Survived By Secrets

0 • Prologue

He was floating.

Time was suspended. All around him everything was black and static. There was no movement and there was nothing, just him floating.

He felt peace.

The feeling consumed him, wrapping around every inch of his body. He felt warmness-inside and out. He loved everything. All his worries floated away like feathers in the wind. It was a good feeling.

Then he felt nothing.

He was floating in eternity, nothing existed. His mind separated from his body. Who was he? Where was he? He was nothing. He was nowhere.

Then there was a light. It was bright and scalding. But he had an urgency to go towards it. He tried to move but something grabbed him, pulling him back. He was returning to his lifeless body. He started to panic. He could feel his body but he didn't know if he was alive. Pain rushed through him like water, slithering through every crack in his body. He tried to move, tried to breathe but he was stuck. He regained consciousness. He breathed in a full breath. His lungs burned as his eyes peeled open.

White and beige coloured walls surrounded him. IV lines ran from his arms to a metal pole holding a clear bag. He tried to get up searching his brain for anything that would tell him what happened.

A man in scrubs pulled back the privacy curtain, hanging from the ceiling, a clipboard in his hand. "Hello Ryan. Can you hear me?" He went over to the electronic machine beside him. "Try not to move too much. Can you remember what happened?"

He tried to look back as far as he could but there was a gap in his memory. He started to remember his dad and his family. Where were they? He tried to move again but pain shot through his chest causing him to wince in pain. "Where is my dad?" he managed to say in shuddered breaths.

"Your family is waiting, I will tell them you are awake." With that he left and in a few moments a dark haired girl entered the room. She pulled him in a hug but pulled away as she noticed a line forming between his brows.

"Do you remember me?" she asked with a worried look.

"Yes, I just-" he frowned, touching his head. "What happened to me?"

"You were in a car accident with your dad," she sighed.

"Is my dad okay?" Before she could answer, a man with dark brown hair entered. His eyes lit up, dark circles under them.

"Do you feel okay?" his dad asked running a hand down his face. He nodded, he was still in pain but he was glad he was alive. Then not long after his mom, his brother, and his sister entered.

"We almost lost you, Ryan." They all hugged him, periodically asking him how he's feeling. Then after a while the doctor came in and gave him pain medication, telling him to get some rest. Then everyone left leaving him alone with his thoughts. The hospital was quiet and noisy at the same time. He could hear the squeaking of shoes on the tile floor and the beeping of machines. It made him uneasy so he shifted in his bed as he tried to sleep. He kept thinking about what happened, the feeling he had before he woke up.

I almost died, he thought. He turned looking for the remote for the television hanging on the wall in front of him. He needed to distract himself. But when he found it he held it in his hands, not being able to turn the T.V on. He turned his attention back to the halls outside the room. It was quiet but it wasn't empty. There was something there and he could feel it. A feeling he didn't recognize. 

Then a woman passed him, wearing only a hospital gown. She looked around frantically as if she was lost. She turned her head to him and he quickly turned away, without thinking, hoping she didn't see him. The woman continued wandering the halls, gliding—almost floating—along the tile floors.

As the hours passed he saw more and more patients moving aimlessly through the halls, looking lost and scared. There was something off about them and It made it even harder for him to sleep. He glanced at the tray of food on the table beside him. He wasn't hungry. He picked up the glass of water and drank through the bent straw. It still didn't help. So he lay back in bed staring at the ceiling, closing his eyes every time the nurse or doctor came in to press the buttons on the electronic machine beside him. After awhile he was starting to drift to sleep. He slowly closed his eyes, letting sleep take over.

I need to know

The voice, soft and distant, shook him awake, it was in his mind but it wasn't his thoughts. He didn't know where it came from or whom it belonged to.

I need to know who killed her

~~~~~~~

Author's note

I hope you guys like this so far. This is my first serious book. I need your feedback and support so vote and comment. ;-)

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