Lily woke up in a daze.
One of her eyes refused to open fully, and the skin around it felt tight and swollen.
An agonizing groan slipped her lips.
Her body felt crushed, like she was buried under several stacks of weighted blankets and couldn't breathe properly.
A stabbing ache throbbed at the back of her head, as if her skull was being split open by a thousand puncturing needles.
She tried to sit up — then immediately winced.
Her jaw felt heavy. So heavy that it might as well have been replaced with gravel.
Her ribs protested every breath. Part of her tongue was numb, though she couldn't tell if it was from swelling or biting down too hard.
It was all… very painful.
But pain meant she was alive.
And Lily would gladly take being alive and battered over dead and at peace.
After a few seconds, she tried again.
