Dark 25: Elm Street: Tormented Soul

“Keep your hands off me!” The patient named Kruger called out in anger. “I will not be sedated.”

The nurse in attendance stepped away from the bed. She was unable to act without the doctor’s order, and more than that, the patient held the right to refuse treatment as per the medical centre policy.

“Doctor Harlan?”

“Step away, Nurse Amy. I will speak to him.” The doctor in the polyester medical frock with the white shirt highlighted the poor quality and cost of the attire. The professional medical officer was a scrooge when it comes to personal needs except for the ladies he hired for his personal needs. The elderly man pulled the nurse aside to approach the patient. He does not feel for the patients there but the money was good and that translates to a deep sleep on the release of his stress.

“Mr Kruger, I can’t make you take the ….”

“Doctor, I cannot sleep. I need the medicine that you provided. Double strength now.” The patient called out in from his seated position on the adjustable bed. The bed was also modified with electrical prods to keep him awake. The patient was admitted three weeks ago, with the specific instructions not let him sleep. He was to be kept awake.

“Doctor, his bp is ….”

“Give him the beta-blockers.” The doctor prescribed without looking at the nurse. “Do it.”

The doctor then looked at the patient, standing there without touching the patient. He looked to the four lights over the patient’s bed, all bright and shinning the patient as if he was on stage. It was the instruction by the patient.

“Mr Kruger. We have been keeping you awake for …”

“I have no need for you to inform me of my condition. I need to be awake.”

“Mr Kruger, I can assure you that we are doing our best. The medicine we gave you is not released to the public. It's more powerful than Modafinil.” Modafinil was time-shifting drug to enhances alertness and cognitive powers. It allowed the user to stay alert for 40 hours or more.

“Give me that. I need it.” Kruger called in desperation. “I cannot sleep.”

“Mr Kruger. Please tell me about your ailment. I may not be able to take care of you if I am unaware of your real ailment.”

“I cannot sleep. That means I don’t want to sleep. That’s all you need to know.”

“Then I have another doctor for you.” The doctor turned to step away. It was then Kruger stopped the doctor.

“I will tell you…. I will speak only to you.” Kruger whispered out. 

The tale the doctor heard was short but absurd in the telling. The doctor stepped back to the bed.

“You need to confront your fear, Mr Kruger. Its the wishes of your conscience. That came from your soul. You cannot ignore your soul. It’s the only living part of you after your body succumbs to death. You could delay death but never to cheat your soul.”

“Doctor, I insist on being discharged now,” Kruger told the doctor. “I will find another doctor that will follow my wishes.”

“There are no more doctors for your service, Mr Kruger. You have been sedated ever since you arrived here. We have placed you in an induced coma. What you are seeing or shall I describe as experiencing is the illusion your mind had created with our guidance. You are in my world. If you want to live on without …. any more dreams, you will…”

“Thank you, doctor. I am afraid you are mistaken. I am not in your realm but you are in mine. Please take a seat.” The chair appeared behind the doctor offered by the nurse. “My name is Kruger or Freddy or whatever name that may be desired by you.”

“I don’t understand. I had you contained since you were…”

“A convenient routing was done by my peers. We had invaded your sleep for over a week and laid the siege over it making you believe that a Mr Kruger was going to see you. Since then, we have been directing your actions or perceived actions while your body was snuffed. Ypu died and interned in a morgue. Eventually, they buried you as an unknown in an unmarked grave two days ago.”

“You are lying.” The doctor reacted in anger. “I am alive.”

“Alive? Undoubtedly untrue. You have died. Only your soul is here. Do you know the soul remained in this dimension for a duration of time? It's wandering looking for its exit to the next dimension. Its what you said earlier, the soul is also your conscience. I intend to kill both your body and soul.”

“Ha…Ha…. You can’t reach my soul. You are only in my imagination.” The Doctor replied.

“And you are right.” The doctor looked towards the patient. “Perhaps they could explain.”

A number of figures peel from the wallpapers like Paper Mache creations.

“Meet the Shadows. They are from the dreamscape and invited into yours. You may ….”

“No! They can’t be here.” The Doctor slumped back onto the bed. His body sagged into the chair and his hands drawn up over his face. “I am not here.”

“Hello, Doctor Hanrlan.” The newly arrived greeted the doctor. “I am the Shadow of …”

“The Shadow of Change. They are your brethren, the Shadow of War and Destruction, the Shadow of Beauty, the Shadow of Darkness, the Shadow of Deception, the Shadow of Love and Peace.” The Doctor mumbled their names. “I know all of you. You surfaced in the dreamscape to torment soul and the then the demise of the soul. Now leave me.”

“I don’t think they can. They have an obligation to meet you. You have insulted them when you used their dreamscape to do those killings. Unlike me, I was their servant.” Kruger looked towards the doctor. “You were a bad wizard but with your wife, you and her, with the shortest time have mastered the art on the shift of dimension. Do you know that even the best or the greatest of them all; Merlin avoided that spell? But not you, Doctor. You had to cross that boundary. It was not enough for you and you murder your wife. Then you become the most elusive murderer of the natural and unnatural history. How many souls did you kill in the timeline of ten years? A hundred or a few hundred. You killed not for pleasure or material gain but to be ranked above the others in the field.”

“You can’t do this to me. They will….” The Doctor looked at Kruger.

“Take their vengeance on you. You were the one that avoided them all these years. You stayed awake to avoid sleep which was their realm. You killed those by failing those victims into the coma condition. You used the spell to move into their dreamscape and then slowly murder their soul. Once that was done, the body had no more access to the soul and eventually collapse into death. It’s an unnatural death.”

“They were already dying, Kruger.” The Doctor defended himself. “I merely…”

“Added their misery when they were near death. You are the most despicable murderer.” Kruger cut in. “I had to plan this elaborate scheme to avoid your suspicion. I even advised the Shadows to stay away until now.”

“They will ….” The doctor looked at the line up of the seven Shadows.

“In seven different ways. I know. And you will die six times before you really die.” Kruger smiled before he looked to the Seven Shadows. “Which is you will go first? And which one last?”

Kruger started laughing then before he looked back to the doctor.

“There is one thing I deplore, Doctor. And that is to be relegated to the second spot by you. Your crimes rivalled mine. You should have let them end their life with dignity but you derive pleasure to see them die with more misery. When I knew that, I felt the need to end it all.”

“Maybe I am getting complacent or maybe righteous in my madness to kill.” Kruger smiled at the doctor. “You knew that I am dying, I have cancer inside me that is chewing my brain. I will die soon but I want to die peacefully knowing I regain my top spot. Was that too much to ask from you?”

“Mr Kruger, you are dying. And yes, I kill those who will die by killing their soul too. It was my mode of operation ….. but I cannot die with the Shadows doing things to my soul. I will die my way.” The Doctor called on the one spell which he kept hidden for that moment.

“No, Doctor. That spell won’t work for you. It will only do if you still have a physical body. Yours are ashes now. Welcome to your realm. Die painfully. Thank you, Doctor. You may now die ….” Kruger looked to the line up of Shadows. “He is all yours, Shadows. Just leave my soul alone.”