Cold.
No, heat. Burning beneath skin that shouldn’t feel anything.
My body existed in pieces. Shoulder screaming. Ribs grinding with each breath, sharp on inhale, agony when I tried deeper. Head splitting, pulse hammering against the fracture.
Wrong. Everything wrong.
Tried to speak.
Nothing.
Throat engaged. Mouth opened. Air moved through vocal cords that seized, producing silence.
Again.
Still nothing.
Panic, sharp, immediate. Chest constricting, pulse hammering. Something fundamental broken beyond the physical damage.
Eyes open.
White ceiling. Cracks like spiderwebs across plaster. My gaze swept the room without conscious thought, window covered, door closed, shadows in corners.
Why?
Counting. Measuring. Looking for... threats? Exits?
Didn’t know. Couldn’t stop.
My hands rested at my sides, fingers curved. Waiting for weight that wasn’t there. Weapon weight.
Always waiting.
For what?
The silence pressed wrong. Too quiet. Something should be happening. Someone should be,
The thought dissolved.
Breathing quickened. Ribs protested, fire lancing through bruised tissue. I forced the rhythm slower. Shallow. Anything deeper cost too much.
Start with what I could understand.
Pain.
Shoulder, fire spreading from joint through my entire arm. The angle was different. Someone had moved it. Fixed it. Set the dislocation while I was unconscious.
While I couldn’t stop them.
Pulse kicked higher. My body twisted defensive, instinct surging before thought. The movement sent white-hot agony through ribs and shoulder, stealing breath.
Gasped. No sound. Just pain, real enough.
Back hit wall. Cold through thin fabric.
Fabric.
Looked down.
