As I finished fixing the computer, the receptionist kept starring at me. “Doctor Hannah has your payment,” she said. The repaired machine beeped as it came to life. “She’s down the hall in the surgery room,” she pointed. I sighed.

The buzzing sound of a drill emanated from an exam room as I headed down the hallway. I tried not to shudder. I avoided going to dentists as much as I could, but they paid well for my services.

I found the dentist in a room marked “OPR 1”. Dr. Hannah was a tall woman, blond with severe features. Black scrubs and a white lab coat marked her as my client, the dentist at this office. She was connecting clear tubes to a white, boxy machine and looked up as I entered.

“I’m finished; you’re back online,” I told her, gesturing at a nearby monitor that now displayed appointments again. I tried not to look around the room too much; this was the sort of place that I hated. The room was filled with medical screens, machines, tubes and wires, none of which I wanted anything to do with. The centerpiece of the room was a large dental chair, made of blue leather and clear plastic. Bright lights hung on the ceiling, already wreathing the empty chair in a dull glow.

“I’ll get your check, but my receptionist tells me you haven’t had a dental exam in years,” Dr. Hannah looked disapproving. “I’d be happy to get you charted. The chair is free right now.” She gestured at the intimidating blue chair. I saw it had wide straps hung off of padded armrests on each side of the chair, and velcro loops where a patient’s legs would be. I wanted no part of that. My mouth felt dry.

“No, thank you…” I said, quickly.

“Why don’t you take a seat, and we’ll just take a quick look?”

“Really, I don’t think so. It’s fine…” I protested.

“I can’t have any employees without perfect dental health, can I?” She asked. I looked from her, to the machines around the room, to the horrifying chair behind her. “I’m sorry… No, I’m… I don’t…” I stammered.

“All the staff here likes you, and it’d be a shame if I had to let you go…” I was a contractor, I was trying to say, but my heart was pounding. I just shook my head.

“I can tell you’re afraid, but we’re very used to such anxiety here,” she insisted, as she picked up a clear plastic mask from the machine she’d been connecting. I realized it was an anesthesia mask, and this was the sort of machine they used in real operating rooms before surgery.

“I can help with that,” She turned some knobs and the machine whirred to life; the green bag hanging off the side quickly inflated. “Just sit down, and take some breaths of this, and all that fear will melt away, I promise.” I shook my head again. This wasn’t going well.

"Sit in the chair," she sounded upset now. She just wouldn't take no for an answer.

I didn’t want this, and if she wouldn’t pay now, I could send her an invoice. I decided I’d just leave.

I turned, but as I took a step towards the doorway, I heard Dr. Hannah make a move. Something, no, someone hit me from behind, tackling me!

I stumbled into the wall, just trying to stay upright. I couldn’t believe it; rather than let me leave, Dr. Hannah had grabbed me from behind; wrapping one of her arms around me.

“What the hell? What are you doing?” I yelled. And, just as I took a breath to shout again, Dr. Hannah’s other hand clamped the anesthesia mask over my face.

She’d timed her attack perfectly, and before I could react, I had taken a deep breath of sweet, solvent-smelling anesthetic vapor.

“Just breath in the gas,” she ordered. She’d gone crazy! I couldn’t believe what she was doing.

I tried to push the dentist away from me. I was stronger than her, but Dr. Hannah had a better angle and was able to hold on, her arms already entangling mine. I threw my body weight against her, and when I jerked my head free, I could get the mask away for a moment, but any time the mask slipped from my face, she clamped it back on before I could get more than half a breath. I could tell I was still breathing the fumes. “Let me go!” I yelled at her, unintentionally taking in more gas as I struggled and shouted.

I tried to pull the mask completely off my face, but both of Dr. Hannah’s arms were over mine, hugging them against my body and blocking my way. She felt like she was squeezing harder than she had been just a second ago.

“You’re making us do this the hard way. This will be easier if you don’t struggle,” the Dentist admonished, like I was the one being unreasonable.

