Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Needle Shy

Trifecta: Week Sixty-Nine

Congrats to this weekends winners!
This week's word is:
INFECT
1: to contaminate with a disease-producing substance or agent (as bacteria)
2a : to communicate a pathogen or a disease to
  b : of a pathogenic organism : to invade (an individual or organ) usually by penetration
  c : of a computer virus : to become transmitted and copied to (as a computer)
3a : contaminate, corrupt <the inflated writing that infects such stories>  
  b : to work upon or seize upon so as to induce sympathy, belief, or support <trying to infect their salespeople with their enthusiasm>




"You'll feel a little stick." The tech smiled as she eased the needle into the exposed vein in Ben's arm.

"Nah.  Didn't feel a thing." Ben watched the vial fill.  Bright red, and thicker than he'd thought it would be. The tech, her badge proclaimed her Mandy, changed vials twice.  

Ben frowned at the tray holding the tubes, two full, several more empty. "Why do y'all take so much?"

"Different tests, its easier to have multiples than to pass one tube all over the lab." Mandy smiled again as she swapped vials once more, "It's not so much.  You have plenty."

Ben wasn't so sure. Mandy's smiles, meant to put him at at ease, were beginning to infect him with apprehension. "I'm startin' to feel woozy.  You done yet?"

"Just a few more, hon. You don't want us to miss anything important."  She flashed her teeth again.  "There!  Last one."  She thumbed a cotton ball over the needle mark and strapped it down with tape.  "You wait here while I run these down to the lab. I can grab you a candy bar if you want."  

"No, that's okay. I need to go, got stuff to do."  Ben tried to rise, but Mandy pushed him firmly back into the chair. "You just sit there and catch your breath. 

         ********

Mandy locked the door behind her, then hustled to the lab. The one man waiting was no technician.

"Another vamp trying to pass. He was pretty depleted when I left," she said.  Laying the tray in front of him, she counted the vials.  "Oh, hell!  There's one missing, he must've nabbed one!"

Together, they ran back to the room.  The door was thrown from its frame and Ben was nowhere to be seen. 

"I'll get security, yelled the non-tech as he ran back up the hall.

He'd disappeared around the corner when the cold hand covered Mandy's no longer smiling mouth.

"You'll feel a little stick," Ben whispered in her ear.


24 comments:

  1. Chilling and fantastic. I loved the surprisingly dark ending. Well done.

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    1. Thanks, Megan! I kind of surprised myself.

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  2. ooh nice one flowed well and kept me reading

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    1. Thank you, Steven! It is always good news that I kept someone reading. ;-)

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  3. Not only entertaining on it's own merits, having worked as a phlebotomist, I enjoyed it even more for it's content. I can't wait to see if you follow up!

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    1. Thanks, Dani, though I don't plan on more. Got too many unfinished things already.

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  4. Ha!ha!Loved the dark humour here-
    what goes around,comes around,eh?
    ;-)

    Totally enjoyable Renee:-)

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  5. Superb! Such an innocuous start building up slowly to a dramatic and sinister end. Loved it.

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    1. Thanks, Sandra! I'm glad you enjoyed. And, "dramatic", I'm all swoony now.

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  6. Very, very clever. Excellent development..x

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    1. Thank you! I appreciate your visit and comment. :-)

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  7. Yick.. I hate needles this had me shiver all through.... :-)

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    1. Shivers...good, I like causing shivers. Thanks for reading.
      Needles don't spook me, but perhaps eight legged things might. A little.

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  8. muah-ha-ha-ha wonderful little vampire story (:<

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    1. Thanks, Draug, I love the vamps. Was a little undone by the sparkly species for awhile. But, I'm getting through it.

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  9. Great, creepy story. Ben was thirsty I guess.

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    1. Thank you, lumdog! Well, of course...Mandy tried to draw him dry...

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  10. Got me worried about being drained dry. And needles. *shiver*
    Great dialogue.

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    1. Thanks, Kymm! No worries, unless your a vamp. We mortals can make our own. I think Ben is dependent on "outside" sources.

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  11. Whoa...didn't expect that ending, but I loved it! Blood draws freak me out, so was scared from the beginning :)

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    1. Thank you, Janna! I love the twisted endings. But I think people are starting to catch on to me...

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  12. That was creepy, but I was a little confused about the ending. Not quite sure what was going on.

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