), and driver, to collect Doctor Rhoades, at the local airport, Doctor Rhoades would decline this offer, stating "I will accept a rental car. Nothing fancy. Nothing flashy." Upon arrival, at the airport, Doctor Rhoades would appreciate the fact that the hospital had followed his directions. The rental car was ready, and the hospital had e-mailled directions, to the facility. (Doctor Rhoades preferred driving his own car, since, this way, if he wanted to make "side-trips", there would be no driver, to question the doctors intentions) Upon arrival, at a place which Doctor Rhoades thought resembled more of a public school, than a hospital, and would ask, at the front desk "Doctor Johnathan Rhoades. Am I in the right place?" The receptionist would say "Dont let the exterior fool you. This IS a hospital." After that, the woman would say "Doctor Rhoades, if you will follow me, please." As the two walked the corridor, Doctor Rhoades would be amazed at how closely this hospitals design did, in fact, match that, of a public school. Even down to the lockers, built into the walls, and the classroom doors. To Doctor Rhoades amazement, the receptionist stopped at a door where the word BIOLOGY had been, partially, covered by the name plaque, of the hospital director. After the receptionist announced Doctor Rhoades, then departed the room, it seems that the director observed as Doctor Rhoades watched the dooor, marked BIOLOGY LAB, close, on slow, soft, hydraulic, hinges. When the director would call out "I am certain that you are baffled, or confused, by these surroundings. At the start, so was I." When Doctor Rhoades would ask "Is this a hospital, or a..." The administrator would say "I will admit that even I had a time, becoming accustomed, to these surroundings. You see, Doctor Rhoades, I attended high school, in this very building, many years ago. Coming back has brought back very bad memories, even for me." When Doctor Rhoades would ask "Such as?" The director would say "Believe it or not, in my own, school, days, I was one of those who "Did not "fit". Since I refused to fight/kill, for what I wanted, I was driven OUT, just as many other people are driven OUT, of school, each year, by those who refuse to let students live in peace. Yes, I remember the times, when faculty turned backs, on student violence. Some, of my class-mates were "animals", in the truest sense of the word". When Doctor Rhoades would ask "If that is true, WHY did you return?" The director would say "Budget cuts. We HAD a regular hospital, then the decision was made, to begin cutting expenses. First, we tried cutting staff, but that was not enough, for the board. They wanted MORE reductions." When Doctor Rhoades would say "I am listening." The director would say "We made every reduction, possible, but it was not enough for the board. What even I did not know, until later, was that the board wanted to tear down the hospital, to build another casino." When Doctor Rhoades would ask "Why a public school?" The director would say "Simple. No one WANTED this land. The casino only wanted the hospital land. This is why we had to move patients, staff, and supplies, into this OLD building. Odd thing is, even when we installed the same security, which the board said was "too expensive", for the old place, the SAME board was willing to foot the entire bill, for this building." When Doctor Rhoades would say "I dont understand. I saw plenty of vacant land, on my way in. WHY did the board insist upon the hospital property?" The director would say "Not the boards decision. The casino WANTED our land." Doctor Rhoades would say "So you have to "make do", while gamblers make money." The director woulld say "To quote the city council, as closely as possible "Gambling means revenue. Plenty of revenue. Hospitals, not so much."" When Doctor Rhoades would ask "Where is the patient you contacted me about?" The director would look at his watch, and say "Right now, he is in play-time." When Doctor Rhoades would ask "Have you found any reason for his regression, of thirty years time?" The director would say "So far, all tests are negative. If I did not know better, I would suggest that he was/is trying to escape some-one, or some-thing. The question is: WHAT is it that drove a grown man back into his childhood?" Doctor Johnathan Rhoades would spend the next few weeks reviewing patient records, and interviewing people, in the mans life. According to the mans wife "I just cant understand it. Until recently, I thought everything was fine. Sure, we were not "rich", but we had what we needed. I THOUGHT we were happy. I just