You can’t save everyone, Ami. No matter how hard you try.

  An eerie silence had fallen over Nakamura Clinic. The medical center’s telltale hustle and bustle had faded into nothingness. Normally, nurses and doctors alike scampered from room to room to help and heal where they could. Instead, there was no soul in sight.

  Dr. Ami Mizuno looked up and down the hallway of the fifth floor. She felt disoriented. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead and cast a cold, sterile glow over the empty corridor. The air was heavy with the scent of disinfectant.

  She couldn’t remember how she had gotten here. When had her shift started? She shook her head as she tried to clear the cobwebs from her mind.

  “Hello?”

  No response came. Instead, a single light flickered in the distance, then went dark.

  Her heart raced as she took a hesitant step forward. The click of her low heels echoed in the silence. The corridor stretched in both directions, lined with identical doors that led to identical rooms.

  Something is very wrong here.

  She walked down the hallway in hopes she would encounter another doctor, perhaps a nurse. Anybody. She saw nobody. Then she heard a sound.

  Beep… beep-beep…

  It was so faint at first, Ami almost didn’t recognize it. Then she heard it again, louder this time. It was unmistakable: the beeps of a heart monitor. The irregular rhythm ignited her medical training and jump-started her instincts. Somebody needed her help.

  She picked up her pace. Her hurried walk turned into a jog. Her ears guided her further and further down the corridor.

  A long, flat tone replaced the irregular beeps. Her blood ran cold. She was too late. The patient’s heart had stopped.

  Flatline.

  Ami rounded a corner and spotted a door that was ajar. She was certain she had found the right room. So why did she hesitate? Why was this the last place in the world she wanted to go?

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  Ami ignored her sudden surge of fear and pushed the door open. The hinges groaned in protest. Her hands trembled as a blast of cold air emanated from the room. She hesitated, then entered.

  The room was dark; the green glow of the heart monitor cast an eerie light across the space. Ami’s breath caught in her throat when her eyes fell on the bed.

  Lying there, pale and still, was a young woman of maybe twenty. Her wide, lifeless eyes stared up at the ceiling. She was dead. Ami recognized her right away.

  Car accident. Post-surgery complications resulting in heart failure.

  Ami’s hand came up to her mouth as she stifled a shriek. She tried and failed to comprehend what was happening. She had lived this moment already, had lost this patient just a couple of days ago.

  “This…this is impossible…”

  Ami dropped her gaze as she tried to think . The never-ending sound of the heart monitor filled her head, too loud for her to concentrate. Suddenly, the sound stopped.

  She looked up. The corpse was sitting up in bed, one hand on the heart monitor. She had turned off the sound. Her head snapped around to face Ami. Her eyes were no longer lifeless; they burned with anger, with hate.

  “You.” Her voice sounded raw, like she had been gargling nails. “You did this to me.”

  Ami gasped.

  “What?”

  The corpse let go of the heart monitor and instead pointed an accusing finger at Ami.

  “You let me die.”

  Ami shook her head and stumbled backward.

  “I tried! I did everything I could!”

  A twisted grin spread across the corpse’s face.

  “Not good enough. Never good enough. You failed. You always fail.”

  The corpse slid off the bed and landed on bare feet. She shambled toward Ami.

  “Soon, you’ll join me. Soon, you’ll die, too.”

  Something inside Ami snapped.

  “Stay away from me!”

  Ami turned around and bolted from the room. She ran down the corridor, away from the corpse, away from her failure. Behind her, she heard the corpse’s footsteps growing louder, getting closer.

  “Soon, Ami. Soon.”

  Ami’s breaths came in shallow gasps. Her heart pounded in her chest. No matter how fast she ran, the end of the hallway remained out of reach. Her legs burned, her lungs burned. Her mind was on fire.

  Then, without warning, a door appeared in front of her.

  It stood in the center of the hallway, unattached to any walls. It looked ancient, made of a dark wood. Ornate carvings and intricate patterns covered its surface. The door stood open, just a crack, but warm light spilled through that opening.

  Ami stopped in front of the door, her chest heaving. The light on the other side of the door felt warm, real . Her mind sharpened.

  This isn’t real. It’s a nightmare.

  Behind her, the corpse’s footsteps grew louder. Ami glanced over her shoulder and saw the twisted figure’s grin as she closed the distance between them.

  She’d had her fill of hesitation. Ami pushed the door open and stepped into the light.