Post by TheWalkinDude on Jul 29, 2009 9:47:55 GMT
The Door Behind the Mirror
By Ian Latham
“Seventy-five quid.” The stall man said. He was a stocky middle-aged man with greying hair underneath a baseball cap. Sarah Wilkie eyed him with curiosity bordering on contempt as he went on counting the money in his tin. She hated the Barras. But she enjoyed spending time with her sister, Evelynn, who loved little markets like this. So she made the best of a bad situation. It was while she was here that she had spotted the mirror.
It was as large as a door and just as wide, and she needed a good full-length mirror. While Evelynn was busy looking at nothing in particular that Sarah had veered off towards the stall to ask how much.
“Come on!” she exclaimed “I could probably get one the same size for half the price.” She smiled, showing her nice straight teeth. The stall man looked up, and then eyed her body.
“Fifty.” He said eventually. He then went back to counting his money. Sarah grunted and looked at the mirror again. She could probably just walk away but something about it called to her. It oozed class, something she felt she needed in her life.
“Thirty.”
The stall man looked up from his money tin and eyed her body again.
“Thirty-five” he said “And that’s my last offer.”
Sarah smiled a sweet smile at him and dug in her handbag for her purse. She withdrew a twenty and a ten-pound note from her purse and handed them over.
“Done.” She said.
It was a difficult trek back to her flat in the East End of Glasgow, her car was big but the mirror took up a lot of space. She had worried she would get pulled over, lord new the police were out in force these days. But she managed the journey and felt relief wash over her when she pulled into Gatehouse Street. She parked her car and began the annoyingly laborious job of dragging the mirror to her flat. Her neighbour, Mr Olsen, saw her troubles and came to help. Sarah was independent by nature, but the mirror was a heavy bastard so she didn’t complain.
Finally she had the mirror in her room, and had set brackets on the wall to hang the mirror on. The walls were stone so they held when she finally set the mirror onto the brackets.
She stood back and admired her handy work. She was pleased with the way the mirror made her room look.
A bit of style.
Other than that the day passed without much else happening and before she knew it Sarah was standing in her bathroom brushing her teeth. She was quite pedantic about scrubbing her teeth and was furiously working the toothbrush over the back end of her mouth.
She gasped as the brush ran over her gums at the back of her mouth and a pang of pain twanged her jaw. Sarah spat into the sink and opened wide, peering in the mirror at the back her teeth and gums. She could see that the gums at the back of her mouth looked a bit red and definitely swollen.
For a while now she had had problems with her gums because her wisdom teeth had impacted and begun to grow squint. Due to this she had suffered several really bad infections in her mouth that landed her – of all places – in the goddamned dentist.
Sarah hated the dentist; this was one of those really irrational phobias that people suffered from. Some people were afraid of spiders while others were afraid of heights, Sarah was afraid of the dentist. Every time she heard the whining of the drill she broke out in a cold sweat. Every time she saw any dental instruments she nearly threw her guts up all over the floor. Since Sarah had this fear of the dentist she rarely went, hence why she was so meticulous about cleaning her teeth.
But sometimes even that wasn’t enough.
Sarah grimaced at her reflection. She knew this was going to mean a trip to the dentist, so she may as well get it over with as quickly as possible. Sarah decided that she would get up early and make an appointment for the same day. So she rinsed her mouth, snapped the light in the bathroom off and went into her room.
She was taken again by how good her new mirror looked. She stood looking at her slim figure, turning this way and that. Now all she needed was a man. She hoped there wasn’t one far away.
Sarah set her alarm and climbed into bed, she decided that it was time to sleep, usually she read for a bit but decided that she was tired enough. She switched her bedside lamp off and lay down, smiling as the rays from the streetlights reflected off the mirror.
Soothing, she thought, and drifted off.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d been asleep before Sarah felt something being shoved roughly into her mouth. She snapped her eyes open and tasted gauze, she tried to move her hands but they seemed pinned to her sides. Sarah looked to her left and could see that her hands appeared to have been fastened in restraints. The big thick buckles held her fast but she struggled anyway. Tears of fear began to course down her cheeks and well up in her ears before being shaken onto her bed…
This wasn’t her bed.
The padding was tough but it didn’t feel as if it was a mattress. It felt more like foam and she realised she was lying on some kind of hospital gurney.
Questions raced furiously through her mind.
What the hell was a hospital gurney doing in her flat?