dont understand where my husband has gone." The same proved true, of his employer. "Sure the guy was human. He was, never, any trouble. Sometimes, AFTER work, he had a few drinks, with co-workers, but I dont recall him being drunk, even once. I just dont get how a man, who loved his job, and his family, could do this." Most of the patients friends agreed, as well. While no one would say that the man was an "angel", none had any really bad comments, either. The question, which Doctor Rhoades faced, at every turn, was "What/Why would a man turn, mentally, into a child?" Doctor Rhoades first "lead" would involve some women, who "visited" town, from time to time. While no one, really, SPOKE, of the women, atleast one source would suggest "If you want to know, more, about the girls, be at this location, at 1 a.m." (Then, the source handed the doctor a slip of paper.) That night, at 1 a.m., Doctor Rhoades, armed with a camcorder, would take video, of the "girls" giving the men hallucinagenic drugs. Once the men, un-knowingly, ingested the drugs, it allowed the girls to convince the men that the men had attacked, and raped, the girls. The one thing that the girls did not count upon was Doctor Rhoades. While the girls went off, drinking, to celebrate the fact that they had convinced a group, of men, that the men had raped the girls, and that the girls would only remain silent, if the men PAID, BIG time. Doctor Rhoades would deliver the video footage, to the police, who would, then , issue warrants, for the girls arrests. As a detective informed Doctor Rhoades "In MY opinion, the charge, of date-rape should NOT be restricted, to women. Just try to gain any backing, for that position. No one wants to think that women can attack men." Problem was that, breaking up this ring did nothing to solve the case that Doctor Rhoades had been asked to consult upon. The question of "What could make a man lose 30 years of his life?" When Doctor Rhoades would hypnotize the man, with his normal questions, Doctor Rhoades would be curious enough to ask both doctors, and the police, "WHAT is this place, called the "Haunted Woods"?" Everyone told the doctor "It is just an old, fire-side, story. Just a "once upon a time" story." When Doctor Rhoades would suggest "I would like to visit this place, IF it exists." To Doctor Rhoades astonishment, neither hospital workers, nor police, wanted to go anywhere near the "Haunted Woods". When Doctor Rhoades would bring up a map, on his laptop computer, a detective would say "I will show you where it is, BUT, only on your word, that you will not mention this, to anyone." Two hours later, with the sun just dusking the horizon, Doctor Rhoades would come to understand WHY locals called this place the "Haunted Woods". As the sun dipped low, to the horizon, Doctor Rhoades noticed how easily the woods began to take on "human" forms. Add in the normal sounds, of night creatures, coming out to play, and the doctor could understand why almost anyone could become afraid of this place. The "edge", that Doctor Rhoades had, was the fact that, with his medical, and psychological, training, the doctor was focused on finding FACTS, not fairy tales. This is why, when "things" began moving about the woods, Doctor Rhoades would peer, through his "third eye", to back up his normal eye-sight. The doctor had to suppress a laugh, atleast twice, when he THOUGHT he viewed two, nude, females, trapsing through the woods. (In towns, like this, being nude, in public, would be considered "sacriledge") The doctor, then, suprressed a smile, when he came upon a foot, in a shoe. (The smile was because the doctor had, recently, aided a family member, who wanted to find such a gimmick, for their own front yard, on Halloween.) Doctor Rhoades had assisted the family, in locating the prop, which was made out of plastic. The "blood" was just red paint. Now, in the dark, if a person were, already, scared, the foot would look real. Doctor Rhoades would have wondered how many more Halloween props he would find, in these woods, until he found what appeared to be a severed mans "shaft", still embedded inside a womans female part. While the prop would look convincing, to an un-trained observer, it took Doctor Rhoades just five minutes to confirm the fake. The "body parts" were made of rubber, and the "blood" was just wet paint. The same would be true when, later, the doctor would find a dis-membered female body, in a clearing. While Doctor Rhoades would find all of this humorous, he doubted that any of this would scare a grown man back, into his childhood. What, eventually, shook even the