My eyes opened slowly.
Everything felt… heavy. For a moment, I didn’t understand where I was.
I blinked.
Once.
Twice.
My body felt strange. Weak. Numb in places I couldn’t fully place. My head throbbed faintly, not as sharply as before, but still there.
The smell hit me next. Sharp.
A hospital.
The realization came slowly, like everything else. Then it came back all at once. The road. The light.
My hand moved immediately, almost on its own, pressing lightly against my stomach. A quiet breath left me.
It was too early to tell anything, I knew that. But still… I stayed like that for a moment, just holding it, like I could protect the pregnancy I couldn’t even feel yet.
Only after that did I notice them.
Three men were standing a few steps away from the bed. They weren’t speaking.
