Epit, Part Three: Meet the Doctors

           Aleks stepped out into the hallway. Now he was definitely sure that he was not in a typical hospital. Firstly the hallway was lined with a soft and comfortable carpet. Aleks could feel it between his toes and could tell that it was freshly laid. All the walls were painted in a subtle baby blue. It gave the dizzying but at the same time settling illusion that he was staring into the sky on the clearest of days. The further he went down the corridor, the clearer he could hear a soft humming tune. It seemed to fit well into the aesthetic.

           The hallway was so unthreatening, that the sound of the steel elevator doors opening made him feel uncomfortable. Cold and detached steel. He hit the number four and the elevator started upward. The mild pressure from travelling up caused his legs to bend and fall out from under him. The sedatives had really taken effect.

          When he reached the fourth floor and the elevator doors opened he was surprised to find that this floor was so different from the others. It was no longer a long hallway decorated with the soul intent to keep people calm. It was a darker shorter corridor. It ended in only a few metres with a pair of large steel doors. Despite its size the door opened surprisingly smoothly and with little effort.

         Walking through into the new area, Aleks was now getting the feel of a more traditional looking hospital. He had just entered a room that seemed to resemble some sort of a doctor’s office. It was slightly bigger than the room he had woken up in, but this one was different. The walls were tiled and were illuminated by fluorescent bulbs. To the far left there was a desk covered in papers, at the far wall was an examination table, the near wall was lined with chairs and to the right was another door.

        Aleks cautiously stepped into the room. It wasn’t as soothing as the other places he had been and it definitely didn’t feel as safe. Possibly because he associated a doctor’s office with a few bad memories but even so it was unsettling. He wobbled over toward the desk. He knew within seconds that he wouldn’t make it so he took a seat on the examination table.

“Ah, perfect you’re here.”

            A woman in a white lab coat and a pink surgical mask entered the room from the other door.

“How are you feeling?”

“A little sluggish.”

“That’s perfectly normal. I suppose I had better introduce myself, my name is Doctor Malone.”

“Hello doctor.”

“Yes, hello Aleks. Did you read the note that was left for you?”

“Yeah, kinda. I don’t know.”

“Well let me sum it up for you so you can remember. You have a special part of you that comes from your ancestors. But it’s really not necessary, like an appendix. So we just want to do a little bit of surgery to get rid of it. Have you ever had surgery before?”

Aleks nodded. It wasn’t really surgery, he had had his wisdom teeth removed but he assumed it was virtually the same idea just in another place in his body.

            “Perfect, it’ll just be like that. You’ll go to sleep, you’ll wake up, a few days recovery and it’ll be like nothing ever happened.”

Aleks continued his nodding. It sounded like a good deal. Another person entered into the room. It was a man.

            “Aleks, this is Doctor Roberts. He will be assisting me.”

Aleks lifted his head to look at the man. Instantly he knew there was something familiar about him.

“Afternoon Aleks. I hope you feel safe. You should trust Doctor Maloney she is a great doctor.”

           Green eyes. Aleks knew he had seen them somewhere before. The more he looked at them the sleepier he felt. It was like an odd Pavlovian effect. After a few seconds Aleks’ head momentarily dropped down then shot back up again. The doctors took this as their cue.

“Good idea Aleks. You really should get some rest before the operation. We’ll wake you when you need to be sedated.”

            Aleks lay down on the table and closed his eyes. He couldn’t help but think that there was something he couldn’t trust about that man. Where had he seen him before? Why did the sight of this man trouble him so much? Regardless of all his thoughts, once Aleks was comfortable on the table he was asleep in seconds.