John awoke with a start; he was sweating and breathing heavily. For a moment John was disorientated and then realized that he had been dreaming. The dream was a real dozy, it definitely trumped any nightmare that John had about Afghanistan in the past. John leaned back on his cot to try and remember the dream, so that he could analyze it. The dream had started out like this. John ran through darkened corridors in some sort of cave. The only light came from torches in the shape of skulls. John's legs were starting to ache and his chest felt like it was on fire and he knew that his pursuer would soon catch him. John finally stumbled and fell to his knees. A hand reached out and jerked him to his feet, it was Sherlock.
John blinked several times. "Sherlock, is that you?"
Sherlock smiled as he kissed John. Whenever Sherlock physically touched him, John always felt as if a bolt of electricity sizzled through his body. Sherlock's hands steadied John's back as the kiss consumed them both, then John gasped in horror, as he pulled back, it wasn't Sherlock he was kissing, and it was Moriarty.
Moriarty laughed as John struggled to disentangle himself from the firm grasp that held him tight. "John, I can see now what Sherlock sees in you. You are so responsive. Let me show you the difference between Sherlock and I. Sherlock is on the side of the angels, whereas I am well you know…I'm not.
John struggled as Moriarty forced him to the ground. "John, don't fight me. I am going to take you no matter what, so you might as well enjoy it." Moriarty held John's body tightly between his knees. He then pulled on John's ears, until John yelped. Once his mouth was open, Moriarty forced his tongue inside John's mouth. John tried to flip Moriarty, however, Moriarty just laughed. "Come on, John. You've fought hard enough to convince yourself you don't want this. Now stop or I will hurt you." John winced as Moriarty held his throat with one hand and with the other hand he ripped John's shirt open. John was starting to tire and he knew he wasn't a match for Moriarty's super human strength. John gasped as Moriarty unbuttoned his pants. "John, come on don't fight me. I can see you want this as much as I. Come on John, Jim wants to consume you. Let me burn the heart out of you." Tears of frustration and fear ran down John's cheeks, Moriarty was going to have his way, so John closed his eyes and tried to think of something else.
Reliving the dream made John sick at his stomach. "I am out of my depth," he whispered aloud to the empty room. The nightmare was so real that John looked down at his shirt to make sure it still had the buttons on it. He breathed a sigh of relief when he looked and saw that his shirt buttons were still intact. John knew that he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, so he stared up at the ceiling until he heard a soft tap on his door.
"John, are you awake?" A muffled voice from the other side of the door asked.
John opened the door and let Sherwin in. "I'm awake." John answered quietly.
Sherwin studied John's face. "John, are you alright? You look terrible. Maybe you just need something to eat and a shower."
John smiled sadly. "Yes, that must be it."
Sherwin handed John a sweatshirt and a pair of sweats and then pointed him in the direction of the shower. "When you're done come on in the kitchen and we'll have breakfast and discuss your upcoming nomination."
John nodded and then made his way to the shower. As John entered the bathroom, he checked everywhere to make sure there was no one else in the room, he then locked the door. For a moment John paused, and then he hesitantly took off his clothes and jumped in the shower. Even though John knew there was no one else in the room, he took the quickest shower of his life. John shivered he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. He slipped on the sweats and then John made his way to the small kitchen. Sherwin was already eating some cereal and John felt a little disappointed, he was hoping for a more substantial breakfast. Then a terrible thought occurred to him, what if the order was into fasting?
As if reading his thoughts, Sherwin smiled. "Breakfast is a little sparse; however, dinner is a real treat. Once of the Doctors of the order is a superb cook."
John nodded absent mindedly. "Sure, that's fine."
Sherwin frowned. "John, are you sure you're alright? Did you sleep okay last night?"
John's head jerked up, and then he realized that Sherwin was just asking routine questions that anyone might ask a quest. John smiled. "Everything is fine. I just have a lot on my mind."
Sherwin nodded in understanding. "Don't worry about the induction ceremony. I don' think anyone will black ball you. There is a little tradition to the ceremony, however, I promise you that we don't make human sacrifices, or run around with goat's horns on our heads."
John was starting to relax. "Really, I was hoping for at least the goat horns."
Sherwin laughed. "No, sorry to disappoint you, John, however, I will be the one to guide you through the ceremony. Once you have been voted in, then your name will be called and I will step forward as your guide. I will blind fold you and guide you through the patterns, then your blindfold will be removed and you will pledge your honor to the order. I am going to give you a book to look over. It will explain some of the ceremony; however, the book must not leave the premises."
John nodded and took the book from Sherwin.
Sherwin got up to leave. "Well, I'll leave you to it. I'll check back with you around lunch time." Sherwin then walked over to an intercom on the wall, if you have an emergency, just depress the button and someone will come straight away.
John licked his lips nervously. "What about my phone? Can I call someone to let them I'm alright?"
Sherwin fingered his chin. "John, I can't give you back your cell phone until you leave the premises. However, if you give me the number of the person, I will send them a text to verify that you are okay."
John didn't like the idea of being trapped, however, it wasn't as if he had a choice, so he sighed and gave Sherwin Sherlock's number. Once Sherwin left, John unenthusiastically finished his cereal and then took a look at the book Sherwin gave him. The book was small and unassuming from the outside; there was the snake and rod medical symbol on the front cover and nothing else. John opened the book. He almost expected some sort of magical dust to shower him as John turned to the first page; however, nothing of the sort happened. In fact, the book was pretty dull. The ceremony was laid out in detail, explaining each pattern the inductee would walk through and the verbal instructions that would take place. John felt that there was something familiar about the pattern, but he couldn't quite place it. John flipped to the end of the induction ceremony, nothing seemed strange or evil. The rest of the book was blotted out and John assumed that he would be able to peruse through the rest of the book after he has an official brother. Even though the contents of the book were blotted out, the titles of each chapter were not blotted out. Most of the titles related to medical procedures, things like Alchemy for Vision, Lungs, Various Diseases, John briefly thumbed through the titles until one caught his eye. It read, "Transmutation, Projection, and Simulated Death of the Human Body and Spirit." John felt his scalp prickle as he re-read the title. "Simulated Death of the Human Body and Spirit," John mused aloud. He felt a chill run down his spine as he recalled Moriarty's laugh from his nightmare.