doctor, however, was the vision, of Satan. A tall, dark, double-horned, image, complete with blood red eyes, and clawed hands, like movie monsters. This image was the best, yet. While the doctor was certain that the "fog", around the base of the creature was from a fog machine, what impressed the doctor, most of all, was when the "creature" spewed flame, from its mouth. This, while, from somewhere, would come the dis-embodied voice, of a man, half-whispering "You will be MINE!" For some reason, at that moment, an image came into the doctors mind. An image, of demons, dancing around a fire-pit, while Satan watched over the proceedings. In less than a minute, Doctor Rhoades shrugged off the images, as he remembered Walt Disneys classic movie: Fantasia. The images, which the doctor was "viewing" were from the segment, labelled "Night on Bald Mountain". This is when Doctor Rhoades would rationalize "I saw the "creature", and it reminded me of the movie. Its as simple as that." With the vision cast aside, Doctor Rhoades would set off, in the direction, wher he had "seen" the "demon". Doctor Rhoades wanted to know WHO had accomplished such a task. And so life-like, as well. While Doctor Rhoades was certain that the mock-up was twenty feet tall, and seven feet wide, no matter how far he searched, the doctor could not find the prop. It was not until the doctor returned to the trail, that the "voices", finally came. The voices, which the patient had mentioned, under hypnosis. The voices others had mentioned. FINALLY, the voices were calling out, to the doctor. Was Doctor Rhoades "spooked", when the voices called him, by name? Why should he be. The town KNEW that he was a doctor, and in town, to treat a patient. When the "voices" would begin to say "You are MINE! You cannot escape." Doctor Rhoades would mention "IF you want to make an appointent, to TALK, with me, one-on-one, then call my office. I dont hold therapy sessions, in the woods." Even when the "voices" called out "Johnathan Rhoades, you have seen me. You belong to me, now. You cannot escape. Johnathan Rhoades, we KNOW that you have worked with us before." When Doctor Rhoades would ask "Where? When? Who?" The "voice" would say "Johnathan Rhoades, you will, never, leave this place, alive." Doctor Rhoades would say "Oh, really. Watch me!". While the doctor was turned around, for a moment, when he activated his "third eye", this showed him the way back to his car. On the way back, to his car, Doctor Rhoades observed images, of such things as sex-orgies, and human sacrifice. The doctor, however, was tired, and wanted to return to his quarters, for a nights sleep. This is why he ignored all of the images. The next day, at a meeting, with the police, and the hospital director, Doctor Rhoades would point out both the creativity, and, increasingly, boring, nature, of the display. As Doctor Rhoades would state "After all, a few, dis-membered, body parts is one thing. Those orgies were a bit of overkill, and those voices. No doubt from hidden speakers. What I want to know is WHO came up with the idea, for that demon?" Annoyance had to be held, at bay, while those, around the doctor, semed to display a look of "What demon?" When Doctor Rhoades would ask "Dont be dis-illusioned. I saw the demon. It was most impressive. About twenty feet tall, seven feet wide, fog, about its base, and those double horns. A real work of art, if you ask me. Just wondering "WHO pulled off that muzzle flame effect. That must have cost a LOT of money." When no one would admit to the demon, Doctor Rhoades was asked "IF you heard the voices, then WHY are you here, and calm as ever?" Doctor Rhoades would say "If you will remember, I am a trained psychiatrist. I KNOW a trick, when I hear it." When the chief of police would ask "What trick?" Doctor Rhoades would say "Come, now. Let us be reasonable. There are speakers, in the woods. Either wired to a sound system, or by wireless conrtol. Does not matter. That part about "You will not escape", and "You are MINE!" I think that was a bit over-the-top, dont you?" When the others looked un-certain, Doctor Rhoades would say "You can trust me. I am a doctor. Confidentiality is my "stock-and-trade"." When no one would come forth, during the meeting, Doctor Rhoades went on his OWN search. This time, for special effects equipment, and weather-proof speakers. When local stores reported no such sales, Doctor Rhoades would have an internet partner do a discreet search. Doctor Rhoades wanted to know WHO came up with that demon, and HOW were the speakers rigged. While waiting for the internet reply, Doctor