Chapter Nine
The thumping in my head distracted me from the rubbery feeling inside my mouth. I focused on the pain in my skull, trying to figure out what could be crashing into my head over and over at such a steady rhythm. The pain came from the inside, like my brain was bashing against its cage, trying to escape the ache that filled my body like cement had taken the place of the blood in my veins.
I started to open my eyes, but the bright lights around me only made the thumping worse.
“Shh, you’re okay.” Someone shifted me, like they were trying to cradle me to their chest. “You have to wait it out, but you’ll be okay.”
“What happened?” The heaviness of my tongue slurred my words.
“You punched a guard, tried to bolt past, and took a dart to the neck.” A laugh rumbled against my shou
