You Forgot to Read the Terms of Service

Chapter 1: A Rough Day at Work

This day can't possibly get any worse, Hazel thinks. Work drags on as she helps deadlift a patient onto the x-ray table with a couple of other colleagues. Taking the pictures requires her to hold the patient's legs still while her coworker shoots, and then again and again until they have all the required images needed for the doctor to properly assess them.

Hazel swears it used to be a rare occurrence when patients would be unable to assist at all when moving them to the table. It was an orthopedic clinic after all, not a hospital. Only now it seems there are at least a couple every week. Her back aches thinking about the lack of equipment to handle these situations.

Her afternoon is more chaotic as she helps set up patients to get their injections. On her feet for several hours, she preps the patients, helps the doctor draw up the medications, works the fluoroscope, and helps the patients off. She's so tired wearing the lead apron all those hours, that by the last patient she's drenched in sweat and struggling to ignore the pain in her back and feet.

It isn't the first, nor the last patient who has numbness in their legs when they are done, who tries to stand even when she tells them not to, and then nearly falls when their legs give out. It's an endless cycle that drags on week after week and Hazel deeply desires a change of pace that'll give her a new perspective.

When she finally gets home, she's too tired to make anything substantial to eat. Instead, she goes for something that requires no preparation. A head of lettuce dipped in dressing? Sure. A bag of chips and a cold soda she digs out of the fridge? Perfect.

She sits down with her favorite horror magazine and thumbs through the pages as the couch eats her. There's a theme in this month's edition, haunted attractions outside of the season.

'Spring and Summer horror thrills that seek to pull tired millennials out of a funk.'

'Want to change your respect for life? Come try out our survival horror underwater attraction!'

'This couple's marriage was going down the drain until they tried out this completely original bonding experience! Now they're headed on the best second honeymoon of their life!'

At the bottom of the page is an ad with an email attached to a background of hokey knife and blood art. Nothing too fancy or eye-catching. But it goes along with the articles and the theme. 'Bring the horror to your home. Are you bored and in need of a new perspective on life? Try our survival horror scare package where we bring the horror to your door. Rules and stipulations apply as per our screening procedure. Email us at-'

This is it. The thing she needs to breathe some life back into her soul. Who can't appreciate their situation in life more after something like that? She reads the articles thoroughly about people's experiences in all sorts of extreme dungeons and haunts and mazes. A young girl couldn't finish the underwater maze due to her fear of sharks and the claustrophobia of being in a diving suit, but still it changed her life for the better.

Hazel finishes sending out the email request and filling out forms by the time her girlfriend gets home.

"Effie," She says from the couch. Their excited labrador mix bounds over to Hazel and puts two paws in her lap to reach her face with kisses. "Hi, Sadie," She replies to the dog's licks.

Effie sets down her bag on the dining room table and looks at the kitchen then at Hazel's dinner. "Do you want me to make some dinner? Today went smoothly for me so it wouldn't be a bother."

Hazel silently wishes she could bring her dog to work. Having a dog there would make things infinitely less stressful. "Sure, yes, thank you, Effie. I'd love you forever."

"I take it work was stressful today?" Effie pulls out a couple of pans, fills one with water, and sets it on the stove to heat.

"To the point where I'm considering taking a week off."

"You have the PTO for that?" Effie asks.

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna do it. And this horror thing too while I'm off." Hazel flips to the ad page and gets up just to show it to Effie. "They bring the experience to you."

Effie holds up her hand, "You are NOT doing that if I'm here. You know I don't like horror."

"So, when is your business trip? I'll do it then. You won't ever have to see it."

Effie stirs some pasta into the water and thinks about it. "You wanna use your vacation time when I won't even be here so you can do some absurd horror experience by yourself?"

Hazel grits her teeth into a sheepish smile, "Yea. You won't do it with me."

Effie rolls her eyes, "Fine. I'll be out in a couple of weeks. I'll mark the calendar for you. Just don't go messing up our apartment with blood and stuff."

"Of course not." Hazel agrees.

An email pings on her phone and she taps at it excitedly. More screening questions, but they seem okay with her having a roommate and a dog. The experience is a whole seven days, there's a phone number to call for emergencies. She's surprised to see there's no request for a doctor's note for good physical and mental health. So maybe it's not as extreme as some of the other's out in Tennessee and Utah and New Mexico. This little midwest horror experience could be extremely new and in the testing process. It doesn't seem to come up in any google searches. She shrugs and finishes filling out the requested paperwork.

"Life-changing events come to me now." She says to no one and hits send.