Chapter 20: The First Fracture
Elsie’s POV
The morning didn’t bring light so much as it brought a sickly, pale yellow haze that bled through the heavy burlap curtains. I hadn’t slept. Every time my eyelids grew heavy, the phantom sound of the van’s sliding door slamming shut would jerk me awake, my hand instantly flying to my chest to see if the iron band was tightening again.
By dawn, the oxygen tank was empty, its rhythmic hiss replaced by the mocking silence of the small bedroom. I pulled the plastic prongs from my nose, the skin behind my ears raw and tender, and sat up. My knees were stiff, purple bruises already blooming across the skin where I’d hit the compound dirt at Stone's feet.
When I pushed the bedroom door open, the cabin smelled heavily of stale coffee, burnt tobacco, a
