Doctor Dentist is Coming to Town

Evie has been afraid to smile for the last eight years. She was fourteen in 2015 when Doctor Dentist came to visit, and over half of her class didn’t survive. She’ll never forget the sound of children screaming behind her, the feeling of warm blood raining against her back, or the sight of a grown man’s head thudding on the classroom floor. Doctor Dentist didn’t seem to give a shit that Evie had filled her cavities, brushed her teeth, or flossed, either. He had killed her friends right in front of her, kidnapping some while others fled into the streets. Evie didn’t see the point of smiling anymore, knowing that people could disappear so fast. It’s almost Christmas, and Evie’s husband Louis reminds her that it’s the season of giving. He orders her to smile at the mall Santas, at family gatherings, and at social events, but she can’t. Brief eye contact is all that she can manage, even if it was going to be an happy occasion. Louis’s family has come to accept her quirks. Doctor Dentist has seemingly disappeared off the face of the Earth. Some say that he’s dead and trapped in hell, while others believe that he’s very much alive. Evie is one of them. “Babe, take my hand.” Louis told her, as they walked through the front entrance of the mall. Evie did as she was told. “I don’t know if I can do this.” She admitted, clutching at her purse. It was her thirteenth time at the mall since Doctor Dentist went on his Christmas rampage against her town. “It’ll be okay.” Louis said. “We have to go on with our lives.” She bit her tongue, breaking into the smallest of smiles. He didn’t have to deal with the aftermath. Eight years later and she still couldn’t sleep. Evie had nightmares about Christmas, too: holly wrapped around her ankles, pulling her down into darkness, or waking up to find her teeth missing. There was always blood, though. Always. They followed a trail of twinkling fairy lights that twirled around the corridors of the mall, hand in hand, until they hit the crowds. Evie twitched at the unfamiliar sounds and the sensation of unfamiliar faces surrounding her. She hated the mall, but knew that everyone had to buy presents of some kind. Louis had wanted to go on the 24th; she had pestered him until he agreed to go three weeks earlier. “Alright, let’s get this over with.” She said. “You’re a Grinch.” He replied. Evie frowned. “You know that’s not true, Louis. Christmas is a really hard time for me.” “You’ll get used to it.” He replied. “Eventually.” He had grown up in the richer side of town. No one from his school had been one of the lucky ones who were chosen. They were on their way to the second floor when Evie pulled on Louis’s hand. “Hey,” she said, “how about we take the stairs?” “But... the elevator is right there.” “I don’t feel like it. Can we please just take the stairs?” Evie asked, her pace moving slower. Louis looked at her over his shoulder and rolled his eyes. When they walked past the elevator towards the stairs, he looked back over his shoulder. “You know that it’s been eight years, Evie. He’s not going to hurt you.” Evie looked down at her shoes. “You’ve grown stronger.” He said. “You can face him.” She sighed, climbing the first few steps. “I know that I can, but I’m not sure if I want to.” “Maybe it’s time to take some self-defense classes.” She didn’t say anything, still plodding up the stairs one at a time, and Louis didn’t either for a while. “People need to see the real you.” He said. She tugged on her coat, reaching the top of the stairs. “It won’t be for a long time.” They walked hand-in-hand, eventually reaching the toy store that they had been looking for. Evie was on the hunt for a dollhouse, and her nephew had always wanted one. The shop was dark, except for a Christmas tree in the window, and a cluster of white lights behind the counter. There was one woman, sitting on a stool, looking down at her feet. “Oh, hi, there.” She said, when Evie and Louis walked in. She was startled, but nothing more, and the shopkeeper smiled kindly at her. “Thanks.” Evie said. “Welcome to Melissa’s Toys. I’m Melissa.” “That’s a pretty name.” Evie said, which made the woman smile. “My sister named me.” She said. “You know what you’re looking for?” “Yes.” Evie replied. “I’m looking for a dollhouse.” “There’s a few on the right-hand side, and a massive one at the back.” Evie thanked her, breaking into a jog. “I’ll be back.” She said. “I won’t take my eyes off of you.” Louis replied. Evie looked down every alley. She made sure that there was no one hiding behind anything. It took her three minutes to find the dollhouse that she had been looking for: a pink palace with a small pond and moat. Evie picked it up, smiling, and trotted back towards Louis. “I found it.” She said. “Looks nice.” He replied. “Do you have the cash on you?” She shook her head, rummaging through her bag. She usually never carried cash on her, and had to use her card to buy the dollhouse. Melissa accepted it, thankfully, and Evie handed it over to her. “We don’t usually see many people in here.” She said. “You know what they say.” Evie frowned. “What?” “Small businesses are dying.” “Oh.” Evie replied. “Especially small businesses like this one.” She said. “I don’t know how people are going to live if they keep shutting down.” “I know.” Evie agreed. Melissa nodded. “Did you know that Walmart, on North Street, is going to become a stadium for the new basketball team?” “I heard.” Evie said. “They want to renovate the stadium and the parking lots.” Melissa shook her head. “How they were allowed to do this, I have no idea.” “I think it’s cause they own half of the properties in town.” Louis said. “That’s a good point.” Melissa finished the transaction, and Evie took the bag that she offered. It was small, but the dollhouse was squished up inside, and she could only feel the plastic roof of the castle. She thanked Melissa, and Louis did the same. They walked out of the store, back into the busy corridors, and Evie felt a sudden pain in her stomach. It was a really sharp one, and she doubled over, breathing heavily. Louis held onto her until they reached the doors, and Evie didn’t look back. “I don’t feel good.” Evie said, once they were outside. Louis asked her if she wanted to take a seat, but she was going to throw up. They ran towards the first trash can available, and Evie spat out chunks of nothing. Her stomach was empty. “Baby, what’s wrong with you?” Louis asked, as she coughed. He held her hair back, but she didn’t need it. There was nothing but air coming up. She winced and clutch at her stomach, moving away from the trash can, “It’s just something that I ate.” She replied, wiping her lips clean. “But you haven’t eaten anything yet.” Evie didn’t reply, still clutching at her stomach. They walked back towards the parking lot, and reached the car in no time at all. “You haven’t eaten anything, have you, Evie?” Louis said, as Evie unlocked the car. “I haven’t eaten anything.” She repeated, frowning. They both climbed inside, and Louis looked at Evie as he turned on the engine. “So what did you eat?” “I can’t remember.” She said. He raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean, you can’t remember?” “I can’t remember, okay?” She repeated. They drove in silence, with Evie hold onto the headrest as if her life depended on it. She pulled cold air through her teeth, then hot air. She didn’t know whether she was hot or cold. All she knew was that she felt sick. Evie didn’t feel any better when they got home. She locked herself inside of the bathroom, with her head against the mirror, and moaned in pain. She had cramps all over her body: in her arms, in her legs, and even in her fingers. She moaned until everything went black, and didn’t wake up until the morning. She was sick, and had been sick the entire night; it reminded her of when she was a child, and her parents had given her some bad milk. Evie didn’t remember anything until she reached the hospital. The only difference was that she wasn’t a kid anymore, and she wasn’t at home. She groggily sat up, looking around the room, and the first thing that she saw was a guy in a white lab coat, with gloved hands touching her arms. He jumped when he saw that she was awake, and Evie groggily looked down at her own hands. They were restrained. “Let me go.” She said. The man didn’t reply. Evie saw a few other men and women coming out of the shadows, dressed in similar white coats. She threw her head back. “Let me go!” She shouted

Doctor Dentist is Coming to Town

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