I opened my eyes.
Air rushed into my lungs like I'd been drowning for hours. I bent forward automatically, coughing once, gripping my phone so tightly my knuckles hurt. For a second I just stood there, disoriented, heart slamming against my ribs.
Wait, my phone?
I was in Ivy's apartment building.
I lifted my head slowly and looked toward the hallway window. No sick green sky. No warped air. Just rain streaking down the glass. People hurrying past with umbrellas. A couple of stray dogs barking at something across the street.
Normal.
"What the fuck…" I whispered.
A soft step echoed above me.
I looked up.
Dierella stood on the first stair of the upper floor, hands buried in the pockets of her oversized hoodie. She looked… tired. Not physically. Something deeper than that. She let out a slow breath through her nose and started walking down toward me.
"We were tricked," she said, her voice flat but edged with irritation.