Rhoades would investigate the area, by day. IF nothing else, he wanted to found out WHERE the speakers were mounted, and HOW the "demon" had been mounted, to the ground, for it to stand so erect. Doctor Rhoades felt certain that he would find SOME kind of base, or foundation, which the demon had stood upon. By the time a full days search yielded no more than the plastic/rubber body parts, Doctor Rhoades would wonder WHY, if the gag was so good, that the parts were removed, after his experience? By the evening, Doctor Rhoades would return to his quarters, only to find a message, saying that the internet search yielded no such sales, except to Hollywood, in recent years. No, whatever the doctor had seen, it was home-made. Still, it HAD been impressive. When Doctor Rhoades had suggested a search party, to enter the woods, after dark, he noticed that none, of the locals, would go near the place, from dusk to dawn. Since Doctor Rhoades was determined to PROVE that the "demon" was just a special effect", and that the voices were just speakers, he would collect a pair, of night-vision glasses, then return, to the "Haunted Woods", again, on his own. While the doctor was certain that the "voices" had emerged from a speaker system, an after-dark search yielded no better results than the daytime search had. When the voices DID come, what they had not planned for was for the doctor to be "armed" with acoustic detection equipment. Basically, a hand-held meter, which would lead the doctor to the source, of any sound, which the meter detected. What baffled Doctor Rhoades was how, everytime he came close, to the source, of the sounds, they changed position. The doctor wondered how this could be possible, UNLESS the operator had one of those switching devices. As expensive as the devices were, this lead to the question of "WHY spend so much money trying to make a place appear haunted?" After spending hours, chasing the voices, Doctor Rhoades would call out "I am taking a dinner break. If you want to join me, just bring your own snacks." Being a professional psychiatrist, Doctor Rhoades knew which sounds to block out, as he sat to eat his meal. So far, though, he had tracked the voices, to seventeen, different, locations, yet found no speakers. Maybe an hour, before sun-rise, the doctor would just be preparing to pack his gear, and call it "quits", when the demon decided to appear. When the device called out "Calling it quits, so easily? My, I had hoped you would be better at this." When Doctor Rhoades would say "Whoever you are, it has been a LONG night. I am going home, to rest. If you want to play this game, meet me, here, at sun-set." To Doctor Rhoades surprise, the "demon" blew a wall, of fire, in front of the doctor, then, when the doctor turned back to the creature, he noticed it had its clawed hands at its side. While Doctor Rhoades would say "Most impressive. You must be very popular, especially at childrens parties." The doctor was surprised when the creature would say "I am prohibited, from preying on children. I am sure that you know the rule. Children are under "God's" protection, until the age of twelve." When Doctor Rhoades would ask "IS THAT why you have been preying on adults? Robbing them of thier lives, and memories?" The demon would say "That is correct. Adults have no such protection. Their actions are under their control." With dawn approaching, Doctor Rhoades would ask "WHY did you rob my patient of thirty years of his life?" To Doctor Rhoades surprise, the demon looked at the coming dawn, saying "Mortal, if it is answers you seek, meet me, here, at nightfall." When Doctor Rhoades would ask "Why nightfall? Why not now?" Doctor Rhoades realized the reason when, to his dis-belief, as the sun rose, the demon would dissolve into the mist, of dawn. Not one shred, of evidence, left behind. What some might call even more "bizzarre" was the fact that the "wall", of flames, which had cut off the doctors exit, from the woods, dissolved, just as the demon dissolved. When Doctor Rhoades looked behind himself, he saw two, police, officers, looking stunned, even as Doctor Rhoades would notice that, what HAD been flaming wood, now showed NO signs, of fire, at all. The woods were back to normal, and the junior officer was left to ask the senior "How do we report this, sir?" Doctor Rhoades was not one bit surprised when the senior officer would ask "Report what?" With morning now upon the three, the officers would drive Doctor Rhoades back to his car, then return to police headquarters. (This, after all three had agreed "Without any PROOF, we have nothing to file a