The rope fell away from my wrists first.
Then my ankles.
I didn’t even feel the relief. My skin was numb. My body was numb. Everything was swallowed by smoke so thick it pressed against my lungs like hands.
I couldn’t see anything.
Not walls.
Not people.
Not even myself.
Then I heard his voice.
“Hey,” he said, close. Too close. “I’ve got you. Don’t be scared.”
Zander.
The sound of him grounded me for half a second. Just long enough for me to reach out blindly and feel his hand close around mine.
Warm. Solid. Real.
We took two steps.
Then someone kicked him from behind.
Hard.
Zander stumbled forward with a grunt, his grip breaking.
And just like that, the present shattered.
I dropped into myself, crouching low in the corner, my knees pulled tight to my chest. Smoke burned m
