I woke up with silence.

Not the peaceful kind that lulled you into comfort, not the sort of quiet that whispered safety. This was the kind of silence that screamed, pressing into your ears until you thought you could hear the static of your own nerves fraying. A silence so complete it felt wrong, like the world outside my little prison had simply ceased to exist.

For a long moment, I lay still, curled into myself on the hard mattress, afraid to move, afraid to disturb whatever unnatural ...