Torment 2004....'Torment Unveiled'
Thomas Orment was a doctor of internal medicine as well as a great surgeon. He loved doing what he did, but he loved his wife Helen much more. When she was struck with an unknown illness, Doctor Orment made the decision to retire from his profession and move to the country. There, the doctor would care for his wife and continue to work on finding a treatment to cure Helen.
He needed a space to work on his experiments privately, without interference or skepticism from his colleagues. Contrary to his wife's' beliefs, Doctor Orment had not retired. He was banished from practicing medicine by the medical community. His stories and strange ideas about creating a formula which could actually 'bring back the dead' had disturbed some of the other doctors in his practice.
Orment claimed that all he needed was an accelerator to add to his serum and he would then be able to successfully reanimate the dead. He claimed to have proof in his lab. However, upon closer inspection by his colleagues, only the remains of a mutilated corpse could be found. This alarmed the medical community and after numerous warnings about his peculiar behavior, he was exiled and forced to leave.
The doctor continued his studies in private at his new residence in Orion, Illinois.
The last entry to his journal was dated October 2nd, 1903:
"It has been very hard to deal with the loss of my dear Helen, but I have to continue with my serum if I am to ever be reunited with her. Though I have tried and failed with all my experiments on over seventy cadavers, I have found the missing part to my solution. When the new enzyme was added, cell activity began at a very slow rate. I have dug all of the bodies back up, and injected them with the new serum. As difficult as it was, I dug up my dear Helen and injected her as well. I am preparing to inject myself. The best I can estimate, the accelerator I have developed will take at least one hundred years before it will complete activation. I would wait an eternity to see my Helen again."
Torment 2005....'Boundless Love'
Doctor Orment had injected himself with his serum long before he had died. This seemed to be the answer he had searched for so long and unfortunately, he had injected his beloved wife, Helen, after she had passed.
Both had risen from the dead. Doctor Orment seemed to have most of his motor skills and functions as he did before death and his facial features and skin were preserved, for now anyway.
On the other hand, his beloved wife had not been preserved. Her mind and body......had been turned into a 'blood thirsty zombie' through the Doctors' serum.
And all the experiments he had done..........all the cadavers he had experimented on before he had died? They too were rising from their graves. All were rising and roaming about in search of food......fresh, warm, food......food with hearts still pumping blood.
Doctor Orment felt this urgency and called on an outside agency.........the 'Eugene Cracker Agency'. Eugene Cracker was a 'Bounty Hunter'. He had promised the Doctor that his team would come in and eradicate the problem with little to no publicity. The Doctor also demanded that several of these specimens be captured for his experimentation to continue.
The Doctors' obsession never ceased. He believed he could find the link that would restore his wife to her natural state before death.
So, relentlessly, he continued........day and night........
"There must be a link somewhere.........somewhere in this madness. I just want to be alone with my Helen. She will be beautiful again. She is hungry. I must feed her now."
Torment 2006....'The Turning'
Doctor Orment was not thinking straight. His mind was deteriorating........along with his body. He had discovered yet another serum and was using it on himself. This seemed to help but he had to inject himself several times a day now. Saving his poor Helen.........was hopeless. She had gone totally insane and the Doctor could no longer bear to see her in this state. She is now resting in 'CloverDale Cemetery'. As for the Eugene 'Cracker Agency'........only one member of the team escaped and Mr. Cracker himself was bitten and did not survive.
The news had spread across the country but no one had stepped up to actually help. Not until Doctor 'Gunther E. Vilstein' contacted Doctor Orment. Doctor Vilstein had similar interests as Doctor Orment and was a specialist in micro-organism diseases. He convinced the fading Doctor Orment to open a clinic as a sanatorium and use 'fresh' patients. There was something in the serum that was reacting with the dead and Doctor Vilstein urged to start at 'square one' and use uninfected people to find the discrepancy.
Doctor Orment agreed and gave Doctor Vilstein complete control. He had deteriorated so much that he was quarantined to a small lab in the new 'sanatorium'. The lab door was locked. That is when Doctor Orment turned.
Two days later, Doctor Vilstein found the door splintered in half and the lab destroyed. Doctor Thomas Orment was missing.
Laying on the floor, among the chaos, a small recorder. Doctor Vilstein hit the play button:
"Need to inject again.............feeling so powerful........must eat..........my teeth.........growing............must eat................must eat now!"
Torment 2007....'Obligatory Renovation'
Since the disappearance of Doctor Orment, Doctor Vilstein was struggling to continue the research that had been left for him . He was realizing that the lab in Hidden View Sanatorium was not sufficient to continue his work. There just wasn't enough room and he needed more equipment for in-depth experimentation. Doctor Vilstein also felt that his research lab should be relocated to an area more secluded and out of sight of the other patients. (No need to cause more problems for himself by allowing patients to witness any possible wrong doings.)
He discussed all of this with Nurse Payne, his lead nurse, and decided they should take a walk through the property and seek a new location for the research lab. As Doctor Vilstein walked through the woods with Nurse Payne, they noticed a lab coat laying on the ground. Doctor Vilstein stopped dead in his tracks and looked at Nurse Payne with confusion that turned to jubilation.
