45
I felt detached from my body as I tumbled backward. The world transformed into a carnival ride of pain. Spinning, banging, tumbling, collapsing. I struggled to make sense of what was going on.
I eventually found myself staring up at the underside of the stairs above me. The railing was shiny with fresh blood. My blood. My left arm was on fire. My head throbbed in agony. I had to force myself to breathe because each inhalation brought a new experience of pain.
At any second, Mandy Hudson would appear and finish me off. My body thrummed and tingled but didn’t respond. Even my right arm felt oddly no longer a part of me.
Somewhere in the distance, light years away, I could hear a familiar ringing. Eventually, I realized it was my phone. But remembering where it was felt like trying to
