College writing contest
THE DENTAL ESCAPE
THE DENTAL ESCAPE
Waking up to the blinding
lights and a splitting headache, all I see was a face of a woman with a bloody face
mask. With the blurry sight, I noticed
she had blood on her forehead and hair too. “Don’t be afraid, pretty face. It
will all be over soon,” she chuckled with a hint of eeriness. Her sharp stare
of black pupils makes me shudder. I was at my breaking point when she pulled
out a scalpel and slides the blunt edge across my cheeks. It did not hurt but
the cold blade made me winced and my adrenaline rushed as I anticipated for
something much more painful than that. I tried to struggled but all of my limbs
or bounded to the seat with leather cuffs. “Don’t worry. I will make sure that
your teeth will be perfectly displayed after I pulled them out ONE by ONE,” she
grinned and reached for the forceps. As the lowered the forceps into my mouth
which was forced open by a cheek retractor, I shut my eyes and broke into cold
sweat.
“KRINGGG!!!!” The alarm
sounded and how I wished that it was just a nightmare but when I opened my eyes
she was still there and I was still tied down. “Oh! Too bad. He wants me to
return to my cell now. I will have fun with you tomorrow,” with a disappointed
look, she put down the forceps and walked away. I fainted almost immediately
after that.
When I woke up again for the
second time, the blinding surgical lights were turned off. My leather cuffs
were also cut loose allowing me to move freely. As I sat up to have a good look
at my surroundings, I feel like fainting again as I was holed up in this creepy
surgery room with two metallic doors which I presumed, were bound shut. I
gathered my nerves and looked around thoroughly once more, forming an imaginary
escape plan in my head. At the same time, I was wondering who set me loose in
the first place but not setting me free from this hell-hole. Perhaps I am in
some sort of a game, a prank or even just a dream. These thoughts lightened my
mood and stopped my legs from shaking. I screamed, "I give up, guys. You
win. Let me out now". The only reply was the echo of my own voice,
followed by the previous eerie silence. Suddenly, a digital timer on the wall
lit up and the time of 5 hours was shown. With a sound of ‘click’, the timer
started counting down making me uncomfortable. My instincts told me that this
is serious. I am being held up here for good. Questions just kept popping up in
my mind and I need to find answers with the things around me. Only I can get myself
out of here. As I look up to the ceiling, a small glowing red light caught my
attention. As I squint my eyes towards it, I realized that it is a security
camera. Someone is actually watching me being frantic in this hell-hole and
enjoying it. It must be that psychotic dentist. “Damn it! Concentrate. Raphael.
Concentrate.”
Hoping foolishly for internet
connection so that I can contact the authorities or my friends for help on the
computer on the table, I quickly pushed the ON button. The monitor flickered
and in green, pixilated form, it requested for a pass code. I rummaged through
all the documents on the table for any clues or perhaps the pass code itself,
hoping that the psycho has a bad memory and had to write it down. In the end, I
found nothing so I just slumped against the smelly and dirty office chair. That
was when I noticed a corner of a piece of paper, sticking out of the tear on
the cushion. As I pulled it out, it reveals a yellowed paper with dried blood
stains. With the creaking of the old paper, I unfold it and there was a long
essay but with shaky handwriting.
