14:00

SUV, and then they both get

14:02

in. Bob throws the

14:04

SUV into drive and they begin their

14:06

long journey into the

14:08

Oklahoma Hills. The

14:10

hours tick by as the

14:12

terrain changes from relatively flat to

14:16

a gradual climb into the Wachita

14:19

Mountains. The

14:21

SUV lurches from side to side. They

14:24

have long since left the paved

14:26

roads and now venture into

14:28

the single lane backroads that lead

14:31

to Bob's cabin. The

14:33

sun is beginning to set and the

14:36

surrounding forest is cast in ghostly hues

14:38

of blue and black.

14:41

Then the SUV slowly rolls

14:43

into a stop in front of

14:45

a green double gate. Kai

14:48

watches as Bob steps out of the

14:50

SUV and walks over to

14:52

the gate. His form

14:54

is lost in the darkness until he

14:57

breaches the beam of the headlights. Kai

15:00

notices the rainbow sign next to the

15:02

driveway and it puts him

15:04

a little bit more at ease. At

15:07

least he thinks I'm with

15:09

kindred spirits. When

15:12

they pull up to the house, Kai finds it

15:14

underwhelming. The home

15:17

is less of a cabin and more

15:19

of a trailer. He reminds

15:21

himself again that this was illegal

15:24

surgery and that

15:26

seclusion was more important than

15:28

amenities. He walks

15:30

up the steps to the front door

15:33

and follows Bob inside. Inside

15:35

he introduces Kai to Tom, his

15:38

husband. Kai shakes

15:40

the taller man's hand. You

15:43

can tell he is younger than Bob.

15:46

His hair is fuller and darker except for

15:48

a patch of grey on his chin. But

15:52

Tom weirdly carries himself. His

15:55

mannerisms are awkward and

15:58

his physique seems… disproportionate.

16:01

Kai shakes off these thoughts as well.

16:05

Who am I to judge? Wouldn't

16:07

want anyone judging me, after all.

16:10

Bob turns to Kai and offers to

16:12

show him his room. He

16:15

tells him it's late and they'll do

16:17

the surgery tomorrow. Kai

16:19

agrees with a yawn and retires to

16:21

his room. As he

16:23

drifts off to sleep, he thinks about

16:25

how different his life will be after

16:28

tomorrow. The next

16:31

morning Kai's eyes spring open. The

16:34

sun has already risen and in

16:36

the daylight the house seems a lot

16:39

more run down and

16:41

less spooky. He

16:43

opens the door to his room and joins

16:45

Bob and Tom in the kitchen. The

16:48

guys that live there, not the nationally syndicated

16:50

radio show from Ohio. As

16:53

soon as the usual niceties are

16:56

exchanged that morning, Kai

16:58

can't wait any longer and asks Bob

17:00

to perform the surgery. Bob

17:04

declines saying he has

17:06

to go to work until five but he'll do

17:08

the surgery afterwards. Kai

17:12

reluctantly agrees. He

17:14

wants to do it now but what

17:16

could he do but wait. He's

17:19

a guest in the cabin in the woods

17:22

but he's starting to feel a little bit trapped.

17:27

He waits patiently and by 5pm Bob

17:29

tells him that they are ready. Kai

17:32

walks into the kitchen and spots the

17:34

operating table set up by Bob

17:36

and Tom. It

17:39

is a piece of plywood lying

17:41

across two supports. The

17:44

top is covered in surgical

17:46

gowns and puppy pads. It

17:49

is too late to

17:52

back down now, he thinks to himself,

17:55

as he strips from the waist down. He

17:58

lays on the table and feels it

18:01

flex under his weight. He

18:04

can sense Bob's excitement and

18:06

sees a smile spread across his face

18:10

as he turns on the live stream camera.

