Dead Weight: A Short Story

Hal Mitchell is living a nightmare.
Trapped in a body he can no longer control, his entire world has shrunk to a microcosm.

Unable to turn his head, he sees only what is directly before him.
He hears others talking, but cannot utter a word.
His mind is fully active, but its only use now is as a means of escaping to imaginary worlds for a few precious moments, before the pain ravaging his useless body brings him back.

It's as if he has become his own coffin, and he has been buried alive.

As he longs for a death that could never come quickly enough, he must suffer through every horrible minute of his torment alone.

Utterly, desperately alone.

But tonight, Hal Mitchell might not be quite so alone as he thought.
Maybe the nightmare is just beginning.