Indulgence by Tony Thorne MBE (ereader manga .txt) 📕

her and saw that the third name from the top was his. He greeted her apprehensively. "Hallo, I'm Roger Haggerty."

The woman eyed him up and down, then gave him a stern look. "Please wait here; there are some others to come.''

Sure enough, there were others, and he could already tell who they were - two other men and one woman, all definitely overweight and gazing around as if lost. He waved and called to them. "Over here!"

With looks of relief, they came over to him. The girl spoke first. "Hallo, I'm Lucy Summers." She exclaimed cheerfully. "What's your name?"

Roger told her, and his answer was overheard by the other two prospective patients, who introduced themselves as Fred Allbright, and Charlie Daniels. They shook hands all around, except for the stern, slim lady who was there to meet them. She kept her distance and began to move further away from them after a curt instruction. "Follow me now, please. Our transport is waiting outside."

They followed her out of the terminal building and over a couple of parallel roads to where, in the distance, they could see waiting a medium-sized white vehicle that looked like an ambulance, except without any markings - not even a red cross. It's noisy diesel engine was turning over slowly, and the twin back doors were open. They all climbed in and sat down. Their hostess banged twice on the front wall, and the vehicle moved away.

The journey to the clinic seemed endless. The seats in the vehicle were arranged along each side, presumably to leave room for a wheeled stretcher in the center. The windows of the ambulance were covered, other than the two small ones at the back. The visitors took it in turns to occasionally get up and look through them at the scenery, but Roger could tell by the disapproving look on her face that their hostess was not pleased at this behaviour. He tried to engage her in some conversation, but she was not at all cooperative. "You will learn all you need to know when we arrive at the clinic." She seemed robotic, because this is all she ever said, no matter how many attempts Roger made to converse with her.

Some time later, it became dark, and from the labored way the engine of the vehicle was sounding, they were travelling uphill. It reminded Roger much of the way he used to sputter and struggle up the hill to his house. Every now and again, it would suddenly swing to the right or the left, indicating the steep bends of a mountain road. They had no seat belts, so it became essential to hang on to the metal rails fixed to the sidewalls of the ambulance. On one occasion, Lucy Summers lurched across and over onto Roger`s lap. In spite of her often unappreciated girth, he nevertheless found the weighty experience pleasant, but it was not long lasting as she staggered off him and back over to her seat again with a gasp of embarrassment.

About half-an-hour later, their hostess rose from her seat and looked out of the rear windows. She turned and spoke to them. "We are almost there now. I`m afraid it will begin to snow soon. When the ambulance stops and the doors are open, you must get into the clinic as fast as possible. You should have a warm overcoat with you in your luggage as we requested. Please take it out and put it on now, so as to be ready. Apart from the snow, it can be very windy up at this altitude."

Fortunately, the twisting and turning had ceased as she spoke, so they were able to grab their cases and take out their coats and put them on. Their hostess inspected them, in turn. She spoke to Roger, severely. "Your coat does not have a hood, Mr Haggerty. That is quite unfortunate."
Roger gave her a shrug. "I`ll just have to manage, I didn`t know it would be necessary."

The vehicle slowed down, made a right turn and stopped moving, but left the engine idling. The prospective patients got to their feet and waited for the door to open. Their hostess waved them back down . "We are only at the main gates. The clinic is at the end of the driveway."

They sat down again and waited. After a while, they heard the squeaky sound of some heavy iron gates being opened. The ambulance started up again.

It was clearly a long driveway, but eventally they stopped, and the driver switched off the engine. Its noise was replaced by the howling of a very strong wind and the chattering of snowflakes on the sides and roof of the ambulance. The luckless passengers gazed at each othe in alarm. Sally voiced their thoughts. "I hope it`s not always like this." Roger couldn't help thinking that this was going to be a difficult place to escape from, if it became necessary.

