I slowly opened my eyes, squinting against the blinding lights that surrounded me. As my vision adjusted, I found myself in an unfamiliar place, lying on a cold, metal surface. The room was entirely white, and it felt like stepping into a surreal world of clinical purity. The walls were smooth and seemed to emit a faint glow, while strange apparatuses adorned every corner, their purpose mysterious to me.

A feeling of disorientation washed over me as I struggled to recall how I ended up here. My mind was hazy, memories like fragments of a dream slipping through my grasp. Panic threatened to engulf me, but I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves and make sense of the situation.

I sat up, my movements slow and cautious. A tinge of fear still lingered, but I pushed it aside, determined to explore my surroundings. The floor beneath my feet was smooth and almost friction-less, as if gliding over ice. As I attempted to stand up, my body betrayed me, and I tumbled to the ground, the impact sending a wave of pain through my weakened form. The room spun for a moment before I could gather my bearings.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and my younger sister rushed in with a panicked expression. "C-Carmienne!"

"I'm... I'm okay," I managed to say as she helped me back onto the bed. I was grateful for her presence, offering me support in this moment of weakness. Confusion clouded my mind as I tried to piece together what had happened. "Why am I here?"

"You'll stay here for the time being," she uttered slowly, her words weaving a veil of confusion around me. "It's important to rest now. I'll summon the doctor."

And then, she dashed out of the room in a hurry, leaving me all by myself once more. The place felt weird, and I suddenly felt queasy, making me even more baffled about what's going on. All these questions were swirling in my head, just teasing me with their answers dancing out of reach. Like, seriously, why am I even here? It's like those memories are playing hide and seek with me, slipping away like sand through my fingers.

Names suddenly started popping into my mind – Xyxie, Brian, my cousins. Where the heck were they?

A twinge of panic settled in, and I noticed my hand was shaking a bit. My brain went into overdrive, trying to put together the pieces of the puzzle. Bits and pieces floated up – the car, Brian driving, some heated conversation. Then, like a movie scene fading to black, everything just went blank.

It hit me hard – what in the world happened right after that? Could Xyxie and Brian be chilling somewhere close, maybe in the next room? A tiny spark of hope lit up, shoving away some of the weird uncertainty. I clung to the idea that they were alright, that this whole messed-up situation was just a blip in our reality.

But doubts were chewing at my hope like hungry squirrels. The unknown hung over me like a cloud, casting this puzzling shadow over my thoughts. Each tick of the clock felt like a drumbeat, each second cranking up the volume on all the unanswered stuff. How the heck did we even end up in this spot?

“Arggh!” I'm yanking at my hair, my head throbbing like it's ready to explode. It's like I'm stuck in some messed-up memory fog. I draw a total blank.

What the heck went down on that rainy night? Where did my cousins vanish off to? The air is thick with unanswered questions, and it's driving me nuts. It's like trying to catch smoke with my bare hands – impossible and frustrating as all hell.

Rain was coming down like a freakin' monsoon that night. The sound of the drops pounding on the roof was almost deafening. I was there, I know I was, but it's like my mind took a coffee break and left me hanging.

I can almost feel the wetness, the cold seeping through my clothes… A flicker of an image teases me—

"Ugh!" I let out a frustrated grunt, feeling like I'm about to lose my mind because my memory's just playing games. But before I can even let out a proper scream, the door swings open again.

I'm kind of holding onto this tiny thread of hope, thinking maybe my sister's finally showing up. But then, Auntie Athena storms in like a total force of nature, eyes blazing with a mix of intensity and fury. It's like she's a live wire about to spark.

And before I can even process the fact that she's crashed the scene, she's got her hands all up in my hair. My scalp's in the midst of a freak out, like it signed up for a roller coaster ride it didn't ask for. I'm trying to yank free, caught in this bizarre tug-of-war that's got my senses all jumbled up. In a slow-motion loop, torn between confusion and the urge to break away from this unexpected grip.

"Damn it, Auntie!" I let out a half-crazed shout as pain surges through me like a lightning bolt, and the next thing I know, I'm sprawled out on the freezing floor, my noggin a hair's breadth away from a full-on crash landing. Fear's got its cold fingers wrapped around my heart, squeezing it like it's play-dough, and I'm clamping down on the screams that are dying to break free from my throat. "J-just let go, seriously!"

And then she hits me with this bombshell of an accusation, dropping it like a load of bricks crashing onto my chest. "You're more deserving of death than my own kids."

Her words slam into me like a sucker punch, leaving me gasping for air like I just got smacked in the gut. What in the world is she even going on about? Her words are this sharp slap that's supposed to snap me out of it. I'm still lost in this swirling vortex of confusion.

"They're gone because of you," she hurls at me, her words like a freaking dagger aimed dead-center at my heart as she's taken a shot in the dark and hit the bullseye.

But my mind's spinning like crazy to catch up with all these curve balls she's throwing my way. I'm stumbling over my own words, a jumbled mess of thoughts and emotions, as if my brain's trying to play catch-up with a sprinter.

"Hold up, wait a sec. I d-don't even..."

My voice trails off, lost in the chaos of the moment. It's like my words are trying to wrangle themselves into coherence, but my brain's still stuck in this dazed loop, trying to decode what she's laying down.