Who had brought it?
How had they gotten in here without waking her?
And for what purpose?
Sarah had heard of people breaking into houses and raping women. But this was the first time she had heard of them bringing a gurney. But then again this was the first time this had happened to her.
Sarah lay still for a moment and listened. Someone was in the room with her, she could hear them breathing. Eventually they moved, at fist they were still cloaked in shadow but eventually the light from the streetlights fell on them. They were dressed like nurses. They wore green scrubs and surgical masks but their features were barely visible in the half-light.
They approached the gurney and raised the sides, turned and wheeled it across the room towards the mirror. For a moment Sarah thought they were going to push her right into it, but there was loud clanking sound. It sounded like massive bolts being pulled from giant locks and the reflective surface opened in the way.
Just like a door.
Sarah’s curiosity momentarily overshadowed her terror. She watched her two escorts wheel her through the odd door and into some sort of hallway that was never there. She glanced back and saw the mirror/door close with a loud BANG. Then she looked ahead of her and saw that weak overhead lights dimly lighted the corridor. But there was light shining from the inside of doors that lined each side of the corridor.
While Sarah’s curiosity currently reigned her mind was currently assessing the situation and trying to convince her that she was either going insane or she was dreaming. She was opting for the latter.
The hallway was cluttered with debris from the crumbling walls, Sarah could see that the floor was filthy and stained a deep rust colour. There were other types of hospital equipment strewn about the place. A wheelchair laying on its side here, a pole with drips attached there. it seemed that this place, where ever it was, was some type of hospital, but not the kind that anyone would be willing to go to unless they wanted to catch some kind of nasty infection.
The two nurses' barely paid the place any attention other than to dodge a piece of broken equipment. They marched the gurney down the hallway with indifference paying little heed to Sarah’s squirming body.
As they moved further down the hall they neared one of the doors that lined the walls. Sarah could hear some kind of mumbling sound coming from within and she squinted into the dimly lit room in an attempt to see what was making that awful slobbering sound. What she saw caused her to scream in terror.
A man, if that’s what you could call it, was kneeling on the floor in a hospital gown that was stained like some kind of multicoloured fresco. In front of him was a great big pile of sweets. It was the man’s face that drove an icy cold spike of fear directly into Sarah’s guts. He had no features what so ever save for deathly pale skin and great big mouth, he had no nose to speak of or even eyes. Just this great gaping hole lined with huge teeth that took up most of its face. Drool and fragments of sweets covered the area that wasn’t lips and mouth as it rammed endless amounts of sticky treats into its mouth, chomping them greedily and not caring whether there was anything left to swallow.
Sarah began to scream as her mind seemed to flee her, she screamed and flailed around trying desperately to break her bonds lest the two nurses drag her into the room and feed her to the horror that hungrily stuffed its misshapen face. And as she screamed she sat up and realised that she was in her bed. She suddenly realised that she had only been dreaming.
Sarah sat like that for a few minutes, the nightmare was receding and she needed a few deep breaths to slow her trip hammering heart. Her body was wreathed in sweat and her nightdress was plastered to her body. She swept an arm across her forehead and realised that would do no good. So Sarah threw back the covers and got up, took a towel from one of her drawers. She snapped on the light and stripped naked, feeling the cool air sweep over her body and began drying herself.
While Sarah dried her body off, she mulled over the dream in her head and eyed the mirror. Had she ever had a dream as vivid as that before? Sarah didn’t think so but then again no one really remembered their own dreams upon waking.
Did they?
When she was sufficiently dry Sarah took another nightdress form her drawer and pulled it over her head. She switched on her bedside lamp and turned off the main light and climbed back into bed. She didn’t think it would be quick getting back to sleep, and by her watch she had only been asleep an hour. But that was better than having to continue the dream.
Sarah lay looking at the mirror and wondered what it was that had triggered the dream, most likely the stress of finding her gums being infected again and knowing fine well that she would need to attend another dentist appointment. But after a few minutes she found herself yawning and closing her eyes, it wouldn’t be long now before…
…she found herself strapped to the gurney again, a piece of gauze stuffed roughly into her mouth making her gag. Sarah new she was probably dreaming again but she still felt a moment of terror as she was walked through the door behind the mirror again and into that corridor of dark delights.
