Descent.

Beep.

It is beeping. I'm not sure how long it's been there or when it started. But it is beeping nonetheless.

Beep.

My world is fragmented, divided into brief moments of awareness; each moment is punctuated by that persistent, regular sound—an almost repetitive yet rhythmic occurrence.

Silence.

Beep.

Silence.

Beep.

I can't seem to grasp anything beyond that.

Everything else is a mess, a jumbled-up mix of sensations and fleeting thoughts that I can't seem to grasp onto for more than a couple of seconds.

Beep.

Light flashes before my eyes, soft and bright yet so very distinct. It comes and goes, leaving me more disoriented than before.

Beep.

I think I'm being rushed somewhere, but I don't know where. Each time I try to think about it, the sensation, or rather memory, slips away before I can make sense of it. I try to focus and concentrate to locate that sensation again, but all that comes is nothing.

Beep.

"██████"

"…"

I can hear voices; they are all around me, yet they sound so distant and muffled, as though they're coming from the other side of a thick wall. As indistinguishable as they are, I know that they mean something. They have to, after all.

Deep down, I know that they do, but I can't seem to make out the words. They blend seamlessly with the beeping, blending into the murkiness of my existence. I want to reach out to them; I try to, but the thought fades as quickly as it came.

BEEP!

Another beep. This one is more pronounced, perhaps even louder than the one before. My heart, or what feels like it, skips a beat. Perhaps those sounds were the sounds of my heart.

Beep.

I'm scared.

I feel as though I'm teetering on the edge of something, some vast unknowable void, and if I fall, then there's no coming back. But fall into what exactly? The question lingers unanswered.

Beep.

"██████"

"…"

The voices are back, but this time they seem to be louder and in a panic.

I wonder why they're panicking so much. Maybe something serious is happening.

Beep.

It's the lights again. It pulses behind my eyes, brighter than before, then it quickly dims.

Bright, dim, bright, dim.

Its almost as rhythmic as the beeps.

Beep.

I try to cling to the sensation, but it's like holding onto mist. It slips away after each attempt, leaving me more disoriented than before.

Beep.

The beeping continues each one, a constant reminder that I'm still here, grounded, and perhaps even alive. I'm not sure. Time seems to stretch, each second an eternity as I drift in and out of consciousness.

Beep.

Silence.

Beep.

Somehow, deep down, I instinctually know what's happening to me.

I'm dying, aren't I?

God damn it… I don't want to die.

No… Not like this.

There are… so many things that I wanted to do…

Beep.

The light brightens up yet again, or maybe it just looks that way as it acts as a sort of final flash before I then see… well, nothing. The voices soon follow suit as they fade into the background.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!

The last thing I hear is a long, drawn-out tone, the kind that signals an end to something. And then the beeping disappears, replaced by a deep, profound silence that presses down on me from all sides.

I feel… weightless. Detached.

I then realize.

This is it.

I died.

I lived a life that didn't amount to anything.

Fuck it all.

At the very least I hope that I managed to help her in my final moments.

All of my thoughts are fleeting, almost an afterthought, but they carry a strange sense of finality. Everything—the light, the darkness, the beeping—all of it seems so far away, so distant, so unimportant.

The world, the thoughts, the memories—all of it disappears, leaving nothing but an endless sleep.

Maybe just maybe my next life will be different.

* * *

[Specimen ██ has been selected for ████████.]