Mortuary Fright

At sixteen I worked in a mortuary
The man who owned and ran it was Dr. King
Fascinated by all that I saw he did
I worked late hours and questioned everything

One Friday Dr. King was late arriving
Done setting up his lab I reached for the phone
He had always been there when I came to work
Saying it’s a spooky place to be alone

Just as I had started to dial the phone
The door opened and Dr. King walked through it
Noticing his face had a slight greenish hue
I suggested he just sit down for a bit

He said he felt fine as he took off his coat
And hurried down the steep staircase to his lab
Posture bent as if he had aged over night
He walked to the fridge and pulled out the third slab

I was surprised by the sight of the gray bag
Knowing that slab had been empty late last night
As Dr. King unzipped it I stepped closer
And couldn’t believe my eyes were seeing right

Before me I saw there were two Dr. Kings
And I guess the shock must have shown on my face
Then one started laughing one started screaming
I wanted badly to get out of this place

But my fascination held me rooted there
Staring in the bag of screaming body parts
Dr. King was not alone in that gray bag
I saw other faces, arms, legs, eyes, and hearts

Then the Dr. King beside me was talking
He didn’t sound like my Dr. King at all
Backing away I raced towards the steep staircase
And ran smack into an invisible wall

I hit it so hard I was thrown to the floor
But my fear had me bounding back to my feet
Screams still came from the bag as Dr. King laughed
And to think I once thought of him as sweet

Sudden silence like a button being pushed
As Dr. King backed me into a corner
Wanting to scream but hypnotized by his eyes
Would I be the next victim he would torture

The next moment I heard a noise over head
Then a golden light shot down through the ceiling
It moved over the bag, which soon disappeared
Next was Dr. King and I was left reeling

Running swiftly up the stairs and through the door
I headed outside to see what I could see
Above the building’s roof were flying saucers
And from them small green men were staring at me

Amazed and scared I stood rooted to that spot
And steadily watched as the space ships took flight
Rumor has it that Dr. King left his wife
And I’ve kept secret my mortuary fright

c 2004 Linda Ritnour/RainbowQueen
(All rights reserved)