HikerAngel
patreon
The Surgeon
🕑 Added 2022-04-10 07:31:36 +0000 UTCWARNING: BLOOD
“So you’re a doctor?” the young woman said breathily, brushing a lock of silky hair from her stunning face.
She stepped closer. I stepped back, taking a sip of my wine as I took in her slender figure, clad in what looked to be a designer gown. She couldn’t be over 25.
“That’s what my wife likes to tell people,” I replied out of habit, painting an insincere smile on my lips. I always made a point of making it clear that I was married to keep forward women from getting any ideas. This one was dangerously attractive and, judging from her manner, she had probably had a bit too much to drink at the party.
“What kind of doctor?” she asked, taking another step forward.
I took another step back.
“The kind that slices and dices.” I couldn’t help but smile as I said it. Linda hated it when I said that. I was hoping it would gross the young woman out. Instead, however, it seemed to have the opposite effect.
She shivered with what appeared to be pleasure, the motion starting in her hips, traveling upward until siren-red lips parted in a languid exhale.
“A surgeon,” she breathed, her tongue seeming to savor the word, curling behind her polished upper teeth. Her green eyes glimmered with excitement as she fingered her glass hungrily, taking another step closer to me.
This woman was seriously beginning to creep me out.
I leaned backward until my shoulders met the ballroom wall. There was no more room to backpedal now, so I slipped away to the side, twisting so as to not make bodily contact with the strange woman. “I’m really sorry, but I need to go check on my wife. She gets annoyed when I stray too far,” I lied.
“It was a pleasure, Tony. I’m Kaitlyn,” she called as I turned to walk briskly away. “I’m Kaitlyn, and I can’t wait until we see each other again.”
Her use of my name sent a chill down my spine. How had she known it? I was quite certain I hadn’t given it. As I neared my wife, however, spotting the name tag affixed to the strap of her gown, I had my answer. The strange girl had simply read my name tag.
“Hi, hun,” I said, relief washing through me as I set down my wine and hugged her familiar form, the scent of her favorite perfume filling my nostrils.
“What was that for?” Linda asked, gazing into my eyes, her eyebrows rising in curiosity.
“Well, maybe strange young women are throwing themselves at me when they find out I’m a doctor.”
“At an office party? Full of my coworkers?” she replied. It was the truth, but Linda had taken it as a joke. In her defense, it did sound more like a joke. “Nice try, Tony. But you’re really not that good looking.”
“Ouch,” said Sam, the coworker with whom Linda had been conversing, clapping me on the shoulder as I released Linda. “Sorry, buddy.”
“I’m used to it,” I shot back with a crooked grin. “Been hearing that for 12 years now. She just says that so I don’t get a big head. She knows I’m gorgeous. In fact, I’m pretty sure she married me for my looks.”
“Oh, please,” said Linda, nudging me playfully. “Maybe 12 years ago you were good-looking enough to be passable, but those days are long gone.”
“Har, har,” I quipped. I thought about returning the jab, but I knew that wouldn’t go over well, particularly if someone had seen my brief interaction with “Kaitlyn” and eventually reported it to Linda. Maybe it would be better if I were the one to tell her. Just in case...
“Seriously, though, Linda, there was one youngish woman over there that seemed really strange. It almost looked like she was trying to come on to me or something. I slipped away from her in a hurry.”
Linda’s smile faltered as she saw the concern in my eyes. “What did she look like?”
“I don’t know,” I said, scratching the back of my head as I felt a rising blush. “Dark hair, green eyes, white dress. Maybe 5’8?”
“Pretty?” asked Linda, her face darkening.
Oh, Lord. How to answer this one? “I mean, I guess most guys would probably think so,” I hedged.
“So she was hot as hell, then,” Sam laughed. “Must be Kaitlyn.”
Sam scanned the room behind me, his eyes finally settling a point over my shoulder. He nodded. “That her?”
I glanced furtively in the direction of his nod, seeing the young brunette staring boldly in our direction.
“Yeah,” I confirmed, quickly averting my eyes. “She seemed to get all excited when I told her I was a surgeon.”
