Unknown

~The next month
“Miss Mason! Lunch break is over! My next patient is waiting! Go start him off!” yelled my boss, Dr. Andrew. I am shocked every day to come into work and find that his mustache hasn’t blown off of his face with all of the bellowing he does.
He could have left me alone; my lunch break did not end for another five minutes... I guess my next physical therapy client was just early. Or Dr. Andrew was just being his usual, uptight self. I decided that it was most likely both.
I swallowed my last mouthful of sandwich and begrudgingly gathered up my stuff, grabbed my clipboard, and rushed into the waiting room. My next patient was a little boy named Murray. He and his mother had been coming to the therapy center for years, but I hadn’t seen him in a while because he and his family had been on a vacation in the Ukraine. They had just gotten back. Murray’s hip muscles needed to be stretched regularly in order for them to maintain blood flow, and, as Dr. Andrew’s assistant, it was my job to warm him up and notice any changes before the doctor got to him.
“Murray! Nice to see you again! How was your trip?” I said cheerfully as I tussled his sandy blonde hair. I loved working with kids, and Murray was one of my favorite clients. He was a chipper little fellow and was always so curious about his therapy session.
But instead of saying hello like he usually did, Murray solemnly walked past me with his mother, who was holding his hand. His little freckled face showed no emotion. No smile, not even a passing glance. I stood there awkwardly for a moment before walking after them.
Once we were in examination room number two, I began to check Murray’s hip. First, I just checked his hip muscles over his clothes. They were significantly looser than the last time he was here. I marked the observation on my clipboard.
“Wow! Your muscles are very loose! Have you been working on those exercises Dr. Andrew gave you?” I asked Murray. He didn’t respond. He just looked at me with a blank stare. His mother did the same, and said nothing. First they didn’t say hello, and now it seemed that they weren’t saying anything at all. What was going on?
“Okay, little lad. Time to take off your trousers for your hip examination,” I told Murray. Once they were off, I got ready to stretch his hips, but I flinched and immediately backed away, horrified, when I saw Murray's skin.
It was extremely dry and was peeling off in large chunks. It looked like he hadn’t put lotion on it in years. I’m no dermatologist, but I could tell that that was not normal.
“What happened to his skin?” I turned to ask his mother, but she was gone. I looked around. I didn’t even hear the door open or close. What the hell? I thought to myself. I then turned back to face Murray, but he was gone as well. “Murray?” I called. I looked down. His pants were still laying on the floor in a heap. “Uh. You left your trousers…” What. The. Hell.
I poked my head out the door. They were nowhere in sight. “Dr. Andrew?” I called
“Yes, Miss Mason? Are you ready for me to finish up the exam? Has Murray been doing his stretches?” He asked, almost threateningly.
“Uh, I… I’m… help?” I sounded so wimpy. Ugh.
“Oh, for goodness sake! What can it possibly be, Kiara?” he yelled from his office. Grumpy old bugger. I could just imagine his giant black eyebrows scrunching together like angry caterpillars.
“I, uh…” I didn’t know how to proceed in telling him that I had lost the patient. I heard footsteps belonging to a heavy stride start to make their way to my examination room. Dr. Andrew’s beer belly, which was bulging out of his too-tight trousers, briskly walked through the doorway, soon followed by the rest of him. He scowled at me. Even his mustache was angry.
When he reached me, he asked, “What are you doing? Where is Mrs. Mills and her son?” He stared straight into my eyes. He could probably smell my fear.
“Well, uh, they... disappeared?” I started to tell him. “Then, um-”
“What are you saying?” He interrupted.
“Well, sir. They literally just vanished. I don’t know how to explain it. Sorry.” He just stood there staring at me as if I were speaking another language. I shrunk under his anger.
Then, he said unnaturally smoothly, “Get back to work. Now.” He left the room, leaving me standing there with a half frustrated, half scared look on my face.

Notes

Brenna: Hooray for another update! I'm so very happy that you guys are liking this story! Tell your friends about it and can't wait until next weekend for new update :))

Celery: Hello again! So, here it is: our second update! I hope you like it, and remember to check me out on Wattpad @Celery_supreme ;)