Clara
Pain.
That was the first thing I felt.
Not just a little pain either. My entire body throbbed like I had been hit by a truck...then hit again for good measure.
My head pounded with every heartbeat.
For a long time, I didn't open my eyes. I couldn't. My eyelids felt heavy, like they were glued shut, and the ringing in my ears made everything feel distant and wrong.
But slowly...painfully slowly... I forced them open.
Darkness.
Complete Darkness.
For a moment I thought I was still unconscious. My vision blurred and swam as my brain tried to catch up with the world again. Black shapes moved in and out of focus like shadows underwater.
I blinked. Once. Twice. Gradually the darkness started forming shapes. Stone. Cold stone.
Rough walls pressed in behind me. The other thre
