Samples.

15. Purgatory.

I should've expected it to be completely honest. It happens to everyone. I was blissfully ignorant of the only thing that is definite.
I stepped out into the road, in a rush to meet my friend Chris. I had been so focused on getting to the bar on time, that I failed to notice the oncoming glare of a pair of headlights under the curtain of night.
Everything went in slow motion as the bonnet bit into my legs. The cracking and splintering of bone reverberated in my skull, my body slapping against the concrete. My skull split on impact, blood pooling around me and soaking my clothes. The car had stopped, but the ringing in my ears drowned out the panicked voice of the elderly male driver. White noise shrieked in my head, my hearing gone. My sight deteriorated rapidly, before the red turned to black.
I wasn't even conscious when Chris came to visit me in the hospital. I was unaware when I flatlined, and his sobs shook his body, echoing through the ward.

I awoke in an an unfamiliar room, struggling to get my bearings. The walls were pale pink, dainty furniture of baby blues, purples, and rose lining the walls. My fingers told me about the fluffy rug I was sitting on, and I began to notice all the details of the room. Cuddly toys say on floral bedsheets, grinning eerily despite their bright attire. A doll's house stood upon an upturned box, the dolls left strewn across the floor. Broken crayons and torn paper littered the desk.
"How much did I drink last night with Chris?!" I grumbled, cradling my head in my hands in an attempt to nurse the throbbing headache that plagued me. My fingers detected an abnormality in my hairline. A thick ridge of stitches stretched from my eyebrow right back past my ear.
"What the-"
Then it hit me. I'd been hit by a car. I'd almost died. So why was I here? Had I been sleepwalking and managed to find my way into the paediatric ward?
My thoughts were interrupted by a small girl bursting into the room, her long jet-black hair flying out behind her as she placed a bone china tea set on the floor beside me. She positioned teddy bears and dolls around the set up, before sitting down cross-legged and looking me dead in the eye.
"Hello!" She beamed, her blue eyes sparkling with childish adoration.
"Hi- Uh- Who are you?" I stuttered.
"I'm Victoria. I'm gonna call you Xavier."
"But my name's Ben-"
"No! Xavier!" She snapped, bolts of lightning flashing in her steely eyes.
"O-Okay..." I didn't have the courage to fight her.
"Do you want to join me for a tea party? Buttons loves making new friends!" She lifted the paw of a stuffed bear and waved it at me. The head of the bear tilted to the side and the gleam on his button eyes almost seemed malicious.

I tensely awaited the end of the tea party. Drinking stagnant water from grubby little cups was not my idea of a good Saturday night. To my relief, the sound of a woman's voice travelled up the stairs, calling for the little girl.
I went downstairs with her, hoping that an adult would be able to help me in some way or other. A woman in her late thirties, with thinning dark hair stood in the kitchen wearing a neat apron.
"Hello, I'm Ben. Could you tell me where I am? I can't remember how I got here-" I began.
"Victoria! What have I told you about stealing the good china?" The woman fumed, cutting me off.
"Excuse me, ma'am. What street is this house on?" I tried again. Still the woman ignored me. It was as if I was invisible.
"Hello?!" I raised my voice to the woman.
"Shut up." Victoria hissed to me.
"I need to find out where I am. Can your mother help me?"
"Be quiet. We can't talk right now."
"Victoria! What have I told you about talking to your imaginary friends?" Her mother barked.
Wait... what? Imaginary friends?
It couldn't be. It was impossible. There was no way on earth that I was a figment of somebody's imagination.
"What?!" I yelled.
This could not be happening. It had to be some kind of sick joke, or maybe I'd just taken some dodgy acid with Chris.
I grabbed the woman by the shoulder, but got no reaction. It was like my hand was nothing more than thin air.
I was just a figment of this girl's imagination, and there was nothing I could do about it.