18:13

Bob explains that this is how

18:15

he funds these surgeries as

18:18

he cleans the surgical area with

18:20

disinfectant and turns to Tom to

18:22

ask for the lidocaine. Tom

18:25

quickly hands him a syringe already

18:28

prepared. Bob

18:30

takes it in this gloved hand and

18:32

injects it into Kai's scrotum. He

18:35

grimaces for a moment, but

18:37

then the pain is gone. Tom

18:40

hands Bob another syringe and Bob injects

18:42

Kai a second time. By

18:46

now his genitals are completely numb. The

18:49

surgery lasts about two hours and Kai

18:52

lays awake the entire time. He

18:55

stares at the low ceiling as Bob

18:57

cuts away his scrotum. He

19:00

feels a tug when Bob pulls one

19:03

and then the other testicle taut as

19:06

he severs their connection. Bob

19:09

and Tom's movements turn into a blur

19:11

as Kai waits for the procedure to

19:14

end. Bob will call out

19:16

for a piece of equipment and Tom will hand it

19:19

to him. Kai

19:21

smells what he could only relate to

19:23

as fresh meat

19:26

hitting a hot pan when Bob

19:29

cauterizes his wounds. Kai

19:32

snaps back into reality when Bob

19:34

announces that he's done. It's

19:37

done? Kai asks. Bob

19:40

shakes his head and tells Kai

19:44

he is going to eat the parts he

19:46

removed. He

19:48

lets out a guttural laugh that makes

19:50

Kai uncomfortable and

19:54

tells him he's a cannibal.

19:57

You can't tell if Bob is trying to get a rise

19:59

out. to

22:00

sit up and look at the

22:02

results of the surgery. His

22:05

body aches, but he musters the

22:07

strength to sit up and remove the

22:09

thin sheet lying on top of him.

22:13

His expression contorts when

22:15

he sees the mess between his

22:17

legs. There's a

22:19

lot of blood. A lot

22:22

of blood. Kai screams

22:24

for Bob. He

22:26

hears the shuffling of feet as Bob approaches the

22:28

room. When he enters, he

22:31

immediately notices the change to Bob's

22:33

face. His disarming

22:35

smile is gone, replaced

22:38

with worry. He

22:40

tells Kai, no, we are no

22:42

more. Kai begins to worry

22:44

even more and asks

22:46

what happened. Bob

22:48

explains that the surgery didn't exactly go

22:51

according to plan. You're

22:54

still bleeding. A lot. He

22:56

passed out from the blood loss, he tells Kai.

23:00

His head begins to spin when he

23:02

realizes he'd been asleep all

23:04

night. He lays back

23:06

down and quietly begins to sob. He

23:10

listens to Bob and Tom pacing back

23:12

and forth. He doesn't

23:14

know what to do, so he just

23:17

lays there, fixing

23:19

his eyes on the low ceiling. Suddenly

23:22

Bob comes to him, positioning his

23:24

head over Kai's face and tells

23:26

him, let's go, we're

23:28

taking you to the hospital. Kai

23:31

doesn't have the energy to fight. He

23:34

can only hope that this statement

23:37

is true. Bob

23:40

and Tom carry Kai down the front steps

23:42

and place him in the back of the

23:44

SUV. Kai

23:46

lets out a grunt, hitting the

23:49

backseat a little too hard. Both

23:52

men jump into the front of the truck and Bob starts down

23:54

the driveway. Kai rests

23:56

his head against the window peering up at

23:58

the tops of the truck. trees, against

24:01

the pale blue sky. He

24:03

lets out a little moan every bump

24:06

and sharp turn they hit. Time

24:09

loses all meaning to Kai, as

24:12

he drifts in and out of

24:14

consciousness. He hears

24:16

bits of conversation between Bob

24:18

and Tom during the brief

24:20

moments of awareness. Startling

24:23

him awake is Bob speaking in

24:25

a commanding voice. "'If

24:27

you pass out or die, I'll dump your body in

24:29

the woods.'" Kai's eyes

24:32

widen as a surge of

24:34

adrenaline floods his system. He

24:36

feels short of breath as

24:39

his eyes dart around trying to find a

24:41

way out. He looks

24:43

at the pavement below rushing past and

24:46

considers for a moment jumping from the

24:48

vehicle. His hand

24:50

is inches away from the door handle when

24:52

Bob makes a sharp turn

24:54

throwing Kai backwards. Then

24:58

the SUV comes to a stop. Kai

25:01

lies in the back seat wondering what

25:04

is going to happen to him next. When

25:06

Bob announces, we're here.

