In the silent darkness, comfort wrapped around Chloe's calm consciousness, as if she were floating in a void.
Yet her body and instincts rejected it, struggling violently, yanking her awareness back before it could sink too deep.
Chloe's closed eyelids flew open. Her constricted, blue pupils widened as her gaze refocused.
Right before her eyes, obstructed by her visor, was black soil, filling her vision. A crushing weight pressed down on her from behind, making it hard to breathe.
'What happened?'
She whispered, trying to put strength into her limbs, but to no avail.
Blinking several times, Chloe realized just how weak she was. She drew in a deep breath, listening to her heart pounding fiercely as it pumped hot blood through her body, which lay face down against the ground.
As blood began flowing back to her brain, her vision flickered like an old monitor, black, then white, before finally replaying fragments of what had happened to her.
