All Chapters of MATCH MADE IN HELL.: Chapter 1 - Chapter 5

It's extremely hot and i put away my covers and roll to the other side of the bed. It had been a very tiresome day and had it not been for my mother's screams I believe I would have slept through it all. I wake up to smoke in my room. I open my bedroom door and see my parents through flames standing across the hall, outside their room. "Vienna, get out!" my father screams at me as I stand frozen. My room is beside the stair way, but my legs feel heavy. I look at them, I cannot leave them there. Logically I know there is no way they can make it across the fire to me, but i can't move. The fire is getting stronger and I start feeling my skin itch from the intense heat. "Vienna Starr Kilmartin run!" this time it's my mother. I look at them as they hold each other. Whether it was to comfort each other or to keep each other from collapsing from the smoke I have never known. "It's okay love, go," my mother says softly between coughs. I turn to leave as they slide down to the floor together

One of the reasons I chose psychiatry was there is rarely any kind of emmergency that cannot wait until morning. That means I get to sleep through the night and not worry that my patients may be dying. So when my phone started to ring in the middle of the night, I took a pillow and covered my ears and went back to sleep. In the morning I get up and find that I have two messages on my voicemail. The first is from an unfamiliar number and the calller does not identify himself. "Hello, sorry to disturb your sleep but I was wondering if you think a life should be repaid by a life? If not what do you think is an equivalent of someone's life? Do you think gender,age or the income of someone should be used to calculate the value of their life? And what about the dignity of someones death. As someone who's been experimenting with death yourself how do you measure someones' worth before deciding to send them off to their deaths?" I look back at my phone. I feel like someone is watching me. Wh

I hear a voice from a distance. I try to open my eyes but the light is too bright and I close them as soon as I do. "Hey, how are you feeling" I hear a familiar voice I cannot place. "You were supposed to come meet me yesterday and you did not show nor leave a message," I try to think what appointments I had yesterday. Then it hit me and I open my eyes. Just what I thought it's detective Swindle. He is sitting besides me with concern written all over his face.He helps me sit up. "How did you know where I live?" I notice the basin of water and the towel on the table. "After work I passed by your office and your assistant said you had not shown up the whole day and you were not answering your phone so I asked for your address." He wring the towel, places it over my forehead and holds it with his left hand. He is super close to me and I feel him trying to avoid eye contact. "So you were that worried about me," he shuffles uncomfortably. He brings my left hand up to hold the the towel.