Not Anna

The darkness fell like a curtain.

The hospital room vibrated gently with the quiet sound of equipment. Then, without warning, everything ceased. No beeping, whirring, or hissing from the oxygen tank. Only a thick, black silence—and the weird, uneven sound of breathing from those in the room.

Jill stood motionless, her heart caught between pulses.

Adex moved with his hands out, trying to find the wall. A green emergency light flashed briefly above the doorway, casting long, shifting shadows on Anna's unmoving body.

Then there was another sound.

A low whine emanated from the monitor, followed by a faint, distorted voice, as if someone were trying to remember how words should sound.

"I never left…"

Jill stumbled back from the bed. "Did you hear that?"

Mr. Halden came out of the shadows, but something about his silhouette looked wrong. Jill looked terrified, kept her gaze on him, her heart racing, and slowly began to back away.

Adex's voice cut through. "Get the lights."

"They're out," Halden said, voice slow. "Their Generator probably failed."

Anna twitched again.

Then her eyes opened.

Wide.

Clear.

Watching.

Jill noticed her through the darkness.

"Anna?" Jill whispered, stepping closer. "Can you hear me?"

Anna blinked. However, that was not a regular blink. It was slow, Measured, and Intentional.

Anna's lips trembled again, but the voice wasn't hers.

"You're all gonna die," she rasped, her voice low and twisted, thick with a demonic echo that resonated throughout the room.

Adex was shocked, then took a step back, his voice unsteady.

"That's not Anna," he said.

"Probably not," Mr. Halden said quietly, his eyes fixed on her.

Anna's eyes burned with intensity, her brows were sharp and rigid, and her face was twisted, making her appear more like a devil than a human. She turned her head slightly toward Jill and whispered,

"Ben."

Her fingers twitched against the sheets. The machine next to her flashed and died, then came back to life in quick bursts: blip... pause... blip blip... silence.

Jill whispered, "Something's wrong," her breath stopping in her throat. "This isn't her."

Adex leaned forward. "Where is Ben?"

Anna's body lurched, as if something pulled her from inside.

And then—she smiled.

Jill backed away, one hand against the wall. "Get out," she whispered. "Adex, get out now."

But Adex remained still, his gaze fixed on Anna's.

"I warned you," she said in a voice too deep, too steady. "But you keep dragging the past. You think the past watches? No. It waits."

She paused and locked her gaze on Adex, a peculiar smile twisting on her lips.

"Have you told them what you did to your parents?" Anna asked.

Adex gazed at her, shocked and wide-eyed.

Anna continued to smile as she watched Adex stand there, in shock.

Jill grabbed Adex's arm, her grip tight. "We need to leave—now!" she yelled.

Anna gently turned to face Jill.

"Where do you think you're going, Jill?" She spoke in a low, chilly tone.

Jill froze, panic twisting her cheeks as she focused on Anna.

"Don't forget," Anna said with a terrifying smile, "I live in you."

Jill's hand moved to her stomach. She felt a sharp, unusual kick, followed by a jarring pain.

"Ah—" she gasped, doubling over slightly as the pain struck.

Anna suddenly sat up, her body jerking like a puppet pulled by its strings. The wires tore from her flesh, and the IV line yanked from her arm, splattering a small stream of clear fluid across the sheets.

Adex stumbled back.

Mr. Halden moved quickly, trying to restrain her. "She's not fully conscious—she's delirious—she—"

But Anna looked at him.

And Halden stopped. His hands trembled. His mouth opened, but no sound came out.

Anna didn't move. She just whispered:

"You were there."

Halden took a step back. "No… I didn't, I wasn't—"

"You watched. You let it happen."

Then her body dropped to the floor. Her limbs are slack, and her eyes are closed.

The Machines returned with a violent buzz. Lights turned on. Oxygen hissed into life.

The room blinked back into colour.

But Anna remained on the floor.

Unmoving.

Jill rushed forward, paused halfway, and looked frightened. "Anna? Anna—can you hear me?"

The nurse rushed in, startled by the chaos. "What happened?"

Adex and Jill backed away from the bed. Neither of them answered.

Mr. Halden stood in the corner, staring at Anna on the floor.

No one dared to step closer to her after that.

The nurse carried her back to the bed, checking her vitals as she muttered to herself, "Pulse is steady. Oxygen levels are okay. She's back to normal?"

They all watched as the nurse reconnected the IV to her veins, hooked up the machines to her body, and adjusted the oxygen supply.

"I need everyone to leave the room. She needs to rest," the nurse said.

Everyone left, but Jill paused and looked back at her one last time before walking out.

As soon as Jill walked into the corridor, she came to a halt. It was utterly silent and empty. The hospital she knew was gone—everything around her had changed. She wasn't in the hospital anymore.

She found herself in a strange, eerie realm. The air felt chilly and silent, and the area stretched on with nothing but shadows and faint whispers. Jill wandered, crying out for Adex and Mr. Halden, but no one answered.

As she went through this frightening ghost world, she came across a clear, glass-like tube standing upright. Looking inside, she discovered two bodies floating in water, each with a gadget covering their mouths. The tubes were side by side, one on the left and one on the right.

Jill stepped to the middle and gasped when she saw Curt and Sam inside, both breathing gently with their eyes closed. She looked, trying to make sense of what she was witnessing. Suddenly, Curt's eyes snapped open. Jill screamed and rushed, yelling Adex's name again and again.

Then she heard Adex's voice beckoning her back. Suddenly, she was back in the hospital corridor, where Adex had seized her as she ran and screamed. Adex hugged her closely as tears poured down her face, his head resting against her chest.

Mr. Halden stepped closer, looking at them both, his countenance unreadable. The silence hung heavy, like something was waiting, just beyond reach.