"Where am I?"
"Who am I?"
"I can't seem to remember anything."
"How long have I been here?"
She had lost track of time.
For what felt like an eternity, she had simply floated in the misty depths of the sea.
"I'm actually starting to grow accustomed to this."
After all, she couldn't seem to drown, nor could she reach the surface. It was as though she were trapped in an endless flow of water, suspended between sinking and rising.
Grumble...
The water suddenly shook violently.
"Huh? What's going on?"
Before she could make sense of it, a figure appeared before her.
She froze.
"Who are you...?"
The figure suddenly lunged at her.
Hands wrapped tightly around her neck.
She struggled desperately, but the more she fought, the tighter the grip became. Her eyes widened as she desperately grasped at the hand, trying to remove it.
But her struggle seemed to have little effect.
She couldn't breathe.
She tried to scream, but nothing came out.
Then—
Gasp!
Beep... beep... beep...
The heart monitor began to beep rapidly.
A loud gasp echoed through the room as the girl suddenly coughed violently.
Her eyes fluttered open.
She tried to sit up, but pain shot through her entire body. It felt as though every part of her had been burned.
It ached all over.
She tried moving her arm.
Nothing.
She tried to move her hands.
Still, she couldn't feel them.
Her mind was a complete mess. The bright light above her stabbed painfully into her eyes, making it difficult to see.
Where was she?
What had happened to her?
And why couldn't she remember anything?
She tried to speak, but her throat burned.
Before she could make another attempt, exhaustion overwhelmed her.
Her eyes slowly closed.
And once again, everything went dark.
Immediately, the machine began to beep violently. The alarm had already rung throughout the entire house.
Doctors and nurses rushed toward the room. They all moved simultaneously, trying to figure out what had happened.
Bang!
The door was pushed open.
A man in a black suit walked in.
Looking closer, he was the same man from earlier.
Immediately after he entered, the air seemed to freeze.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and bowed.
"What happened here?"
His voice was eerily stable.
The doctor and nurses felt their legs go weak. Cold sweat began to form on their backs.
They looked at each other, each one silently wondering who would speak first.
"Daniel."
That single word was enough to send everyone shivering.
Daniel, who had been hiding himself among the doctors, froze when he heard his name.
He wanted to cry, but even his tears seemed too scared to fall.
He immediately straightened his back.
"Sir."
He tried to hide the trembling in his voice.
"I won't repeat myself."
His expression had turned dark.
"It seems that Miss had a sudden shock and was briefly awake for a few seconds before losing consciousness again. We're just doing a few check-ups to know if there's any issue we should be worried about."
He rambled quickly.
It was quiet.
Eerily quiet.
"Go bring the footage."
After some time, he finally commanded one of his bodyguards outside.
They didn't waste any time and immediately took action.
An iPad was placed in his hands as the video appeared on the screen.
He pressed play with trembling hands.
He watched as she gasped, opened her eyes, and coughed violently.
His eyes became misty, yet his face remained strong.
His heart was in turmoil.
He straightened himself, handed the iPad back to the bodyguard, and walked out.
The atmosphere in the room finally calmed down, and everyone let out a sigh of relief.
"We survived."
They all said in their minds.
The room was filled with murmuring.
Daniel, the most frightened of them all, looked at the girl on the bed with curiosity. His fear had long disappeared.
"This is the second time, girl, you almost made me lose my life. When you wake up, you better protect me for almost taking my life twice."
He thought to himself.
"Dr. Daniel, Boss is calling you."
Not long after, a bodyguard came in and shouted amidst the doctors.
Immediately, the murmuring stopped, and the room once again became quiet as everyone's attention focused on Daniel, who was closest to the bed.
As he heard his name, his hair stood up, and goosebumps appeared all over his body.
He looked at the girl once more.
"Is this your retribution? But I was only trying to save my life."
"Aren't you coming?"
The bodyguard asked again.
"I'm coming!"
Daniel quickly regained himself and ran out of the room.
All the other doctors looked at him with pity, but they were also grateful it wasn't them.
As the bodyguard was about to leave, he turned toward the remaining doctors.
"The boss asked me to pass on a message. Aren't you all tired, or do you need someone to sew up your mouths?"
Immediately, they understood.
He wanted them to leave.
They scrambled out of the hospital room as if running for their lives.