Chapter 3: collections
1673 Words
Ethan's fingers trembled as they wrapped around the cold metal handle.
His breathing echoed through the silent hallway.
" No..." he whispered. "Please... don't let this be happening."
He pushed the door open.
The door to Room 402 creaked slowly, the sound stretching through the empty corridor.
Ethan stared inside.
The room was empty.
The hospital bed sat neatly made, its white sheets untouched. The heart monitor remained connected beside it, producing a slow, steady beep. An IV bag swayed gently beside the bed, its clear liquid dripping at a steady pace.
But Sarah Bennett was gone.
Ethan's eyes widened.
"No..."
He rushed inside.
His shoes squeaked against the polished floor as he hurried toward the bed. He pulled back the blanket as though she might somehow be hiding beneath it.
Nothing.
His chest tightened.
"MOM!"
His voice echoed down the corridor.
Within seconds, two nurses hurried into the room.
"Sir! What's wrong?" one of them asked.
"My mother!" Ethan shouted. "She was here! Where is she?"
The nurses exchanged confused glances.
The older nurse frowned.
"Sir..."
She slowly pointed toward the bed.
"Your mother is right there."
Ethan turned.
His entire body froze.
Sarah Bennett lay peacefully beneath the blanket.
Exactly where she was supposed to be.
The heart monitor beeped steadily beside her.
Ethan staggered backward.
"What..."
He blinked once.
Twice.
Sarah was there.
She had been there the entire time.
But that was impossible.
He had seen the empty bed.
He had felt the panic rising inside his chest.
He had even shouted her name.
He was certain of it.
"Are you feeling alright?" the younger nurse asked carefully.
"I... I..."
Ethan couldn't answer.
The older nurse studied him for a moment.
"Have you been getting enough sleep?"
Ethan looked at her.
"What?"
"You seem confused."
"I'm not confused."
His voice came out sharper than he intended.
The nurses looked at each other.
Ethan turned toward Sarah.
His mother hadn't moved.
Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was calm.
"She was gone," Ethan whispered.
The younger nurse frowned.
"She hasn't gone anywhere."
Ethan looked back at them.
Neither nurse seemed to be joking.
"Call us if you need anything," the older one said before quietly leaving the room.
The younger nurse followed.
The door closed.
Silence returned.
Ethan remained where he stood.
He stared at the door for several seconds.
Then slowly turned back toward the bed.
Something wasn't right.
He could feel it.
He approached his mother carefully.
"Mom?"
Nothing.
Ethan reached out and gently held her hand.
It was warm.
Real.
Relief washed over him.
His shoulders finally loosened.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I thought I lost you."
For several long seconds...
Nothing happened.
Ethan sat beside her.
He watched the heart monitor.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
He looked at his mother's face.
She looked peaceful.
Maybe he had imagined everything.
Maybe the strange card had finally gotten into his head.
Maybe he was exhausted.
He had barely slept properly in weeks. He had spent days worrying about hospital bills, his mother's condition, and the mysterious stranger who had appeared in the rain.
Anyone would start seeing things after that.
Ethan rubbed his eyes.
"You're okay," he whispered.
Then—
Sarah's fingers twitched.
Ethan stopped breathing.
He looked down at her hand.
Slowly, her fingers moved again.
"Mom?"
Her eyelids slowly opened.
Ethan leaned closer.
"Mom?"
Sarah looked directly at him.
Ethan smiled.
"Hey."
She didn't respond.
Something was wrong.
Ethan's smile disappeared.
Her eyes...
They were completely black.
Not dark brown.
Not shadowed.
Black.
Like endless darkness.
Ethan couldn't move.
"Mom?"
Sarah stared at him.
Then she smiled.
It wasn't her smile.
It stretched unnaturally across her face, unfamiliar and cold.
Ethan slowly stood.
"Mom...?"
Her head tilted ever so slightly.
"Ethan..."
The voice sounded like Sarah.
But something about it was wrong.
It sounded distant.
Almost like someone was speaking through her.
Ethan took a step backward.
"Who are you?"
Sarah's smile widened.
"The Collector says hello."
Ethan's heart seemed to stop.
"The what?"
Sarah didn't answer.
The lights exploded.
Every bulb in the room burst at once.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Ethan stumbled backward as the sound of glass crashing onto the floor filled the room.
"Sarah!"
The heart monitor suddenly let out one long, piercing tone.
Beeeeeeeeeeep—
"No!"
Ethan lunged toward the bed.
He reached for Sarah.
But before he could touch her—
The emergency lights flickered on.
Red light flooded the room.
Ethan froze.
Sarah lay motionless.
Her eyes were closed.
Her strange smile was gone.
Everything looked normal again.
The heart monitor returned to its steady rhythm.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Ethan stood frozen beside the bed.
His breathing was fast.
He stared at his mother's face.
Nothing.
No black eyes.
No strange smile.
No mysterious voice.
Just Sarah.
His mother.
"Mom?"
She didn't move.
Ethan slowly reached toward her.
He touched her hand.
Warm.
He pulled his hand away.
His mind raced.
Had he imagined it?
No.
He couldn't have.
