Buzz woke with a choke he didn't remember starting.
A breath caught halfway in his throat, like someone pinned the air before it reached his lungs. His eyes snapped open to a harsh white glare that burned the edges of everything.
The room wasn't a room.
More like a hollow box pretending to be one.
Light poured from the walls, too bright to be natural, too still to be fire. The air smelled sharp, like metal soaked in something sweeter. A smell he recognized from a place he hated remembering.
Zza groaned somewhere to his right. Alma cursed on his left. Buzz tried to turn his head toward them, but his neck hit resistance. Something wrapped around it. Something smooth. Something humming.
A collar.
His heart lurched.
Zza whispered, voice hoarse, "Buzz… Buzz, look at me— can you move?"
He tried again. His neck jerked a little, just enough for him to see her.
