Richard lied down on the floor, his eyes red from all the crying. He raised his hand to try to reach the ceiling light and sighed. He gave up just as quickly and stared off into space. How long had it been since he stayed in this area? It didn’t feel long, but he almost wanted to stay inside forever.

He straightened himself up and rested on the wall. He looked around the room, and spotted a gun, hidden in between boxes and clothes. Richard pushed the cardboard away to get a closer look. His heart raced as he stared down at it. His arm slowly reached over toward the firearm, his entire body trembling. Richard sighed to calm himself down before trying again. His hands and breath shook as he tightened his grip on the weapon.

Part of him didn’t want to think about it, much less do the deed. Then again, what else could he do? The damage had already been done, but he didn’t want to cause any more trouble for everyone involved. The past continued to haunt and linger in the back of his mind. Many terrible events in his life kept playing on repeat. He wished there was another way for them to stop.

Tears in his eyes, he shut them tight and slowly moved the weapon to point at his head.

“No, don’t do it!”

A voice echoed through the room, begging for Richard to stop.

Richard opened his eyes and flinched. He got up and looked around the room. Where did the voice come from? He let go of the gun and looked up at a ghostly figure with long red hair floating down to approach him.

“You?” Richard rubbed his eyes and inspected her. “You’re the one I dreamt about the other night, aren’t you?”

“Yes, so you do recognize me.” The woman said with a smile.

So, she’s real after all. Richard thought to himself. “But, why did you appear before me?”

“I saw what you were about to do and had to stop you from doing the deed.” Richard hung his head, staring at the floor. “Also, you shouldn’t blame yourself.” The ghostly woman told him. “You have a chance to turn things around and change them for the better.”

“But, what can I do?” Richard asked, pointing at himself. “All I’ve done was make mistakes and act selfishly.”

“At times, you have, but that’s not entirely true. You may not know it, but you’ve done so much to affect and change others and their lives for the better.” She moved in closer and gave him a pat on the head. “You’re better than you think you are, and I know you can get through this.”

Richard stayed stunned over what she said, not knowing how to respond. He had so many questions and not enough time to ask them. He opened his mouth to try and say something, but nothing would come out.

“I know I wasn’t there for you Richard, I wish I could’ve been there for you ever since you were born.” She lifted his head up to look him in the eye. “I wish you the best of luck on your upcoming journey.”

Richard’s eyes widened. He covered his mouth and nearly choked on his words. The person in front of him this entire time was…

“...Mom? Is that you?”

The woman nodded, getting tears of joy in her eyes. “It’s so great to finally see you. Look at how much you’ve grown!”

Richard fell on his knees and stared at the floor. He shut his eyes tight and let more teardrops fall from his face. He couldn’t believe it. Richard never imagined an opportunity to meet her like this, much less talk to her.

“Hey, get up.” Another familiar voice told him.

Richard opened his eyes and looked up, his mouth gaped as another ghostly figure appeared beside his mom.

“Dad?” He blinked, rubbing his eyes and wiping the tears off his face.

“Have you taken a good look at yourself?” His father asked him. “Have you not seen what’s outside over there?” He pointed at the door.

Richard walked out of the broom closet and headed towards the windows. He pressed his hands against the glass, watching the chaos unfold from the outside. He looked away and lowered his head.

“Well, yeah, I can see it.” Richard sighed. “But...”

“So, is that it? You’re just going to give up?” His dad interrupted, crossing his arms.

“Um, I don’t know. I don’t want to ruin—”

“You have two options. You can stay here, feeling powerless, and let Emily take over everything around you, further hurting the people you care about. Or, you can stand up, go out there, and put a stop to all of this. Not only is your life at stake, but also your brother, and your friends. So, what’s it going to be?”

Richard looked back on all the moments he interacted with the residents of Biostance. Some negative, but mostly positive experiences. It grew personal to him; so much was at stake. He may have been close to Emily, but it didn’t change the fact that she was still hurting the people he cared for. Not only will the city he’s in be in greater danger than ever before, but it’ll also affect the branching cities too. If he gave up now, it’ll all be over. Things happen for a reason; he needed to make up for his past mistakes and take action.

“You’re right!” Richard rubbed his eyes and slapped his face to get pumped up. “I can’t just sit here and wallow in self-pity. I got to do something about all of this!”

“Go out there, son,” His father told him. “You want to make us proud, right?”

“Be careful now.” His mother added. “And give our regards to Reginald as well.”

“Of course,” Richard replied confidentially. “Don’t worry, I won’t let you guys down!” He ran off to go find Claudia and the others.

“Good luck, my child.” Both of his parents said with a smile as they disappeared into thin air.