One Short Story A Day

September 21, 2024

Prompt: Your boyfriend gets in a horrible car accident and ends up in the ICU. Another girl is found in the car with him, too – but she died. Who is she?

It was a dark and stormy night when I received the harrowing phone call that would forever change my life. My boyfriend, Mark, had been in a horrible car accident and was fighting for his life in the ICU. The news sent a shiver down my spine, and I immediately rushed to the hospital to be by his side.

As I arrived at the hospital, my heart pounded with fear as I made my way to the ICU. The sight that greeted me was nothing short of horrific – Mark lay motionless on a hospital bed, hooked up to various machines and monitors. His face was swollen and bruised, and I could see the deep gash on his forehead where blood had seeped through the bandages.

My eyes trailed to the other side of the room, where a body covered in a white sheet lay still. My heart lurched as I realized that there was another person in the car with Mark at the time of the accident. I couldn't fathom who it could be, as Mark had told me he was driving alone that night.

As I sat by Mark's bedside, tears streamed down my face as I prayed for his recovery. The doctors had told me that his injuries were severe, and that it would be a long and difficult road to recovery. I couldn't bear the thought of losing him, and I clung to the hope that he would pull through.

Days turned into weeks, and Mark's condition remained critical. I never left his side, sleeping in a chair by his bed and holding his hand as if my touch could somehow heal him. The mystery of the girl in the car haunted me, and I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something sinister at play.

One night, as I lay in the dimly lit hospital room, a sudden chill ran down my spine. I felt as though someone was watching me, and I turned to see a figure standing in the shadows. My heart raced as I stared at the silhouette, unable to make out any features in the darkness.

"Who are you?" I whispered, my voice shaky with fear. The figure remained silent, but I could feel its eyes boring into me with an intensity that sent shivers down my spine.

Suddenly, the lights flickered and went out, plunging the room into darkness. I let out a scream as I felt a cold hand grip my shoulder, squeezing it with a strength that was inhuman. I struggled against the unseen force, my heart pounding in my chest as terror consumed me.

As the lights flickered back on, I saw the figure standing before me – a young woman with pale skin and dark, empty eyes. Her hair was matted with blood, and her lips were twisted into a sinister smile. I recoiled in horror as I realized that she was the girl who had been in the car with Mark that fateful night.

"Who are you?" I asked again, my voice barely above a whisper. The woman's smile widened, revealing sharp, pointed teeth that glinted in the dim light.

"I am Lily," she hissed, her voice chilling me to the bone. "I was a passenger in the car with Mark, but I never made it out alive."

I felt a wave of terror wash over me as I realized that Lily was not of this world. She was a spirit, a vengeful soul trapped between the realms of the living and the dead. And she had come for Mark, seeking retribution for her untimely demise.

As Lily moved towards Mark's bed, a sense of dread overwhelmed me. I knew that she intended to harm him, to take him away from me forever. With a surge of courage, I stepped between them, determined to protect the man I loved at any cost.

"You cannot have him," I declared, my voice steady despite the fear that gripped me. "He is mine, and I will not let you take him from me."

Lily's eyes blazed with fury as she glared at me, her ghostly form shimmering in the flickering light. "He is mine," she hissed, her voice an eerie echo that sent shivers down my spine. "He belongs to me, now and forever."

I stood my ground, refusing to back down in the face of this malevolent spirit. I knew that Mark's life hung in the balance, and that I had to fight for him with everything I had. With a strength born of love and desperation, I reached out and grasped Lily's arm, channeling all my energy into banishing her from the room.

A blinding light filled the room, suffusing the space with a warm, golden glow. Lily let out a bloodcurdling scream as she was engulfed by the light, her form dissolving into nothingness as it was consumed by the pure energy that surrounded her.

The room fell silent, save for the steady beeping of the monitors by Mark's bedside. I turned to him, relief flooding through me as I saw his eyelids flutter open. His eyes met mine, and in that moment, I knew that he was going to be okay.

As the days passed and Mark's condition improved, I never spoke of Lily to him. I kept her existence a secret, knowing that he would never believe the truth of what had transpired that fateful night.

But in the quiet moments when I was alone with my thoughts, I couldn't shake the feeling that Lily's spirit still lingered, watching over us from the shadows. And I knew that we would always be haunted by the memory of the girl who had died in the car with Mark, forever bound to the darkness that had claimed her.