The cow was nearing fast - I had no time to think. I slammed on the breaks, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Ben reaching over to grab the steering wheel. He pulled on it with what seemed like all of his strength, and the minivan went spinning to the right, just out of the way of the massive white cow.

I felt it slam into something, and then I felt something warm running down the side of my face. I lifted my finger to touch it, and when I brought it before my face, I saw it covered in red.

Slowly, I felt my consciousness fading, my vision blurring. Next thing I knew, everything faded to black.

When I awoke, I found myself in a sterile white room, in what I could assume was a bed. I began to sit up, but when I tried to move my limbs - I found I couldn't. I strained my neck and peered at my arms and legs, only to discover my wrists and ankles had been strapped down to the bed.

I started to look around, when I froze. There, standing in the doorway, was...

Margo Roth Spiegelman.

"Margo!" I tried to call out, "Margo!"

She looked at me, and I looked at her. It was just like that moment at my window all those years ago. But then, she blinked.

And in that next second, she turned and ran.

I tried to call her back, "Margo! Margo! MARGO!"

That's when I heard footsteps headed in my direction. I quieted so I could hear them. Suddenly, my mother and father, and Lacey and Radar all burst into what I assumed was my hospital room.

But all my brain could process was, 'Not Margo.'

"Quentin!"

Wait...

"Where's Ben?"

I saw their faces drop, and I felt a horrible feeling.

"Oh, not this again..." My mother signed, obviously distressed and upset. "Honey... Quentin, Ben is dead... He died years ago, as a result of a kidney problem. Don't you remember?"

W-what?! "What are you talking about?! Ben was fine! He survived! Remember, everyone called him 'Bloody Ben'! He never lived it down!"

"Quentin..." Lacey said, "We called him that because he died..."

"No, you're lying! Why are you all lying to me?!"

Wait.

"What about Margo? She's here! I saw her! You should've passed right by her on your way in! Where is she, did you see her? Hurry up and release me so I can follow her!"

Their frowns deepened further. "Quentin," they told me, "Margo isn't real. The is no Margo Roth Spiegelman."

"What?! How can you say that?!"

They continued, "Margo was your imaginary friend as a child..."

"...Your imaginary friend that never went away."

"No, stop lying to me!"

"We're sorry, Quentin, but...have you any idea where you are?"

"I'm in the hospital! BEN, Radar, Lacey and I got into a car accident on our way to find MARGO!"

"Quentin...this is a mental hospital... You've been here for years. You were diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Ben is dead. And there is no Margo Roth Spiegelman."