And so the story continues….

Chapter 24

Jenny stared in horror at the man in the doorway. His blank eyes and sick smile making Jenny feel like she was going to pass out. She would have welcomed it in that moment with the sick fear almost being too much to bear, but she knew if she did, she would surely die.

"Help!" Jenny screamed as loud as she could. "Someone please! Julian! Zach!" But the only response she got was the insane laugh of the man in the operating uniform.

He took a slow step towards Jenny, as if daring her to try to run around him. Jenny slowly stood up and put herself in the cat stance that Dee had taught her, and got ready to try to kick him if he got close enough. He took another slow step, then another, and another until he was close enough for Jenny to see his decaying teeth and jaundiced eyes.

Now! Jenny thought as she kicked her foot out and managed to hit him in the stomach. As soon as he doubled over Jenny bolted past him and ran screaming down the hospital hallway.

"Julian! Zach! Anybody! Please!" She ran with all her might having no idea where the hallway lead that she was sprinting down, just with the single desire to get away from the crazy man.

She reached the end of the hall where she had to choose left or right. She chose left on a whim and as soon as she rounded the corner she ran straight into the arms of a man. Jenny looked up hopeful to see Julian, but let out a scream that rang off the light fixtures when she saw the face of the very man she had kicked.

"You're needed in the operating room." He said with his sick smile. Jenny gagged when his breath hit her face and smelt of dead fish. She twisted, and pushed, and pulled, but made no progress in getting away. The man pulled Jenny's arms behind her back and then wrapped something tightly around her wrists.

"Please, just let me go!" Jenny yelled at the man, but he did nothing but laugh and shove her roughly forward. Jenny looked up to see that they were headed for a door labeled 'Operating Room 1'. He put his hands on her shoulders from behind her and steered her closer to the door.

"No!" Jenny screamed and tried to throw her weight backwards into the man, but only succeeded in making them both stumble.

Just then, the door to the operating room opened and three other men came out, all dressed in scrubs and looking just as sick and insane as the man behind her. Jenny tried to kick and scream with all her might, but she was severely outnumbered and with her hands tied there was nothing she could do.

They pulled her into the room, which looked like any normal operating room, and placed her so that she was sitting on the operating table. One of the men pulled on her arms and felt him cut her hands free. In that next second she swung her arm as hard as she could and managed to land a blow to one of the mens faces, but that was all she had time for.

The men quickly grabbed her arms and legs. Stretching her legs down to the corners of the table, the men fastened Velcro straps around her ankles and then pulled her arms up above her head and fastened them as well.

Jenny pulled on her restraints with all her might, rubbing her wrists raw in the process but she didn't care. She couldn't comprehend anything that was happening. It was too horrifying, too terrible to be real, to be happening to her right now.

"Please." She begged, one last try to get the men to let her go even though she knew it was useless. They weren't real. They were created by Kale and Kale had no humanity in him to appeal to. She saw one of the men wheel over a silver tray full of different operating instruments. She saw scalpels, knives, scissors, and even one of those things that stretch your ribs apart so surgeons can get to your heart.

I can't die like this. Not now, not like this… Jenny thought, but she didn't see any way out of the situation. She knew Kale wanted her dead and he was getting exactly what he wanted. Her dead so he could have his playmate back. Jenny was suddenly struck by a thought. A thought so impossible she almost dismissed it immediately, but a small voice in the back of her mind wouldn't let her.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of the men pick up a scalpel with a sick gleam in his eye. Jenny had made her mind up. She would not let Kale win. Even if she had to die, she would not let him win. "Kale!" Jenny screamed. But there was no answer other than the breathing of the men around her and the slow footsteps of the man with the scalpel walking to her side.

"Kale! I want to talk to you!" She yelled this time as a demand.

Jenny felt the scalpel press into her already bandaged arm, slowly cutting through the bandages and into the flesh of her forearm.

"Kale!" Jenny screamed with all her might as her vision started to fog up, unconsciousness pulling at her mind as though to protect her from experiencing what would happen next.

"What could you possibly want to talk about? The show was just about to start." A voice like wind chimes said from across the room