Sarah was much like many college students her age. Poor. She did well in her studies in the Fine Arts department at the local University, but they have not yet yielded any monetary benefits. It was the dead of summer and Sarah wanted more than anything to take a trip to the beach with her friends. They would be leaving in a few weeks, and Sarah would need to gather a significant sum of money so she could go with them. She was waiting tables at the coffee shop in her town, but it didn’t make her enough to go on the trip.
Late one night she scoured the local Craigslist ads, looking for a way to make some quick cash. Yawning, she hadn’t had much luck. Sarah was an earnest, attractive, 20 year old student. She wanted more than anything to succeed in her studies, and hopefully parlay her success into a designer job in the city. She took great care in her physical appearance. She worked out almost every day, running almost 5 miles every morning. She was incredibly toned and fit, a large set of 34C breasts sat on her slender frame. She was not naïve, and knew that her body had led to increased tips at the coffee shop and more than a few unsolicited advances. She was begging for an opportunity to show off her body at the beach, when she came across a random ad.
“Cardiologist looking for a young, fit individual between the ages of 18 and 25 for cardiac exams. Must be in top physical shape, depending on subject, willing to pay $500 for less than 3 hours of tests.”
The ad gave her pause. Random solicitations for tests on Craigslist didn’t seem like the safest way to make money. However, the ad also featured a link to his bio on a leading University hospital website. He wasa board certified surgeon, and the address was not in a sketchy part of town. Sighing, she filled out a quick e-mail and went to bed.
The next morning she received a very short, but professional sounding e-mail from the cardiologist in question.
“Yes I still am looking for appropriate subjects. The tests are non-invasive and are centered on my research into cardiac organs in peek physical form. Based on your e-mail you may be an excellent subject. Please make an appointment with my secretary. I look forward to meeting you in person.”
She made the appointment for a day she had off. She made her way to his office and went inside. It was clean, well-lit, and resembled any other doctor’s office she had been across. Though she had driven to the appointment with a bit of trepidation, the office assuaged her anxiety. She walked up to the receptionist and told her she was here to see the doctor.
The receptionist was in her mid 40s, well-groomed and professionally attired. “Yes, the doctor is expecting you. Please take a seat and he will be with you shortly.” As she sat down, she could have sworn that the receptionist was smirking, but it must have been her imagination. She leafed through a Reader’s Digest waiting for the doctor to arrive.
“Ms. Roberts is it?” A confident, deep voice addressed her. Sarah looked up to see the doctor leafing through her paperwork. He was young, bright, and supremely confident. Handsome. Sarah shifted in her seat.
“Yes doctor.” She rose and shook his hand.
“Excellent, my name is Doctor Livingston. Mrs. Anderson her has filled out your file and I’m ready to begin.” He led Sarah down a narrow hallway into a large consultation room. He motioned for her to sit on the table. The office featured a number of model hearts and charts, a few stethoscopes and a blood pressure machine. Nothing out of the ordinary.
“So doctor, what kind of tests will you be conducting?” He looked at her warmly,
“Nothing too crazy, I need some additional data points for my study on strong, well functioning heart muscles. A few listens of your heart, an ultrasound, and a quick EKG should be all we need to do.” Sarah took a deep breath, nothing too terrifying. “Based on your e-mail you said you have a cardiac workout 5-7 times per week. Is that correct?”
“Yes doctor, I run around my neighborhood almost every day.”
“Good, perfect.” He adjusted his glasses as he put on the stethoscope around his neck. “Now I’m going to have to listen to all the areas of your heart. Please remove your bra and change into this gown. Knock when you are ready.” He left the room as Sarah quickly changed into the gown, the quicker she was, the faster she’d be home, 500 dollars richer. She knocked on the door and after a short pause, the doctor entered.
“Now just relax. I’m going to listen to your heart to get an idea of how strong and efficient it is.” Sarah took a deep breath as the doctor began to listen to her pump.
Closing his eyes the doctor explored all the regions around her heart. Her heart was slow and strong, pumping effortlessly. The valves opened and closed in perfect harmony. No sign of any murmuring or other cardiac defects. It accelerated slightly as he moved the bell below her left breast, but quickly returned to slow, methodical pace. After 5 minutes, he was satisfied with what he had heard. This heart will do nicely. Clearing his throat, “Perfect, your heart sounds fantastic. You have a very slow resting heart rate, clearly you are in great shape.”
Sarah smiled, “Thanks! I’m glad all that running in circles makes a difference!”