“To
whoever that is unlucky enough to find this piece of paper, you are in imminent
danger. I know it well because I am the 44th victim of this
psychotic dentist. You must be searching for the pass code to unlock the
computer. It is 0000 but don’t bother because all you get is the compilation of
satanic actions she did to her previous victims, accompanied with photos that
you wished you never see. I really wish to gauge my eyes out right now but she
might do it to me later like she did to one of the woman. I had only managed to
open the first door by inputting “OPEN DOOR 1” in the command section after you
unlocked the computer. It leads you to a locker section but there is a body there
with the most horrified expression you would never have imagined on a dead
body. I hope I won’t end up that way but I think I am out of time already. She
had pulled out three of my teeth and it won’t stop bleeding as I write this
letter. The next time she enters, I will not be able to survive. I will just go
on from where I stopped so that you can make it out in time and put this
psychotic doings to hell once and for all. It seems that she is actually
working for someone else, called the observer. Yes, the very one monitoring you
through the camera. And in the files, she mentioned about another man, a
pyromaniac that likes to burn his victims. You will have to stuff your hands
into the guts of the corpse to obtain a key to open another door right beside
the locker and there will be a piranha in an aquarium, the pet well suited for
a person like her. There will be another key in the aquarium but you will have
to lure it away with a body part. Good luck with that. I did manage it but then
it was too late. She came in again as the timer stops and dragged me to the
chair and pulled away the third tooth of mine. The torture last for god knows
how long. The pain had drawn most of my energy away. I gave up when the last
key I took could not open the door for my escape so I am writing this letter to
speed things up for you and hope that you can make it. If you can find my body
after that, please contact my family. I have a lion tattoo on my chest.
Leonardo
Valencio.”
“This is for real,” I gulped
and clenched the paper. I gritted my teeth in both fear and determination to
escape. I cannot die like this. Not just for the satisfaction of the psychos. I
pointed my middle finger towards the camera and the timer suddenly sped up and
only an hour is left. “Shit!” I exclaimed and quickly followed the steps stated
in the letter. All went smoothly until I lay my eyes on the corpse. I puked
like I never puke before. The horrid face was distorted and all of the teeth
were gone. The chest was skinned. I noticed a tattoo tail on the remaining skin
near the armpit. It must be Leonardo’s lion tattoo. My eyes opened wide and I
covered my mouth with the sweaty palm of mine. My lips twitched in despair. I
do not want to end up like this. I blinked away my tears and pulled away the
rest of the blanket. There is a stitch on his abdomen. I forcefully ripped open
the stitch and pushed my hands deep into his guts to reach for the key. Then,
without any equipment of any sort, I had no choice but to dig out his eyeball
with my bare hands so that I can lure away the piranha. “I am sorry.” I kept
chanting until it was all done. I could not believe that I did just that. I
will never be the same person again even if I walk out alive. With the final
key and half an hour left on the timer, I had to find a keyhole, fast. Just
above the aquarium, there is a notice board on the wall with newspapers
clippings about a well known dentist and some of his patients. There was
something written on it as well, WHY DO YOU ALL HAVE TO GO TO MY DAD? NEVER
MIND. I WILL REMOVE ALL OF HIS WORKS. ONE BY ONE. It sent shiver down my spine
because I had went for an appointment with this dentist ten years ago. It was a
memorable one because at one moment, the seven year old daughter of the dentist
was sitting there quietly, hugging a teddy bear. After I came out of the dental
room, she was screaming frantically and ripping the teddy apart. It took three
men to hold her down and all I knew after that was that she was sent to a
juvenile asylum. So the ticket to this hell-hole was something I did ten years
ago. A visit to the dentist. Great.
I pulled away the notice board
and Bingo! There is a safe with exact keyhole I needed. Inside, all I see is hope. C4 bomb. Just what
I needed to blast away the door and lead me to freedom. I set up the bomb. With
minutes to spare on the timer both on the wall and the bomb, I hid behind the
fort I built with all the things I could gather in the room. BOOM! The
explosion sent the door flying and just as the smoke starts to fade, I ran out
of the room and headed to the lift in front of me. It was opened, as if waiting
for my arrival. Once I am in the lift and the doors start to close, the
psychotic woman ran towards me, yelling with a scalpel in the hand. I screamed
on top of my lungs, “Go away. I did not do you any harm.” But she just kept
running and I kept pressing the close button rapidly hoping for it to close
faster but it was too late. She managed to hold the door open. I kept kicking
her and punching her away from the door as she return by trying to bite me and
stabbing me with the scalpel while holding on to the door. I gave her one last
powerful kick of mine and her hands gave way and both the metallic doors
crushed her head as she tried to bite me. I slumped down in relief and passed
out.
RACHEL CHONG
RACHEL CHONG
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