ABIGAIL'S POV I woke to a chorus of machines before I even felt my own body. The rhythmic beeping, the hiss of oxygen, the soft click of the IV pump. My limbs were heavy, impossibly heavy, as though gravity itself had doubled overnight. I tried to move my arm, and it felt like lifting lead. My legs didn’t respond at all at first.I opened my eyes slowly. The room was stark, too quiet, too bare. The white walls pressed in on me. The sheets were crisp and hospital-like, but even crisp sheets can’t hide the sterility of a space designed to control rather than comfort.I squinted at the clock on the bedside table. Morning, it said. Sunlight should have flooded the room. But the windows were darkened. Thick blackout shades cut the world off. A deliberate choice. I felt it in my gut before I had the strength to sit up.“What the fuck!” My voice cracked, hoarse from disuse. My throat burned with dryness, and I realized I hadn’t swallowed since the last time I remembered anything. My hand pr
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