“You told her that?” Linda looked incredulous. And more than a little upset.
“Well, yeah.”
“Why on earth did you do that?” Her voice rose, becoming shrill.
“She already knew I was a doctor,” I replied, confused by the sudden change in my wife’s demeanor. “I didn’t realize that telling her I was a surgeon was some kind of no-no.”
Linda frowned, her eyes flashing darkly as she glared at me. “I just don’t see why you’re showing in front of pretty young women.”
“I wasn’t showing off, I was just…” I tried to think of a word that sounded more harmless, but with the way my night seemed to be spiraling out of control, I couldn’t seem to find the right word.
Thankfully, Sam bailed me out. “Oh, give him a break, Linda. All he did was tell her what he did for a living. That’s hardly showing off. Besides, you know Kaitlyn. She’s kind of a freak. I’m pretty sure she gets off on some weird stuff.”
I pointed at Sam emphatically. “What he said!”
Linda didn’t look mollified, her jaw remaining tight, eyes blazing. “Come on. We’re leaving.”
With that, she grabbed my arm, tugging me toward the exit. As she dragged me away, she looked over her shoulder, casting an angry look in Kaitlyn’s direction.
Kaitlyn didn’t seem perturbed in the least, merely returning Linda’s accusatory glare with a wicked smile.
By the time we got to the car, Linda was so upset that her cheeks were crimson.
“Linda, I really didn’t do anything. That girl—she was just really insistent. I got out of there as soon as I could!”
“I can’t believe you were flirting with twenty-year-old girls at a party with all of my coworkers, Tony. Do you have any idea how embarrassing that is for me?”
“Girls?” I responded, emphasizing the ‘s’ as my ire began to rise. “One girl. And I was hardly flirting. She just sort of came on to me.”
“And you’re trying to tell me that you didn’t do anything to encourage her?”
My eyes flicked downward before I responded. Such a small, nigh unnoticeable bit of body language. Such a massive mistake.
“I knew it!” Linda cried, jabbing a finger into my chest. “I knew it! You did encourage her!”
“I—“ I began, stopping abruptly as I saw Kaitlyn’s unmistakable form stepping out of the ballroom. I let out a breath, grabbing Linda by the shoulders and turning her toward the hotel lobby. “Why don’t we go get coffee or something and have a calmer conversation.”
“Good idea,” said Linda, beginning to walk out of the place alongside me. She hadn’t noticed Kaitlyn. Thank God for small favors.
***
After a grueling hour of sifting through our mutual feelings over bitter, poorly prepared espresso, Linda and I finally arrived home. Looking forward to simply showering and going to bed, I punched in the code at the door. As I stepped inside, however, I paused.
Something was wrong here. The lights were on.
I turned to Linda, her wide eyes telling me that she had noticed as well. I put my finger to my lips, and she nodded.
I crept silently into the house, stopping by the closet to grab the baseball bat I had stashed there for just such an occasion. I continued forward, realizing that the lights formed a trail that led all down the hall to our bedroom. I moved deliberately forward, careful to avoid each squeaky hardwood plank that I knew so well. When I reached the bedroom, I saw a beautiful woman in a white gown lying on my bed, gazing at me from under half-lidded eyes.
“Kaitlyn?!” I whispered, my stomach tying itself into a knot of dread as I felt Linda creeping up behind me.
“You remembered my name,” Kaitlyn purred, shifting on the bed for a better look, a pleased smile twisting her voluptuous lips. “Told you I’d enjoy seeing you later.”
“Kaitlyn?!” Linda shrieked, pushing past me into the room. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Your husband is a surgeon, which means he’ll be able to save me when I do this.”
To my utter shock, Kaitlyn’s right hand rose, brandishing a shiny scalpel. Linda took a shocked step backward as Kaitlyn jabbed it into her stomach, drawing it upward along her abdomen. Crimson welled along the vertical line, staining her ivory dress as her flesh fell open before us.
