The boy could see the flicker of light in a distance and strive to reach out to it. He's been running for God knows how long but it seems that he's stuck on the same spot. He's already about to give up but the light seems to be dancing, waving at him to come closer. He stopped running and gathered all his remaining strength on his feet, got down on his knees and forcefully jumped towards the light. Just as he grasped it in his hands, the darkness swallowed him and it seemed like he was suck into the depth of the abyss where he came from.

....

"Beep! Beep! Beep!"

The patient's pointer finger moved causing the machines to beep rapidly. His eyelids started to flutter, trying to open his eyes. The nurse on shift froze for a moment but immediately recovered from the shock.

The nurse called out on her radio. "Doctor, Patient No. 1 is awake!" She moved over to the patient and checked his vital signs, making sure that it was not a mistake.

Moments later, the Doctor stepped into the room and rushed over to the patient. The nurse handed her readings. The Doctor double checked everything while nodding his head. "He should wake up anytime soon. Watch him closely."

"Doctor! Patient No. 4 is awake!" The message came through the radio. "I'm coming!" The doctor performed a quick check up on the young man then left another set of instructions to the nurse before stepping out the door. "Doctor! Patient No. 3 is awake!" Another message came through, followed by two more transmissions. "Patient No. 2 is awake!" "Patient No. 5 is awake!"

"Zen, I need your assistance. All patients are now awake," the Doctor was forced to call over his colleague who just retired for the night.

"Got it. I'm coming back," Zen hung up right after and turned off the engine of her car, got out and ran towards the elevator. She was about to go home when she received the first message. She was dead tired but what happened tonight seemed to blow all her weariness away. They have been monitoring these five patients for almost a month now and none of them are responding no matter how much they've tried to stimulate their senses.

"Ding!"

Zen dashed out of the elevator and sprinted to Rm. 308 where Patient No. 3 is. "Doctor, I'll be in Rm. 308," Zen was thankful she forgot to remove her radio from her coat. "Okay," was the short response as she entered the room. The nurse handed over the patient's chart. The patient was unmoving on the bed but her eyes were open and was staring at the ceiling with a blank gaze.

"Her vital signs are stable," the nurse hesitated before continuing, "but her eyes, they're not responding to stimulus."

Zen put down the chart and checked on the girl. She waved the pen light onto the girl's eyes, and as reported by the nurse, there was no movement, even her pupils did not shrink when exposed to the light. Zen paused and contemplated if she is blind. She was about to move away from her face when the girl's eyes moved and fixated her gaze onto Zen's face. Zen was taken aback. Her gaze is so wrong, it seems like she's looking at a dead person's eyes.

"Can you see me?" Though shaken, Zen managed to ask. The girl gave her a slight nod. Zen moved to the side so that she was not blocking the light coming from the fluorescent and observed the girl's pupils again. 'No, there's no changes.' Zen was out of words. She had never experienced this. She seemed to be put on a trance under the girl's gaze.

...