Dr Psycho

Some say I've got a God complex. That I'm narcissistic.

I am better than a lot of other people. Egotistical, maybe, but true. I'm the best in my field. Things that bother other people don't bother me. Blood for instance. OK, not many surgeons mind that, so not the best example.

Brain surgery is my specialty. I was operating on a patient who required quite complex surgery.

I followed the steps meticulously with a steady hand. I'm world famous for this, I know what I'm doing. So when blood started gushing, I felt something like surprise. It's not often that things that are not supposed to happen, happen. Not to me. Not when I'm in charge. Is this how other (normal) people feel?

So much blood. We couldn't see what we were doing. My assistants were suctioning it away, but couldn't keep up. A nurse called out his stats; his blood pressure was dropping like a heavy stone. Others were trying to get blood into him, but they couldn't keep up either. It was pissing out of him so fast. It was almost comical, like a clown car but with blood. I didn't giggle.

The world pulled into sharp focus, brighter colours. My skin tingled. My heart leapt. This is a good day at work for me.

The guy was basically dead. There was surely no coming back from this. I went in there with my hands and had a good feel around inside his head.

Fishing about in the soup of blood, exploring by feel, I found the problem. I might have laughed. What little I could see of the faces around me looked bloodless and pinched. What's wrong with them?

They could see the smile on my mouth, but could they see it in my eyes? When this stuff happens, I don't know how to dim that light. Pretend I'm as scared as anyone else. That I'm feeling things the way a normal person would.

I set to work dealing with the problem. Might as well. What do you know: his blood pressure started climbing.

My assistant told me afterwards that it was the scariest thing he'd ever seen. I thought it was fun.

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Word count: (excluding author's note): 366

Submitted on: 9th May at 23:02 *Quick Author's Note*

First, and most importantly: thank you so much for reading my story! The ha'penny that Vocal will pay me for your eyes will be well spent. A maid to clean my toothbrush, maybe, or a man to shine my left shoe.

A Year of Stories: I'm writing a story every day this year. This one makes a 130 day streak since the 1st January.

Please do consider lending your support to the other creators who are also on this madcap "a story every day" adventure. They are putting out excellent content every day!

Rachel Deeming

Gerard DiLeo

The story behind the story: Surgeons have to dehumanise their patients to some degree so that they can, you know, cut into them. And "surgeon with a God complex" is a common trope. I wanted to explore this. I guess this is a good use of sociopathic tendencies, right?

Leave me a comment! Please do leave me a comment. It makes it easier for me to reciprocate the read. Do you want this person holding the knife when you go under, or not? If you've done a story about a sociopath, please leave me a link. I'd love to read it.

Thank you

Thank you again! Most especially if you are one of the wonderful people who has been staunchly reading these daily scribbles since the start of the year. I see you, and appreciate you 😁

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