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Eldritch Horror? No, I'm A Doctor
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Holy shit, what the fuck is this deranged, unholy, crazy, sick fucking room?
Nox's mind was screaming. The hallway painted with blood and the broken medical equipment were the perfect complements to this scary situation. But the main thing, the thing that made his stomach drop, was that fucking circle in the middle of the floor.
What the fuck is that? Is this some sacrificial room?
"System!" Nox's mental voice was sharp, panicked. "What the fuck, come out!"
What is it?
What is it? What is it, your father! What the fuck is up with this slasher room?
I provided a Grafting Room as requested.
This is NOT a Grafting Room! Is this fucking Silent Hill? Are monster nurses gonna come out and stab me?
Technically, it meets all the specifications. Sterile environment, optimal conditions for grafting procedures, patient stabilization field.
STERILE? IT'S COVERED IN BLOOD!
Aesthetic blood. For ambiance.
AESTHETIC BLOOD? WHO THE FUCK WANTS AESTHETIC BLOOD IN A MEDICAL FACILITY?
You do, apparently. Your entire clinic is black. Your mask is from the plague doctor era. You perform surgery with tentacles and a chainsaw. This is thematically consistent.
There's a SUMMONING CIRCLE in the middle of the floor!
That's the patient stabilization field. It's decorative.
IT'S A DEMON SUMMONING CIRCLE!
You say demon summoning, I say eldritch stabilization. It's all about perspective.
I HATE YOU SO MUCH RIGHT NOW!
You already said that. Please develop new material.
FIX THIS!
No refunds. No returns. You already purchased it.
I'M GOING TO CLOSE THIS CLINIC AND NEVER OPEN IT AGAIN!
Empty threats. You need the failure reduction.
I'D RATHER HAVE A 100% FAILURE RATE THAN USE THIS HORROR SHOW!
Interesting. Should I inform the Colonel of your decision? I'm sure he'll understand when his head explodes during the procedure.
Nox wanted to scream. Actually scream, out loud, not just in his head. But that would definitely not help his professional image.
This is a nightmare. An actual nightmare.
Well, good luck!
GOOD LUCK? THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY?
What else would you like me to say? "Have a pleasant grafting experience in your aesthetically curated horror chamber"?
DON'T HELP ME!
I wasn't planning to.
A middle finger made of ASCII characters appeared in Nox's vision.
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FUCK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!
Pleasure doing business with you.
Nox took a deep breath through his mask's filters, trying to calm down. The System had vanished from his mind again, leaving him alone with his horror movie set of a medical facility.
He feel like throwing up now the blood and gore in that room really trigger his urge to vomit
He turned to look at the Colonel, who had gone completely pale. The older man's single eye was wide, his mouth slightly open. His broken ankle seemed forgotten as he stared into the blood-soaked hallway.
He must have seen the room by now, right?
Panic set in. Not the System-induced panic, but actual professional panic.
I'm fucked. My reputation. My handsome face. My career as a doctor. Everything is ruined.
Nox's mind raced. What should I do? If I let him leave now, he'll tell everyone. The military will investigate. They'll find out about this nightmare room. I'll be labeled as a cultist. They'll shut down the clinic. Maybe arrest me. Or worse.
He contemplated his options. I could explain? No, how do you explain a blood-covered hallway with a summoning circle? "Sorry, my System has terrible interior design choices" isn't going to work.
I could say it's under construction? No, it looks like a crime scene, not a renovation project.
I could...
The Colonel suddenly turned around and started running.
His broken ankle, which had been causing him to limp just moments ago, was completely ignored. Adrenaline and pure terror overrode the pain. His boots slammed against the tile floor as he bolted down the hallway.
"I'M GONNA DIE!" the Colonel screamed, his voice cracking. "THAT CRAZY CULTIST IS GONNA SACRIFICE ME!"
He made it about five meters before there was a sharp sound.
Splat!
