"Catherine? Doctor Patterson will see you now."
Catherine looked up from the magazine she was reading. She put it down on the table beside her and got up, taking her purse in with her. There weren't very many people in the waiting room -- she supposed it was a slow day for the dentist's office. Catherine walked down the hallway to the examination room and saw someone unfamiliar standing in a white coat, looking over a chart in his hand.
"Oh," she said. "I'm sorry ... I thought I was seeing Doctor Patterson in here."
The man lifted his head and smiled at her. There was something not right about that smile. It seemed innocent enough on the surface, but she could tell there was something else underneath. Something ... sinister.
"I'm afraid Doctor Patterson is away," the man said. "I'm Doctor Thorn, I'll be filling in for him while he's gone."
"Oh, all right," Catherine said. She put down her purse and sat down in the chair. Doctor Thorn turned to look down at her as she got herself comfortable.
"I was just looking over your charts here," he said, his eyes burning bright in his head. "It says that you've had some trouble with your teeth hurting while you brush."
"Yes, they feel more sensitive than usual," Catherine replied. "I think I might be getting a cavity."
"Well, let's see what we can't find, shall we?" he said. He reached up and turned on the overhead light, shining it down into Catherine's face, blinding her momentarily.
"Open wide please," he said, and she did as she was told. Doctor Thorn took a metal instrument from the table beside her and poked around in Catherine's mouth. She heard him muttering to himself as he did, making tsk-tsk noises.
"Well Catherine, I'm afraid this doesn't look very good," he said, pulling back and allowing her to close her mouth. "You've got quite a nasty cavity in there, and I think you're going to need some serious work done on it."
"Oh no," Catherine said.
"If you're not busy, of course, I can do the work right now. It's fairly quiet, as I'm sure you saw outside."
"Oh, well," Catherine began, thinking of the errands that she had to do. Her thoughts were interrupted by the doctor's voice, though.
"It's very important that you get the work done," he said, his eyes burrowing into hers.
Catherine reasoned that her errands could be done another day and she nodded.
"Yes, today would work out fine," she said. "Thank you so much doctor."
Doctor Thorn smiled that smile of his again.
"It's my pleasure," he said, and his voice sent chills down Catherine's spine.
"Now, for this procedure," he continued, turning around, "I'm going to have to put you under. It'll just be a little gas, and you won't feel a thing. How does that sound?"
"Oh, gas?" Catherine responded.
"Everything will go by much easier if you were asleep," Doctor Thorn said. "And I promise you, you won't feel a thing."