Comatose

"Ah! Oh God, that was a freaky dream," I gasped as I panted, sweating an ocean into my bedsheets. I tried to recall what happened during the dream. I was sitting in a chair, motionless. I started to hear voices. They sounded very very far away, and they sounded like my relatives. They were screaming.

After that, I started to hear crying and sobbing. I thought aloud to myself, "This sounds too damn realistic for a dream. Am I supposed to be seeing a psychic or something at this point?" I just shrugged it off, and assumed it was from that leftover Chinese take-out I had late last night. Mmm… the thought of my Gung Pao Chicken was sticking in my head like crazy glue.

I looked over at my alarm clock. It read in red, digital letters, "4 o'clock". At least I got 2 more hours of sleep before I had to wake up. But I couldn't forget about that dream. They called my name. "Drew! DREW! WAKE UP, GODDAMMIT!" It shook my very insides to the core. It took me at least 15 minutes to fall back asleep.

I woke up to an obnoxious beeping noise ringing in my ears, ask I quickly used my ninja-like skills to whack the snooze button. Ha! Faster than last time, baby. I got mad skills. I slowly got out of bed and got ready for work.

7 o'clock clock in time at the office, same as always, same as it'll ever be. I sat down and went over the agenda of what I had to do for today.

"Dreeeeeew! Please talk to us, Drew!"

I quickly snapped my head up in surprise, thinking someone called my name. Was… was that my daughter's voice? Mariah? I quickly looked around for her, but didn't seem to see her. Was it one of my co-workers? The only young, female worker in the office this early was Jo, and she hated me. "Hey Jo, did you call me wanting to talk to you?"

She gave me a disgusted look at me. "As if, loser. Not in a million years." Yep, I thought so too. That was weird. I shrugged it off again, thinking it was from the nightmare I had last night. I went on about my business all day, not hearing another disembodied voice.

When 5 o'clock came 'round, I punched out, and headed back to my house. I didn't have my car, as it was in the shop, so I had to walk back. It was only a couple of blocks over, so it was no biggie. I passed by my favorite electronics store, and saw they had a wireless mouse on sale for 10 bucks! That was an awesome buy! I headed inside, excited to get it.

I snatched one of my favorite colored ones, and went to the counter to pay. The cashier gave me a smile, and greeted me with "How are you" and "Did you enjoy your experience" stuff. As I looked down at my wallet to pull out a ten and a one, I heard a voice give a very sorrowful, but loud whisper in my ear, "I love you, Drew." I jerked back in horror and looked to my left where the sound came from. Nobody was there.

The cashier stared at me in horror for a second before he gave a concerned look. "Are you alright, sir?" He bunched his brow very tightly, looking serious. I awkwardly said, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit of paranoia." I paid and quickly exited. Why is this still happening? I really need to figure out what's going on right now.

I looked on my phone to find a psychiatrist that allows visitors this late in the afternoon, and sure enough, one was a block away from my house. I ran down there, almost shaking myself into the ground from running. I slowed to a walk as I neared the entrance.

Once I entered, a middle aged woman at the desk glanced up, and looked back down, continuing her computer work. I went to the desk and asked her, "Hi. May I have a walk-in visit with the

doctor?" She pointed her pen towards his door without looking up. I nervously shuffled over to his door. and knocked.

"Come in!"

I opened, and his door creaked slightly as I did. I walked in, and sat down in his chair. He happily said, "Hello there! My name is Doctor Phillips, but you can call me Reggie. What's your name, my good sir?" I told him my name, and he repeated it a few times. "Drew, Drew, Drew! Alright, Drew, what seems to be your problem?

I sat in silence for a second before leaning and responded, "Well, sometimes I hear people. I hear people calling my name when they're not really there. It's like a spirit from beyond is calling me, or an angel or something. They'll yell very loudly, and they sound like my relatives. It's scaring me, and I don't know what to do.

His face turned grim, and he replied in a dark tone. "I've had this case before. You know what a coma is, right? Well, when people are in comas, they'll be in a deep sleep. Sometimes they can hear when others are in the room, and they'll know what they're doing. They just can't scream loud enough, can they?"

My mind started to realize something. I awoke with a start. Hospital walls were on all 4 sides. My wife was right there above me, crying.

Welcome back.