RENEE
THERE WAS NOTHING BUT DARKNESS. A thick black veil engulfed me, and I couldn't see a thing. I couldn't move, and my limbs stiffened.
Then SILENCE. It was smothering and left me feeling empty and hollow. Like a dead person. Like nothing. And all I wanted to do was scream for rescue. I wanted to scream, wail, and tear my throat out. But I couldn't. I could only stay motionless and silent.
DARKNESS AGAIN. It threatened to suck me in. To suffocate and consume me. I wished it would all end. The terror. The agony.
Then, all of a sudden, it did stop—and in its place, a weird sound echoed in my ears, making itself heard.
It sounded like a gentle hum at first, but then I realized it was the steady tick of a nearby clock. But I was mistaken. It wasn't a clock that was ticking.
The so