“Oh my God!” I cried, running forward. But Kaitlyn didn’t seem to be in pain. Quite the opposite. She seemed to be enjoying the incision. Her toned legs quivered, her curled eyelashes fluttering. Her pleasure looked almost… sexual.
Was this some kind of suicide attempt? It must be!
My astonished eyes surveyed the scene, the surreal nature of the situation giving me pause. As my gaze found her other hand, my heart skipped a beat. Held in her slender fingers was a suturing kit. I gaped at it for a long moment, blinking in disbelief. As I stared for long seconds, however, the blood saturated the cloth of her gown, beginning to pool in a vivid, expanding arc into the white comforter.
Why had she brought that? It was almost as if she had planned for me to stitch her back up! But that was crazy, wasn’t it? Who on earth would cut themselves open, right in front of a surgeon, then bring everything needed to stitch the wound before she bled out? What kind of suicide attempt was this?
I shook away all my questions. Now wasn’t the time. A woman was bleeding out on my bed. I had what I needed to save her life. That was what mattered. Now was the time to fulfill my oath, not ponder the staggering chaos of the night’s events. There would be plenty of time for that later. I leapt to the bed, straddling the girl, snatching the suture kit from her trembling fingers.
She smiled hungrily at me, but I did my best to ignore her. Clearly the girl had mental issues and needed help—but that would hardly matter if I didn’t get to work quickly. She had lost a lot of blood already, hot red liquid flowing from her body at an alarming pace. Time was of the essence. There was no time for paramedics. No time for questions. No time for 911 calls. I needed to save my patient’s life.
I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath to calm my frayed nerves. Then, I set to work. As I pierced her skin with the needle, I could feel her body tense beneath me. This would be painful, without any anesthetic, but it couldn’t be helped.
As I made the first loop, she let out a shuddering breath. My mind whirled. That breath. That hadn’t been the sharp intake of breath accompanying pain.
I continued, however, attempting to concentrate on what I was doing rather than her reactions, though it became increasingly difficult as she began to squirm with increasing vigor.
As I finished the last few stitches, the girl’s breath now coming in pants, I finally realized what was happening. She was becoming excited by the surgery!
The sudden realization caused me to look over my shoulder at Linda. She looked as livid as I’d ever seen her, her fingers clenched into fists at her sides, lips quivering with rage.
I leapt from the younger woman, pleading with my wife. “Linda, I had to! She was dying!”
Linda’s jealous eyes darted from me to Kaitlyn. Once. Twice. A third time. Then, with shocking speed, she flashed forward, grabbing the scalpel and plunging it into her abdomen.
Gritting her teeth, she expelled a hissing breath of pain as she worked the scalpel deeply into her body.
Flabbergasted by this next turn of events, it took several seconds for me to move. I grabbed her wrist and tugged it backward hard. As I did, however, she twisted her wrist, raking the blade laterally across her internal organs. I blanched, feeling the deep laceration almost as acutely as if it had been wreaking havoc on my body rather than hers. I extracted the bloody instrument, tossing it across the room as my body quivered with horror.
Linda’s knees wobbled, then gave out. I hugged her to me, feeling weak enough to collapse myself. Blood poured from the wound, her belly distending from the dark, pulsating liquid that continued to fill it from the inside. I lay her gently on the floor, examining the wound even as I reached for the suture kit.
I could see from the gaping wound that her liver was severely damaged, severed almost completely in two. My stomach felt as if it had dropped completely out of my body, my hands shaking badly as I removed my phone from my pocket and called 911. There was nothing I could do. There would be nothing they could do. She would be dead by the time the paramedics arrived.
“T-Tony,” Linda whispered as I finished giving the 911 dispatcher my name and address, my voice growing thick with emotion. She placed her bloody hand on my leg. “Stitch me up. Please.”
Tears fell onto her as I nodded, fumbling for the suture kit a second time. I pierced her skin with the needle, still wet from Kaitlyn’s blood. I looped the thread again and again, my stitches jagged from the sobs that wracked my body. As I drew the wound closed, Linda breathed her final breath, her hand falling away from my thigh.
