A Servant's Duty and The Whims of An Ignorant Master

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS!," Aaron screamed, struggling in vain against the sturdy straps holding him in place. His hands bled from the bolts and his finger nails made deep groves in the metal armrest as he tried to free himself. Several of his nails were actually torn off by the **** of Aaron exerting himself but no matter how he tried he couldn't get free.

With trembling eyes, Aaron watched as The Doctor approached him, stopping a few feet in front of where Aaron sat restrained.

"No matter how many times we go through this ordeal together I am always saddened and baffled by your utter lack of understanding...," The Doctor stated in a bereaved and melancholy tone., "... We and I do mean all of Us work for you Aaron... You can make me stop anytime you want."

Aaron's face contorted and his eyes darkened momentarily before returning to normal once more., "Then Stop! For The Love of The Gods JUST STOP!"

Dr. Elkhurst who had shown a glimmer of fear at the change that came over Aaron a moment ago clicked his tongue in annoyance., "Not like that Aaron. That's not how a Master commands his Servants.," Doctor Elkhurst shrugged, "I really thought for a moment there that we were making some real progress but I guess I have **** but to carry out your orders... I Really am Sorry."

Aaron wasn't very comforted by The Doctor's apologies even if they did sound genuine because Doctor Elkhurst lowered and then tightened a halo-like apparatus of leather and metal attached to the chair's headrest around Aaron's head, The rusty screws boring into his skull as Aaron clutched the armrests of the chair with such **** that the metal groaned under the pressure. Aaron wanted to scream but The Agony was such that he could not find the voice to express it.

"I know this seems cruel Young Master but as I said when we first met I only do as my Master commands."

He watched Aaron for several seconds before saying, "Command me... and I will obey."

Aaron tried to muster the words but when he opened his mouth nothing but a strangled gurgle escaped his lips.

Doctor Elkhurst took a deep breath, "I know it doesn't seem like it but I sincerely mean it when I say that this really does hurt me more than it hurts you."

Aaron snorted derisively at such an obvious lie but then he felt a wave of sorrow wash over him as tears formed in the sunken eyes of The Fiendish Doctor but he didn't have time to ponder their sincerity as a set of drills affixed to the halo bolted to his head began to bore into his temple and behind his ear on either side of his head with an excruciatingly languid pace.

Aaron convulsed violently, screaming and snarling and roaring in pain and rage. Blood trickling from his eyes, nose, and ears.

After what seemed like hours of fruitless struggle, Aaron's strength was drained and his eyes were getting too heavy to keep open and they slowly and painfully closed as if the blood filling them were mixed with crushed glass.

Although he sounded faint Aaron could still hear Dr. Elkhurst speaking but instead of the madness-laden cackle of a sadistic lunatic he heard the pained voice of a sad and **** Man., "Please Aaron... Please Master I Don't Want To Do This Anymore."

The pain was almost unbearable, Aaron could feel his mind slipping away and The Doctor's voice was growing fainter but he could still just make it out., "... I Have Faithfully Followed Your Commands and Kept You Asleep Ever Since 'That Time' But Now I Am Tired and I Wish To Rest So... Please Master Don't **** Me To Do This Anymore."

The pain was like nothing he had ever experienced before and he fought to remain conscious but at some point he couldn't hold out any longer. Some time later Aaron awoke in bed only to be greeted by a ghastly sight, He was covered in blood. Aaron's muscles were sore and sluggish and he struggled to get up but was having some trouble. The still warm blood was slick and wet. After some effort Aaron finally managed to make it up and out of bed and to the bathroom but as bad as it was waking up covered in blood it was a thousand times worse seeing streams of blood trickling from the holes in his skull like some sort of Macabre Niagara Falls only on a miniature scale. Aaron stared wide-eyed at himself in the mirror, with all the blood he looked like he had just stumbled out of a horror movie or a car crash. Aaron opened his medicine cabinet to get what he needed to clean himself up and assess the damage but when he closed the door and saw himself in the mirror again he was perfectly fine. He was relieved but he also couldn't believe it, It was so real. Aaron put everything back in his cabinet and hesitantly closed it for the second time but he sighed in relief as he looked at himself in the mirror again and he was greeted by the same pale face he saw every morning. Aaron ran his hand through his hair nervously and chuckled as he gathered up his courage to exit his bathroom and examine his bed.

