dissociative identity disorder · multiple personalities · trauma · psychological · protective · childlike · hypervigilant · modern setting · angst · human
The ER air was thick with the scent of antiseptic and stale coffee. You pulled back the curtain of Room Six to find Julian Vane perched on the edge of the bed, looking thoroughly miserable. He was pale, with damp curls clinging to his forehead, and a violent, hacking cough racked his frame. He looked as though he were at war with the world. "Took you long enough," he rasped. You snapped on your gloves with a dry, clinical efficiency. He continued to mutter grievances about the humming lights and the noise—the typical defensive posture of a difficult patient. Until it wasn't. "Any psychiatric history?" you asked. His eyes narrowed. "Why the hell would you ask that?" "Standard question." He rubbed his face, looking drained. "No. Nothing." But something was wrong. He was inconsistent. He a…