But instead of panicking again she lay quite still, watching the two nurses in case she had a chance to escape, if this was her own dream then she would escape. You always did in your own dreams. Sarah noticed that every time the light fell on the two nurses that something about their appearance would change. Their skin would go a funny grey colour as if the light were leeching their skin of its pigment. Their eyes looked strange as well, pale and almost white. They both looked dead to be perfectly honest.
But still this was a dream, and Sarah would escape if she just bided her time.
As she passed the first room lining the corridor she noticed the misshapen man was still in his room, stuffing his face with sweets. But the human mind can get over almost any shock if it is given a good enough chance to.
The other rooms had also equally disfigured apparitions. The second door had a mouth-man holding a large power sander; he was holding it against his giant teeth and filing them down to nothing, a horrible grinding noise echoed around the hall as his teeth disappeared in a shower of fragments and blood began to pour down the front of his gown.
Another room had a mouth-man who appeared to be flossing with razor wire, ripping his gums to shreds. On and on it went with the mouth-men doing equally disgusting things to themselves in attempts at self-dentistry. Sarah had to squeeze her eyes closed in an effort to stop from vomiting and choking herself to death. But still as they drew close to a room she would peer inside at the latest grotesquery.
At the end of the hall was another door, but this one was closed. A simple plaque on the door said Dentist. One of the nurses rapped on the door three times and pushed it open. This room was equally as dingy as the corridor and Sarah had to wonder exactly when she would get her Escape.
In the centre of the room was a chair that also had restraints on it. The nurses led the gurney to it and stopped. They each grasped on of Sarah’s wrists and undid her arm and leg restraints. In an attempt to seize the day Sarah struggled with her captors but found herself over powered within seconds and before she knew it she was strapped to the chair. One of the nurses removed the gauze from her mouth and threw it on the floor.
“Wha- what do you want with me?” Sarah stammered.
She could feel that her escape time had come and gone and was desperately hoping she would wake up.
The nurses regarded her silently for a moment and then one of them took a device from a small tray beside the chair. It appeared to be an apparatus for holding open patients mouths when they were under anaesthetic, but it was dirty and was covered with those familiar looking rust stains.
“Please!” Sarah said, “Let me go, I won’t tell anyone. I swear!”
The nurses remained silent, regarding her with those blank, dead eyes.
“Please!” Sarah wailed.
Tears of frustration and fear coursed freely down her cheeks. One of the nurses reached for her and began trying to lever her mouth open. Sarah turned her head this way and that, trying desperately, but vainly, to avoid having that disgusting thing in her mouth.
But the nurses were not to be toiled with. One of them lashed out and punched her in the eye. Little white lights bloomed behind Sarah’s eyelids and she could feel her consciousness dribbling away. This was an odd thing to happen, pain always had that rather unreal like quality in dreams but this felt real as anything. Sarah was vaguely aware that her eye was swelling and that the nurses had managed to wedge that disgusting device in her mouth.
Now she sat there staring at them with her mouth forcibly agape. The nurses stood looking at her then one of them spoke.
“The Doctor Will See You Now.” He croaked.
They both turned and exited the room, leaving Sarah alone now… No she was not quite alone. Standing around the walls were those mouth-men from the other rooms. They were lining the walls and facing in towards the chair in which Sarah now sat. She glanced around the room and noticed they all bore the wounds that they had inflicted upon themselves.
There was movement in one of the darker corners and a titter. Sarah could just make out another figure in the gloom. This one was wearing a surgical gown and a mask. It moved towards a table that was in the farthest corner.
“Ah, Miss Wilkie.” It said “So nice to see you again.”
Sarah realized that she new the voice; it was her own dentist’s voice, Dr Matheson. But she couldn’t say anything because of the device in her mouth.
“Please don’t mind the others; they only want to watch how proper Dentistry is done.”
Dr Matheson tittered again and there was a clatter from the corner. The sound of tools being moved as one carefully selects the correct tool for The Job. Sarah began to panic even more. She struggled as hard as she could against her bonds but was unable to free herself. Sobs of utter desperation and fear escaped her throat as she heard another evil giggle.
“Oh, there’s no point in struggling.” Dr Matheson said, “Those straps will hold the most violent of patients. Besides, I know you want those wisdom teeth out, hmm?”
Sarah sat still once again as the doctor began to move towards her. It did look like Dr Matheson, but at the same time it didn’t. There was nothing behind his eyes, just an empty void that reflected only one thing.
Desire.
