As I Lay Dying Novels & Stories

I can’t breathe. Everything is wrong. My chest?! Oh God, it burns. It BURNS SO BAD. My hands are shaking, covered in blood and I don’t even remember falling but I’m on the ground and….. “Stay with me!” Dominic’s voice. Loud. Desperate. I try to answer him but nothing comes out except a broken sound. “I……” My throat closes. I can’t breathe. I’m dying. That thought lands so quietly it almost feels calm.

"Fran, midnight has arrived. You just need to die in this world, and you can go back." I picked up a sharp piece of glass and raised my hand, dragging the jagged edge across my artery. Finally, I was leaving this world where no one loved me. Everything was finally going to end.

I asked "You die."

Samuel’s POV I ran toward Layla’s room, my lungs burning from exertion. The hallway seemed endless as my feet pounded against the marble floor. When I reached her door, I didn’t bother knocking—I pushed it open with enough force to make it crash against the wall. “Layla!” I called out, rushing to her bedside. The sight froze my blood. Layla lay motionless on the bed, her skin ghostly white against the dark sheets. Thin trails of blackened blood leaked from the corners of her mouth, unmistakable signs of wolfsbane poisoning. Her chest barely moved with shallow breaths.

* Late at night, Layla woke up in a hospital bed, her surroundings dim and quiet. “Awake?” William’s voice was gentle, filled with concern. “Mm.” Layla nodded, but her eyes remained blank, staring at the ceiling, empty of any spark. William didn’t push her. He understood she needed time to process the grief. The silence of the hospital was oppressive, each passing second stretching endlessly. After what felt like forever, Layla finally sat up. She looked at William, her voice soft but steady. “Can I… see Grandpa Perry?”

’ Layla closed her eyes, waiting for the pain that comes with death. “Wait!”

And far away, somewhere beyond the noise, a phone that had been forcefully hung up was about to ring again. White-hot pain tore through me. Blood flooded my mouth, metallic and choking. My body convulsed violently as oxygen vanished entirely. The world began to fade— sounds stretching, faces blurring, everything pulling away from me. Just as darkness was about to swallow me whole— A voice cut through the chaos like a gunshot. “Lay one more hand on my daughter,” she said slowly, “and none of you will ever leave this ship alive.”

My hands flew to my neck, terror evident in my eyes as my vision blurred immediately. “Jade, please, stay with me!” I heard Layla’s distant voice. I tried, but my body wasn’t listening. The room spun. My lungs burnt. I gasped, but no air came. I was choking. Dying.

I found myself repeating over and over again as I rocked her back and forth. I suddenly noticed that she was becoming stable. Her trembling was becoming feeble and she was becoming stable once more but instead of rejoicing, my heart sank.. she was dying, the same way Ariana died. “No.. no.. no… Layla!” I shouted her name and at the same time, shook her body roughly with the hopes of waking her up but nothing happened. I didn't need to press an ear to her chest. My sharp ears could hear her heartbeat quite clearly and it was slowly decreasing.

I can't feel my upper body muscles anymore, and I… I can’t breathe— The door slams open with a force that sends a gust of wind flooding into the room. “Louise! Stop!” Louise stumbles a step back, her smirk faltering. For once, she looks afraid. But I can’t hold onto that satisfaction. Not when the poison is already killing me from the inside. My breaths come in shallow gasps, and I'm struggling to keep my eyes open. I'm in a hospital, but I'm dying. Such irony. “Daisy, stay with me,” I hear a man begging in a broken voice, his arms tightening around me. The strong vanilla scent on him envelopes me, giving me a moment of peace amidst the pain of the wolfsbane.