So, besides being assaulted by a monster, I was hallucinating too? Great.

I couldn't even laugh to myself about the irrationality of it all before the creature attacked me again. Eventually, I was caught in a cycle of existing, dissipating, and then existing again, over and over.

My entire body racked with pain, screaming the only scream I could hear.

It screamed for me to run.

But I couldn’t move.     

Not even ten seconds had passed, and the screen from earlier was flashing a bright red. 

All of a sudden, my ears stopped ringing and I heard it. The sound of something sharp penetrating through liquid.

A whoosh followed by a splat.

It repeated, over and over. And then, I could no longer feel the monster's presence.

But it had been too late.

I heard something break. Like shattered glass. 

Oh.

Then I collapsed on the ground, shaking uncontrollably.

. . . Remember when I’d compared my earlier headache to being hit by a truck? Well, now it felt like the truck had hit me and then the driver decided to drive back and forth over my body, crushing my bones and intestines into fine dust.

It was far from pleasant. 

I moaned in pain, no longer able to feel my arms or legs. I couldn't even tell if my heart was beating anymore. Was it was beating too fast? Or too slow? Felt like a bit of both, honestly.

And then everything began to move in slow motion. The wind. My breaths. My thoughts. All slowly trickling, like grains of sand in an hourglass. It was as if the world had come to a halt and I'd become its prisoner, handcuffed to this single moment in time. And just like how I'd discovered the monster, I saw him running towards me out of the corner of my eye.

And time restarted. 

The nutjob panted between words.

“Y-you idiot. I let you out of my sight for a second and . . . and . . . Just how the hell can you have died already?” He groaned, shaking his head.

Huh. So he spoke normally now that I was about to die? Could’ve done that earlier, maybe?

The man placed his head in his hands, sighing. 

“Just respawn already. God, I can’t believe you wasted a life like that.”

R-respawn?

“W-what do you mean?” I asked, barely managing to get the words out of my mouth.

He froze.

“Y-you, you heard me?” He looked shocked, horrified, and . . . excited?

Was I not supposed to be able to hear him when he was right next to me? It's not like I was deaf–

I hissed, stifling a scream. 

A sear of pain had traveled throughout my entire body in an instant. The only way I could describe it was that it felt like my insides were decomposing.

I looked down at my arms. They were half-transparent, almost faded, as if the skin was an old piece of clothing that had been washed too many times. And now it was time to throw it away. 

A loud humming came from everywhere at once. Like tinnitus but if your entire body was composed of ears.

So, this was it. I was going to die, wasn't I?

Hah.

I'd yet to cross off anything from my post-pandemic bucket list. I was still waiting to see my friends again. The few friends I had left. And graduation, despite it probably being virtual. Going to college. Finally moving out of that damn house. Maybe getting into a relationship? Fuck, I didn't know! I'd lived only a short, completely minuscule eighteen years. Not even a blip on the timeline. There were so many things I'd never done. Things I'd waited my whole life for. 

And my family. How would they react? Were there out there at this moment, searching for me, who would soon become a corpse?

. . .Ah, who was I kidding? My mother would probably be overjoyed at the life insurance money. She’d probably find some way to refund my plane ticket too. And him. He wouldn’t even care. Actually, I’d be more angry if he did. 

But still, I . . . 

A dry tear dripped down my cheek.

I didn't want this. Any of this.

I wanted to see her again one more time. To laugh about our film teacher’s latest fad. Cry about PE. Dream about what college we’d go to. Talk about the future like it wasn’t a few memories away. 

I wanted that. Not this. 

'But you did want this.‘ A voice whispered. 

No! I didn't! I didn't want to wake up in the middle of nowhere and have to run for my life, chased by some crazed, demented murderer! I didn't want to be attacked by some disgusting monster that tried to absorb me into its body! And most importantly, I didn’t . . . 

I didn't want to die.

But, like always, the world didn't give a fuck.

My body was almost entirely faint.

I looked back at the man, the stranger who'd suddenly become the only person who would ever know how I died. Died to some goddamn mucus monster.

His lips were moving, muttering about something. I focused the last of my energy to try and make it out. When I did, I wanted to cry.

He was wondering about why I hadn't died yet.

. . . Ah. What a shitty way to go. To think, my last moments would be with someone who couldn’t even wait for me to pass away.

It felt bitter. I was bitter.

But my consciousness was beginning to seep away. I didn't have any more time to complain over my crappy fate.

I weakly looked up to the impatient bastard, my voice a low croak.

“H-hey, c-could . . . could you at least tell me your name?”

He stopped muttering and smiled. Maybe I shouldn't have asked...

Surprisingly, though, he gave me an answer.

“The name’s Andrew. I’m the Guide.”

Andrew, huh? Now I knew the name of the person I was going to haunt after my death. I ignored the last part about him being a guide.

Well, he could be a guide to death.

I shook my head with a painful chuckle and returned my gaze to him, eyes growing heavier by the second. I knew my next words would be my last.

They were almost inaudible, like a whisper, only a hundred times quieter. I wasn't even sure if he'd heard it.

“I-if you ever find my f-friend, or if she ever comes looking for me," I paused, trying to take a breath I didn't have.

It was so hard to even move my lips.

"Tell her, tell her I never once t-thought she was stupid. Actually, I admired her. Even the whole Undertale thing. Okay, maybe not entirely.” I shook my head, letting out another painful chuckle. “Anyway, I suppose, if my mother does show up one day . . . Give her my corpse so she can verify my death for the insurance.”

Not that he'd ever know who either of them were. It was something I probably should’ve thought of. But I didn’t have the time.

He looked at me with a strange expression before moving his mouth.

But I couldn’t hear him.

Everything was fading away. Like a dream before you woke up. But this was a nightmare. Even though my vision was fading, the red screen was still there, burning into my retinas.