Twist and Scream - Volumes 1 - 4 - Omnibus Edition (Horror Short Stories) by Bartholomew Jayne

Author:Bartholomew, Jayne [Bartholomew, Jayne]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2014-01-18T16:00:00+00:00

Running Wild

Dr Sam Worth stared at the toenails presented to him in thoughtful silence; his patient, a forty-three year old businessman called Max Archer, stared with him.

“I really don’t understand what’s happening,” said Max. “I don’t stint with my personal hygiene but my nails are driving me crazy, they keep growing and I swear they’re growing faster and stronger every time I look at them.”

“Have you tried a chiropodist?” Sam knew the answer in advance but asked the question anyway to buy himself some time.

“Yes of course, but when I told them about my other problems they referred me to you. I mean, they filed the nails down four days ago but, just look at them! It’s like I haven’t touched them for years!”

Sam nodded and mentally ran through the issues that Max had originally presented with; restlessness and anaemia being among the most pressing ones. The bizarre thing was that for every negative symptom he developed there was also something positive that cropped up; the reason why Max was restless was due to a massive hike in energy levels. While he might be feeling tired during the day he was starting to lose his spare tyre and had actually never looked healthier. If it hadn’t been for the anaemia Sam would have told him not to waste his time.

The toe nails were strong and slightly discoloured, bringing to mind a possible fungal infection. Sam prescribed a mild anti-bacterial lotion and recommended soaking the feet in warm salt water for an hour every day. Then he took some blood to send off for analysis and picked up his clippers to trim the offending toenails into a shape that would fit into shoes more easily.

As he bent over Max’s feet it seemed that the nails had actually grown since he last looked. Sam shrugged off the thought; he was being ridiculous, nothing could possibly grow that quickly.

“I warn you,” said Max, “I’m really ticklish on my feet.”

Sam smiled, “This will only take a moment, let’s see if my clippers can tame these things.”

He started with the right foot, taking a firm grip on the ankle to stop any wriggling, and adjusted his glasses to make sure they were in place. Nail clippings had a habit of flying off in all directions and judging by the thickness of the nails in front of him, these ones could do serious damage if they flew up into his eye.

A slight twitch from Max’s leg indicated that he was indeed exceptionally sensitive but trying to keep his foot steady. The little toe was trimmed without incident. Sam worked his way up to the big toe and noticed that his patient had broken out into a light sweat.

“Are you OK, Max?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Can you hurry up though? It’s killing me having you fiddle with my feet!”

“Almost done, just the left foot to do and you’re good to go.”

As Sam reached for the next set of nails he accidently brushed the soft sole of the foot and Max’s leg jerked upwards.

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