But it wasn’t a mundane desire for sex or any other normal want. This was a desire to cause pain and anguish. Sarah could see all this in those cold, dead eyes. She moaned in fear as The Doctor moved closer, as he did she noticed that he had a tool in his hand.
A power drill.
“It’s ok.” The Doctor said, “You’ll only feel a little bit of pain.”
He tittered again and this time his shape seemed to flicker, like an image in a movie that had been super imposed over another image, and for a moment Sarah saw that this was not a human. It was a fleeting glance but it was enough to take the rest of her sanity in one swipe. She made out that it was vaguely human shaped, but it was twitching and twisting with horrible speed, its head and limbs contorting in a way that was not possible for a human to move, and then it was Dr Matheson again, standing there with his shoulders heaving in a laughing fit.
“No pain.” it said “No Pain. No Gain!”
The Doctor tittered again and began to move towards Sarah, she began to struggle again pulling at the restraints in a desperate gambit to be freed from this hellish nightmare.
It’s only a dream she thought, I’m going to wake up soon and I’ll be fine. Any minute now I’m going to wake up.
The thought circled over and over in Sarah’s mind like a mantra and she felt warmness cascade down her legs in a wet rush as he bladder let go. This struck whatever was left of her mind as another odd thing. Usually she woke up when she needed to pee, but she had just wet herself as this… creature stalked towards her with a drill in his hand and murder in his eyes.
“No pain but lots of pain!” The Doctor hissed as it drew closer. With every step it took its shaped flickered from monster to dentist. Sarah’s eyes rolled about her head and she could only make illegible gurgling sounds as it moved closer.
The Doctor began pulling the drills trigger producing that loud, ear-piercing whine that you heard during home improvement time.
I’mgoingtowakeupI’mgoingtowakeupI’mgoingtowakeup Sarah’s mind yammered as it was standing directly in front of her.
“Oh, you poor, poor thing.” The Doctor said, “You’re already awake.”
Sarah screamed as The Doctor laughed and pulled the drills trigger. That horrible whine screeched through the room. It drew closer, levelled his arm with her face and drew the drill backwards. And in a furious punching gesture he thrust the drill directly at her mouth.
There was a crunching sound as the drill bit hit the back of Sarah’s mouth and began to chew through her gum with sickening ripping and crucnhing noises, her screams were choked off by the gouts of blood that flooded her throat and all the while, The Doctor laughed.
And Laughed…
And Laughed…
Sunday.
Usually a day of rest for most people, but for Sarah’s parents, this Sunday was going to be a busy one. They drove up Gatehouse Street in their Fiat and parked directly outside the block of flats where Sarah lived.
It was 3pm.
John, Sarah’s father, had said he’d be over to help paint her living room. Agnes, Sarah’s mother, had brought some curtains for Sarah to try in her bedroom.
“Is she even home?” Sarah’s mother asked. The curtains where still drawn at this time which was odd for Sarah.
“I’m sure she is,” John said, “She probably had a heavy night last night and is a little to hung-over.”
He smiled vaguely at his wife who eyed him with barely-concealed contempt.
“John Wilkie, you are a horror sometimes!”
John laughed and got out of the car and walked to the back of the car. He removed a large tub of paint and closed the boot. He locked the car and headed to the close, followed by his wife.
When they arrived at Sarah’s door he gave it a brisk nock, revelling in the thought that his daughter had a nasty headache, which he planned to make worse. When there was no answer he knocked again, a frown of worry creased his forehead.
“Sarah!” he called through the door, “Are you home, honey?”
Still there was no reply.
“Maybe she went out.” Agnes said.
“What? And no tell us?”
John shook his head in dismay.
“That’s not like our Sarah.” He said matter-of-factly.
“Well, use your key then!” replied Agnes.
John fished in his pocket and pulled out his keys, selected the spare Sarah had given him for when he was coming to decorate and she was at work. He unlocked the door and let himself in, followed closely by his wife.
“Sarah!” he called again but expected no answer.
“I’ll have a look in her room.” Agnes said and started for the bedroom to the left; she opened the door and peered inside.
Agnes screamed.
John dropped the bucket of paint and ran to the door and looked for himself, nearly causing a fatal heart attack.
Sarah lay on her bed, which was splattered with blood; her mouth was a grotesquery of gore and pulped muscle and bone. Her terrified eyes beseeched the roof in the glassy stare of the dead.
