The Devil You Know/Chapters 3-4

Chapter Three
Zuckuss glanced down at his binders for a moment. "...Is he insane?"

Dr. Gawynn Karastee seemed to be surprised by the question. "Why do you ask?"

"The medication, the accusations, the judge even said it; that Zuckuss is insane."

Karastee sighed and shifted in her chair. She was seated across from Zuckuss in the interview room, the chairs and table being the only points of interest in the drab chamber. A mirror&mdash;most likely a two-way, if Zuckuss's history with law enforcement had taught him anything&mdash;was to the Gand's left. He studied his and Karastee's reflections for a moment, then returned his gaze to the psychiatrist, ready to pose his question once more.

Karastee, however, spoke. "Well, Zuckuss, there was something I heard..." She inhaled, a hiss that sounded sharply in the bad acoustics. "If a person calls you a Hutt, ignore them. If the second person calls you a Hutt, start to wonder.  If the third person calls you a Hutt, buy a drool bucket and start stockpiling spice."

Zuckuss's gaze went immediately to the binders that secured his wrists. "So, he is insane..." The judge was right, then. The other inmates were right. Perhaps even his former associates thought so, too. He wondered if even 4-LOM thought the same...

Karastee shook her head. "That's not what I meant..." She sighed again. "Look, what I meant was&mdash;well, let's-let's just say this:even if you were&mdash;which I'm not saying that you are&mdash;we'll still work on making you better. I'm only trying to help you, Zuckuss."

"Then stop spreading lies!" Zuckuss snapped with the slap of his palms against the table. "Stop accusing him of things that he hadn't done!"

His psychiatrist let out another tired sigh. "We've been through this before... The reason you can't remember anything is because you dissociate when it happens&mdash;"

"What does that even mean?" Zuckuss regarded Karastee in his stern gaze. That word was thrown around all the time, but no one had ever bothered to tell him what they meant by it. No, everyone was perfectly content to just fill him full of pills and drug him to docility. Zuckuss moved his gaze to the mirror. He heard Karastee say something to him, he had seen her reflection's mouth move, but he did not pay it any mind. He studied his reflection closely; his large, round compound eyes and that ubiquitous breath mask. Though, he noticed something... different. He could not quite make out a form, but the shadow that was cast behind him seemed to have... coalesced into something. He shook his head, rubbed his eyes, and fixed his stare on the mirror. If you are not insane already, you are certainly well on your way...

"Quiet," Zuckuss told his reflection. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Karastee lean across the table and touch his arm.

"Are you all right?" Karastee's brow was furrowed.

''Of course not. You are insane.''

Zuckuss's gaze snapped to the mirror as his chest began to feel hot. The heat gradually moved up into his shoulders and around his neck. His reflection stared back at him, mockingly.

"Zuckuss?" Karastee asked again. "Are you hearing voices? Will you tell me what they're saying?"

''Go ahead. Tell her. Tell her that you are insane. Tell her what you had done. Tell her.''

Zuckuss jumped up, stormed the mirror, and hit it with both fists. "Stop it! Stop saying that!  There is nothing to tell!  Zuckuss had done nothing wrong!" His reflection merely held him in the same accusatory stare. His chest felt hot and tight and the dull pain returned behind his eyes. He fixed his gaze firmly on the mirror, trying to ignore the prattling.

''Tell her. Go ahead. Tell her. Tell her everything. Tell her that you are insane. Tell her what you had done. Tell her about it all. Tell her about everything. Tell her about'' me.

The reflection changed. It was the briefest of moments, but Zuckuss saw his face change. He inhaled sharply and stumbled backward. His hip hit the table and he lost his balance. His face had changed. By the swirling mists of Gand, he saw it change!

His breath came to him in quick gasps as he sat there on the floor, wrists still bound together. His gaze remained locked on the mirror, even though he could not see his reflection. He heard a chair be pushed back, then the distinctive click of heeled shoes against the tiled floor. Beside him, Karastee half-knelt and offered her hand, which Zuckuss hesitated to take. He allowed himself to be pulled to his feet and directed to sit. His reflection hung out of the corner of his eye, but he did not dare to look at it. A tingling sensation crept up his back and settled on the nape of his neck He heard a chair be dragged around the table and saw Karastee seat herself adjacent from him, though he did not look at her. She was too close to the mirror.

Karastee leaned forward. "Talk to me, Zuckuss. What do you hear?"

It took a long moment, but Zuckuss found his voice. "Nothing..." His throat felt dry and his breathing was only beginning to calm. "He... he hears nothing." He paused and awaited his reply, but none came. Even the pain in his head had vanished.

Karastee glanced at the mirror for a moment, then returned her gaze. "What did you see? In the mirror?"

The tightness returned to his chest. Zuckuss began to lift his gaze to meet Karastee, but the mirror caught his eye. He swallowed and risked a glimpse. His reflection stared back with the look of a frightened animal. Quickly, Zuckuss averted his eyes. He could feel his hands shake and he clasped them together to keep them still. He swallowed again and drew in a long, slow breath. "Just... just his reflection..."

Karastee again glanced at the mirror. "What did you see in the mirror? You saw something that upset you, what did you see?"

Zuckuss did not answer for a very long time. What exactly was he supposed to say? He wasn't even sure what he saw! There was no way that he could think of to describe it, and he certainly did not with to think about it. His heart thudded in his chest as he closed his eyes for a moment and saw it. He was not sure exactly what he had seen, but he still saw it. His face had changed. Zuckuss swallowed, inhaled slowly, and let his breath out even slower. He glanced at the psychiatrist, trying to avoid looking at the mirror. He breathed in again as he chose his words carefully. "He... he saw... just his reflection..."

Karastee frowned, but did not press the issue. "Are you going to be all right for the rest of the evening?"

Zuckuss nodded slowly, though he himself was unconvinced. He paid particular attention to his breathing, trying to carefully regulate it. His heart had begun to calm and his stomach started to settle. The tingling feeling on his neck subsided, but he still felt as if he were being watched. He saw Karastee check her wrist chronometer, then turn and signal toward the mirror. Almost immediately, he heard the unmistakable beep as the door was unlocked and opened, followed by the bootsteps of the guards. Without being bidden, Zuckuss stood and was escorted out of the room and back to his cell. His gaze remained on the floor as his wrists were unbound, and he stood there in the middle of his cell as his door was shut and locked. After a moment, he crossed the narrow space and yanked a hand towel off of his cluttered counter. He immediately covered his mirror with it. He did not want to see that face ever again.