Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic FDK: Nightmare

I don't know how well this'll be received, but I do hope y'all enjoy it. If nothing else, at least it feels good to be posting stuff again. Like I said, it's a sequel to Listen, and I'm thinking of rolling Bad News up into the series also.

Please feel free to post any questions or criticisms.

Wow! You capture the anguish and misery of both sides - Johnny and his parents - very well.

Ugh.

That was - disquieting.

Peeking into someone else's mind is always going to be a little disturbing no matter how "sane" that mind might be. But pulling back the covers on a mind that is somehow damaged is far, far worse.

Johnny seems to be Superman's son, since he apparently took a bullet to the chest without any damage. And because he either didn't know that his father is Superman or he hadn't been able to come to grips with it, his mental disturbance imbalance was seriously jostled when he didn't die.

His mother loves him. But now I fear for her. Johnny may decide that Lois is a duplicate and not a real person, and it isn't wrong to kill an animated unliving duplicate, now is it?

This young man needs some serious help. And I don't have any idea how he might get it.

Powerful story, Queenie. It hit me right in the belly.

I'm afraid this hits too close. I once had a patient years ago, who decided that I was his mother (it took ages before I got him to call me by my correct name), and he denied his real mother and did indeed attack her or try to attack her when he went on a home visit; his father had to take him on visits home while his mother stayed elsewhere. Of course part of it that contributed was that he also had a mild level of mental retardation.

I'm afraid this one is too sad for me, although if I knew there is a happy conclusion, that would help immensely to get through it. I will try to continue to read additional parts.

Thanks for the comments, guys.

I'm a bit surprised at how much people have had to say about Lois' feelings and reactions in these stories, given that she has pretty much only been a peripheral character so far. o_O

Evelyn: sorry if I upset you. To be honest, I don't know if or how this story will end. I'm given to understand that there is no cure for schizophrenia, so I don't know what will be on the horizon for Johnny.

What do y'all think I should do?

There are a number of prescription medications which can control the symptoms of schizophrenia, and have enabled at least some people to live fairly normal lives. There are also some interesting theories of hormonal imbalances causing the symptoms in some people. Don't know if any of that info will inspire you for possible solutions or plot devices.

Thank you,

Well, since it's been awfully quiet, I'll go ahead and confess that I was experimenting with writing one micro-story (that of Johnny's psychotic episode) while hinting at the outside context (what was happening when he snapped). I'm a little disappointed, actually, that no one has commented on the implications of Johnny being shot in a public shopping mall.

I can only tell you what I got from the story, Queenie. I thought that what Johnny was seeing as empty cartridge casings was part of his delusion until almost the end. And then I assumed that he was seeing all the casings because a single bullet had hit him and bounced off. I just figured he was kicking aside bits of dirt or dust or something completely imaginary. I simply didn't think about him being shot in a public place.

You captured the delusional state so well I could barely tell what was real and what wasn't. I had to read it a second time to realize that the "blue thing" Johnny saw was Superman.

If we all missed that point, it's only because you're such a powerful writer.

Eh heh, I didn't think of that, sorry.

Thanks, Terry!