suffering.

I felt that right away. Every bone in my body ached slowly and painfully, as though my body had been disassembled and then reassembled incorrectly.

Next, warmth.

A light, shaking, desperate hand gripped mine.

Matilda.

My eyelids were forced open. Her face would gradually come into focus as the gray, blurry, and unfocused light darted at me. Her eyes were red, her jaw was tense, and her breathing was irregular.

"Matilda..." I had a gravelly voice.

Her head snapped ...