Breathe Deep
This is a piece of Flash Fiction. The topic: A person goes to a doctor’s office, and a nurse gives him some free sample medicine.
Archibald “Butane” Maclaine struggled to walk into the doctor’s office. He paused to grab the back of a chair, moved forward a couple steps, and then leaned against the wall. He steadied himself and then made his way to the Reception Desk.
Butane was an old man, he had been around (seen most everything and done most anything), but today he made a mistake, a big one. Hey, he’s only human, right?
The Nurse looked him over, handed him a form, and then told him to take a seat. As she watched him struggle to walk, she hoped that he would fall and crack his head open on the corner of the coffee table that was a few away feet away. C’mon, c’mon, you can do it. Fall, please just fall. No such luck.
Butane made it to a seat and did his best to fill out all the nonsensical information The Nurse wanted. Had he ever been pregnant? Was he pregnant now? Has he ever used topical ointment designed to promote hair growth? Are his hemorrhoids painful or do they just itch? Only once did he notice the nearly constant stare of The Nurse. One glance, it turns out, was enough.
Author’s Note: I occasionally am willing to give unsolicited advice for one reason or the other. If poor, old Butane had asked me, I would have told him that he needed to keep on walking when he came to that particular office door. Somewhere (actually most anywhere), there had to be a doctor’s office that didn’t have a nurse indebted to The Vampire Mafia.
The details of her bondage are not that important, let’s just say that it was one of those things. She was at the wrong place at an unfortunate time. That’s all, she didn’t do anything other than stand near a wall and radiate charm. A person (you guessed correctly, a vampire) took an unnatural interest in her…and here we are. Know this: she had to do what he and his cohorts said, or things were quickly going to go from bad to worse for the beautiful woman The “VM” only referred to as The Nurse.
On the morning of Butane’s visit, she woke up early and instantly checked her phone to see if there was a new post at Random Thoughts from a Nonlinear Mind. She was about to read “Professor Bob” when she saw a small package on her nightstand. Her pulse began to quicken, and her chest tightened up as she picked up the box. It contained a vile vial and a simple set of instructions. Put this powder in Butane’s medicine. She, of course, did exactly what she was instructed to do.
“Archibald, you can come on back now.” Butane hated that name, he preferred the nickname that he had received decades ago. He always told people he got the name Butane because he was often on fire at the poker table. The real story is a bit different and slightly (OK, a lot) more sinister.
Butane followed her back to the exam room. C’mon Zelda, you can do this. Breathe deep…relax.
“Have a seat, Archibald.”
“You can call me Butane.”
“OK, Butane. We have reviewed your files from your previous doctor, and we want you to try this new medicine. Dr. Jenkins is optimistic that this one is going to work.”
“Will I see him today?”
“No, I am just going to show you how this inhaler works, and then you will come back in two weeks.”
She illustrated the ins and outs, as well as the ups and downs of the device. When she finished, she inserted the poisoned cartridge and hit the plunger. It was all simple enough.
“Here is a free month’s supply. No need to get a prescription until we know if this is going to work, right?”
Butane was old and worn out, but he still had game, big game. He sensed it…he felt it…he knew. He grabbed the sample medicine and, without saying a word, walked out of the office. The Nurse watched as Butane threw the package in the garbage and quickly turned to her and waved. She could have sworn she saw a set of yellowed fangs extend and then retract as Butane smiled at her.
The Nurse knew she was going to get a visit that night. I gave him the doctored medicine, I watched him leave with it. Her hope was that half-truth just might allow her to see the sunrise.
