Page 70 of Senseless
“Rescued?” I repeated. “By who?”
“From what he describes, it sounded like a mercenary army hired by a governor looking to claim the area at the time. They just rolled in, gunning down everyone they saw above ground. Which is damned horrific if you think about it from the army’s view—they shot up a remote village full of women and girls.”
My stomach dropped at that. “Could they have known it was a cult?”
“I doubt it.” Doc gave me a sympathetic look. “Cult leaders kept a tight lid and brainwashed their followers into total obedience. They operated for years under total secrecy. It’s not likely anyone spilled.”
“So, this Sisterhood built a following out of abused girls? Like the girls’ camp runaways?”
Doc nodded gravely. “A girl in Shadow’s mother’s situation was a typical follower for them, if I were to guess.”
I made a sound of disgust as I drained the rest of my whiskey. “I want to hate her but…she was just the victim of one predator and then fell into the hands of another.”
“Mm-hm.” Doc polished off his whiskey, then quickly refilled it and mine, without asking this time. “It’s a shitty situation all around.”
I rolled my palms across the glass, thoughts tumbling as I stared blankly at the wall behind the bar. “It’s a good thing he came to you,” I mused, my eyes flicking to Jen as she swept up shards of glass with a broom and dustpan. We were still finding bits of glass here and there from the shootout with the traffickers. “You seem like you know how to treat people who have been through similar situations.”
Doc smiled, looking down into his drink like he was being shy. “All the girls here have faced their own traumas, some brainwashing too. When my license was revoked, I felt lost. Adrift. But this place...” He looked around the dining room with an affectionate gleam in his eye. “It’s nice to have a little refuge. And to be able to help people again.”
“Okay, nowthisis a story I need to hear.” I leaned back in my barstool, turning to face him. “You’re a man. How didyouget your license revoked?”
He shrugged modestly. “Hypnotherapy has always been controversial. The mind, and the subconscious specifically, are so intricate and difficult to study. I used to be a psychiatrist, but…” Doc cleared his throat as though sobering. “Drug manufacturers started offering me and my colleaguesa lotof money to prescribe their products. The FDA had been completely dismantled by then, so there was no telling what was in these drugs and the effects they would have on our patients. Lots of us suspected politicians were the ones pulling the strings.”
“Makes sense,” I agreed. “With how the world was going.”
“It never sat right with me,” Doc said. “Even before, I always had mixed feelings about treating mental illness with drugs. Once those bribes started rolling in I said, ‘to hell with it! I’m opening a private hypnotherapy practice.’”
I smiled at him. “Good for you, Doc.”
“It was good.” He nodded. “For about twenty years, I helped people in a way that didn’t conflict with my conscience. I gave them their own tools to face their traumas.”
“And then…the Collapse?” I ventured.
“And then the Collapse,” he confirmed with a dry laugh. “The first governor that claimed this area sent a notice to my office that said I could go back to prescribing pills at his discretion, or I’d be declared a quack and my hypnotherapy practice deemed illegal.”
“Sounds like a typical governor,” I remarked, before quickly remembering Vance. For all his imperfections, he was at least fair and wanted to do right by his people. A pang of longing thumped in my chest. I missed Four Corners, my home. And my men.
“Yeah, we’ve gone through about three governors since then,” Doc said. “The latest one doesn’t seem to care about anything except gaining more land. It’s not like he protects us, but at least he leaves us alone.”
“You might like Four Corners,” I offered. “And not just you, but everyone here. It’s fair, and relatively safe. I’m sure Dr. Brooks would love to have you practicing.”
Doc’s smile faltered. “I’ve heard about this fabled Four Corners, but unfortunately, so have half a dozen governors hungry for territory. I’ll be honest, Mari, I’m a little worried for y’all out there.” He glanced toward the stairs leading up to Shadow’s room. “Everyone’s heard about the prosperity out west, the good infrastructure, the citizens with flourishing businesses. It’s like a beacon for governors and their generals who want war. Arealwar for a prize worth conquering, not these little border skirmishes.”
“I know,” I sighed. “We’ve already been dealing with it. My father-in-law is the general, and my husbands have been supporting his defense effort.”
Doc didn’t comment on my implication that I have other lovers. “You and Shadow are welcome to stay here until it blows over. I don’t expect more traffickers to bother us again.” He chuckled. “Or anyone really. They must’ve heard that gunfight up in Boston.”
I gave a regretful shake of my head. “Honestly I’d love to, but they need me out there. They needus.Although,” I frowned with my next thought, “I wish we could clone you so Shadow can keep receiving his therapy.”
“I may have a colleague out that way who can help.” Doc winked with a smirk. “But really, I’m confident Shadow only needs supplemental therapy at this point. He knows how to stay lucid in his memories. He knows how to ground himself and pull himself out if it becomes too much.”
“The violent sleepwalking is his biggest concern.”
“Ah, right.” Doc stroked his goatee. “It’spossiblethose episodes may return, the chance of it is greater than zero. But I don’t expect it to happen unless he backslides significantly.”
“What are the chances of that?” I asked.
“It would have to be quite the traumatic event to trigger such a regression. The sudden death of someone he loves, or being abused again in a similar manner as the cult did.” He gave me a warm smile. “Something tells me he feels safest with you, and will go to great lengths to prevent any sudden-death situations.”