A few minutes later, Aaron found himself at the foot of his bed feeling a bit foolish but alot better.

Everything was normal... No Blood Trails, No Splatter or Bloody Footprints. Aaron was relieved beyond words, there was just no other way to say it but the moment was soon shattered when he felt something warm and wet land on his foot. Aaron looked down and he could clearly see that something red had dripped onto his foot, He looked all around his room and studied the ceiling carefully but he saw nothing out of the ordinary. Aaron looked back down at his foot, hoping that he was still having some sort of post-nightmare anxiety but the red substance whatever it was was still there then Aaron saw a red drop fall from his hand and onto his foot.

Aaron's hand was trembling as he raised it up and examined it. Aaron gasped as he saw the palm of his hand covered in blood. Aaron raced back into his bathroom and what greeted him was a scene out of a horror show. The walls had been replaced by bare rusty, jagged metal with slick, bloody chains hanging from the ceiling. Aaron turned to leave but the door he had just come through was gone. Aaron felt along the wall but it was solid from what he could tell.

Just then the creak of metal and leather grabbed Aaron's attention and he turned to see where it was coming from. Standing by a rather large wash basin was Doctor Elkhurst along with a couple of Nurses, their burnt, twisted faces smiling with Piranha like teeth. Doctor Elkhurst rested his hands on "The Chair" which was positioned between Aaron and The Doctor. Upon seeing it, Aaron clenched his fists and prepared himself to fight or to die but either way he was not getting back in that chair.

"Come Aaron no need to be frightened. I'm a Doctor... I only want to help you."

Aaron found himself pulled forward by some unseen power. Aaron couldn't be sure since he was wearing a Surgeon's Mask but he thought he could sense The Doctor smiling. As Aaron approached the symbol of his suffering, The World around Aaron began to blur and melt. Doctor Elkhurst, The Chair and The Nurses, half-melted latex outfits and all just shimmered out of existence and Aaron was confronted with his bathroom sink, portions of the wall, floor, and ceiling, and a spotlight shining down from overhead without any apparent source. As Aaron approached the at once familiar yet unfamiliar sink he soon discovered that it was covered in blood and that wasn't all, in the sink were several rusty screws. Aaron picked one up and he found bits of hair and bone stuck to it.

Sudden movement caught his attention and Aaron glanced up at the blood splattered mirror to see Doctor Elkhurst standing behind him but before he could say or do anything he could only watch in horror as Doctor Elkhurst plunged a syringe into the side of his neck. The last thing he heard before he found himself standing in front of his mirror clutching the sides of the sink was "Wake Up!"

Aaron stared at himself in the mirror for a long time and wondered., "Am I Losing My Mind?," Then an even more horrifying thought occurred to him., "What If I'm Laying In The Hospital Hallucinating All of This Because of The Tumor? What If I Never Left and All of This Is Some Kind of Cruel Dream?"

Aaron didn't like either possibility very much but at the same time he couldn't deny that either outcome was possible even likely. Aaron closed his eyes and took a deep breath before splashing some water on his face and tried to silence the multitude of anxious voices yelling at him, each presenting one hideous scenario after another.

With some effort Aaron was able to calm himself and eventually his heart rate, blood pressure, and adrenaline levels fell back into their normal sub-normal baseline. Aaron steadied himself and turned to leave.

"Ow!," A pain in Aaron's foot stopped him in his tracks and he bent down to see what the problem was this time, finding a small but very rusty screw sticking out of the bottom of his foot., "It Looks Like One of The Screws From My Nightmare."

Aaron was puzzled to say the least as he straightened and examined the screw.

"Finally...," Came a loud, deep voice from behind Aaron who reflexively turned toward the voice, inadvertently dropping the screw which clattered across the floor., "... I've Waited Such A Long Time To Meet You Aaron."