The Dark Floors Hospital Arc, Part 1 - Prologue

As the Limo came to a stop outside, Aaron waited as Sebas exited and then opened the door ushering Aaron out. As Aaron stepped out, Sebas closed the door then he placed his hands on his young Charge's shoulders and spoke, "Deep breaths Young Master. I know how you dislike these visits but you know they are necessary for your health."

Aaron did as he was told, taking a couple of deep breaths before speaking, "Thank You Sebas. I'm lucky to have you."

"Not at all Young Master. You could get along just fine without me.," Sebas said in a cold but somehow still soothing tone as he straightened Aaron's tie and brushed some lint from his shoulder which burst into flames the moment it cleared Aaron's suit jacket.

"No really Sebas! You've been like a second Father to me teaching me what it means to be a Man.," Aaron stated proudly staring up at the much taller Man.

"I am Honored Young Master. I have served The Kin'rit Family for many years. I served your Father and his Father before him and I consider it a privilege that Lord Marsellus would entrust his only Son to my keeping but we cannot dally any longer Doctor Elkhurst is waiting for you and it would not be polite to keep him waiting."

Aaron bristled when he heard his Doctor's name, "Elkhurst?," He thought, "I thought my Doctor's name was Kelsey and she was a Woman. Why does my mind feel like it's moving in slow motion? Is this what it's like for other people?," Aaron pondered momentarily. He had known for a long time that the way his mind worked wasn't normal even for others like him who were not capable of receiving the blessing as most people called the Pre-Natal Genetic Engineering that increased the life-span, intelligence, and health of those born in this miraculous time. A fact he had for the most part managed to conceal but the occasional slip up was virtually unavoidable after all even The Gods for all their incredible powers and incomprehensible intelligences make mistakes.

Aaron stood facing The Hospital Entrance, Nervous as he looked up at the tall and imposing structure but a slap on the back from Sebas and one of the rare instances of an expression other than disinterest or boredom spurred Aaron on and gave him the courage to walk into the lobby.

Just as Aaron was about to enter he heard Sebas clear his throat and he turned to see his long time friend who a nagging part of him deep inside kept telling him he was meeting for the first time stood watching him, "Remember Young Master, I'll be waiting here when your appointment is over." Aaron looked at Sebas' smiling face and said, "Thank You."

Aaron had been to All Souls Memorial many times over the years hell the place was practically a second home but this time felt different, How he couldn't quite put his finger on but most assuredly different. There were just so many things out of place, Everything seemed normal on the surface but there were obvious discrepancies between what he was seeing and what he remembered... Tiny insignificant details that no one else would have probably even noticed like the height of the ceilings, the width of the floors, the distance from the front doors to the receptions desk, and a ton of other inconsequential little details but for Aaron all these things were warning signs. His mind was always measuring and assessing his surroundings and everything in them he was aware of so the smallest changes were like an itch he couldn't reach.

Aaron felt a strange sensation as he walked into The Hospital, It was a feeling like being doused in ice cold water as a thousand tiny needles of fire danced across his skin. Aaron flinched for a moment as the sliding doors closed behind him with a crunch like bone breaking and Aaron turned quickly but found nothing wrong except that it was now night outside and he was sure it was five hours before nightfall a few minutes ago.

"What the hell is going on?," Aaron thought to himself as he walked through the beautiful and immaculate lobby to the receptions desk where a Nurse was putting away some patient files. Aaron remarked to himself how incredible her ass looked in that tight Nurse's outfit but he didn't let his eyes linger long.

"Yes. May I help You?," Came the equally beautiful voice of The Nurse but she didn't turn around. Instead she kept on sorting the files she was putting away.

"I am Aaron Kin'rit [Why do I keep saying that?] and I have an appointment with Doctor Kel... I mean Doctor Elkhurst."

The Nurse Still didn't turn to face Aaron. She just pointed and said, "Down the hall to your right little boy."

Aaron was tempted to protest her comment but he decided he'd just let it go after all he didn't want to be late for his appointment. His Father Marsellus was obsessive about punctuality and it was one in a long list of things Aaron had inherited from him.

Aaron was irritated by her rudeness... Manners being another quality he inherited from his Father but he chose not to dwell on it and turned to walk down the hall toward Dr. Elkhurst's office. Aaron was so preoccupied that he didn't notice the Nurse turn around as he departed.

As The Nurse turned to observe the departing Aaron, The Nurse's station suddenly and violently transformed itself into a burned out husk blackened by soot and drenched in dried blood. The Nurse had a sleek, elegant and well-toned figure and she was wearing a glossy white skin-tight short-sleeved mini-dress that reached about an inch down her thighs.

The PVC Nurse's Outfit had red trim on the collar and around the base of the dress along with a blue Medical "Star of Life" Emblem over the left breast and was unzipped below her naval, showing off her cleavage and abs which it was obviously designed to emphasize. She also wore long white surgical gloves, a narrow white belt around her waist - complete with her Nursing ID Tag and a portable heartbeat monitor on it.

Finishing off the stimulating ensemble was thigh-length white lace stockings held by suspenders, red open-toed shoes, and topping it off was an iconic 19th century white Nurse's Cap.

Standing there as still as a statue, The Beautiful Nurse was replaced by a hideous mockery... A Humanoid creature, roughly the same height as a Human Female. She wore the same outfit but lightly splattered with blood and dirtied by soot much like her cracked greyish skin. The Nurse's face was without discernible facial features and bore an extensively scarred expanse of twisted grey flesh partially hidden behind a thin vinyl mask melted to her face.

