A Silent Melody

A Whiter Shade of Pale

Matt awoke before sunrise to a cold sensation.

He opened his eyes to find Melody paler than usual. Her skin was cold to the touch despite having slept under the cover of a warm blanket. Damp sweat covered her body from head to toe.

Matt panicked, shaking her awake.

"Melody, wake up," he whispered, his eyes growing wide in fear.

She opened her eyes, a cold emptiness behind them. She stared into space without responding.

Matt was relieved to see she was conscious, though concerned at her unresponsiveness.

"How're you feeling?"

Melody looked into his eyes in fear. She clutched at his arms in desperation.

"I'm cold," she whispered. "Matt, I'm so cold."

She fell silent once again, staring off into space.

Matt panicked once more, putting his arms around her and trying to rub some warmth into her. His efforts were in vain. Her skin remained as cold as usual, and she remained as unresponsive as before.

He stopped trying and asked her how she was feeling, once again to no response. He shook her gently, but her body had gone limb and her eyes remained staring into space. Matt's heart raced, considering what to do. He could take her home and try to wait until she got better, but he knew that was too great a risk to take. Something was very obviously wrong with Melody, and she needed medical attention. He also couldn't show up at Lia's doorstep without an explanation. She'd tell him to take her to the doctor anyway. He decided to take her to the emergency room right there and then. He couldn't risk losing her.

He placed his hand on her breast, feeling for her heartbeat. It was very slow and faint.

Matt went into full panic mode, rapidly sitting up in his seat and quickly putting on his clothes. He struggled in the small space of the car, but finally managed to get fully dressed and moved on to Melody, gently slipping each article of clothing back on her. Her body remained cold and limb, yielding to all of Matt's movements. This further worried him.

He finished dressing her, throwing the red dress over her head, before bending to the side and picking the blanket off the spot on the floor where he'd thrown it. He wrapped it around her, making sure to cover every inch of her body lest her last remaining ounce of warmth drained away. He took his dress coat and folded it into a pillow, placing it at the end of the seat and laying Melody down with her head upon it. He finished rearranging the blanket around her before jumping back into the driver's seat and hurriedly driving off to the hospital.

He cut lanes and drove at twice the speed limit. The sun was coming up on the horizon, and he felt the need to beat it. He stared back at her through the rearview mirror every few seconds, wondering what could have possibly caused her current state.

She had been perfectly fine the night before. He'd made sure to wear protection and avoid any movements that might hurt her. We went to sleep in each other's arms, for God's sake! Matt thought. He concluded that it definitely had something to do with what they'd gone through the night before, but he still couldn't accept it. Their lovemaking had been so pure, so untainted. There was no reason for this to be happening to her.

He arrived at the hospital, pulled into the nearly empty parking structure, and screeched to a halt. He quickly got out of the car, rushing to the rear door and opening it to lean down beside Melody.

He asked her how she was feeling, gently placing his lips on her forehead. It was cold and damp. He saw it was pointless to try and get her to respond and wasted no time in lifting her and getting her out of the car. He pushed the door close with his foot and rushed off toward the hospital in the cold morning air. Melody remained as limp as a corpse, her head dangling motionless from behind. Matt got his arm under it and continued walking towards the emergency room, now in view in front of him. The bright red emergency sign illuminated the street in front, beckoning Matt to enter. He shivered in fright.