“Indeed it does. Now, just lay back and relax. We’re going to do a quick EKG and ultrasound and you’ll be on your way!” Sarah laid back as the doctor wheeled in the EKG and ultrasound. He opened up her gown, making sure to project a professional demeanor as he caught a glance of her large breasts. He covered the left side of her chest in electrodes. He then attached a small ultrasound wand and booted up both machines. The room was filled with slow, sharp pings as the EKG read the electric impulse controlling her pumping heart. In was beating just under 50 beats per minute. The ultrasound confirmed everything he heard. Her pumping heart was a perfect cardiac specimen. A perfectly synchronized cardiac cycle and strong forceful beats. “Beautiful isn’t it?” As he gazed upon the screen.
Sarah turned to watch the slow methodical pumping of her heart. “Yeah it’s pretty cool, to get to see my heart beating like that.” She looked intently at the image, seeing each atrium quiver and each ventricular contraction. It was an amazing thing to watch. She was shaken from her daydream by a sharp prick on her arm. She turned to see the doctor emptying a syringe of clear liquid.
Before she could cry out, her world went black.
Sarah didn’t know how long she was out. It could have been 3 hours or 3 days for all she knew. The world slowly returned to focus as she tried to regain her bearings. She was on her back, on a table of some sort. A mask pushing in cool air covered her mouth and nose. The room looked different than the doctor’s office. She heard sharp pinging sounds. She tried to lift her head, but could not. She was strapped down. The reality of the situation began to be pieced together by her groggy mind. She was trapped and for some reason she couldn’t cry out. She tried to get up, but it was of no use. She began to panic.
The pinging sounds that filled the room increased.
“Ah, I see that you have awoken. I wasn’t sure how long you would be out. The operation is very…involved and I was worried that you had suffered some sort of mental trauma.” He saw that Sarah was trying to speak. “Don’t try to speak dear, there is a tube down your throat pumping oxygen into your lungs. Believe me, you’ll be glad to have it soon.” He laughed as he came into her vision. He lightly stroked her hair as he saw the look of pure terror on her face. “Now now, you’re doing a tremendous thing for science.” Sarah was gasping for air as her heart began to hammer in her chest. She looked at the ceiling and realized it was a mirror. She was naked. Restraints on her arms, feet, and head. There were large stiches up and down her chest. As she saw her naked body she felt a dull ache in her chest.
The doctor’s voice interrupted the now rapid series of pings that filled the chamber. “Sarah my dear you are indeed going to be a key footnote on the road to scientific progress. Your wonderful heart will be studied for generations!” He clapped his hands as her laid the bell of his stethoscope on her quivering chest. “So loud, and so strong! Your heart is a marvel of organic machinery! I must see how hard I can work it.”
He wheeled a monitor stand with a slender LCD display. He bent it so Sarah could see it out of the corner of her eye. It was blank. “My dear, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. I’ve opened your chest. Believe me, the ultrasound did not do it justice. After I peeled back your pericardium I held your amazing heart. It pumped happily in my hand as I examined its perfection. Of course I had to stop it to install all the devices, but after one small shock it was back in action, none the worse of wear.”
“Now you may be wondering what I plan to do, and frankly I couldn’t be more excited to tell you!” He clapped his hands as he bent down to her ear, placing a gloved hand between her breasts. “You see I installed a series of devices that allows me to control every facet of your heart’s activity. How fast it beats of course, but even beyond that. I can control how hard it pumps, how ‘open’ your valves are and more. Basically, with my devices I can control every precious beat of your pumping organ.”
“What I can do with this ability is amazing. I simulate any activity I can dream up and how it affects your heart. Confusing I know. Luckily, I made a visual simulation that we can watch to see what is going on. It will all make sense in a moment!” He walked away quickly. Sarah heard him tapping away on a keyboard. Sarah didn’t know what to do. She was slave. This bastard had drugged her, attached devices to her heart, and left her helpless to resist. She thought of home, her safe apartment, and how stupid she was to answer that ad.
Her thoughts of home were jarred out of existence, as she saw the monitor on her left begin to turn on. It was a computerized display of a woman. She was walking down a wooded path. A sharp pain quickly pierced her chest as she felt something move inside her ribcage. Her heart immediately slowed down from its frenetic, terror-filled pace.
“As you may have noticed” The doctor’s voice called out from behind his desk, “That your heart is mimicking exactly what you are seeing. A woman going into the woods on a leisurely stroll. Everything that would happen to this woman’s heart will happen to yours. Right now, everything is calm, lets try something a little more taxing shall we?” He pressed a few keys as the woman began to jog.
Sarah saw the computerized woman break into a light jog. The woods began to move faster as she began to lightly jog forward. Her heart slowly began to pump faster. The EKG read a brisk 110 bpm. Her breathing began to increase to meet the demands of her pump. She was used to a pace much more vigorous than this and easily was able to keep up with the woman on the screen. However, she definitely began to run faster.
