Hallucination or God?

**Authors Note**

This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to real world events or people is purely coincidence.

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"Oh fuck not again!" Kristy rolled out of bed and tried to get to the bathroom. She got to her feet but only managed 1 step before collapsing on the floor. She remembered her bucket and quickly pulled it to her and threw up. She took several deep breaths trying to ward off the nausea, the room spun, she threw up again. Her abdominal muscles screamed as she heaved into her bucket.

Kristy had been violently ill for 2 days now. She had a fever of 102 that rose almost to 103 at points. After the first day she had started taking medication and it seemed to help a little, but in between doses her fever would spike. She had just taken her last dose 15 minutes before and there it was, half digested in the bucket.

After a minute or 2 the room stopped spinning, Kristy rolled over onto her back. Her shirt had ridden up and the tile floor felt cold against her skin. She laid there for a minute and thought she heard a voice. She looked over to the doorway, but nobody was there. Kristy remembered her roommate had left just 5 minutes previously to get more medication, but she swore she could hear someone.

She struggled to her feet and stumbled to the door. She called out, nobody answered, but she could still hear the voice. She blundered out of the room and through the house; it was totally empty. Kristy leaned against the table in the kitchen for support, she felt so cold she must have somehow made it outside. She looked around and saw trees and grass; she looked up and saw stars in the sky. The world started to spin once more; she stumbled backwards and put her hands out, bracing for the fall. Her hands found the kitchen counter; she spun around and vomited into the sink.

Kristy stood up strait and looked around once again; she was in the kitchen. She looked ahead of her, she could see out the kitchen window into the back yard, it was 11:33PM and the stars were bright. She looked at the big apple tree and swore she could see a face, but she looked again and saw nothing. She rinsed the sink out with water and put her head down, praying for clarity. She took a deep breath and tried her best to make sense of the situation, what was going on?

Several minutes passed, she was so cold she shook from head to toe. She had on a sweater and 2 pairs of sweats but she was still freezing cold. She thought back to her roommate reading up on fevers on the internet, what had she read?

She remembered feeling cold was a common symptom, and vomiting for sure. She knew her muscle pain was from throwing up so much, and she was sure that as long as her fever stayed at 104 or below she should be fine. Her mind was foggy and she couldn't remember anything else. She needed to get back to bed and wait for her roommate, she shouldn't be too long.

Kristy put her head up, and tried her best to stand up strait. She took a step and stumbled backwards, barely catching the kitchen table. In front of her was the thermometer and she decided absentmindedly to take her temperature. She turned it on and stuck it under her tongue. After what seemed like an hour it beeped, and read 115 Fahrenheit.

Kristy stared in shock! How could her temperature be that high? She should be dead by now! She knew it couldn't be true but terrible thoughts flooded her mind. What if it is that high? What if I'm dead by the time Linda gets back? I need to get to a hospital, I need an ambulance!

She grabbed the phone dialled 911 but there was no answer, and no noise came from the phone. She tried again, the numbers lit up when she pressed them but nothing happened. Her mind raced, the room spun, visions of Linda finding her dead on the floor flashed through her head. She needed to get to the hospital.

Kristy threw the phone down on the table and stumbled back to her room. She grabbed her trusty flip phone, she didn't trust smart phones, and tried to dial. A wave of nausea hit and she dropped the phone, the back came off and the battery flew out and skittered across the floor. She knelt down and carefully grabbed the parts to her phone; she put the battery in but the phone would not turn on. Kristy was scared now, what was she going to do?

Kristy's mind continued to race, her heart rate was rising and fear was giving way to panic. She jammed her dead phone in her pocket and grabbed the wall for support to stand up; she needed to get to the hospital.

She staggered back into the kitchen and noticed her car keys sitting on the table. She needed to get to a hospital and driving was her only option. She picked up the keys and struggled to the front hall closet; with effort she pulled out a jacket and managed to get it on. She opened the door and stumbled out into the night, her car waiting patiently.

Kristy and her roommate lived only a 6 minute drive from the hospital, and she knew her only chance was to make it there or she'd surely succumb to her illness before Linda made it back. She struggled over to the car, and climbed into the front seat. She started it up and backed out of the driveway, beginning the trip. Her vision was getting hazy now and she was terrified; she needed to get to the hospital.

Kristy drove for what seemed like it must have been half an hour, but she knew it couldn't have been that long. The hospital was only a 6 minute drive and she knew exactly how to get there. She looked around her and saw familiar sights, she was almost there now.

