When consciousness came, so did the pain; a strangled sob broke from her chest but cut off into whimpers as the pain seared through her ribs; any slight movement took the air from her lungs. The worst of it was her ribs and her head–her head was throbbing with such potency she couldn’t open her eyes. Her cheek was pressed against a cold hard surface, her one arm trapped underneath her and the other lay limp beside her.
She needed to move that trapped arm. Another involuntary cry escaped when she tried to move–the pressure it created against her screaming ribs was far too much to handle, but her body was ignoring the demand–choosing the pressure over the searing pain it would cause to release it. She focused on opening her eyes to see what was going on and where she was, but she only open
