Cigarette Smoke ☏✂ Oliver Thredson

Scalpels on Skin

That night Doris Bonneville got herself a small, quaint apartment for herself. One bathroom, One bedroom, One kitchen, One living room, One TV, and so on. It was nice to be alone once and a while. Truly alone. But it was also unnerving at times. Any odd noise from either the fridge or A/C would put her on edge. She'd look around like she'd die any moment and check the apartments mechanics to assure herself it was all up in her cranium. But once she checked it and went back on her way, she would find herself checking it again. 

Doris slept that night with only Donna Burton's butchered body in mind. It scared her to know that a serial killer like that was on the loose. She felt herself keep an eye open the whole night, wondering how easy it might be to kick down the front door-promising herself that she'd buy a pack of extra long screws and put them in the hinges tomorrow. She planned on buying multiple door locks and window locks and maybe even a wrench to fix the fridge or keep herself from harm. It was hard for her to shut her eyes that night, yet she managed it. But once in a while she'd wake up again, look around her room and fall back asleep.

 ┈ ┈ ┈ ⋞ 〈 ⏣ 〉 ⋟ ┈ ┈ ┈ 

Morning came sooner then she expected as Doris pricked open her heavy eyes. Sun rays glided through the spaces in between the dusty window's stained curtains and danced across the floor in a lovely way. It made her smile as she lifted her head off her pillow and propped it against her fist with a yawn before she turned to glance at her massive, loud ticking clock. It was 7:30.

"7:30!" Doris exclaimed as she jumped out of the bed and began to frantically search for a suitable outfit to wear. She found it difficult to find anything and eventually settled on wearing yesterday's high wasted skirt and a long sleeved orange shirt that reached up her neck. She followed this by frantically brushing both her hair and teeth and slipping on her contacts lenses before grabbing her bag and racing out the door.

 ┈ ┈ ┈ ⋞ 〈 ⏣ 〉 ⋟ ┈ ┈ ┈ 

"Good morning Sister Jude" Doris greeted as she scurried past her in the hall. The tall nun nodded her way as she looked over a few stray documents.

"Good morning Doris" The woman dryly greeted in a very Un-Nun like way. It almost shocked Doris, but she was too determined to head back to the morgue this morning to inquire about the woman's mood. Doctor Bonneville made her way through the halls a few nuns, doctors, and patients passing her on the way. She made sure to politely nod to each person who did. It made her feel particularly better about the institution and somewhat made the yells become inaudible. She turned down another hall that was only a few yards away from the morgue staircase when she took notice of Doctor Thredson who stood in the hall, head looking downwards at an open file in hands. She hesitated on walking on, but her existence almost seemed to whispered to him as his head quickly looked up from the papers and at Doris.

"Doctor Bonneville" He smiled, the woman sending him a shy smile as she began to walk along the hallway wall. 

"Good morning Doctor Thredson" She replied before pausing in front of him to give a firm head nod. "H-How are y-You?" Doris added as she kept both her hands firmly latched onto her bag as an indication she wasn't planning on shaking his hand.

"I'm well thank you. How about yourself?"

"F-Fine, thank, thank you" She responded before turning to walk on.

"Oh, Doctor, before you go" He called, the woman turning back to face him with a curious expression. 

"Yes sir?"

"I wondered if you'd allow me to join you in the Morgue later? I'd like to assist you with your work; after all, I'm very fascinated by it" He inquired before shutting the document and sliding it under his arm.

"Oh, I'd like that very much thank, thank you" She smiled. "Sometimes it gets a little odd when I'm looking over bodies all by myself." She paused to breath for a second. "Makes me feel like they'll just jump at me all of a sudden" Doctor Bonneville sheepishly laughed, Doctor Thredson laughing with her. His perfect, pearly white glinting under his thin lips.

"Thank you Doctor, I shall see you after I have completed each appointment with my patients"

"Certainly" Doris nodded back in reply before scurrying off down the morgue stairwell and into the main room. It was just as she had left it. Quiet. Unmoved. She fished cabinet 16's key from her bag before slipping it into the lock and turning it till it clicked. Bonneville proceeded by pulling open the metal cabinet door and sliding out the table inside. But there was only one problem. 

Donna Burton's body was gone. The cabinet's body table was still stained with her dry blood but the actual body was missing. Cabinet 16 was empty and Donna's remains where no where in sight. Doris felt herself gasp as she lifted a hand to her mouth. It was almost as if her fear had come true.

"Makes me feel like they'll just jump at me all of a sudden" she recalled her saying. Obviously this wasn't the fact, but Doris never found herself so shocked. They couldn't have rid of the body, she made sure to inform Sister Jude that she was returning the following day to look it over. Then again, it couldn't have just got up and walked away, she frantically thought before pulling out the rest of the cabinet's keys. Doris began to hastily pull each one into her hand and unlock the metal cabinet door it belonged to in order for her to search each compartment. But cabinet after cabinet she unlocked, searched, and re-locked but Donna Burton was no where to be found. Doris stood in the middle of the morgue, wide eyes painted across her face before she scurried off and returned up stairwell to Sister Jude's office.