A groan was the first thing Julia heard when she woke up. It took her at least thirty seconds to realize the drawn out, painful sound came from her own chest.
“Ugh.” She opened her eyes, fighting lids that seemed to be made of lead, to see.... Nothing. Her eyes searched the darkness, looking for something to focus on. Crap. Where was she?
She fought back panic and took deep breaths. In and out. In and hold for a couple of seconds to slow her racing heart. Just the same as she did when she ran. Work the body like a machine, obey its rules and use those to make it behave.
The panic shoved to a small corner of her mind, she focused on what she knew. She was alone. Only her own breathing rasped in the darkness. It surrounded her like a blanket, but not one she’d want to wrap herself up in.