Right around then, to my horror, I realized I was starting to feel funny. I could feel a throbbing weakness spreading throughout my body, and felt suddenly dizzy. This feeling had to be the gas starting to take effect! My wrestling was starting to become a bit less coordinated… It felt like she was getting stronger and stronger… or I was getting weaker. I had to try something else.

I decided I didn’t want to take in any more of the anesthesia than I already had, so I decided to hold my breath. I tried to seal my lips closed… I jerked my head back and forth, and tried to pull away again, but Dr. Hannah just adjusted her grip and continued to hug me and the mask tightly. I knew I was losing the fight.; my heart pounded faster and fast as I grew more and more terrified.

“Don’t fight! Just take a deep breath,” the Dentist ordered. Even as I continued to struggle, I didn’t have very much choice; my racing heart meant that after only a few moments, my lungs were burning for air.

All too soon, I realized I just couldn’t hold my breath any longer. I gasped, desperate for oxygen. But I only got another face full of the solvent smell, and it hit me like a bus. Almost immediately, I felt myself start to feel numb all over. The anesthetic vapor saturated my lungs, started to cloud my thoughts. The dizzy feeling increased; the whole room began to spin in earnest. I kept trying to push the Dentist away, but it was hard to struggle with the whole world moving around me. I started to lose my balance as the room pitched violently.

I stumbled against the wall, trying to find something more substantial to lean on, and my legs started to buckle.

“That’s it. Let it happen. ” Dr. Hannah encouraged. She could surely feel that I was fading. “Just breath. Relax and breath.”

I had no choice but to comply. Another breath, and the room spun even faster. I thought about push off of the wall, to turn away from my attacker, or slam her against the door, but I just staggered back and forth and the Dentist didn’t release me. With the exertion, I had to breath more and more…

I tried to pull the mask away again, but my limbs weren’t responding right. Instead, my arms fell limply to my sides. I’d lost all coordination. The feeling of numbness overtook me, and my knees gave out.

The Dentist seemed to have been ready for this, and she easily caught me, her strong arms holding me from falling, as I was pinned against the operatory wall. She then slowly lowered me to the floor. To my dismay, the dentist was careful to keep the padded plastic mask firmly over my face the whole time, denying me any chance at un-drugged air. My efforts to struggle failed as my muscles relaxed, involuntarily.

I came to rest in an undignified heap. The tile floor filled my vision, and the room started to blur. It was like I was looking through a screen door, and it was getting hard to comprehend what I was seeing.

I was breathing regularly now, taking in more gas with every breath. Dr. Hannah kept telling me to stop fighting, to relax, to let the gas take me off to sleep. Her voice started to echo in my head.

As I lay on the ground, I heard the door open, and heard loud footsteps. Could I get these people to stop the dentist’s crazy attack?

“Heeelllppp”, I moaned into the mask.

Gloved hands reached down for me. I felt more people there, but instead of helping, they were holding me down, grabbing my wrists, pressing the mask harder in place. It was immediately obvious that the newcomers were not a rescue, but nurses and assistants, coming to help the dentist subdue me. I could hear Dr. Hannah issuing orders to them, but was having trouble understanding her, as my mind filled with fog.

“Please… No….” I said into the mask, in useless objection. I might have screamed it, I might have whispered. I couldn’t tell.

“Don’t worry, it’s almost over,” one of the voices said. It sounded like the receptionist’s voice.

“Just go off to sleep now,” ordered a different voice. Nurses were kneeling all around me, holding me, but details were beyond me now. I felt someone methodically rolling up one of my sleeves, but I couldn’t figure out why. I didn’t have any way to fight anymore; my limbs wouldn’t obey me at all, and I was far outnumbered. I couldn’t remember why I was fighting anyhow.

It felt like the room was closing in around me, spinning faster and faster, as it grew smaller and smaller. I was so afraid, but I couldn’t remember why. My eyes closed, and my fear gave way to a calm, spinning darkness.