Mary's POV
Pain.
That was the first thing I felt when consciousness returned. Not the sharp, immediate agony of the collar or Dr. Hollander's experiments. This was different. Deeper. The pain of a body that had been pushed beyond its limits and was now trying desperately to repair itself.
I tried to open my eyes but they felt glued shut. Tried to speak but my throat was too raw. Tried to move but my body wouldn't respond.
Panic set in. Was I still in the Montana facility? Still strapped to that surgical table? Had the rescue been a dream, a hallucination brought on by torture?
"Mary? Can you hear me? Squeeze my hand if you can hear me."
Owen's voice. Real and close and filled with desperate hope. I focused everything I had on my right hand, trying to move fingers that felt like they
