-LILIAN-
The darkness wasn't empty. It was a swirling chaos of pain and fear, punctuated by vivid flashes of Alexander’s furious face. I heard guttural roars, frantic pleas, and then, a silence that felt impossibly vast. A long, stretching, unnerving silence.
Slowly, almost imperceptibly, a tiny spark of awareness flickered within the swirling void. A soft, steady hum vibrated beneath me, a continuous rhythm that was oddly soothing. The sterile, yet strangely comforting smell of antiseptic filled my nose, pushing back the lingering scent of my own blood and the metallic tang of fear. My eyelids felt impossibly heavy, glued shut with a stubborn resistance, but with a monumental effort, I managed to flutter them open a c***k.
Blurry, indistinct shapes swam into view. Soft, muted light fi
