You are Charlie, a successful ghost hunter who has wound up in hospital due to a recent injury. Since your very first expedition, many sought your services in hopes that you would fix their problems, and in many cases, you have. Since your very recent adventure, you were left scarred, both mentally and physically. In a horrible turn of events, you were admitted to urgent care. But you can’t bother to think of that, all you can do is think of your family.
The hospital bed sheets are scratchy. The wool cover makes your feet itch. The plastic sides rattle every toss and turn you take. You can’t stop dreaming about them. Well- having nightmares. Whatever did that ghost mean? “A vessel for two, endangered at twelve.”
You remember the phantom’s words. “A soon-to-be three, turned to one.” A terrible thought. Perhaps a threat.
You grind your teeths, smashing them side to side. You can feel your stomach twisting and turning in place, the acid greeting your throat every now and then.
You can help but wonder, were the ghost’s words true? Or was it a lie to stop you? You can’t tell through the haze that fogs your brain. You rest your head on the itchy wool pillow. The gown they made you wear made you feel sweaty and sticky as you warmed up in the blankets.
It was dark in the room. Night had already fallen hours ago. It was just you, alone, in an expansive room. There was no coughing, no sneezing, no sighing. Just you and the painful silence that followed you from all those years ago.
You look outside the window, the wet pavement shining under the streetlamps. You wonder whether it’s worth going back home.