"I believe this belongs to Doctor Orment. He must still be out here in the woods!" said Doctor Vilstein, as he reached down and picked the lab coat up. "Doctor Orment, Doctor Orment!" called out Doctor Vilstein. "Wait Doctor, Wait........what if Doctor Orment is different now? Are we safe out here alone?" she asked. "Hmmm...........it is starting to get dark...........come along, Nurse Payne, come along now...............we must hurry back to the sanatorium. We will come back later, with the security team, for safe measure! Now hurry along"! Doctor Vilstein said.
Nurse Payne caught up to Doctor Vilstein. As they rounded a corner, several hundred yards from Hidden View Sanatorium, they noticed something laying on the ground. What could that be?
Torment 2008....'Where is Susan?'
Susan cursed to see her cell phone battery dead. At that very instant a large deer crossed her lane stopping to gaze into her oncoming headlights. Jamming her brake to the floor sent the vehicle into an uncontrollable skid as it careened into the deep gully. Then silence as the deer loped on its' way across the road.
There were only a handful of cars on the road that early morning. No one had seen a thing. Far below, in the gully, Susan Lockhart lay battered and unconscious on the floor board of her car. As the darkness became day light, Susan would not be missed for a few days or more. She was on vacation from her home town of Cleveland for a surprise visit to see brother who lived in Seattle. He had no idea that she was coming to visit.
Susan awoke to the rays of the setting sun gleaming through her shattered windshield. She could hear water running as she noticed the large cut over her right eye. Her head and ribs throbbed with pain while she crawled out of the twisted wreckage. When she splashed some creek water on her face, she noticed the culvert. It seemed to be her only escape due to the position of the car. Wearily, she made her way down the large culvert falling several times in the cool creek water. She reached the other end of the culvert and realized she was now standing in a vast wooded area. In the distance, Susan could see high fences and a sign. Her heart raced as she thought to herself how she had survived this ordeal. She tried to hurry knowing there just had to be someone there to help her.
The deserted vehicle was located several days later along with Susan Lockharts' identification and personal belongings. Investigators were baffled. A wide spread search has yielded no trace of her whereabouts.
Torment 2009....'Playtime for Janitor Jed'
Janitor Jed continued mopping up and cleaning away the 'bile' left behind from Friday's experiments. The pay was no more than room and board, but Jed never complained. He actually liked his duties because they made him feel 'accepted'. Jed had always wanted to 'fit in' and he felt like he was at home now. As Jed walked through the lab he stopped to look at one of the cadavers that was laying on a gurney. The left arm was hanging down uncovered. Hand quivering, he reached out and touched the skin on the arm. Jed jerked his hand back and started pushing his mop and bucket back to his quarters........his work was done for this day.
Everyone at the lab was gone on Saturday which left Janitor Jed all alone to do his chores. He had the whole place to himself. No one watching him. The only other duty he had was to take his medications. Janitor Jed was still a patient at 'Hidden View'. The staff had entrusted him because he had improved so well over the last six months. It has been awhile since he has taken his medications............quite awhile.
It was getting close to 2PM and it was hot outside. Janitor Jed was restless as he tried to nap in this heat. He was sweating and his fan blew nothing but hot air across the room. His room smelled from his body odor and unchanged sheets. The fly's were having their way with Jed's unfinished lunch.
Janitor Jed sat straight up on his cot. Had he heard something? The only other people on the grounds were security..........the rest of staff were in the main buildings and security never came out to the lab on the weekends. There it is again. Janitor Jed stood up. He was sure he heard something this time. Was that a cry for help?
Janitor Jed was startled by the pounding on his door. He walked over to the door and looked outside. His heart raced as he pulled the door open.
There was a twinkle in Janitor Jed's eyes.
Torment 2010....???
As you exit your car you feel a bit uneasy. The chill in the air bites to tell you fall has arrived. It is the haunting season of Halloween. Trees sway to the breeze and lifeless leaves blow across your path. It's just the time of the year.......nothing else. As you glance around, you notice all the fields have crops growing. But why not here? All around is life.......but not here. Far behind you looms an old barn. The sun just faded away. Then you notice the gate. Is this a cemetery or what? You can't see far past the gate.....just shapes on the horizon. Then you hear the talking.....others are discussing the gate. The gate is the entrance. The entrance to what? Remember the old saying....."There is safety in numbers"
That does not apply here.
You dig your hand deeper in your pocket fighting the chill from the air. Darkness has set in as you crane your neck to see behind the gate. You know it won't be long now. Your turn is coming soon. A few lanterns flicker in the distance.......but they are spaced far apart. It is very difficult to see what is coming in total darkness, isn't it?
There is a path beyond that gate. A long path. It is dimly lit at best. A narrow path that leads somewhere far from where you are now. It will take some time to walk this path. Anything can happen in the dark.
A chill just shot through your neck. Your mind is beginning to race a bit, wondering what could be waiting down that path. It might be different if it was daylight. But there is no light. Not anymore. Now it is totally dark.
It is time.....time to cross through the gate. It is YOUR time to decide. Remember the chill. You have no idea of what Torments lie ahead. You feel beckoned to cross through, then a far off scream.....
What will you do?
