KELLY THOMPSON'S POV

Consciousness crept upon me like the slow rise of a sinister moon, unveiling the world in increments of pain. The soft rustle of sheets against my bandaged skin whispered tales of a battle hard-fought, each breath I drew lacing my bones with fire. As awareness further infiltrated my fogged mind, I realized I lay prostrate upon a bed, swathed in white bindings that seemed to mock the purity they could never truly possess.

My body was a map of agony, charted with lines of ...