A sudden slap jolts me out of my daze. The sting radiates across my cheek, and my whole face seems to go numb. Words stick in my throat like they're coated in honey, and I can't even bring myself to utter a single syllable. What she just dropped on me – it's like a bomb, and I can feel its shock waves reverberating through my whole system.

My cousins... wait, no, she can't mean... they're gone?

"N-no..." I manage to choke out, my voice shaky as hell. But before I can process any of this, a fresh jolt of pain shoots through me. "Ouch!" I yelp, my eyes watering as Auntie's grip on my hair tightens like she's trying to wring out every last drop of whatever she thinks I've got.

"They wouldn't be in that mess if they hadn't gotten tangled up with you," she spits out, her words like venom dripping from her lips.

“Carmien—A-auntie… S-stop.”

Out of nowhere, a voice pierces through the haze – my younger sister, Sharmienne. It's like she's appeared out of thin air, and I'm struggling to piece together what's happening. Auntie's words are still ringing in my ears, echoing like a broken record.

No... no, they can't be gone. Auntie's got it all wrong, I'm sure of it. They're tough, they're survivors. This can't be the end for them. My mind's racing, trying to wrap itself around this reality that's crashing down around me. It's like I'm trapped in a nightmare, and I can't wake up.

"Athena… l-let go of Carmienne!"

My mother's voice slices through the tension, her words loaded with a mix of authority and urgency. Suddenly, the iron grip on my hair releases, the pressure lifting after what feels like an eternity. But even though the physical pain subsides, my heart's still caught in a vice grip of disbelief.

Then, like a storm breaking, the room fills with more voices and the shuffling of people entering. The air feels charged, like the atmosphere itself is crackling with tension.

"No..." I manage to murmur, the word a mere whisper against the storm raging inside me. The truth they're presenting, it's too much to bear. My heart feels like it's constricting, like it's being squeezed by an invisible force. The mere thought of my cousins being gone is like a punch to the gut, leaving me breathless and shattered.

I can't... I won't accept it.

"I was with them," my thoughts spiral, a desperate plea to the universe.

The pieces just don't fit. I can't fathom a reality where they didn't survive. Why would this happen? It feels like I'm standing at the edge of an abyss, teetering between the certainty of loss and the refusal to let go.

"No..." The word escapes my lips like a fragile breath, a whisper carried away by the storm inside me.

"Carmienne?" My mother's voice breaks through the fog of emotions.

“N-no...”

Gentle hands reach out, helping me to my feet. Amid the backdrop of my auntie's raging accusations, her anger aimed squarely at me, I feel my mother's presence.

"Mom... where are my cousins? What happened to Brian and Xy?"

My voice trembles as I lock eyes with her, tears welling up and blurring my vision. Her expression is a mix of sorrow and concern, her hand covering her mouth, her other hand reaching out to comfort me.

Amidst the turmoil, sobs and screams, my sister's crying forms a backdrop, her embrace offering a sense of grounding. But even as the world seems to spin and unravel, I'm gripped by an unsettling numbness. It's like disbelief has poured into my veins, numbing me from the inside out.

"An-answer me..." My voice steadies. "Please, just answer me."

“T-their bodies weren’t inside the car, Carmienne,” my mother's voice is a delicate thread, her words wrapped in caution. Her touch is a gentle reassurance, her hand soothingly rubbing my arms, an attempt to calm the tempest raging within me. “The authorities have been searching relentlessly, but there was no sign of them. Despite weeks of effort, they've come to the conclusion that they may have... passed away.”

As her words hang in the air, a heavy silence settles like a suffocating shroud. The weight of her explanation presses down on my chest, the enormity of the truth hitting me like a ton of bricks. The room seems to close in, and I'm left grappling with the reality that they may never be found, that they might truly be gone from this world.

Tears blur my vision, and a lump forms in my throat, choking back a flood of emotions. It's like a storm of disbelief and grief rages within me, a tempest that threatens to consume everything. My heart feels like it's splitting at the seams, torn between wanting to deny this reality and needing to find some way to accept it.

“T-this can’t be… Mom…” I plead, it's like I'm clinging to a lifeline, hoping against hope that this nightmare isn't real.

“We can't do anything, Carms.”

Her words fall like a heavy truth, a bitter pill I'm forced to swallow. But it's hard to accept, and I can't seem to find a way to calm the storm that's raging inside me.

Nurses step in, with gentle hands and hushed reassurances, they guide me to lie down, as if hoping to still the tempest within my chest. But I'm beyond consolation, my tears flowing like a torrential downpour, my cries echoing through the room like a haunting melody of despair. Every gaze that's cast my way is heavy with pity, a sorrow that's enveloped us all.

I can't bear it – the weight of guilt and sorrow crushing down on me. It's like I'm drowning in a sea of my own regrets, and I can't find a way to resurface. It's my fault, a refrain that echoes relentlessly in my mind, a cruel reminder of the role I feel I played in this tragedy.

Before I can even find my voice to respond, Auntie Athena's words cut through the air like a blade, leaving a wound that's destined to scar me for a lifetime.

“This is all your fault, Carmienne.”