CHAPTER FOURTEEN – MENTAL BREAKDOWN

Running, stumbling, churning legs carrying her further and further from everything she loved, everything she'd ever wanted. And then...darkness. The sickening crunch of twisting metal and shattering bone. Charlotte let out a grating wail of anguish, her body contorting wildly against the starched sheets as she frantically tried to escape her own shattered reality. Lillian was hovering over her now, gripping her shoulders with surprising firmness. "Charlotte! Stop this, you're going to hurt yourself! Please, you have to listen to me!" More hands were entering the fray, restraining her flailing limbs. Shouted orders and muffled commotion from beyond the doorway. Unfamiliar faces swimming into view, brandishing needles and speaking in harsh, commanding tones. "Honey, look at me!" Lillian's worried features swam back into focus, etched with pleading desperation. "Look at me, it's going to be okay! You're safe!" But the words seemed hollow, paltry things to offer against the maelstrom