My hands hang down the side. My body lies flat. There is a
sound of dripping. Open my eyes, just a little, and something blocks part of
the light out. A strange kind of man, not a man, something, something with big
white bulbs for eyes, and a large, glistening forehead, a mouth and a nose that
is a flat green square taped around the lower half of his head.
Close my eyes, nothing I can do, but stay as still as
possible, give in, in the hopes I will get out. There is prodding. There is
poking. There is clamping shut and opening wide, and I keep my eyes closed, as
if it is all a bad dream.
That strange kind of man speaks a foreign language, nothing
like I have ever heard, a combination of letters and numbers. There is no
response, just the dripping.
Then nothing. Open my eyes, just a little, enough to see he
has moved away. Dare to open them more, get myself up, break into a run? He
moves back above me before I can consider it, but even I know that time would
make no difference. They would get me at some point, just like they will get
everyone, every human.
He holds something in his hand, and is too busy assessing
his order to see my eyes half open, staring up at the metal bar with a small,
razor sharp hook on the end of it that he holds an inch above my face. His
hands are a sterile white, and feel unnatural as he touches my cheek, adding a
little pressure, as the bar, the hook start to claw at me.
The tough scraping noise makes me cringe, but I do my best
to keep still, seem unawake. It starts to hurt, as more noise begins. A loud
vacuum noise covers the dripping, but the scraping is louder still. I feel my
mouth fill up with a thick, tasteless gunge, making me convulse, it gets harder
and harder to stay still. My insides knot, as I try to keep myself from
drowning on this stuff.
Then it stops.
Eyes, half open. The strange kind of man, disappears from
view with his tool. The lights go off. I try to pick myself up, fumbling,
stumbling, a little as I try to find the ground. Remove the green shield off my
eyes.
Turn.
“Apart from the slight tartar build up, your teeth are
really strong, and are in a good condition,” he says, removing the green mask.
“Thank you.”
“See you in six months.”
