Waking up was agony. Pain hammered through my skull as if it were about to shatter. My vision was useless behind a thick blindfold, and my mouth was muffled by a gag. Ropes dug into my wrists and ankles, binding me tightly like an animal destined for slaughter. A cold chill seeped through my light dress, and my bare feet ached from the icy touch of the air.
The jarring shakes and jolts around me told me I was inside a vehicle, its uneven motion tossing my body like a rag doll. Where it was taking me, I had no idea. But I knew one thing—I needed to understand the situation I was in.
Pressing my face to the floor, I began rubbing it against the surface, desperate to dislodge the blindfold. With patience and persistence, I shifted it from one eye and then the other until it finally came off