The statue-like stillness of the horrible figure didn't last long as it began to twitch and jitter uncontrollably. Hearing a odd clicking sound like bone or teeth clinking together Aaron turned to investigate and he saw nothing unusual. The Nurse was standing at her station smiling and giving Aaron a pouty expression and waving.

Aaron was a little annoyed at her sickeningly sweet smile and the way she had one of her arms behind her back made Aaron curious and gave him the impression she was hiding something and indeed she was because out of view her arm appeared cracked and the flesh a cold grey with a bloody scalpel cradled lovingly in her left hand.

Aaron looked down at his watch, gone was the silver band and instead it was black and the numbers were all upside down or backwards and then he looked up at the Nurse's name tag which said "streboR asiL."

"What is happening? This isn't right? Not At All!," Aaron thought but something else drew his attention. His nose wrinkled at the disagreeable odor of what smelled like rotten eggs... In other words, Sulfur. His first thought was a gas leak and he started to yell out to the Nurse but streboR asiL was gone and before he could head back to the front desk he caught sight of himself in a wall mirror and he was instantly frozen. He appeared to he the same age but his skin, his hair, and his eyes were all different... They were like they were before he nearly died. Before him he saw a strong and vital young Man with light brown hair, lightly tanned skin, and blue-green eyes dressed in a white suit and black shirt. The exact opposite of his trademark Savile Row black suit and white silk shirt.

Aaron looked down at his hands and he marveled at their color and he laughed. He laughed because aside from the blue of his veins his skin actually had color and warmth. It can amaze one sometimes the meaning of what others would consider trivial can have and to Aaron this "Restoration" of his old self for lack of a better word was nothing short of a miracle but alas like all good things it was not meant to last.

The sound of crackling flames startled Aaron momentarily and he immediately looked in the direction of the sound and saw the Nurse's station engulfed in flames. Aaron ran toward the desk to see if he could help the Nurse but it was like he was running in place, He wasn't getting anywhere. No matter how hard or how fast he ran he just couldn't reach the desk and The Nurse who was now screaming. Aaron put his hands over his ears to block out the terrible inhuman wailing as the Woman burned to **** but try as he might Aaron couldn't get to her in fact now was he not only running in place but being pulled backward.

The harder Aaron tried to pull away from the increasing power of whatever **** it was that was dragging him backwards the faster he seemed to be yanked back. Aaron has slowly being lifted off of the ground as if by the hand of some unseen giant. He looked over his shoulder and a thunderous boom rang in his ears as the elevator at the end of the hall came to a stop. With a Eerie little ding the doors opened and a cascade of Blood stormed forth from inside.

"You've Got To Be Kidding ME!," Aaron uttered in disbelief moments before the wall of blood turned suddenly like a gigantic snake and struck him from the side sending him flying through a wall. Aaron groaned as he lay there in the concrete rubble with a piece of rebar twisted around his upper arm.

Aaron was still dazed and in the process of shaking the stars out of his eyes when he found himself being pulled to his feet again by some unknown ****. Aaron was beginning to feel like a ragdoll the way he was being jerked about. Aaron dusted off his suit which had turned black and his shirt was now white again. Looking down at his hands Aaron saw that they were even paler than before and cold as ice.

"No! No! No! This Can't Be Happening! I Was Normal... I. WAS. NORMAL!," Aaron screamed as the room fell silent and the lights in the hall faded. For several long seconds Aaron stood there in the dark looking at those pale colorless hands of his watching as his dreams of normalcy slipped through his fingers... No more anxious stares or any of a thousand other little and not so little stings he had to put up with almost daily. The feeling had been nice while it lasted but now it was gone and Aaron felt a cold weight settle onto his shoulders once more and the ground beneath him actually cracked under this weight. For a few brief moments he felt free and unchained, What it must be like to be like other people and he liked it but now it was time to return to the stone he had been tied to almost all his life.

"The only thing missing is a giant snake.,"Aaron remarked ruefully to himself then he looked down at his watch.

"It's back to normal too. Maybe I can contact Gog and find out what the hell is going on."

"Gog? Gog Are you there? I could really use a sit rep and a scan. I don't feel right and things are moving strangely," Aaron said shaking his head and looking at his watch but nothing happened.

Aaron was about to start yelling at the top of his lungs demanding answers when a strange voice rang out all around him, "Esteemed Lords and Ladies, The Coco Bongo Club Is Proud To Present The Musical Stylings of Aaron Cross. This Is His First Time With Us So Please.... Be Kind!"

The voice was Female but it had a strange quality to it... Course and slippery with no clear direction or source.

Aaron was attempting to get his bearings when the wreck of a room he was standing in filled with light like someone had just turned a spotlight on him.

"Now what?," Aaron grumbled looking over his shoulder. Aaron's body inexplicably moved on it's own against his will and he began to dance to the opening in the wall he had been flung through minutes earlier and jumped out into the hall. Aaron hit the ground moon walking into spin before throwing his head back and his arms out.

There was nothing but black in every direction save for the spotlight and Aaron smiled as he danced in a bizarre Classical-Hip Hop Fusion that had a kinda Manic energy behind it. Aaron's movements became faster and faster with the rising of cheering, applause, and cat calls all around him.

Suddenly after what seemed like hours of the fast paced flow of movement, Aaron stopped and stood completely still before raising his right arm into the air...