The Ghøst in Apartment Twenty Øne

Prologue

I whistled as I walked out to my car. It was an old beat up Chevy truck, covered in dents and the paint was even peeling off in some spots. Oh well, it got the job done and that's what matters. I frowned in annoyance as the wind blew bits of my hair in front of my face. I had just dyed it pale blue last night, so it looks kind of like cotton candy right now. I grinned at the thought of having cotton candy for hair, that'd be pretty odd.

I reached my car and unlocked the door before sliding in the driver's seat. I put the key in the ignition and twisted it, only to have the life scared out of me when my CD started blasting really loudly. I had forgotten to turn down the volume yesterday. I jumped and hit my knees on the steering wheel as I reached over to turn the dial almost all the way down. I sat there for a moment, letting my heart rate return to normal and the slight ringing to leave my ears; I hate it when I do that.

I buckled my seatbelt, turned the music back up to a reasonable volume, and backed out of my parking space. It was time for my shift at the coffee shop downtown. It was a small hole-in-the-wall type place, but it was actually fairly popular.

I was working there to help pay for my rent and food while I work my way through business school; I want to open my own record store. As I sat at a red-light, I smiled. It was gorgeous outside today, my life was on track, I had parents who are very supportive, and the best friends anyone could ask for.

Little did I know, that was all about to come to an end, very quickly.

The light turned green, and I was about half-way through the intersection when it happened. Some idiot in a hummer ran the red light and T-boned my car, on my side. My car rolled about three times I think, broken glass was flying everywhere, I could hear the sounds of metal, and maybe even my bones, crunching.

As my car finally settled on its roof, I heard an intense ringing in my ears. My chest feels funny, what is that?

I looked down, my seatbelt had snapped at some point, leaving my body free to be thrown about the car as it flipped. At some point during this, a jagged piece of metal had gone through my chest. My gray t-shirt was quickly turning red, I started growing dizzy and tired.

I heard the sounds of people asking if I was ok and that they were trying to get to me, but I couldn't remember how to answer them. I felt someone grab under my arms and start to pull me out of my car, I think I screamed, but all I know is it hurt.

People gathered around me, but all I saw were blurry faces. Everything sounded muffled, like I was underwater. I don't hurt anymore, but I really am getting tired. Were those sirens? I hope it's the police and they arrest the guy who hit me, I'm really pissed about that.

Maybe I could take a nap, nobody will mind. I heard people telling me to keep my eyes open, but they don't understand; I'm too sleepy. One little nap won't hurt...everything went black.