Not What It Seems

Azalea. There was a beeping sound—the click of heels and a rustle of movement. I was lying on my back, on something soft and warm, my hands resting by my sides. My body felt unusually heavy, my throat dry and sore. My entire body ached. I pushed my eyes open to see a woman making notes on a clipboard by the foot of my bed. At first, I thought someone had rescued me and taken me to a hospital. Until my common sense slowly kicked in, and I remembered her. Lisa. The wife of one of the vicious men who worked with Dante. They managed to capture me and bring me back here. Maybe it would have been better if Barry had just gotten it over with and killed me. I was so tired. Of everything. I moved my fingers to test if I wasn’t paralyzed. It sure felt like it. Everything felt too heavy. Until, “Arrrgh!” I cried out when a sharp pain shot through my side. Lisa’s head jerked up, and she dropped her pen. “Azalea? Oh, no don’t move!” She dropped the clipboard on the foot of the bed and rushed to my