Elena Something is different. I don’t know what at first. It slips in around the edges of the dark, soft and distant, like a sound underwater that doesn’t quite reach me. Then, a sharp crack. Not inside the room. Outside. Another one. Closer.My body tries to react, but it’s slow. Everything is slow. My thoughts drag like they’re moving through something thick and heavy. Gunfire. The word comes late. Too late.My eyes don’t open. I don’t think they can. My lashes feel too heavy, my face too swollen, my head too full of fog. Another sound. Voices. Shouting. Not the same voices. Different. Rougher. Faster. Controlled chaos. Not them.My heart stutters. No. Don’t. Don’t do that. Don’t let hope in here. Hope hurts more than anything they’ve done. I let my head hang where it is, breath shallow, ribs aching with every inhale. The pain is still there, everywhere, bu
Read more