Splice Blurbs

Hibernation

{Frogger}

Cold.

So very cold.

Numb and burning and dark.

I...am...cold. It hurts. I try to breath, to open my eyes, but something is lodged in my throat-- choking me-- and I can't move my eyelids. I can't move anything.

Panic. Gagging. I was dead. No, wrong. I'm dying. Suffocating, paralyzed. Pins and needles spread everywhere. Asleep. I was asleep for a very long time. I can't breath. My fingers twitch.

My eyes flick open and the light is too bright. Murmurs finally begin to gain coherence, form words, but I still can't understand. Bits and pieces that hold little meaning.

"Alive."

"Stable."

"Waking."

There's people. Don't they know I'm dying? Every inch of my body is scalding, like I've been thrown into a fire. Why aren't they helping me? My eyes dart around but I can't see anything, it's still too bright.

I'm choking.

"Can't we speed this up?"

There's a sharp pinch in my forearm. Heat floods through my limbs and I can hear my heart thud against my ribcage in protest. Had it been still before? There's a rush in my veins and with it comes mobility.

Jolting upright, I can see all the white-masked faces in the room. I claw at my throat. There's nothing but skin. Frantic, I grab at my mouth and find a thick tube. I yank at it. The white-masks shout at me but I continue to pull. The tube comes slithering up my throat. It comes free and lands in my lap, like a slimy, multi-headed snake. I fling it away and my stomach turns. I start to retch but nothing comes out, so I gulp down air instead.

The world around me continues to gain clarity; the doctors, the smooth examination table, the tears streaming down my clammy face. Violent shivers wrack my body as I gasp and pant. The white-masks start to close in. Their touch is rough and painful. Screeching fills the room. I try to pull away, but my blood feels thick. This time, I see the needle they stick me with.