Emily's body weighed as if she were drowning in deep water; her awareness alternated between darkness and brightness. She heard muffled noises, words she couldn't quite comprehend twisted by the cloud around her. She attempted to open her eyes, but as if her eyelids weighed a tonne, she struggled against every try. Her side was throbbing with acute, relentless pain that anchored her to reality and gradually the fog started to clear.
She groaned softly and opened her eyes to see the world around her becoming clear. She first spotted Daniel collapsed next to her, his face pallid and blood-streaked. Though he was alive, his chest surged and collapsed with laboured breaths. She felt relief, but it was swiftly followed by terror when the bullet tore over her memories.
She gasped, her finger