The doctor came over to Sarah and stood over her slowly rising and falling chest. He placed a hand below her left breast as he felt her heart pick up speed. The operation went perfectly, the EKG was clean and the heart scaled perfectly to the runner on the screen. With his other hand he slowly turned up a small dial. The woman began to run.
Sarah saw the figure move faster as the movement within her chest became more rapid. Whatever unnatural additions he had made to her heart were regulating its beating. Her heart began to pump faster. The pings of the EKG became closer together as her heart rate jumped to 160. She began to breath faster as the demands on her heart increased. She felt the machines squeezing and gyrating, manipulating her heart to match the runner’s now breakneck speed. She began to feel out of breath as the runner bolted forward.
The doctor looked at the EKG and saw that Sarah’s heart began to exhibit signs of distress. Though the EKG registered everything within a healthy range, it was clear that the stress on her heart was causing it to not beat as perfectly as before. He looked down to see Sarah squinting, trying to supply her heart with the fuel it needed to maintain its rapid pace. 185. Sarah was struggling to breath now, to supply her heart with enough precious oxygen to maintain this pace. He listened to the struggling heart as the figure seemed to be running impossibly fast now. 205. 210. Sarah was beginning to tire.
The EKG pinged at an incredible rate as Sarah’s heart flailed away inside her chest. She would not be able to maintain this pace for much longer.
Sarah’s lungs burned as she began gasping for air. The devices inside her chest were squirming rapidly, squeezing and shocking her heart. It felt as if thousands of tiny bugs were ravaging her chest. She begged for it to stop, the gasping, the impossible heart rate. She couldn’t take much more. After a moment she felt a quick stabbing pain radiate inside her cardiac muscle. It was beginning to weaken. She was struggling to breath as the machines inside her chest were squeezing the life from her heart. Just as she was about to pass out the runner abruptly stopped, hands on her knees, her chest rising and falling quickly.
Sarah hungrily breathed in and out as her heart began to slowly break from its frantic pace.
After a few minutes the pain in her chest subsided, the machines relaxed their grip upon her beleaguered heart.
“Well, I would say you did quite well!” The doctor took a small towel and dried up the sweat covering her chest and head. “Another minute and your heart would have given out, but even so, you did much better than I expected.” He smiled as he dabbed the last drops of sweat from her forehead.
Though Sarah hated this man with a burning passion, she was grateful the test was over. Her lungs no longer burned, and her pumping heart was now in a much calmer state. Before she could recover, another jolt racked her heart, opening her eyes she saw a much different image on the screen.
A woman was sitting down at a table, reading a book of some sort. Though she was just resting, Sarah felt a few stumbles radiating from her heart. The figure in the program put down the book and rubbed her chest. As she did, a few more irregular beats ran through Sarah’s heart. For a few more minutes she watched the figure, her chest rising and falling quicker and quicker. Sarah began to feel a dull ache in her chest as the figure rose to get a drink of water. Her chest felt tight as the machines began surrounding her heart yet again. Each pump of her heart felt like a struggle. Though she was only standing at the counter, it felt as if her heart was besieged.
The doctor listened intently as the scenario played out before him. Sarah’s blood pressure spiked as he heard her heart beat harder and faster. The EKG read a series of abnormal beats as Sarah’s heart struggled to beat effectively. He could see that Sarah was beginning to have trouble breathing. He looked closely and saw the machines he implanted working feverishly beneath her chest, manipulating each precious beat, each gyration of her cardiac muscle. A cold sweat covered her chest as Sarah’s breathing became more and more labored.
Sarah squinted as a lance of pain radiating in her chest. The figure was now slumped over the counter, her hand clutching her chest. She could see she was struggling to breath, as Sarah’s own lungs were struggling to inflate. She felt as if she was drowning, each subsequent breath brought upon a new wave of piercing pain. Her hands opened and closed rapidly as she wanted to clutch her own chest in pain. The machines inside her chest were pressing on her beleaguered arteries, preventing her heart from beating properly.
Each second felt like an eternity as she struggled to take another breath. More and more pain radiated through her chest, down her arms and back. The figure in the image was now slumped on the floor, weakly grabbing her chest. Her heart was barely beating now. It felt as if each contraction of her heart muscle barely pumped any blood. Her lungs could only quiver the feeling of drowning slowly overtaking her. She began to lose consciousness as the figure in the image was splayed on her back, her hand resting on her still chest. She could not breathe. Before she lost consciousness she felt the machines inside her chest squeeze one last beat from her dying pump. Darkness.
