41 | Humpty Dumpty

(Flashback)

*** POV Unknown 1

"Still alive... fuck." The thought flitted through my mind the moment I realized I was conscious. I didn’t dare move. My senses stretched to their limits, I tried to keep my heartbeat steady, listening intently, trying to detect any signs of life around me. Was I alone? Or were they still here, waiting?

Slowly, I became aware of my surroundings. I wasn’t cold or wet, and, to my surprise, I wasn’t naked. The tips of my fingers brushed against something soft beneath me, smooth but with a slight graininess. Cotton linen? The realization jarred me; this wasn’t the damp, filthy floor of my cell.

The room was dark. The blackness behind my eyelids told me as much. But the air... it smelled different. Gone was the stench of infection and rot that had been my constant companion. Instead, I detected something medicinal—eucalyptus? But there was something else, something bitter and ominous... Wolfsbane. The faint smell of burnt flesh and the metallic tang of blood h