"Just water, please. In a glass."
"That's it? You really should try and eat something."
"I can't. Water, please."
Mary met Phil an hour earlier even though they had lived on the same floor for the past three years.
"What happened," Mary asked.
"I'm not really sure what I saw. It wasn't anything I'd ever seen before." Phil said, his hand shaking coffee over the edge of the cup.
"Can you describe it?"
"It was like a mist or a vapor. I think I could see through to the other side."
"So you saw the other side of your apartment."
"No, the other side of death."
Phil's entire body shook when Mary reached out and touched his hand.
"You're safe now." She smiled.
"No, you don't understand. They said they were coming for me. They said they're coming tonight!"
"Then you're staying here, with me." Mary regretted those words as soon as they came out. Phil was a stranger and not stable.
"Thank you, that's kind." Phil's hand stopped shaking.
"It's getting late. Do you want to try and get some rest?" Mary asked. Phil only nodded.
Phil layed on the couch, eyes wide open. Mary layed in her bed, eyes wide open. She slid her night stand behind her bedroom door so that it couldn't be opened from the outside.
Mary awoke the next morning, shocked she'd slept at all. She went to check on Phil but he was gone. She opened the front door of her apartment and looked down the hall. Her landlord was talking to a police officer outside Phil's apartment. After the officer left, Mary approached the landlord.
"What's going on?" She asked.
"The police were called late last night. Phil was pacing the hallway talking about how a woman had been holding him against his will and that he tried to kill her in her sleep but couldn't get her bedroom door opened. He took off before the police got here. I hope they catch him, always thought he was a little off.
Mary walked back to her apartment, shaken by her landlord's words and how close she came to death.
"Mary! Thank God, I've been looking for you. I went to your bedroom but couldn't get the door open."
Mary's legs and hands trembled. Phil was standing in her living room.
"Phil, um, I thought the police came, um you know."
"Police. What police? Where." Phil scanned the apartment and ran to look out the window to the street below.
While Phil's back was turned, Mary reached into a kitchen drawer where she kept a small handgun.
"Are you sure Mary? I don't see any police." Phil said, turning away from the window and finding a gun pointed at his chest.
"My God Mary, What are you doing, don't!" Phil walked towards her as the gun went off.
Mary heard police sirens in the distance growing louder each second. She went to the bathroom to splash cold water on her face. She grabbed a towel and looked in the mirror. She saw right through herself, a mist, right to the other side.
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