Hotel Ceiling

Two

The brunette didn't know how it was possible. She stood beside her silenced family, astonished.

"Mom? Dad? Chance?"

They ignored Amry, or so she thought. The three left Amry alone in the stuffy hospital room. Well, maybe not alone.

"They aren't ignoring you, Amry," a voice spoke behind her.

She spun around to see a man in black in the corner by the bed. He had a black hoodie on, completing the dark outfit, and casting an eery shadow upon his pale face. She found him mysteriously attractive.

"You're him. My killer," she whispered.

He shook his head, "Not your killer. Shooter, the cause of your coma state."

"What? And how do you know my name?"

"I know everybody. And you're in a coma, like I said," he paused. "You aren't actually here. You're still in your own body, but you're mind is outside of it."

Amry looked down at her body, recognizing how her eyes dart around underneath her closed eyelids. She looked back at the strange man and motioned for him to continue.

"My name is Nate. I'm an illusion to the people awake in this world, but when they're like you, I'm completely real. You, Amry, are stuck between life and death until you figure out what went wrong in your life."

"And how am I supposed to do that?" She asked the man.

He smiled, "With the help of me. But only for a little bit. People like me have rules too, ya know."

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "People like you?"

"People that lost. That means that they were in your place once, but they didn't make it out. The plug was pulled, leaving them stuck in permanent regret. They couldn't find out or fix their mistakes, causing the timer to run out," Nate explained.

"You lost?"

He nodded at the brunette, "Badly. And I regret every second of it. Now, I get assigned to people, attempt to kill them, but don't actually do it. Like others, I send them into comas so they become better people." He paused. "I made plenty of mistakes. Sadly, sent many people into The Void-"

"And that is?" She questioned.

Nate sighed, "The place between life and death. You're here right now, I am as well. But at least you have a chance to escape it. If you fail, you're stuck here for eternity with the same job as me, with everyone else." He rubbed his face slowly, "You need to make it out of The Void. You don't have much time, and I can't tell you when it will be up, so hurry. You'll know when your time's up. But you'll also know when you've escaped. Think long and hard about the people around you, mistakes. Run along, darling."

Then, he was gone.