The twin doors opened slowly, one at a time. A tall, dark figure, presumably their driver, in a thick, black fur overcoat, appeared and beckoned everyone out into the snowstorm. They held on to each other grimly, as it was almost impossible to see anything. The large man led the way, holding Roger`s hand, while he held Lucy`s. Fred Allbright was last in line, followed by their hostess who held his hand tightly. They staggered along against the wind, until they reached some steps and proceeded to climb them. There must have been about thirty steps altogether, and it was tough going, but they made it. The wind, previously hard against them, died as they came to an illuminated large double archway. The welcoming light coming from the door behind it it was a deep orange color, and they were soon through it and inside a large porch, rubbing the snowflakes from their eyes. Roger, who had not been protected by a hood like the others, had developed a nasty headache from the icy cold . His ears and nose seemed frozen. Thankfully for Roger, the small reception room they were standing in soon led to a larger one that was warm and cozy. The others threw back their hoods and took in deep breaths of relief. With his teeth chattering, Roger turned to the others and spluttered. "Well, we're here at last. I wonder what comes next?"

They were soon to find out as an inner door at the end of the room slowly opened revealing a tall, slim, bearded man dressed in a white coat with trousers to match. He was followed by a nurse, similarly dressed, carrying a tray holding an assortment of large hypodermic syringes.

Chapter Three – TAfter the Operation

The tall man bowed and gave them each a smile as he introduced himself. "I'm Dr. Wyceka, and this is your nurse, Olga. Welcome to our clinic. You are now high up in the Carpathian mountains, not far from Transylvania actually, but don't let that worry you."

His smile widened, which made it look sinister. The patients looked at each other but said nothing, so he continued. "We want you to have a comfortable night, so that you will be amply ready for your operations in the morning. For this reason, we need to give you each a little injection which will enable you to sleep and restrict your appetite. This is because you will be unable to eat any normal food until the grafts have taken, and that will take several days."

Roger had to interrupt. He was horrified at the thought of nothing more to eat for several days; and so were his hefty companions. With a groan of despair, he exclaimed, "Can't we just have a quick snack or something . We haven't eaten a thing since the meal we had on the flight … and what kind of grafts do you mean?"

The doctor smiled again. "I'm afraid I cannot allow you to eat anything more tonight … or tomorrow either. But you'll soon discover that you don't need anything more, after the injections. Everything is explained in these booklets I am about to give you, telling you all about the grafts and the rest of the treatment you have agreed to have."

He picked up three copies of a small booklet from the reception desk, and gave them one each. Lucy took a look at hers, thumbing through the pages, and was the first to complain."But these are not even written in English! What good does that do?"

"Yes, I'm sorry about that. We are awaiting copies in your language, as you are the first English patients to be accepted for the treatment." He cleared his throat and continued, "No matter, Nurse Olga will translate anything you want to know later."

The prospective patients began muttering to themselves and each other. Then they thought about the weather outside and how they really did desperately want to lose weight. Lucy spoke out loud first. "Well, I'm game, there's no future for me if I don't do something drastic about my weight. I've tried everything."

Roger and Fred shrugged and reluctantly agreed that they had the same problem. The other patient, Charlie, was more cautious, and became agitated."I'm not so sure that I want to go on with all this now." He stuttered nervously. "Couldn't I have some time to think it over?"

The doctor seemed to grow taller and more ominous. He spoke sternly. "Mr. Daniels, you have already signed a contract agreeing to the treatment. However, I do understand your apprehension; but I am sure that you will want to go ahead after you've read the booklet, er … I mean Nurse Olga has answered any of your questions.. Meanwhile, I must insist that you have the injection, as it will give you a good night's sleep and calm your fears, I assure you."

Roger couldn't help suspecting that the doctor was trying to prevent everything from sounding sinister. After all, he thought, depending upon what the injection did to a patient, it might make us unable to refuse anything. Nevertheless, taking a deep breath, Lucy volunteered to be first. She sat down in the large chair by the reception desk and bared her right arm; then she closed her eyes and waited.

It was soon over, and apart from a slight tingle, as the needle went home, she felt nothing. "There you are boys, nothing to it!" she chortled.

"Of course not." The doctor sniggereded, "We always add a little anaesthetic to the cocktails here. So, who will be next?"

Roger put up an arm, just as Fred did also. "Okay, after you!" He exclaimed politely and stepped aside, as Lucy got up from the chair, still smiling.

His turn soon came, followed by a distinctly pale Charlie, who sat down in the chair somewhat reluctantly. Nevertheless, all seemed to go well, and the nurse left by the way she had came. The doctor looked at each one of the patients in turn and seemed satisfied. "Now, your hostess here, my wife Madame Wyceka, who met you at the airport, will take you to your rooms. Meanwhile, I wish you a good night, and look forward to seeing you in the morning. Rest well."

He turned and left the reception room.