Tenacity

The darkness disperses as Andrew looks around. With every sight he takes in, the darkness gets pushed further and further away, being replaced by memories. His birth. His hospital visits. His friends. His vacation. May.

His legs are weak. He can't get up, not even move his arms. The only things that can change position are his eyes, and without limits. His eyes can roll back into his head, looking directly below him and the gushing water slide of the pool in France, where he, Sarah, and May are enjoying themselves. Andrew attempts to smile, but his mouth does not budge. He turns his eyes around again, and looks up at the bright blue sky, no clouds to be seen. The darkness in the distance is still evaporating, getting further and further away from him on all sides.

Andrew finds himself in a puddle of his own blood. His neck is open, with the knife removed, and he has spilled completely dry. He can see his own neck through his chin, like he can see May standing behind him through his head.…

"Andrew."

[I can't talk… I can't open my mouth… or even breathe…]

"Andrew."

[Everything is so silent… so calm… there is not a single noise… not even a heartbeat… not even my heartbeat… I am alone… except for her, standing behind me.]

"Andrew." Her voice can be heard, but her mouth does not move. It is a faint, lifeless, body of her, without a soul.

[I don't want to talk to you… I don't need to…]

"You do not, that is true."

[She can hear me...]

"Andrew, you should have long been dead."

[I know… I get that now… I don't deserve to be alive anymore…]

"So you understand. Then, why did you continue living?"

[I… don't know… why did I? Yeah…]

May's fingers crumble and break off, falling onto the ground without making a single noise.

[Because of you?]

"What a weak argument."

The fallen fingers start growing. They grow up to May's size in mere seconds, before forming limbs and a body with the same haste, eventually conjuring clothes out of the grey mist around them.

[I see… they're here too…]

From the fingers and the clothes form his friends, family and all the people he has known ever. Those ten people drop their fingers too, and start growing other people, like acquaintances. This continues seemingly forever, off into the far distance, creating people he might have only spoken too once or twice in his entire life. On the front line, just behind May, Keil and Lin appear.

[Oh, did you two get married?]

"They didn't." May responds. "And sorry Andrew, but they can not respond. They are mere figures of the imagination."

[So what about you?]

"I am the same as them."

[So why can you talk?]

May does not respond to that thought, thus Andrew continues to look at the others being formed. Melissa, Connor, Ben and Gabrielle are summoned on the row behind Keil and Lin, evenly spaced as they are from May. Behind them, his other classmates, family members, Doctor Mirad and a whole lot more people behind those.

[Helen and Mei aren't here, Joe, Mike, Wilhelm, Chris… I met them after I…]

"You never met them." May interrupts.

[What do you mean… I clearly…]

Andrew stops his thoughts himself.

[Oh, I see what you mean… I should have never met them…]

"You never met them." Suddenly, all of the people behind him say it in unison.

[Oh… I… see… yeah… that's right… I…]

"No… that's not true…" A soft, quiet voice can be heard in front of him. He quickly moves his eyes towards the sound. There is no one there.

"You will be stuck here, Andrew. This will be your true death." May exclaims. The frustration in her voice rising with every word.

"No he will not… he will wake up… from this hell." The voice is now above him. An enormous, sparkling white arm drops down from above, crushing everyone behind May ."You don't need them… they are all fakes… you need to continue living, make your own choices, and escape from this hell." The voice continues.

[It's you… I know you… that voice… so calm… preserved…]

"No you do not!" May screeches. Her arms fall off. Black mist is emitted from where they teared off, and her eyes, mouth and nose all start emitting the same mist. It wraps around Andrew quickly, strangling him.

"Let him go! You've tortured him and his life enough!" The quiet voice tries as much as possible to overwhelm May, but fails. Andrew lays there for minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years. An infinite amount of time, yet passing by in just a few seconds. He places his hand firmly on the ground, and pushes himself up.

[She's right… I shouldn't follow what she said… I have no reason to die now…]

"What?" May exclaims loudly. The black mist strangles him more and twists around his body. He is now standing, with his back facing May. A house takes shape in front of him. The house of the Hillton's, in Perigowinkle. He walks towards the front door.

"No. Stay here." May calmly says, while aggressively tightening the band around his neck.

[You don't seem to understand… May…]

The mist in her eyes faintly go away, and it reveals her dark brown eyes, crying subtly.

[I was stabbed in the neck. I lost all my blood, and my ability to breathe… so strangling is futile.]

May disappears together with the mist as he opens the door. Andrew enters and closes the door behind him. He has overcome her deathly tenacity.