25:10

Kai uses all his strength to

25:12

pull himself upright. Outside

25:15

of the window he sees the sign

25:17

for McAllister Regional Hospital

25:19

Emergency Room. He

25:21

starts to get out. The last

25:24

thing Bob says to him, if

25:26

anyone asks, you did this to yourself.

25:29

Kai practically falls out of the SUV.

25:33

Blood marking each step towards the

25:35

fluorescent glow of the entrance.

25:39

The following day it didn't take long for

25:41

Kai to decide to tell the truth to

25:43

doctors. With fresh

25:45

blood, fluids, and the

25:48

feeling of general safety, he

25:50

wasn't so afraid that he was going to

25:52

die anymore. Bob and

25:55

Tom were both arrested at the

25:57

hospital the following day when

25:59

they tried to visit They

26:01

were each charged with five felonies

26:04

and three misdemeanors. The

26:06

felonies included conspiracy to commit

26:09

unlicensed surgery, practicing

26:11

medicine without a license, assault

26:13

and battery with a dangerous weapon,

26:16

distribution of controlled dangerous

26:19

substances including possession, with

26:21

intent to distribute an unlawful use

26:24

of a communication facility to

26:27

facilitate that distribution and

26:29

maiming. The misdemeanor

26:31

charges were for the

26:34

failure to bury the, how

26:36

should I put it, the

26:39

dead human member, let's

26:41

say. Also for

26:43

possession of a controlled dangerous substance

26:46

and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

26:49

Interestingly though, there was no evidence

26:51

that Bob and Tom ever ate

26:54

any human body parts or

26:56

ever let anyone bleed out on their

26:58

makeshift operating table. Tom

27:02

would take a plea deal to testify

27:04

against Bob. He pleaded

27:06

guilty to misdemeanor charges of failure to

27:08

bury a dead human member,

27:11

possession of a controlled

27:13

dangerous substance and possession

27:15

of drug paraphernalia. He

27:18

was sentenced to time served in order to pay a

27:21

fine in court costs. Bob

27:25

wasn't as lucky, but

27:27

he'd already resigned himself to his fate.

27:30

To help Tom escape any serious

27:33

punishment, he too agreed to

27:35

a plea deal. He pleaded

27:37

no contest to five of the nine

27:40

charges. Maiming

27:42

the most serious with a potential life

27:44

sentence was dropped, something

27:47

that could have only happened in this

27:49

day and age. Along

27:52

with unlawful use of a communication

27:54

facility, assault and battery

27:56

with a dangerous weapon and possession

27:58

of drug paraphernalia. He

28:02

was sentenced to two one-year

28:04

terms in county jail for

28:07

the failure to bury a dead

28:09

human member. Again, they really want you

28:11

to bury that dick for some reason.

28:15

Also for possession of drugs and you know,

28:17

you know, all the rest. He

28:20

was sentenced to another five years in

28:22

state prison for the attempted distribution of

28:25

a controlled substance, a

28:27

four-year sentence for practicing medicine without

28:29

a license, and

28:32

a 13-month sentence for

28:34

conspiracy to commit unlicensed

28:37

surgery, all to

28:39

be served consecutively. It's

28:42

weird that the charge with the most

28:44

prison time is the drug one, isn't

28:47

it? I would say that's

28:49

a sign that there's probably something very wrong

28:52

still with our criminal justice system,

28:54

although that's probably not a big

28:56

surprise to you. Tom

28:59

would be released on September 21, 2021.

29:05

He returned home to his family in Texas,

29:08

and by December 8 of that year, he

29:11

would die of cancer. Bob

29:14

remains in Oklahoma's state prison

29:18

to this day. There

29:20

is one more person I'm sure you'd like

29:22

to know about, and

29:24

that is the so-called patient. Unfortunately,

29:27

at the time of

29:29

this writing, there is

29:32

no information about what

29:34

happened to Kai Aster. We

29:37

can only assume that he's

29:40

out there somewhere, without

29:42

a dick, living his

29:45

best life. If

29:49

you enjoyed the show, please consider

29:51

joining Plus at

29:53

swordandscale.com. But

29:57

if you can't, consider leaving us a

29:59

positive review on your preferred

30:02

listening platform. Sweet

30:04

dreams and good night.