Warning; This chapter includes a brief depiction of self harm

A flash of light, that was all it was.

A shadow sat up abruptly, a sharp pain piercing through his head. A cascade of emotion and memories pulling him under each time he surfaced. Curling up into a ball, he sobbed silently into his sleeves.

After about an hour, his shoulders finally stopped shaking. He lay sprawled on the bed looking up at an unfamiliar ceiling.

Scrambling up with the grace and dexterity of a new-born foal, he quickly scanned the room. The hardwood floor riddled with holes belied the warm rug he was used to. The flimsy door left slightly ajar was a far cry from the secure entrance with six locks he was accustomed to. Most importantly, the rickety bed barely wide enough for him to turn over on was definitely not the queen-sized bed he had saved up for months to get.

Before he could even begin to process all the changes, his sharp intake of breath brought a coppery scent much like the metallic taste in his mouth. Sputtering ensued for a few minutes as he eagerly scrubbed at his mouth.

Taking a few minutes to assimilate what he was experiencing, a shudder racked his body as he realised that not a single thing was right. He steadied his breath and tried to make sense of the first-person images rushing through his mind.

Starting out, most of the images were blurry with just a few standing out. As time went on, they came in higher definition. It seemed to be the progression of someone’s life. A forehead crinkled in confusion.

His name is Huo Ye. His name is undeniably Huo Ye. Then why did all these memories point to him being Ling Ye.

His heart pounded as the reel began to slow down. Before each scene had whipped by rapidly, a stark contrast to that what now revealed itself.

A weak hand quivered as it slashed at the wrist attached to the other side of its body with a shard of glass. Huo Ye stared as he felt as though he had made the incision himself. A few incoherent words were mumbled, spilling out of his mouth, confusing him further as not a single one sounded familiar.

Why is this child mutilating his body so?

Strange symbols were etched as he drew his makeshift blade across the pale skin barely concealing the bones which looked on the verge of breaking free. A ray of light coursed through every trace left behind, a work of art as compared to the bloody mess it was.

A mangled hand grabbed the thin sheet adorning the distasteful bed. A few moments passed as the youth struggled to heave himself onto the bed.

The floor looks equally comfy. Why doesn’t he just give up?

The second he thought those words, Huo Ye breathed a sigh of relief as the youth finally made it up.

Why am I rooting for him? He did put himself in this situation.

At this point, Huo Ye had realised that he could not simply be daydreaming as he knew he didn’t have the brain power to create such an expansive illusion and certainly not when he had just been walking down the street. He giggled thinking that he had most likely been hit by a car for being careless and was in a coma. A part of him marvelled at how he could subconsciously design a world to keep his mind busy.

He cheered Ling Ye on with great enthusiasm. Ling Ye had to be the key to breaking out of this fantasy. His struggle must be a representation of how he, Huo Ye, was trying to escape from the mess that was his life and was just one step away from doing so. The pain he felt earlier must be from when he was run over.

He patted himself on the back, congratulating himself for being able to make such astute deductions. It might be a bit vain, but Ling Ye was the only one here to see him so it didn't matter.

The main character of his delusions began to nod furiously, almost in appreciation of his intellect.

 Huo Ye could not feel a thing, but only experienced his field of view bobbing up and down. He giggled once more as he thought of bowing to an imaginary crowd.

The youth burst out laughing as well, his hearty guffaws resonating in the dingy house. Huo Ye reasoned that the body tossing in fits was a reflection of his psyche and paid it no mind. At least that was until the laughter took on a maniacal edge.

Chills run down his spine as Huo Ye trembled not from fright, but rather because the body in which he was trapped began to convulse, each little quake causing the poor bed to groan terribly. The wooden squeaks and the nearly inhuman wails had him wishing for reprieve. What seemed like years was in reality only a couple of minutes.

With nothing hinting a change, Huo Ye felt whiplashed as it seemed as though his soul was suddenly slammed back into his body. He could not stop quivering, vowing never to watch a horror movie ever again.

He hesitantly opened his eyes to avoid being blinded by the harsh hospital lighting. Struggling, Huo Ye sat up in shock, he looked at the familiar floor, the familiar door and wiggling his butt about discovered that, yes indeed, it was a familiar bed, an evil contraption which had pushed him closer to his death with every passing minute. Where was the comfort he'd slaved for? Why was this anything but his dream bed?