Melissa.
Pain rippled through every inch of my body, raw, throbbing, and unforgiving, not just physical pain. No, that would have been merciful.This was deeper, layered.
Emotionally bruised, mentally wrung out.
I was a threadbare cloth stretched too thin, ready to tear with just one more pull.
My bones ached with every step. My muscles screamed with fatigue. My chest tightened every time I tried to draw air. Exhaustion swirled inside me until my thoughts turned heavy and slow. The night had grown long, unbearably long, and I still hadn't found a moment's rest.
Worse, my stomach felt hollow, an aching, gaping cavern begging for something, anything, to fill it. The emptiness gnawed at me, sharp and insistent, twisting deeper with every second that passed. Hunger wasn't just a whisper anymore; it was a claw dragging across my insides, reminding me I was still alive and still trapped in this misery.
I couldn't even remember the last thing I'd eaten.
