CHAPTER SEVENTY- EIGHT: COLLAPSE

NOVA POV

Pain woke me the way drowning wakes you, instantly sharp, all at once, like a hot knife splitting you from the inside out.

I tried screaming, but that was when I discovered there was something in my mouth that wasn’t my tongue.

I tried pushing it out, only to realize it was a piece of clothing shoved deep, and another strip of fabric wrapped tight around my mouth nearly cutting off the airflow through my nose and stopping me from spitting the cloth ...