“What makes you think that you’re great, huh? You must just be tweaking your stories to make you a victim! Your works are not even that great anyway! You are nothing now but a passe! You should have been the one who is dead!” I see all the pain in his eyes as my body begs for air while his hands' grip on my throat grows stronger. “I wonder why my sister even likes your books. I wonder why Yohanne did her best to line up for you when you did not even show up a month ago. You don’t deserve all the love of your fans when you could not even save them now!” “We shouldn’t have listed to you and just died there inside the Iodestone! Everyone is just dying anyway. No one even knows if we die in reality or not! But this pain is so real! My sister died in my arms feels so real! I do not deserve this nightmare you have put us in!” My tears are streaming like waterfalls on my face as Steven lets out all his ang

It is so weird, the playground that Apphia has told us is actually located underneath the hotel. Honestly, I don’t expect much of that place. I wonder what awaits us there. The lights are out when we we have walked through the hallway as Harris flips every switches we see along the way. It is fine though, the light from the moon outside illuminates the glass top to bottom windows on every corner of the building. “Why are you turning the lights off?” I once asks him in whispers. “I realized that there must be someone else who has survived the tragedies we have gone to.” “Huh?” I ask confuse It is so weird, the playground that Apphia has told us is actually located underneath the hotel. I mean, if you ever heard of a playground, then it is usually like a park, right? A place where there would be trees and grass, somewhere there are lots of sunlight and an area where people can freely do picnics and ot

Harris is just kneeling there, crying while he’s looking at the grave of his childhood best friend. He’s silent but his shoulders are shaking. He reaches down as if he’s hugging Melvin, but only, the earth separates them two. I keep my mouth shut while I let Harris cry to the realization of him losing his best friend. No one else knows but him the frustration of actually losing an important person from his life. I feel the side of my chest tighten on what I am witnessing. The denial, the frustration, the unbelief that he must be feeling is slowly eating him right now. He must be repressing all this skepticism during our quest to freedom earlier. Holding on to the hope that Steven, Stacey, and I have been lying all along. But alas! We can no longer deny it. The proof of Melvin’s death lies in front of us now. His childhood best friend is really dead. 

Where is Steven? “Steve! Where are you?” Harris calls him out in this poorly lit room. His voice echoes in the entire room but no one responds to him. Not even Steven. Silence starts to engulf us as worry start to appear in my gut. Where can he be? Did we take too long to come back? I can’t see properly and I see no silhouettes of alive human beings around here. I help call Steven out, too. “Steven! Where are you?!” I shout with my hands circling the sides of my mouth in an attempt to louder my voice. We already lost too many people tonight. I don’t think we will be able to let go of another one, too. We have to find him. “Harris, what if he jumped insid

“HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO US!” I shout when I reach her. I can no longer stop myself. I need to release all this pent-up anger inside of me. I tried to nab her face but my hands fall short when two of the white-robed people holds both of my arms. Their grip is strong like well-trained men and they are now carrying me up in the air in no time. “HOW CAN YOU DO THIS PEOPLE?!” I am still shouting and being hysterical. I lost everyone I lost my mom. I lost my friends. And there is no assurance of me waking up anymore. “How can you do this?” I cry and I feel the two men put me on the ground. I kneel in front of them, “Please get me back my mom.” I beg. “Please find a way for me to wake up.” “Please tell me that this is not real.” “Please tell me that the ghosts are lying.&rdq