Hospital, New Jersey, United States.
A white-haired aged man laid stiffly on his bed, his body shaking involuntarily. A strong cough gripped his throat, before recomposing himself again.
The doctor had just left the ward. His assistant kept writing something on a piece of paper, listening to the old man as he kept dictating something, commenting from time to time.
"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but visitor's time ended five minutes ago", the nurse that entered the ward said to the assistant, as she took a glance at the old man on the bed.
"Give me a minute", the assistant said with a thick German accent, and then turning to the white-haired man, she said something in a language the nurse wasn't able to decipher.
After saying some words to the old man, the assistant packed up her bags and walked out of the side of the bed, not before taking a last glance at the old man.
As soon as she was gone, the nurse wheeled the tray of food toward the old man.
The nurse gently lifted him so that he sat comfortably on the bed, then she removed the breathing mask mounted on his face and began spoon-feeding him the bowl of soup, as the old man requested.
When she was done, she packed up the plate and placed it on the tray, preparing to leave.
But the old man called on her. "Arrh", the old man vocalized. The nurse turned around and look at the old man.
She noticed that the old man looked troubled. She thought that she didn't place him well on the bed, so she reached out to him and wanted to put him back to his sleeping position.
But the old man refused the offer.
The old man's face which showed calmness and peace suddenly twisted as he began coughing ceaselessly.
"Oh heavens! Hold on", the panicked nurse grabbed the glass of water on the tray and placed it on the old man's mouth, causing him to drink it with reflex.
After drinking the water, his cough ceased. The nurse was then able to calm down, before standing up to call the doctor, who was in charge of the old man.
"Arrh", the old man vocalized again, stopping her at her tracks. "What is it, sir?" The nurse asked with concern.
However, before the old man replied, he gently laid on his bed and closed his eyes momentarily.
That troubled expression appeared on his face again.
Soon, the old man began speaking.
With the tone of his voice, the nurse felt that the old man was trying to tell her something that had been troubling him for a long time.
His voice shook throughout the one sentence he spoke out.
As soon as he was done, he closed his eyes and slept almost immediately. The nurse approached him and made sure that he was still breathing, before reaching for the tray and wheeled it out of the ward.
* * * * * * * * * *
The old man noticed that his pulse was slowing down. Furthermore, his abdomen was beginning to feel uncomfortably squishy. He knew he was at the end of his rope, but he wasn't afraid.
He has done his part in this world, and now it was time for him to go. As much as it pained him that he had incomplete works lying on his table, he still felt fulfilled.
He closed his eyes and awaited his death. But death hasn't taken him away.
Just as he was about to open his eyes again, he noticed that his bed was vibrating. With a frown on his face he turned his head and faced the bed.
He took out his hands and touched the surface of the bed, but there wasn't any vibrating feeling.
The vibration on his body didn't stop, though, and the intensity of the vibration was increasing at a steady rate.
He didn't know when his body began to shake uncontrollably. With a pained expression, he attempted to beep the nurse, but his limbs were too weak to even move.
Then, his vision began to shift colour, and his vision blurred significantly. The vibration on his bed intensified further, so he couldn't even steady his body.
After what took like forever, his agitated body relaxed quickly, and he slumped back on the bed.
Soon, the nurse walked to the ward and grabbed the bottle of medicine she forgot. She took a glance at the old man, and noticed that something was not right.
She grabbed her stethoscope and placed it on the old man's chest. With an uneasy expression, she ran out of the ward.
All these time, the old man was still conscious, kind of. His heart had stopped beating, and he felt his organs was shutting down. Yet, he was still alive.
The doctors, along with two nurses walked into the ward with a fresh tray of medicines.
The doctor came up to him and placed his stethoscope on his chest and listened for a second. His expression changed, and he informed the nurse on his left to inject him with something.
However, the various attempt of reviving the old man proved futile, as they weren't able to revive him. He took out his handkerchief and cleaned the sweat on his forehead, his expression pained.
"Time of death: 1: 01 am", he said as he looked at his watch. The nurse that was with him earlier worked out of the ward, silently sobbing.
The old man, who was still alive, didn't understand how he was still conscious despite being reported dead.
Was this what death felt like? It didn't make sense to him at all.
* * * * * * * * * *
In his semi-conscious state, he didn't know how long time had passed. Moments later, he heard someone come up to the ward. He assumed it was the people that would take him to the morgue.
Not that he was afraid of going there though.
But it wasn't the morgue attendants. It appeared to be someone he had met before.
Just as he was thinking, he felt a hand touch his head, and to his horror, a knife cut his scalp and splitted his skull into two.
Realizing what the man was about to do, he tried to scream and shake his body, but it wasn't responding.
After the person fiddled with his skull a little, everywhere suddenly went black.