report on.") In Doctor Rhoades own notes, he referred to the creature as an "un-indentified source". Later, that day, Doctor Rhoades would ask the patient "When you were in the woods, did the voices say "You are MINE!", and "There is no escape"? When the patient looked at the doctor, Doctor Rhoades KNEW what the answer was. It was not until the doctor put the man into a deep trance, that more information was made available. It would seem that the man HAD heard the voices, AND seen the "demon". As the patient said, under hypnosis: "I remembered that the only time, in life, when one is safe, from evil, is during childhood. This is where I chose to be safe." When Doctor Rhoades would ask "What of your family? What will become, of them, without you?" The patient actually wept as he said "I just dont know. What am I to do?" Over the next couple of hours, Doctor Rhoades would bring the man, slowly, back to the present. When the man asked "What can I do? The demon said I belong to it." Doctor Rhoades would say "Thats funny. The voices, and the demon, said the same thing, to ME, yet here I am, in our session." When the patient would ask "HOW did YOU escape it?" Doctor Rhoades would explain "It is not so much what people SAY, which matters. It is what you BELIEVE, that matters. Since I do not believe that the demon can harm me, it is powerless, against me." When the patient would ask "Can you teach ME this skill?" Doctor Rhoades would ask "What is the most important thing, in your life?" When the patient did not even skip a heart-beat, saying "My family." Doctor Rhoades would say "Then focus on THEM. Let nothing else be more important than taking care of them." Since Doctor Rhoades KNEW it would take a few moments, for this information to "sink in", he sat, silent, as the man stood, walked to a window, looked at the outside world, then looked at the doctor, saying "I am ready to face my demons." That evening, after dinner, doctor, and patient, took a drive, to the "Haunted Woods". (A police car would travel just behind, in case of "trouble") Doctor Rhoades was relieved when the "demon" kept its promise, and appearred, just as night fell, on the woods. Doctor Rhoades could not help but feel impressed by how much this "demon" resembled the dragon, from "Sleeping Beauty". (That is, except for the double set of horns.) It is when the demon pointed at the patient, saying "You are MINE!", that the man remained silent, as Doctor Rhoades would ask "What claim do you lay, upon this person?" When the demon would growl "You are, BOTH, MINE!" Doctor Rhoades would, again, ask "Under what LAW do you make this claim?" When the demon would spout flame, and some of the woods seemed to catch fire, Doctor Rhoades would say "Nice, special effect. It, still, does not answer my question." This is when the patient would join in, asking "Yeah, big and ugly. What claim DO you lay, upon us?" When the demon would ask "You DARE challenge me?", the men would, as one, say "We dare." In what seemed like a very LONG, and extended, moment, the demon seemed to rub a clawed hand across its "chin", then make an "um" sound, before saying "You know, I dont think the two of you are WORTH my effort. I have other, more obedient, creatures, to deal with." With this, the demon would stretch out its wings, and take flight. As it did, the flames, of the forest, dissolved, and left the men standing in the dark, of night. Soon, after this, and like puffs of smoke, large and small, whisps began rising from the ground, flying/floating, into the sky. This action put Doctor Johnathan Rhoades, into remembrance, of the cartoon feature. The one where, after the party is concluded, and with dawn approaching, the spirits returned to their graves. (The only thing missing was the classic, Disney, music). When the man would ask "Doc, do you think its over?" Doctor Rhoades would say "As long as you have your priorities, I forsee no more problem." After two more weeks, of "observation", the man was ruled "safe". Doctor Rhoades would remain long enough to see the family re-united. In concluding his case-file notes, Doctor Rhoades would state "It continues to astonish me how WE, as people, create our own, worst, nightmares. We fear the dark, for the same reason why we fear mountains, rivers, and so on. We FEAR what we do not control. It is only when patients are empowered, to re-take control, of their lives, that "progress" is made. A man, who thought his only defense, against "evil", was the defense, of childhood, has been re-united with his family, and his community. Only time will tell if the therapy is, truly, lasting.