Clutched in her stiff right hand was a power drill.
The End
By Ian Latham
“Seventy-five quid.” The stall man said. He was a stocky middle-aged man with greying hair underneath a baseball cap. Sarah Wilkie eyed him with curiosity bordering on contempt as he went on counting the money in his tin. She hated the Barras. But she enjoyed spending time with her sister, Evelynn, who loved little markets like this. So she made the best of a bad situation. It was while she was here that she had spotted the mirror.
It was as large as a door and just as wide, and she needed a good full-length mirror. While Evelynn was busy looking at nothing in particular that Sarah had veered off towards the stall to ask how much.
“Come on!” she exclaimed “I could probably get one the same size for half the price.” She smiled, showing her nice straight teeth. The stall man looked up, and then eyed her body.
“Fifty.” He said eventually. He then went back to counting his money. Sarah grunted and looked at the mirror again. She could probably just walk away but something about it called to her. It oozed class, something she felt she needed in her life.
“Thirty.”
The stall man looked up from his money tin and eyed her body again.
“Thirty-five” he said “And that’s my last offer.”
Sarah smiled a sweet smile at him and dug in her handbag for her purse. She withdrew a twenty and a ten-pound note from her purse and handed them over.
“Done.” She said.
It was a difficult trek back to her flat in the East End of Glasgow, her car was big but the mirror took up a lot of space. She had worried she would get pulled over, lord new the police were out in force these days. But she managed the journey and felt relief wash over her when she pulled into Gatehouse Street. She parked her car and began the annoyingly laborious job of dragging the mirror to her flat. Her neighbour, Mr Olsen, saw her troubles and came to help. Sarah was independent by nature, but the mirror was a heavy bastard so she didn’t complain.
Finally she had the mirror in her room, and had set brackets on the wall to hang the mirror on. The walls were stone so they held when she finally set the mirror onto the brackets.
She stood back and admired her handy work. She was pleased with the way the mirror made her room look.
A bit of style.
Other than that the day passed without much else happening and before she knew it Sarah was standing in her bathroom brushing her teeth. She was quite pedantic about scrubbing her teeth and was furiously working the toothbrush over the back end of her mouth.
She gasped as the brush ran over her gums at the back of her mouth and a pang of pain twanged her jaw. Sarah spat into the sink and opened wide, peering in the mirror at the back her teeth and gums. She could see that the gums at the back of her mouth looked a bit red and definitely swollen.
For a while now she had had problems with her gums because her wisdom teeth had impacted and begun to grow squint. Due to this she had suffered several really bad infections in her mouth that landed her – of all places – in the goddamned dentist.
Sarah hated the dentist; this was one of those really irrational phobias that people suffered from. Some people were afraid of spiders while others were afraid of heights, Sarah was afraid of the dentist. Every time she heard the whining of the drill she broke out in a cold sweat. Every time she saw any dental instruments she nearly threw her guts up all over the floor. Since Sarah had this fear of the dentist she rarely went, hence why she was so meticulous about cleaning her teeth.
But sometimes even that wasn’t enough.
Sarah grimaced at her reflection. She knew this was going to mean a trip to the dentist, so she may as well get it over with as quickly as possible. Sarah decided that she would get up early and make an appointment for the same day. So she rinsed her mouth, snapped the light in the bathroom off and went into her room.
She was taken again by how good her new mirror looked. She stood looking at her slim figure, turning this way and that. Now all she needed was a man. She hoped there wasn’t one far away.
Sarah set her alarm and climbed into bed, she decided that it was time to sleep, usually she read for a bit but decided that she was tired enough. She switched her bedside lamp off and lay down, smiling as the rays from the streetlights reflected off the mirror.
Soothing, she thought, and drifted off.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d been asleep before Sarah felt something being shoved roughly into her mouth. She snapped her eyes open and tasted gauze, she tried to move her hands but they seemed pinned to her sides. Sarah looked to her left and could see that her hands appeared to have been fastened in restraints. The big thick buckles held her fast but she struggled anyway. Tears of fear began to course down her cheeks and well up in her ears before being shaken onto her bed…
This wasn’t her bed.
The padding was tough but it didn’t feel as if it was a mattress. It felt more like foam and she realised she was lying on some kind of hospital gurney.
Questions raced furiously through her mind.
What the hell was a hospital gurney doing in her flat?
Who had brought it?
