Twenty-Three
TraitorThere wasn't enough time for terror or panic to set in as the shadowy figure that stood over my bed disturbed my sleep. Before my brain registered the presence was real, a sharp poke in my arm delivered me into a strange state of unconsciousness. And it felt like I swam inside a kaleidoscope.
A haze clouded my thoughts and stunted my emotions. Much like a fevered sleep, I drifted in and out of consciousness. Each time I floated toward awareness, I forced myself to concentrate on what I heard and sensed. Voices echoed in my skull and whispered in my ears, but neither were comprehensible. In a seated position, my head hung forward, lolling from side to side, and my body jostled. I perceived forward movement as stale air flowed through my nostrils with every shallow inh
