Page 22
The instant I step through the barrier, pain explodes through my body. Every muscle locks as white-hot agony travels like wildfire along every nerve ending, dropping me to my knees.
“Fuck—”
A blinding flash fills my vision.
Then everything goes dark.
Chapter eight
Granger
Iblink my eyes open and immediately squint against the piercing light.
My head feels like it's stuffed with cotton. My limbs are heavy, and even breathing seems to take more effort than it should.
Where the hell am I?
My eyes drift shut again before I can make sense of anything, the need for sleep pulling me into a blissful slumber.
Shouts nearby force my eyes open again, but I slam them shut when pain rolls through my body. I feel like I've been hit by a truck.
What happened?
One minute I was walking in the woods, admiring the way Toto's hips swayed when she walked, and the next—
I felt like I was being torn apart from the inside out.
I close my eyes again. All I want to do is sleep…
"Nick!"
Toto's cries jar me awake. This time, I force myself to stay conscious. I turn my head slowly, needing to help her. As I roll to my stomach, I find her sobbing against Nick's chest.
"Toto," I rasp, trying to crawl to her.
Why is she crying?
I reach out for her, and my gaze lands on my hand.
What the fuck?
A strange crisscross pattern covers my skin. No, not covers it—it is my skin. I shake my head and squint, convinced I'm imagining it, but the pattern doesn't disappear. I reach out with my other hand to rub it off and realize both hands have the same texture.
"What the hell?" I stare at my arms, then glance down at my chest, which has the same pattern. My body is still shaped like mine—same broad shoulders, same arms, same everything—but none of it feels like me.
I grab one forearm and squeeze. It gives beneath my fingers.
My stomach drops.
Burlap.
I’m made of fucking burlap.
"Granger!"
I turn to Toto. Her face crumples as she points at Nick, still prone on the ground. He’s deathly still, his mechanical arm gleaming in the sunlight.
“Nick!”
