AVA’S POV

Time didn’t feel real to me anymore. The ticking timer we had been watching back in that warehouse became a blurry number the moment my knees trembled and became weak, then everything went black.

I remembered bits and pieces, unclear and sharp in my mind.

The cold cement floor, the faint sound of Nicholas shouting my name, the storm of confusion surrounding us.

Then nothing.

When I opened my eyes, the ceiling was white.

Empty and quiet.

I closed my eyes slowly, once, twice, ...