I woke up to shadows and darkness.
No stars. No moon. No sky.
There was a heavy feeling on my chest, but I pushed it away, not wanting to recall my dream--or nightmare. The moon and stars laughing at my helplessness, my desperation, just knowing I couldn't do it, that I was too far away-- I shook my head to clear it of sleepy confusion. Just forget it.
My eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the darkness, though there wasn't much to look at. Sterling's snoring outline was conked out in his bed, and there was dim light seeping through the bars of the cell door, but nothing worth looking at.
I winced at the miniature explosion of pain that erupted on my skin, a sort of delayed reaction. Groaning, I noticed that the pain-killer had worn off, and it hurt just as badly as it had before. I s