"Huh?" The Colonel tried to keep running, but his legs weren't responding. "Why can't I move?"
He glanced down at his neck, feeling a painful sensation like an ant bite. Stuck in his skin was a syringe with leftover green liquid. The Awakening Anesthesia.
His body went numb instantly, muscles locking up. He toppled forward but didn't fall. Something was holding him.
"NOOOOOOOOO! HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME! I'M GONNA DIE!" The Colonel's voice was raw with panic. "JACK! KAI! ASH! HELP ME! THE DOCTOR IS INSANE! HE'S GOING TO SACRIFICE ME!"
His body started sliding backward across the floor. Not being dragged by hands, but by something else. Black tentacles had wrapped around his ankles, pulling him gently but inexorably toward the red door.
"OOOOOOOOO FUCK! NO, NO, NO! NOT THE BLOOD ROOM! NOT THE CIRCLE!" The Colonel thrashed his head, the only part of his body still mobile. "SOMEONE! ANYONE! I'M BEING SACRIFICED TO AN OLD GOD!"
The tentacles pulled him closer. His fingers scraped uselessly against the floor, unable to grip anything.
"KAI! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! YOUR COLONEL IS DYING! JACK! ASH! WHERE'S YOUR MILITARY LOYALTY? SAVE YOUR COMMANDING OFFICER!"
He was at the doorway now. The blood-covered hallway loomed before him. The summoning circle glowed faintly in the flickering lights.
"I DON'T WANT TO BE A SACRIFICE! I HAVE A DAUGHTER! SHE NEEDS HER FATHER! I HAVEN'T EVEN WRITTEN MY WILL!"
A black tentacle emerged from behind Nox's neck, its tip opening to reveal that familiar circular mouth. It moved toward the Colonel's face.
"NO! NOT THE MOUTH TENTACLE! NOT AGAIN! ANYTHING BUT THAT!"
The tentacle stuffed itself into the Colonel's mouth, muffling his screams. His eyes bulged with terror as he was dragged through the red doorway into the Grafting Room.
The door slammed shut with a resounding bang, sealing his fate.
.
.
.
In the waiting room, the trio sat in uncomfortable silence.
"Did you hear that?" Kai asked, his head tilted slightly.
"Hear what?" Ash replied, examining his fingernails with intense focus.
"That screaming," Kai insisted. "It sounded like the Colonel."
Jack stretched his arms above his head. "I didn't hear anything. You must be imagining things."
"No, I definitely heard it. He was yelling for help."
"Help with what?" Ash asked innocently. "The Colonel is just getting medical treatment. Perfectly safe. Normal. Nothing to worry about."
"He screamed something about being sacrificed," Kai said, his voice uncertain.
There was a long pause.
"You know," Jack said slowly, "military regulations state that we should investigate any distress calls from superior officers."
"True," Ash agreed. "But they also state that we should respect patient privacy during medical procedures."
"Those two regulations are in direct conflict," Kai observed.
"They are," Jack nodded. "So which one takes priority?"
Another pause.
"Well," Ash said thoughtfully, "if we go investigate and interrupt the doctor during surgery, he might get angry."
"Very angry," Kai added. "Remember what he said about operating on us again?"
Jack shuddered. "I remember. I still have nightmares about watching my intestines get reorganized."
"And the Colonel did agree to the treatment," Ash pointed out. "He signed the verbal consent and everything."
"That's a good point," Kai said. "He chose to go with the doctor. Willingly."
"Fully informed decision," Jack agreed.
"HELP! JACK! KAI! ASH!" The Colonel's distant voice echoed through the clinic again, more desperate than before.
The three hunters looked at each other.
"Should we..." Kai started.
"Nope," Jack said immediately.
"Definitely not," Ash added.
"But he's our commanding officer," Kai protested weakly.
"He's also paying two million dollars for treatment," Jack countered. "That's way above our pay grade. This is a private medical matter now."