How had they gotten in here without waking her?
And for what purpose?
Sarah had heard of people breaking into houses and raping women. But this was the first time she had heard of them bringing a gurney. But then again this was the first time this had happened to her.
Sarah lay still for a moment and listened. Someone was in the room with her, she could hear them breathing. Eventually they moved, at fist they were still cloaked in shadow but eventually the light from the streetlights fell on them. They were dressed like nurses. They wore green scrubs and surgical masks but their features were barely visible in the half-light.
They approached the gurney and raised the sides, turned and wheeled it across the room towards the mirror. For a moment Sarah thought they were going to push her right into it, but there was loud clanking sound. It sounded like massive bolts being pulled from giant locks and the reflective surface opened in the way.
Just like a door.
Sarah’s curiosity momentarily overshadowed her terror. She watched her two escorts wheel her through the odd door and into some sort of hallway that was never there. She glanced back and saw the mirror/door close with a loud BANG. Then she looked ahead of her and saw that weak overhead lights dimly lighted the corridor. But there was light shining from the inside of doors that lined each side of the corridor.
While Sarah’s curiosity currently reigned her mind was currently assessing the situation and trying to convince her that she was either going insane or she was dreaming. She was opting for the latter.
The hallway was cluttered with debris from the crumbling walls, Sarah could see that the floor was filthy and stained a deep rust colour. There were other types of hospital equipment strewn about the place. A wheelchair laying on its side here, a pole with drips attached there. it seemed that this place, where ever it was, was some type of hospital, but not the kind that anyone would be willing to go to unless they wanted to catch some kind of nasty infection.
The two nurses' barely paid the place any attention other than to dodge a piece of broken equipment. They marched the gurney down the hallway with indifference paying little heed to Sarah’s squirming body.
As they moved further down the hall they neared one of the doors that lined the walls. Sarah could hear some kind of mumbling sound coming from within and she squinted into the dimly lit room in an attempt to see what was making that awful slobbering sound. What she saw caused her to scream in terror.
A man, if that’s what you could call it, was kneeling on the floor in a hospital gown that was stained like some kind of multicoloured fresco. In front of him was a great big pile of sweets. It was the man’s face that drove an icy cold spike of fear directly into Sarah’s guts. He had no features what so ever save for deathly pale skin and great big mouth, he had no nose to speak of or even eyes. Just this great gaping hole lined with huge teeth that took up most of its face. Drool and fragments of sweets covered the area that wasn’t lips and mouth as it rammed endless amounts of sticky treats into its mouth, chomping them greedily and not caring whether there was anything left to swallow.
Sarah began to scream as her mind seemed to flee her, she screamed and flailed around trying desperately to break her bonds lest the two nurses drag her into the room and feed her to the horror that hungrily stuffed its misshapen face. And as she screamed she sat up and realised that she was in her bed. She suddenly realised that she had only been dreaming.
Sarah sat like that for a few minutes, the nightmare was receding and she needed a few deep breaths to slow her trip hammering heart. Her body was wreathed in sweat and her nightdress was plastered to her body. She swept an arm across her forehead and realised that would do no good. So Sarah threw back the covers and got up, took a towel from one of her drawers. She snapped on the light and stripped naked, feeling the cool air sweep over her body and began drying herself.
While Sarah dried her body off, she mulled over the dream in her head and eyed the mirror. Had she ever had a dream as vivid as that before? Sarah didn’t think so but then again no one really remembered their own dreams upon waking.
Did they?
When she was sufficiently dry Sarah took another nightdress form her drawer and pulled it over her head. She switched on her bedside lamp and turned off the main light and climbed back into bed. She didn’t think it would be quick getting back to sleep, and by her watch she had only been asleep an hour. But that was better than having to continue the dream.
Sarah lay looking at the mirror and wondered what it was that had triggered the dream, most likely the stress of finding her gums being infected again and knowing fine well that she would need to attend another dentist appointment. But after a few minutes she found herself yawning and closing her eyes, it wouldn’t be long now before…
…she found herself strapped to the gurney again, a piece of gauze stuffed roughly into her mouth making her gag. Sarah new she was probably dreaming again but she still felt a moment of terror as she was walked through the door behind the mirror again and into that corridor of dark delights.
