"Shut up," one of them growled.
He pressed a foul-smelling cloth against her nose and mouth. The acrid, chemical scent burned her lungs instantly and darkness crept into her vision, swallowing the desperate image of Aunt Mei's limp body sprawled across the backseat.
The last thing she heard before losing consciousness completely was the driver's panicked shouting and the muffled sound of approaching footsteps.
When the paramedics arrived minutes later, they found Aunt Mei unconscious, her pulse weak and tready, blood pooling around her greying hair. The blow had fractured her skull, and she was immediately rushed into intensive care.
That night, doctors confirmed that Aunt Mei had slipped into a deep coma. The driver was also seriously injured and was in a coma.
Her fate, and Yueyao's, now hung in a silent, suffocating darkness.
The first thing Yueyao noticed when consciousness returned was the cold.
