𝚏𝚒𝚟𝚎

My eyes slowly begin to drift open, seeing the heavy rain pouring onto me. The first thing I notice is the pitch black sky. A short breath comes out of my mouth as I try to remember what happened.

We were in a car accident. The windshield wipers stopped working and another car slammed into us. I remember the pain my entire body felt, and the fast spinning of the destroyed vehicle.

Yet, right now, nothing hurts. I don't feel any aches or pains. My head isn't throbbing, there's no blood surrounding me. I slowly sit up, being perfectly able to do so.

"Grayson?" I call out, blinking a few times.

The rain isn't stopping as I look around the area. The car we were driving in is nowhere to be found. I'm lying down on an empty pavement, feeling nothing but confusion.

"Hope?" His deep voice says.

I turn my head and see his body a few feet away from me. He looks even more confused than I do.

"I'm right here." I gasp while completely standing up. I look around the drenched area, having no clue where we are.

"What happened? Where are we?" He finally rises to his feet, placing his hand on his forehead. "I can't feel anything."

I look down at my hands, feeling a numbness I have never experienced before. "Neither can I. I'm pretty sure we're in shock from the car accident."

"The car accident." His eyes widen as he steps closer to me. "Somebody slammed into us."

"So, it actually happened?" I ask in the form of a question. Maybe it was all a dream? There is not a scratch or bruise on my skin.

"Yeah, I think so." He glances down his wet body. "But we're not hurt."

"I guess we aren't, but how?" I have so many questions. The first one being: where the hell are we? It's still raining so we can't be far from Renton.

"I have no idea." He starts to glance around. "How did we get here? Where's the car?"

"I don't know." I gulp while looking down the empty street next to the sidewalk. "Did an ambulance come?"

"Why would they leave us on the street?" He snaps his head back to look at me. "Are you in pain?"

"Not at all, are you?" My voice is rushed as I start to panic. I don't understand anything that's happening.

"I feel fine." He continues to glance down at his perfect attire. Everything is intact, which is the scariest part. It's like nothing ever happened.

"We need to call for help. Do you have your phone on you? I never bring mine out." Out of all the nights, this is when I needed my phone the most.

He reaches into the front pocket of his jeans. "It was in my pocket. Somebody probably took it."

"Why would anyone take it?" I move a few steps forward. My feet are like jello, feeling mushy and soft. "Does your body feel like that, too?"

"Like mush?" He starts to walk next to me. "I don't feel the ground underneath me."

"I don't either." My eyes widen even more as I try to step on the hard material beneath my feet. Nothing. It's like I'm stepping on thin air.

The loud sound of sirens suddenly rings through my ears. It vibrates through my bones and shakes my entire core. Grayson and I look at each other before sprinting toward the noise. Besides the rain, the street is completely silent. Now, there's loud sirens that are getting closer and closer.

"This way." Grayson shouts while running in the direction of the noise.

I follow his lead, until he abruptly stops in his tracks. My feet stop moving as a loud gasp leaves my mouth. The 1998 Sedan is in the middle of the street, and it's completely totaled. There is barley anything left of it. The passenger side door is crushed and the front and back are pretty much non existent.

The liquid from the sky pours onto the police officers who are checking out the other totaled car, which is a brown pick up truck. It's just as bad as ours, if not worse. Nobody seems to look our way, they all rush back and forth between both vehicles.

"Hope, look." Grayson's voice is a shocked whisper as he points across the street. There are multiple ambulance trucks, with paramedics surrounding two stretchers.

Grayson starts to run toward them, and I do the same. If I could feel my heartbeat, I bet it would be popping out of my chest right now.

"Holy shit." I mutter the second I see what's on the stretcher. It's me. I'm looking at myself lying there, completely unconscious. There's blood covering every inch of my body, I can see my bones peeking through my skin.

My eyes move to the next stretcher, looking at Grayson. His eyes are closed and blood is also covering his body head to toe.

"We need to get them to the emergency room, now!" The man standing next to my body screams.

"Wait." I call out, but nobody looks at me.

They take the stretchers and place them into two separate ambulance trucks. I turn and look at Grayson, but he's completely frozen.

"Is this some kind of joke?" I say to one of the paramedics, but she doesn't even look at me. "Hello?"

"Grayson!" Ethan's deep voice calls from a distance. We both turn our heads in his direction.

"Ethan, thank god." He rushes up to his twin brother. "I don't know what's going-"

"What happened to him? Is he okay?" Ethan walks right past us, running up to the paramedics.

"They were in a fatal car accident. They need to be treated immediately before anything happens." The man sounds heartbroken telling him this information.

I look at Grayson with helpless eyes. Suddenly it's all making sense to me. "Oh my god. We're dead." I choke the words out.

"They aren't dead, but who knows how much longer they can hold on." The man debunks my statement.

The ambulances speed down the street, taking both Grayson and I with them. Although, we aren't with them. We're standing here, in the middle of the street, watching everything like a movie.

"What the hell does that mean!" Ethan yells with tears streaming down his face. The rain covers them, but I know he's crying.

"They were both breathing, but it was very little. They need to be hooked up to an oxygen machine immediately."

"My brother can't die, I need him!" Ethan sobs while running a hand through his wet hair.

"I'm right here!" Grayson screams at the top of his lungs, stepping in front of him. "Ethan, listen to me! I'm standing right here." He waves his hands, trying to get his attention.

Just like before, nothing works. Ethan can't see him because he's not actually there. I have no idea where we are, but it definitely isn't the real world.

"Ethan! Hello?!" Grayson screams.

"Grayson." My shaky voice whispers.

"This is fucked up, Hope! Where the hell are we? Why can't anyone see us?!" He paces around the street, the water dripping onto his body.

"I don't know!" I shout back, growing extremely frustrated.

"I can't feel my own body!" He tries to run his fingers through his hair, but tosses them down in defeat. "If we aren't dead, then what are we? We obviously aren't fully alive."

"I'm so confused." I admit while looking up, seeing the heavy rain crashing down onto me. I don't feel the water, but I know it's hitting me with force. "What are we going to do?" I begin to panic, trying my hardest to cry.

"Hey, it's okay." Grayson whispers while walking closer to me. He places his hand on my shoulder, which causes me to look down. I can't feel his hand touching my skin. He's trying to comfort me, but there's not one ounce of feeling to it.

"I can't feel you." He says while looking into my scared eyes.

"I can't feel you either." I gulp, staring directly at him. I wish I can feel his touch, but I can't.

The sound of cars shutting snap me out of my thoughts. I turn around and see Ethan getting back into his car, while the police drive away from the scene. Everyone is starting to leave.

The monsoon around us suddenly stops. Not a single drop of rain is falling from the sky. Grayson and I both look up, furrowing our eyebrows in confusion. The sky is clear, and the water around us fades away.

"What the hell?" I whisper.

"This isn't real, we must be dreaming." Grayson looks back down.

"Oh, it's very much real. For now, at least." A male voice speaks from behind me. It's a voice I would recognize anywhere.

I slowly turn around, looking right at the tall figure in front of me. This isn't real, it can't be. My jaw hangs low as another surprised gasp slips past my lips.

"Hunter?" I lowly whisper.