But instead of panicking again she lay quite still, watching the two nurses in case she had a chance to escape, if this was her own dream then she would escape. You always did in your own dreams. Sarah noticed that every time the light fell on the two nurses that something about their appearance would change. Their skin would go a funny grey colour as if the light were leeching their skin of its pigment. Their eyes looked strange as well, pale and almost white. They both looked dead to be perfectly honest.
But still this was a dream, and Sarah would escape if she just bided her time.
As she passed the first room lining the corridor she noticed the misshapen man was still in his room, stuffing his face with sweets. But the human mind can get over almost any shock if it is given a good enough chance to.
The other rooms had also equally disfigured apparitions. The second door had a mouth-man holding a large power sander; he was holding it against his giant teeth and filing them down to nothing, a horrible grinding noise echoed around the hall as his teeth disappeared in a shower of fragments and blood began to pour down the front of his gown.
Another room had a mouth-man who appeared to be flossing with razor wire, ripping his gums to shreds. On and on it went with the mouth-men doing equally disgusting things to themselves in attempts at self-dentistry. Sarah had to squeeze her eyes closed in an effort to stop from vomiting and choking herself to death. But still as they drew close to a room she would peer inside at the latest grotesquery.
At the end of the hall was another door, but this one was closed. A simple plaque on the door said Dentist. One of the nurses rapped on the door three times and pushed it open. This room was equally as dingy as the corridor and Sarah had to wonder exactly when she would get her Escape.
In the centre of the room was a chair that also had restraints on it. The nurses led the gurney to it and stopped. They each grasped on of Sarah’s wrists and undid her arm and leg restraints. In an attempt to seize the day Sarah struggled with her captors but found herself over powered within seconds and before she knew it she was strapped to the chair. One of the nurses removed the gauze from her mouth and threw it on the floor.
“Wha- what do you want with me?” Sarah stammered.
She could feel that her escape time had come and gone and was desperately hoping she would wake up.
The nurses regarded her silently for a moment and then one of them took a device from a small tray beside the chair. It appeared to be an apparatus for holding open patients mouths when they were under anaesthetic, but it was dirty and was covered with those familiar looking rust stains.
“Please!” Sarah said, “Let me go, I won’t tell anyone. I swear!”
The nurses remained silent, regarding her with those blank, dead eyes.
“Please!” Sarah wailed.
Tears of frustration and fear coursed freely down her cheeks. One of the nurses reached for her and began trying to lever her mouth open. Sarah turned her head this way and that, trying desperately, but vainly, to avoid having that disgusting thing in her mouth.
But the nurses were not to be toiled with. One of them lashed out and punched her in the eye. Little white lights bloomed behind Sarah’s eyelids and she could feel her consciousness dribbling away. This was an odd thing to happen, pain always had that rather unreal like quality in dreams but this felt real as anything. Sarah was vaguely aware that her eye was swelling and that the nurses had managed to wedge that disgusting device in her mouth.
Now she sat there staring at them with her mouth forcibly agape. The nurses stood looking at her then one of them spoke.
“The Doctor Will See You Now.” He croaked.
They both turned and exited the room, leaving Sarah alone now… No she was not quite alone. Standing around the walls were those mouth-men from the other rooms. They were lining the walls and facing in towards the chair in which Sarah now sat. She glanced around the room and noticed they all bore the wounds that they had inflicted upon themselves.
There was movement in one of the darker corners and a titter. Sarah could just make out another figure in the gloom. This one was wearing a surgical gown and a mask. It moved towards a table that was in the farthest corner.
“Ah, Miss Wilkie.” It said “So nice to see you again.”
Sarah realized that she new the voice; it was her own dentist’s voice, Dr Matheson. But she couldn’t say anything because of the device in her mouth.
“Please don’t mind the others; they only want to watch how proper Dentistry is done.”
Dr Matheson tittered again and there was a clatter from the corner. The sound of tools being moved as one carefully selects the correct tool for The Job. Sarah began to panic even more. She struggled as hard as she could against her bonds but was unable to free herself. Sobs of utter desperation and fear escaped her throat as she heard another evil giggle.
“Oh, there’s no point in struggling.” Dr Matheson said, “Those straps will hold the most violent of patients. Besides, I know you want those wisdom teeth out, hmm?”
Sarah sat still once again as the doctor began to move towards her. It did look like Dr Matheson, but at the same time it didn’t. There was nothing behind his eyes, just an empty void that reflected only one thing.
Desire.
