But it still didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered except the overwhelming pain consuming every inch of her body and the darkness pulling insistently at the edges of her consciousness.
Her last coherent thought before awareness finally slipped away was heartbreakingly simple: I'm going to die here, in this cell, tonight.
And perhaps that would be a mercy after all.
Because living through this nightmare, surviving even one more day in this hellish place, seemed utterly impossible.
The darkness swallowed her whole, pulling her down into its depths.
The darkness was merciful, but it didn't last.
Shuyin drifted back to consciousness in pieces, awareness returning in fragmented layers. First came the pain, sharp and relentless, radiating from every corner of her body.
Then the cold seeped up from the thin mattress beneath her and settled deep into her bones. Finally, the sounds filtered through, reminding her where she was.