He remembered her voice.
He remembered those eyes.
He remembered exactly what she had said.
The Collector says hello.
Ethan looked toward the shattered light fixtures.
Pieces of glass covered the floor.
That was real.
He hadn't imagined that.
His phone vibrated.
Once.
Ethan jumped.
Then again.
His hand immediately went into his pocket.
He pulled out his phone.
Another message from the unknown sender appeared.
He stared at the screen.
[Payment Accepted.]
Ethan's heart began beating faster.
Another message appeared.
[First Collection Complete.]
His fingers tightened around the phone.
"Collection?"
A third message appeared.
[Next Payment: 23 Hours, 58 Minutes.]
Ethan stared at the countdown.
It had already begun.
"Payment for what?"
The phone screen went black.
Ethan pressed the power button.
Nothing.
He pressed it again.
Still nothing.
Then the screen suddenly turned on.
But instead of his home screen, it showed the camera.
Ethan frowned.
He hadn't opened it.
The front-facing camera was active.
His own face appeared on the screen.
Pale.
Terrified.
Confused.
Ethan stared at himself.
Then his expression changed.
Something was wrong.
His reflection appeared on the black phone screen.
But...
Something else was standing behind him.
A tall figure dressed entirely in black.
Ethan's breathing stopped.
The figure was standing directly behind his shoulder.
A smile stretched across its face.
Ethan slowly turned around.
Nothing.
The room was empty.
He looked toward the doorway.
Nothing.
He turned toward the windows.
Locked.
Nobody.
Ethan's heart hammered against his ribs.
He looked back at his phone.
The reflection was gone.
Only Ethan remained on the screen.
"What the hell..."
He lowered the phone.
Then raised it again.
Nothing.
The figure had disappeared.
Ethan swallowed.
He looked at Sarah.
Still unconscious.
Still breathing.
Still alive.
But now Ethan couldn't stop thinking about the message.
First Collection Complete.
What had been collected?
What exactly had the black card taken from him?
And who was the Collector?
His phone vibrated again.
Ethan nearly dropped it.
He looked at the screen.
One final message remained.
RUN.
Ethan stared at the word.
His heart began pounding again.
"Why?"
No response.
He looked toward the door.
The hallway outside was silent.
Then he heard something.
A faint sound.
Footsteps.
Slow footsteps.
Coming closer.
Ethan's entire body stiffened.
Step.
He looked toward the door.
Step.
Closer.
Step.
Ethan glanced at Sarah.
He couldn't leave her.
But the message was clear.
RUN.
The footsteps stopped directly outside Room 402.
Ethan held his breath.
The door handle slowly moved.
His eyes widened.
He grabbed his mother's hand.
"Mom, wake up."
Nothing.
The handle moved again.
Ethan looked around the room.
There was nowhere to hide.
The door began opening.
Just an inch.
Then two.
A dark shadow appeared through the gap.
Ethan's heart hammered.
He stepped backward.
The door opened slightly farther.
A hand appeared around the edge.
Ethan's eyes widened.
The hand was pale.
A black sleeve covered the arm.
He remembered the figure from the reflection.
The man in black.
The Collector.
Ethan grabbed the nearest chair.
The door suddenly stopped.
Silence.
Then the person outside whispered:
"Ethan."
His blood ran cold.
The voice was calm.
Almost friendly.
Ethan tightened his grip on the chair.
"Who are you?"
No answer.
"Ethan..."
The voice came again.
He looked at Sarah.
Her eyes remained closed.
The heart monitor continued its steady rhythm.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Then the voice whispered one final sentence.
"You have twenty-three hours."
The door slammed shut.
Ethan jumped.
He stared at it.
Nothing happened.
Slowly, he lowered the chair.
His phone vibrated.
Ethan looked down.
The countdown had changed.
23 HOURS, 57 MINUTES.
He stared at it.
Then he looked at his mother.
Sarah's eyes were still closed.
But Ethan noticed something on her wrist.
A thin black mark.
He leaned closer.
His blood ran cold.
The mark hadn't been there before.
It formed three small circles connected by a single line.
The exact same symbol that had been printed on the parchment.
Ethan stepped backward.
"No..."
Sarah suddenly whispered something.
Ethan froze.
He leaned toward her.
"What did you say?"
Her lips moved again.
"Ethan..."
He took her hand.
"I'm here."
Sarah's eyes remained closed.
Then she whispered:
"Don't let him find you."
Ethan stared at her.
"Mom?"
No response.
He looked at the mark on her wrist again.
The black symbol seemed darker now.
Ethan slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out the parchment.
The words at the top were still there.
EVERY WISH HAS A PRICE.
Ethan stared at them.
Then at his mother.
Then at the countdown.
23 HOURS, 57 MINUTES.
He finally understood one thing.
The card hadn't simply paid his mother's hospital bill.
It had started something.
Something that had already taken its first payment.
And whatever the Collector wanted next...
Ethan had less than twenty-four hours to figure it out.
His phone screen went black.
For one brief second, Ethan saw his reflection again.
This time, there was nobody behind him.
But the reflection was smiling.
Ethan wasn't.
End of Chapter 3.
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