Novel Excerpt

Georgia Reign

by J.E. Taylor

Chapter One

Funny how the tune from an adored childhood movie could strike such terror. Terror that set the body trembling, terror that locked screams in the throat, terror that squeezed drops of piss from the bladder. And yet, like Pavlov’s response, that’s exactly what happened to all his patients.

Whistle While You Work echoed off the walls, streaming from his lips in a jovial melody, a stark contrast to the dread-filled moans pervading the room when the lights came up. Alex trotted ahead of him, his tail wagging, excitedly expecting a treat. He looked back at his master and then slipped into the brightly lit room.

She whined a pitiful “No” when he entered. Her battered and bruised body, shaking and the smell of urine and feces hung in the air.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. You’ve soiled your diaper.” He swung his head back and forth, approaching the ten-year-old and she went from whimpering to blubbering.

“I’m, I’m s-sorry, I’m s-so s-sorry, p-p-please d-don’t hurt me again. P-p-please!”

He pulled the sheet away from the surgical instruments, running his gloved fingers over the shiny steel until they landed on the scalpel.

“No God, no!” She yanked at the straps holding her to the table, bucking her torso, arching from the cool steel below her, popping the stitches that already traversed her abdomen.

Blood oozed but it wouldn’t matter much longer. He turned to Alex. “You’ve been such a good dog, how about a special treat today?”

Alex responded with a swish of his tail followed by the thump, thump, thump of it hitting the floor, patiently waiting for his tasty snack. Panting, he licked his golden chops.

He brought the scalpel over her sternum and glanced at the medical book on the edge of the table next to the rib retractor. He flipped the pages until he found what he was looking for, scanning the material; he memorized the location of the human liver.

The girl screamed even though he barely touched her flesh. The scream hit a peculiar high note, sounding more like a hawk dive bombing its prey than a human. Her scream carried through the caverns of his lab, reverberating off the concrete walls and steel tables.

“Such a pity,” he said and pressed down with the scalpel, slicing through tender flesh and muscle.

The note failed, replaced by choking sobs that gave way to silence.

He sliced her liver out and tossed it to Alex, wondering just how long a person could live without that particular organ.

After stitching her up, he resumed whistling, heading toward the next room with his dog in tow.