In the Belly of the Giant

Part 6

Eren, feeling flustered at being rushed by her boss, had the secretary call in her next patient. She glanced at the clock high up on the wall, and realized she was going to miss at least part of her lunch. She wasn't too happy about that fact. Nevertheless, she didn't want to race through and do a mediocre job either. She owed it to her patients to give them the best teeth cleaning she could.

Her next patient was another new client who she had never seen before: John Smith, according to the chart. Eren thought it somewhat odd, to have such a generic name, but she supposed the name was common after all. However, when the giant patient walked in and sat his enormous frame in the chair, his appearance was anything but generic. He had dark, cold eyes that darted around the room suspiciously when he came in. He was unshaven and scruffy, with pockmarked skin and a greasy mop of black hair. He had an odd, ugly tattoo on the back of his hand that looked like a primitive line drawing of a singular eye with a smiling maw full of sharp fangs. Eren cringed internally when she saw his yellow teeth, likely stained from chewing tobacco. His teeth looked like they hadn't been brushed in years. She had her work cut out for her.

After seeing the horrific sight that was his teeth, she bypassed her usual greeting and immediately went for the mouthwash. "Good afternoon, Mr. Smith. Please take some mouthwash from the counter over there and swish it around for thirty seconds, if you would," she instructed, as politely as she could. The giant cocked an eyebrow, but complied without a word. He stared at her aggressively for the entire thirty seconds before spitting into a paper cup with disgust.

Eren didn't want to be judgmental towards a giant that she didn't know, but she felt something was off. The fine hairs on the back of her neck were standing up when she looked into the abyss of his eyes. She felt like she was looking down a dark well that ran miles into the ground, and she was at risk of falling in an unfathomable distance and drowning. She tried to shake off the chilling feeling, licking her lips nervously and forcing a smile.

"So, Mr. Smith, what brings you in today? Are you experiencing any tooth pain?" she asked.

The giant furrowed his brow and leaned forward over her, studying her measly form intently. Suddenly, Eren felt very small and vulnerable. She glanced around, up at the clock again, and realized lunch had already started for most of the employees at the clinic. Most of her co-workers were out of the office, gone, leaving her alone. She quelled her rising panic. She assured herself she was just being irrational. Nothing would happen. The giant man was just here for a dental hygiene appointment, nothing more. He certainly needed it.

"As a matter of fact, I do," the giant responded. Eren didn't like his voice; for lack of a better word, she thought it felt slimy, like the sensation she may experience from accidentally sinking her hand in mushy pond scum. He pointed a large, fat finger at his left cheek. "One of my lower molars, toward the back, has been hurting. I think it might be a cavity. Can you take a look?"

"Sure," Eren said uncertainly. "Place your chin in the chinrest here, please." She moved her platform up to his huge chops. "Go ahead and open, please." The giant's thick lips parted, showing his yellow teeth, and his mouth yawned open wide before her. Eren clicked on her headlamp and peered inside. She repressed her horror at the intimidating walls of blocky, revolting teeth. His tongue was like a massive, rotten slab of meat. The flesh in his mouth was a deep red, dripping with moisture, and his gums around the edges of his teeth looked inflamed.

Eren examined the molar in question, on the left side of his mouth, but couldn't see anything from where she was standing, even when she leaned forward on his lower lip. She would have to go inside and take a closer look. She felt a stab of alarm. Something didn't feel right here. She absolutely did not want to go in this giant's mouth. She felt a gust of humid, stinking breath emanate from deep within, and shivered.