Trapped in a nightmarish version of their home after an attempt on their lives, a couple follows the cryptic guidance of a supernatural caller, eventually realizing the creatures chasing them are echoes of the hospital staff fighting to save them and the sister trying to ensure they never wake up.

SYNOPSIS:

"Stay With Me" is a short psychological/supernatural horror set in the house of a couple stuck in limbo. The couple must escape limbo before the malevolent presence who wants them dead succeeds in the real world.

A wealthy married couple, MIKAYLA VALLANCE (30s) and DARYL VALLANCE (30s), begins receiving repeated calls from an unknown number, which they assume are scams. After hanging up, Mikayla finds a note from their mechanic addressed to Daryl. It says the brake issue on their car is serious and needs immediate attention. She asks if he took the car in yet. He casually admits he has not, and they set the note aside.

Later that day Daryl finally answers one of the unknown calls in frustration. A calm, steady voice tells him it is a miracle he and Mikayla are still alive. He hangs up, convinced it is a sick joke. The calls stop for a while. Then Mikayla answers the phone when it rings later in the evening. The same caller tells her that they have just been in a terrible car crash and that survival is possible, but only if they "stay with me now". She is unsettled but does not understand what the voice means.

That night they try to relax with wine and television. Outside, still figures gather at the edge of the property. They lock the doors and attempt to call the police, but only hear a dead dial tone. A window upstairs shatters and freezing air pours into the house. When they investigate, they find nothing until they reach the stairs and see a pale, white eyed man standing silently below. As they move toward him, Daryl flickers into another reality and sees himself on an operating table with the same man working as a surgeon trying to save him.

Back in the house they are chased by more figures. Another window breaks. Mikayla hears her mother calling to her from outside, using a cold, distant voice. For a moment she is drawn toward it until she remembers her mother is dead. The horrifying truth becomes clear. They are trapped in a realm between life and death. They are separated and each ends up locked in a bedroom. Mikayla fades into a hospital vision and sees doctors rushing around her while her estranged sister MARIA watches with an almost pleased expression.

In the purgatory bedroom a knock sounds at the door. Maria appears with white eyes and accuses Mikayla of ruining everything by surviving. She forces her way inside and begins choking her. Mikayla slips between the purgatory room and the hospital scene where Maria watches her real body struggle. Daryl bursts into the purgatory room and knocks Maria’s apparition away. They escape into the garden as the shadows close in.

The phone rings once more. The calm voice congratulates them and tells them to be careful before everything collapses and they are pulled back into their bodies. They awaken in hospital beds next to each other while machines beep softly. Maria stands nearby. Her expression is briefly cold before she replaces it with a warm smile. The real middle aged doctor enters and shows genuine relief that they survived.

Final shot: Daryl calls the number back. It rings faintly, but they can't place where. It rings everywhere, all at once.