Josie
Fire. That's the first thing I felt—like something was clawing through my veins, setting my blood on fire from the inside out. It burned so deep, so fiercely, I thought my skin might split open. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't scream. I could only feel the heat, the agony, the way it swallowed me whole.
Tears blurred my vision. I was crying, though I wasn't sure when it started—if it was from pain or from the weight of everything I'd lost. My chest felt like it was caving in, the air thick and useless in my lungs.
Then suddenly—like someone had cut through a string—the pain snapped. Energy surged back into me with a force that made my spine arch off the bed. My eyes flew open as I gasped, dragging in air like it was the first time I'd ever breathed. Every nerve in my body pulsed, alive and raw.
"Josie!"
