Cold As Ice
by Chauna W.

Marie never could explain why she was always cold. She wanted to go to the doctor to find out if she had anemia or something, but she was afraid that it would be something much worse, so she stayed at home shivering. Blankets piled high on top of her as if winter had come and taken all her blood away.

Marie looked up to see her mother standing behind her, smiling a sad smile.

Her mother couldn't explain her condition either, when Marie was just a baby the doctors had told her that Marie was in perfect health, but as she got older, Marie got sicker and sicker till one day her mother had to take her to the hospital.

Still the doctors told her that nothing seemed to be wrong with her daughter and that she should stay at home and rest as much as she could.

Marie was reluctant to stay home, all her friends were at school and she knew that without being able to see them would break her heart, but she finally agreed to stay home after she took another trip to the hospital.

Marie made a face as she watched TV. Nothing was on and she was bored. She sighed deeply, wishing that she could go outside. She took a glance at the window and saw that the sun shone brightly. The trees swayed in the soft wind, making a whistling sound over Marie's head. Marie sighed once again and snuggled deeper inside the mound of blankets. She looked up once more to find that her mother had left. She reached over to the table that was beside her and turned off the television. She closed her eyes, wanting desperately to fall asleep.

Finally after an hour of wrestling with the blankets to get them to feel right, she drifted off into a deep sleep.

Marie was lying on her back, a metal table was under her, making her feel a little uncomfortable. Where am I? She thought as she looked around the room. She tried to make a sound but nothing would come out of her mouth.

She looked to the left and saw little tools, placed neatly side-by-side, some she recognized as being cutting tools. Cutting tools for what though? She thought. She remembered studying something similar to this in one of her classes, but she couldn't recall what they were talking about. She looked to her right and saw a doctor dressed in all white; he had a green mask over his face. He hovered above her looking deep into her eyes. She thought she could see sadness in his eyes but she wasn't too sure. She tried to sit up to get a closer look at him, but she found she couldn't move. She looked at his clothes and saw an ID pinned to his shirt.

Marie saw a tiny picture in the corner of the ID and the name Dr. Levy was printed in small bold letters. "Someone hand me a scalpel please," he said reaching his hand out. A nurse handed him the scalpel, took one look at Marie and walked away.

A scalpel! She thought. What in the hell is he going to do with a scalpel, doesn't he know I'm laying her and can't talk!! Suddenly she found that she could sit up and when she did, she looked directly at the doctor. He jumped, dropping the scalpel in mid-air, she heard a scream. She looked towards the noise and found the nurse staring wide-eyed in terror in her direction.

Then it dawned on her, she looked down at the scalpel and up at the

Doctor, but now she could see he was no doctor . . .he was a coroner.

Fear crept up her spine and hit her heart.

GOOD LORD, I'M SITTING ON AN AUTOPSY TABLE!!!

Marie sat up, realizing she was sweating heavily, the dream still fresh in her memory. She shuddered. "What in the world was I doing in an autopsy room?"

"And why was the nurse screaming like she had lost her mind and why did the coroner jump when he saw her sit up?

She shook her head as if to shake away the horrible dream.

Marie got up slowly and walked to her mother's room and found she was asleep.

Marie stared at her mother, watching her chest go up and down in a rhythmic beat. She smiled a bit. Her mother did everything she could to make sure she was as healthy as she could be, even if that meant not getting enough rest for herself.

Marie turned to walk back into the living room went suddenly everything went black.

Marie woke up a little while later to find herself in a white room, she was lying on something hard and she couldn't figure out what it was. She frowned, slowly realizing that she couldn't move much. She could move her fingers just a bit but every time she did they would tingle.

She heard a door slam nearby. She looked around the room and saw someone walking up to her. He was 6'3 with medium build, broad shoulders and from the corner of his cap that was over his head; Marie could see that he was beginning to age rapidly. She saw that he had a very serious expression on his face and she begin to wonder why. He leaned over her, looking her up and down slowly.

Marie was feeling uncomfortable, the air was getting stuffy, and she was shaking.

Don't I know this guy she thought as she stared into his eyes.

The doctor swayed over her, his breath blowing in Marie's face. She tried to turn

her face to the side but she found she couldn't move her face either.

"What’s happened to me!" her brain screamed.

Suddenly a very small woman appeared next to the doctor.

She glanced down at Marie, her lips turning down in a tiny pout, looking at the doctor she said, "So, what time did she arrive?" The doctor continued to stare into Marie's eyes, making her more uncomfortable than ever. He shrugged.

"I don't know, they just wheeled her in this afternoon, her mother said she found her lying on the floor not breathing, she's cold as ice." The nurse shook her head slowly.

"That’s too bad.... she looked like she was a nice girl."

At that, the nurse turned and stood in the corner, looking at Marie with a deadpan look in her eyes. "Nurse, I need the scalpel," the doctor replied.

The nurse walked over and that’s when Marie saw the little table of tools lying beside her. Her eyes grew wide. She stared at the doctor and realized with slow and utter terror that this was NO doctor, he was a coroner!!

She had been through this before. She looked at the doctor's coat and saw his ID, the picture was the same as in her dream, she looked at the name and sure enough, the name Dr. Levy was printed in tiny bold letters.

"DON'T TOUCH ME WITH THAT THING!!" she screamed.

The coroner jumped and dropped the scalpel and just like in her dream,

the nurse started to scream. But this time, she knew it was real.