Page 6 of Chaos & Carnage

The little practice on the row of terraced houses was engulfed in darkness. Clients had left only moments ago, consultations lasting longer than our regular operating hours.

“Where the fuck was Stuart today?” Abbie grumbled as she piled the last lot of steel instruments into the steriliser.

“Dunno. Probably off with another of our lovely clients. Sure, he was sniffing around that woman who breeds the Dachshunds.”

“Probably.”

I was tired. I’d survived on half an hour’s nap at lunchtime and so much coffee I was probably sweating it out of every pore.

“Who’s on call tonight?” Abbie asked as she emptied a glug of thick disinfectant into a bucket.

“Who d’you think?”

She shook her head, strands of blonde moving back and forth.

“Dunno how he dares to take a wage out of this place when he’s never here. We’d get through far more clients if he actually bothered to show up for more than half a day.”

“Yeah, but so would he.”

Abbie giggled, the noise filling the air with a lightness I hadn’t felt all day.

“You know you really need to schedule a day off,” she said, slopping a tatty mop into the red bucket and making the first wet swipe across the operating room floor.

“I know. I need a day to sleep.”

“I wasn’t thinking of sleep. I was thinking of you coming out with me and Ewan. He’s got some really fit friends, you know.”

“I don’t have time for a boyfriend, Abbie. Not at the minute. Besides, look at me. I’m a constant mess.”

“Just get out of those sexy green scrubs once in a while. That would do. It doesn’t have to be commitment, Alice. You just need some fun in your life. All work and no play…”

“Makes Alice not lose her half of the flat for non-payment,” I interrupted. “Student loans, Abbie. Student loans and shit wages, that’s what makes me dull.” I sighed, wiping a chunk of hair that was sticking to my forehead with the back of my hand.

“What time will you be home tonight?” Abbie asked, steering the conversation away from my entire lack of a life.

“Dunno. Kinobi needs another round of meds and observations soon. I’ll pop back after that, I suppose. You’ve got a good couple of hours with Ewan without me there.” I winked, knowing the question was solely so Abbie could decide how wild their sex shenanigans could be for a few hours. “Just don’t piss the downstairs neighbours off again. I want no more letters of complaint handed to me as I get home. I’m sure they thought it was me.”

The blonde girl smiled widely, a twinkle in her eyes. “That was so funny!” She giggled, the mop bouncing over the floor with each bubble of laughter.

“Not for me. I wanted Hell to open under my feet and get me out of there.” I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks just thinking about it.

Abbie moved away across the floor, mopping and laughing, her shoulders shaking with each burst, and I shook my head, turning back to the equipment still seeping in the sink, waiting for their turn in the steriliser.

The practice was quiet once Abbie left, the only signs the faint beeping of the equipment monitoring the dog who slipped in and out of doggy consciousness. But even when the sedative wore off, she was too weak to lift her head, her eyes following me around the best they could. I plucked her chart from the holder on the cage, glancing over the writing that had become more scribbled as I’d got more tired through the day. I scanned, checking the numbers, checking the number of meds I’d administered.

Three bangs broke through the quiet, my heart stuttering in my chest, the chart falling to the floor with a clatter. I wheeled around, unsure of where the noise came from or what it was. Kinobi grumbled from the cage. My eyes searched the room, my body tense, my chest tightening. My heart picked up a sprint, thumping furiously. Outside, something moved. A shadow in the wind, something just outside the window. A tree? In a treeless yard. Idiot.

But even in the darkness outside the practice windows, there was something there even darker.

The bang came again.

Yet it wasn’t a bang, but a knock. Someone’s knuckles on the frosted glass windows.

“Who…who’s there?” I called out, wincing at the weakness in my voice. “Hello?”

And a voice answered from the shadows on the other side of the glass.

“It’s me. It’s Cade.”