Sandy's POV
Pain greeted me like an old enemy when consciousness finally dragged me back to the surface. Every inch of my body screamed in agony, as if I had been shattered into pieces and carelessly reassembled.
I struggled to open my eyes, but the ceiling above remained a hazy blur that refused to come into focus. Weakness consumed me completely. My limbs felt impossibly heavy, and even the simple act of drawing breath seemed like climbing a mountain.
Something cool and wet touched my skin. The sensation was methodical, purposeful. Someone was cleaning me.
Terror shot through my veins like ice water. My pulse hammered frantically as panic seized control of my senses.
I wanted to fight back, to push away whoever was touching me, but my body refused to obey. My eyelids grew impossibly heavy, and darkness swallowed me whole before I could identify my captor.
