Sean left me here, taking the chance to escape on his own. I can't even turn my head to see if the door is still open, I'm in too much pain. Maybe he's gone for help. Maybe he'll be back soon, carefully lifting me up and carrying me outside, to freedom, to safety. It's wishful thinking, but it's all I have.

"Sean..." I murmured through the pain, desperately hoping somehow my voice would reach him. "Please... help... me..." It's the last thing I do before my world goes black.

I can barely register something touching me through the pain. It moves in small circles, leaving small patches of warmth where it touched my skin. White noise is playing deafening in my ears, blocking out the sounds I know it is making.

"Push through," It seems to say. "Push through the pain."

But I can't. Both from the fact that I don't trust the voice and the fat that the pain is unbearable, I can't, and don't, push through. I can't push through, I need someone to pull me through, to take me by the arm and assure me that everything will turn out alright in the end. I just can't...

"Mark, please, you have to push through." It takes most of my energy but I manage to crack an eye open. Shapes are blurred to my sight, but a splash of fluorescent green color stands steadily across my vision. "Please Mark. Please don't go."

My vision slowly focused, and I saw Sean holding me close to his chest. "Just hang in there, Mark. It's gonna be okay. Just please stay awake."

My brain registered the shrill wail of sirens. Glancing down, I saw the source of my rapidly draining energy. A metal plate was lodged in my side, blood seeping onto the cold cement floor. "It's gonna be okay Mark. Just hold on a little longer."

Someone took me from Sean's arms, dragging me away. Sean protested, eventually cradling my limp body to his chest and dashing off. "Just hold on. Stay with me. Stay with me Mark." He murmured, repeating it over and over. Someone took me once again as Sean climbed up into a small white room. A stranger pressed a cupped piece of plastic over my face, and I could taste the fumes they were feeding me. Sean was at my side, and his pleading slowly quieted as I finally couldn't hold on any longer, giving in to the blackness.

I felt something light, almost as if I were floating. I forced open my eyes, spinning around in the white space. I looked at my side, a deep wound still open, but the metal was gone."Where... am I? Where's Sean?

"Sean is waiting for you to wake up." A spine-chillingly familiar voice sounded from behind me, and I turned slowly, my eyes tearing up.

"D-dad?"

"It's been so long, son." My father stepped towards me, arms spread wide. I was there in an instant, hugging him tightly and never wanting to let go.

"I c-can't... Am I..."

"No." My father held me close, rocking gently before releasing me. "You're in a coma. You have a choice, Mark. You can wake up, and go back to your life. Or you can pass on."

He was suddenly 10 yards away from me. I started towards him but a sound behind me caught my attention. There was a window, of sorts, Sean sitting beside my comatose form in a hospital bed. He had been crying, it was clear by the tears and the way his eyes were puffed up.

I glanced to my father for guidance, but he only shook his head. "This is your choice, Mark, and your choice alone."