"Besides," Ash said, "what are we going to do? Storm in there and demand the doctor stop? He has tentacles. And a chainsaw. And he can apparently throw syringes with perfect accuracy."
"Fair point," Kai conceded.
"I'M GONNA DIE!" came the muffled scream.
"He said that during the diagnosis too," Jack observed. "And he survived fine."
"Excellent memory," Ash complimented. "Yes, he was also screaming then. This is just normal procedure."
"Normal is a strong word," Kai muttered.
"Normal for this clinic," Jack clarified.
There was the sound of a door slamming, followed by sudden silence.
The three hunters sat very still.
"That was probably just the wind," Ash said.
"There's no wind inside a building," Kai pointed out.
"Metaphorical wind," Ash corrected. "Very common in medical facilities."
"I don't think..." Kai started.
"Look," Jack interrupted, "do you want to be the one who goes back there and finds out what's happening?"
Kai thought about it. He thought about the tentacles. The chainsaw. The screaming. The blood from earlier that had been all over his own body before the doctor fixed him.
"No," he admitted.
"Smart man," Jack said.
"But we should at least check," Kai insisted. "Make sure he's not actually dying."
The other two exchanged glances.
"Fine," Ash sighed. "But if the doctor asks, we're just making sure the Colonel is comfortable."
"Agreed," Jack nodded.
The three of them stood up and walked toward the hallway. Their footsteps were slow, reluctant. Like condemned men walking to execution.
They reached the main hallway and looked down its length. Everything seemed normal. Black walls, white tile, clinical atmosphere. Then they saw it.
At the far end, past the operating room, was a dark corridor they hadn't noticed before. And at the end of that corridor was a door.
A blood-red door.
With red mist curling out from underneath.
And walls that looked like they were bleeding.
All three of them stopped walking simultaneously.
They stared at the door for a long moment.
Then, in perfect unison, they turned around.
"I didn't see anything," Kai said.
"Me neither," Ash agreed.
"What door?" Jack asked. "There was no door. Just a normal hallway. Everything is fine."
They walked back to the waiting room at a brisk pace, sat down in their chairs, and stared straight ahead.
"The Colonel is definitely fine," Kai said to the empty air.
"Absolutely fine," Ash confirmed.
"Couldn't be better," Jack added.
They sat in silence, very carefully not thinking about the blood-red door, the mist, or the muffled screaming they could no longer hear.
"Should we recommend this clinic to others?" Kai asked after a while.
"Oh, definitely," Ash said. "Best medical care I've ever received."
"Same," Jack agreed. "Would rate five stars."
"Even with the..." Kai gestured vaguely toward the back of the clinic.
"Especially with that," Jack said firmly. "Shows dedication to the craft. Attention to atmosphere. Very professional."
"The screaming is just part of the process," Ash explained. "Therapeutic screaming. Very trendy in modern medicine."
"I don't think that's a thing," Kai said.
"It is now," Jack declared.
They nodded to each other, a silent pact made. Whatever was happening in that blood-red room was between the Colonel and Dr. Nox. They were just going to sit here, not ask questions, and definitely not investigate any further.
"Anyone want coffee?" Ash asked.
"Is there coffee?" Kai looked around.
"Probably not," Ash admitted.
"Then why did you ask?"
"Seemed like a good way to change the subject."
"Fair enough."
They sat in silence for a few more minutes.
"Do you think he's dead?" Kai whispered.
"Nope," Jack said immediately.
"Definitely alive," Ash agreed. "Just... being treated. Vigorously."
"Very vigorously," Jack confirmed.
"The kind of vigorous treatment that costs two million dollars," Ash added.
"Exactly. You don't pay that much to die," Jack reasoned.
"That's sound logic," Kai admitted.
They nodded to each other again, satisfied with this explanation.
The Colonel was fine.
Everything was fine.
They hadn't seen anything.
And they would never, ever speak of this again.