But it wasn’t a mundane desire for sex or any other normal want. This was a desire to cause pain and anguish. Sarah could see all this in those cold, dead eyes. She moaned in fear as The Doctor moved closer, as he did she noticed that he had a tool in his hand.
A power drill.
“It’s ok.” The Doctor said, “You’ll only feel a little bit of pain.”
He tittered again and this time his shape seemed to flicker, like an image in a movie that had been super imposed over another image, and for a moment Sarah saw that this was not a human. It was a fleeting glance but it was enough to take the rest of her sanity in one swipe. She made out that it was vaguely human shaped, but it was twitching and twisting with horrible speed, its head and limbs contorting in a way that was not possible for a human to move, and then it was Dr Matheson again, standing there with his shoulders heaving in a laughing fit.
“No pain.” it said “No Pain. No Gain!”
The Doctor tittered again and began to move towards Sarah, she began to struggle again pulling at the restraints in a desperate gambit to be freed from this hellish nightmare.
It’s only a dream she thought, I’m going to wake up soon and I’ll be fine. Any minute now I’m going to wake up.
The thought circled over and over in Sarah’s mind like a mantra and she felt warmness cascade down her legs in a wet rush as he bladder let go. This struck whatever was left of her mind as another odd thing. Usually she woke up when she needed to pee, but she had just wet herself as this… creature stalked towards her with a drill in his hand and murder in his eyes.
“No pain but lots of pain!” The Doctor hissed as it drew closer. With every step it took its shaped flickered from monster to dentist. Sarah’s eyes rolled about her head and she could only make illegible gurgling sounds as it moved closer.
The Doctor began pulling the drills trigger producing that loud, ear-piercing whine that you heard during home improvement time.
I’mgoingtowakeupI’mgoingtowakeupI’mgoingtowakeup Sarah’s mind yammered as it was standing directly in front of her.
“Oh, you poor, poor thing.” The Doctor said, “You’re already awake.”
Sarah screamed as The Doctor laughed and pulled the drills trigger. That horrible whine screeched through the room. It drew closer, levelled his arm with her face and drew the drill backwards. And in a furious punching gesture he thrust the drill directly at her mouth.
There was a crunching sound as the drill bit hit the back of Sarah’s mouth and began to chew through her gum with sickening ripping and crucnhing noises, her screams were choked off by the gouts of blood that flooded her throat and all the while, The Doctor laughed.
And Laughed…
And Laughed…
Sunday.
Usually a day of rest for most people, but for Sarah’s parents, this Sunday was going to be a busy one. They drove up Gatehouse Street in their Fiat and parked directly outside the block of flats where Sarah lived.
It was 3pm.
John, Sarah’s father, had said he’d be over to help paint her living room. Agnes, Sarah’s mother, had brought some curtains for Sarah to try in her bedroom.
“Is she even home?” Sarah’s mother asked. The curtains where still drawn at this time which was odd for Sarah.
“I’m sure she is,” John said, “She probably had a heavy night last night and is a little to hung-over.”
He smiled vaguely at his wife who eyed him with barely-concealed contempt.
“John Wilkie, you are a horror sometimes!”
John laughed and got out of the car and walked to the back of the car. He removed a large tub of paint and closed the boot. He locked the car and headed to the close, followed by his wife.
When they arrived at Sarah’s door he gave it a brisk nock, revelling in the thought that his daughter had a nasty headache, which he planned to make worse. When there was no answer he knocked again, a frown of worry creased his forehead.
“Sarah!” he called through the door, “Are you home, honey?”
Still there was no reply.
“Maybe she went out.” Agnes said.
“What? And no tell us?”
John shook his head in dismay.
“That’s not like our Sarah.” He said matter-of-factly.
“Well, use your key then!” replied Agnes.
John fished in his pocket and pulled out his keys, selected the spare Sarah had given him for when he was coming to decorate and she was at work. He unlocked the door and let himself in, followed closely by his wife.
“Sarah!” he called again but expected no answer.
“I’ll have a look in her room.” Agnes said and started for the bedroom to the left; she opened the door and peered inside.
Agnes screamed.
John dropped the bucket of paint and ran to the door and looked for himself, nearly causing a fatal heart attack.
Sarah lay on her bed, which was splattered with blood; her mouth was a grotesquery of gore and pulped muscle and bone. Her terrified eyes beseeched the roof in the glassy stare of the dead.
Clutched in her stiff right hand was a power drill.
The End