The Doctor's Assistant

Randy

Monday, November 6th, 2017

Madds had left for the bank in the morning and I was blocking the front door with a heavy chair. My view through the keyhole was slightly skewed, but I could still make out the bits of the outside world that mattered. This was going to be a long day.

Sipping jasmine tea under a table in the lab made me realize just how anxious I was. This wasn't my ideal way to kill time before time killed me; I'd rather be hiding in Madds' library of a bedroom reading the rest of A Tale of Two Cities. My mug shook in my hands. I placed it on the ground in front of me to keep from dropping it. Nerves were getting the better of me, I was a wreck. God may not be real, but I was praying that the officer wouldn't show up. Can't keep a job if you're a corpse.

'Focus on something else, anything else.' I thought while glancing up and around the room. It took me a moment, but my eyes eventually settled on the shelf of jars that Madds kept. Two more jars had been added to the collection. One was labeled with the name of our last volunteer, the girl whose father wanted us dead. In the cloudy formaldehyde floated her heart. Eerie, yes, but with good intentions. Madds had explained the reasoning for keeping various organs preserved. In his eyes he was keeping the best traits of those people alive somewhat. He had determined that the girl was kind hearted through her actions and words. The doctor kept the brains of those he found to be rather intelligent or talented with words/wordplay. Lungs were kept from those with lots to say, etc. It was definitely an odd way of remembrance, but if it works it works.

The other jar on the shelf contained a single brown eye that seemingly glared back at me. The glaring was a product of my imagination, but the eye was mine. The container had my full name written out in fine cursive attached to it via paper label. Staring at it made me wonder what Madds was originally going to place in the container since my eyesight wasn't my best trait. Well, not in my opinion anyway. I guess it was just supposed to be a place holder.

It was at this time that I noticed that my mug was empty. Now came the internal debate: to get up or stay without tea? That is the question. Ten tea-less minutes later, I finally decided to get up and refill my cup. Halfway through the pouring process, heavy knocks started to sound from the blocked up door. Almost dropping the kettle, I abandoned my cup and hid underneath the table again. The knocks continued for a minute more before ceasing entirely. The sound was replaced by a key twisting in the lock.

'It's only Madds,' assured my thoughts as I went to remove the chair from the door, only after glancing through the keyhole to make sure that it really was the doctor. The door was swung open roughly by a rather irritated and quite soaked Madds. It was heavily raining outside, drops slamming against the cold steel steps. He walked in as quickly as possible before pulling a chair over and taking a seat. A look of dismay had settled on his face, an uninterested look in his eyes as he removed his coat. Something was very much wrong here.

"Well, Elliot, he's on the way now and will be arriving in fifteen minutes or less with a pistol and some court papers. I know that I'll win the case considering the corruption of our justice system, but I don't want for you to get hurt. Please try to stay out of the way during our exchange, perhaps just go to your room for the time bein-" Madds was cut off by a prompt knock at the poor door that was starting to splinter on the sides. Geez, people really had to stop pounding the hell out of it.

'Shit. Wait a second, if Madds just got here then how did he not see the man nearly trailing him all the way back? Are there multiple routes to this place? What the hell is happening right now? I should probably go hide.' I'd say that one of my number one strengths is over thinking things when I really shouldn't. It was too late to move anyway. A tall, shadowed figure towered menacingly in the fragile door frame, blocking the only way out of this place. Madds stood on the opposite side of the large burly man, shielding me as best as he could from the brute's view. The officer still saw me, however, since I was six inches taller than the doctor, so of course I was the center of his first immediate question.