I gasped awake but the minute I inhaled deeply, I choked on my pain.

The entirety of my body hurt to the point I was momentarily convinced I was being torn apart. Every muscle and joint ached as though I had been beaten from the inside out.

My chest heaved in and out. The dry air felt thin and foreign as it rushed into my lungs. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping the agony would subside. It didn't.

Blinky rapidly, I slowly managed to push away the fog in my mind as the clarification of my ...