Suddenly a wave of nausea washed over her, her vision swam and she could hardly see. She looked around and swerved onto a service road and into a parking lot. She fumbled with her seatbelt and barely got out of the car in time before she threw up on the ground. She stood and looked around; she realized she had no idea where she was.

Panic rose in Kristy's chest, she wasn't anywhere near the hospital. She checked the time in her car and the clock read 2:00AM. Where had she gone?

She staggered away from the car and looked around at her surroundings. A sign post on the service road told her the service road was named Commerce Drive, and she could see a sign that said Great Change in the distance.

Kristy's knees grew weak and her legs gave out; she fell to the ground and her phone bounced out of her pocket. The world spun out of control and she threw up on the cement again. She tried to get to her feet but she didn't have the strength. She shook uncontrollably and her vision dimmed; she could feel consciousness slipping away.

As she laid there on the ground her mind grew quiet. Her shaking subsided and she felt peaceful. Her thoughts turned to god, and what came next. She had fought valiantly but it was clear god had other plans for her.

"Heavenly father," Kristy said aloud, "please forgive me and accept my repentance. I am truly sorry for all of my sins. I am ready to join you if this is your wish." A bright light appeared before Kristy and she smiled at her creator.

"Tell me your name child" a voice said to her out of the light.

"My name is Kristy, and I am ready to go with you" she replied smiling.

"Kristy, I will take care of you now" said the voice, and Kristy felt the ground fall away under her.

"Thank you, my lord" Kristy replied as she rose into the light. She shut her eyes and let her body go limp as god carried her into heaven.

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Kristy's eyes fluttered open and she blinked hard against the bright light that shone down on her; she groaned lightly at the pain in her head.

"KRISTY!" gasped a voice beside her. She looked around as her surroundings came into focus. Her roommate Linda jumped from her chair and sprang to the bedside. "Kristy thank god you're awake! You had us all so worried!"

"What?" Moaned Kristy, "What's going on?"

"You're at the hospital sweety" soothed Linda, "you had a terrible fever. I left to get more medication for you, I was only gone 30 minutes but when I got back you weren't there! Your car was gone, the front door was open, I found the television remote smashed on the kitchen table, and your phone went strait to voicemail. I thought someone had broken in but then before I could call the police I got a call from the hospital. They found you lying in the hospital parking lot by your car; you'd fallen and hit your head on the ground. "

"What?" Kristy said again, "I left the phone on the counter, my temperature was 115F and I tried to call 911 but it wouldn't work; the buttons lit up but it wouldn't make noise or go through"

"No silly," laughed Linda "The TV remote was on the counter, and your temperature was 105. You must have confused the remote for the phone, and you saw a 0 as a 1."

"But I drove for over 2 hours!" protested Kristy "I pulled over to puke, and I didn't recognize anything! My Clock read 2:00AM, I was on a street called Commerce Drive, and I saw a sign saying Great Change in the distance. Then I saw god, and I thought I was dying."

"Well you definitely didn't drive for 2 hours hun, they found you at 12:00AM." Linda explained patiently "You were hallucinating sweetie. That can happen when a fever gets that high. I'm surprised you made it as far as you did, thank goodness they found you!"

"Wow," breathed Kristy, "That's crazy I can't believe that. It all seemed so real. Hey, is my phone here? I think I remember hearing it come out of my pocket when I fell"

"Yes," Linda answered "It's here. A nurse picked it up. It didn't have the back on it though."

"That's fine," Kristy said "it's probably at home, I dropped it in my room and it all came apart. How long do I have to stay here?"

"The doctors told me you could go home as soon as your fever stayed down without medication. After what happened they want to monitor you. It will probably be tomorrow."

"Ok, thanks Linda," replied Kristy "I think I'll get some more rest now."

"Alright sweetie," Linda said patting her arm "I'll come check on you tomorrow."

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"Linda! I'm going to the gym now!" Called Kristy

"Are you sure?" asked Linda "it's only been a week since you were sick."

"I'll keep the workout light, don't worry" Kristy answered, and she walked out the door. She drove the 10 minutes to the gym, passing the hospital on the way, and got out of the car. As she walked up to the doors she heard a crunch and looked down. The back to a flip style cell phone was there on the ground, in the distance she saw workmen fixing the lights in the neon sign for Great Canadian Oil Change, and she noticed the street sign near the gym had recently been replaced with Commerce Drive.

End

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**Thank you for reading, All comments welcome**