BORIS.
The lights were low. Outside the storm still hummed in waves against the reinforced windows, but inside the small medical room Boris had converted into a temporary psych suite, it was quiet. Paper. Pen. A water bottle on the table between them. Two metal chairs. No electronics. No distractions.
Josh sat forward with his hands clasped, leaning into the quiet.
Alright. This is an initial psychological baseline interview. Subject: Josh Walter. Date… no idea. Let's just say 'after the explosion.' You ready?
Josh gave a sharp nod.
BORIS.
"Start easy. Sleep—how many hours on average?"
JOSH.
"Five. Four if I've had to stand watch. But when I do sleep, I dream."
BORIS.
"You said the dreams changed. Can you describe how?"
Josh's throat worked. He didn't look away.
JOSH.
"They used to be clear. Precise. Like watching a movie from above—me dying, Rosie standing over me, my home turned into a slaughterhouse. But now… it's different. Blurred. Like something's interfering. I see flashes—Ty's face. Doors opening. My hand reaching too late. But I never see who's really behind it."
BORIS.
"Any emotions in the dream that don't feel like your own?"
JOSH.
"Sometimes. Panic that isn't mine. Guilt. Once I woke up sobbing and didn't know why."
BORIS.
"Any new physical symptoms? Sound sensitivity, light triggers, sudden nausea?"
JOSH.
"I get this hum in my bones. Like… a warning signal. Right before something bad happens. Like my body's picking up what my brain can't process yet."
Boris stopped writing. Looked up, gaze sharp.
BORIS.
"That hum—is it strongest when you're near people?"
Josh hesitated. "Not just people. Certain people. Jules sometimes. Jessi, before she fainted. I don't know what it means, but I don't think I'm the only one changing."
BORIS.
"Neither do I."
He leaned back, crossing one leg over the other.
BORIS.
"You said you always die in the dreams. Always. But last night…?"
Josh looked up. Quiet. Grave.
JOSH.
"Last night I didn't die."
BORIS.
"What happened?"
JOSH.
"I lived. But the tower fell."
Silence.
BORIS.
Boris scribbled one final note, his jaw tight. "Okay," he said softly. "That changes things."
Boris flipped the page on his clipboard, pen tapping once before he looked back up.
"Let's go deeper. Background stuff. Childhood. Parents?"
JOSH.
"Both gone. Car accident, two years before the storm. Left me the condo. Life insurance covered the upgrades."
BORIS.
"Relationship with them?"
JOSH.
"Good. Complicated. I was the golden child but… they never really saw me. Not for who I am. Just who they wanted me to be."
BORIS.
"And who is that?"
Josh gave a crooked smile. "A lawyer. Clean-cut. Practical. Conservative." He leaned forward, eyes sharper. "And I was. Until the world ended."
BORIS.
"What changed?"
JOSH.
"Everything. The future shrank. My dreams got louder. And I stopped caring about what I should do and started doing what I had to. I built this place because no one else was going to save me."
BORIS.
"Anyone else from your old life still around?"
JOSH.
"Jessi. She worked at the firm with me. We weren't close then. Just… background noise. But now?"
He shook his head slowly, something unreadable in his eyes.
BORIS.
"Now?"
JOSH.
"She matters. Even when I don't want her to."
Boris made a quick note. "Romantic?"
Josh sighed, rubbed his jaw. "Not yet. Not like that. I don't know if I have space for something that fragile. But I care. A lot more than I should."
BORIS.
"Noted. Any significant trauma in the past ten years? Outside the collapse?"
Josh's face tightened.
JOSH.
"I watched someone I loved die. My best friend. Overdosed in my apartment while I was at work. Found him when I came home. It was… a lot."
BORIS.
"Did you blame yourself?"
Josh didn't answer right away. "Yeah. And maybe I still do."
Boris gave him a long, quiet look before speaking again.
BORIS.
"Josh… are you afraid of becoming a leader?"
Josh's laugh was low and humourless. "I didn't plan to lead anything. I just wanted to survive. But now people look to me like I have answers." He looked up, eyes tired. "And I'm running out of them."
BORIS.
"What scares you most?"
Josh didn't hesitate.
JOSH.
"Losing control. Not just of the building. Of me. My mind. My choices. If this power grows and I can't stop what's coming… I'm scared I'll be the one who dooms us all."
Boris paused, finishing his notes in silence.
BORIS.
"Thanks, Josh. That's enough for tonight."
He stood, stretching slightly.
BORIS.
"I'm gonna run the same with Jules. And then… we'll figure out where to go from here."
Josh nodded, slower this time. Still guarded—but grateful.
JOSH.
"Good luck with Jules. She bites."
BORIS.
"I'm counting on it."