My eyes went wide as I sat upright.
The chains bolted into the wall snapped taut with the movement, metal rattling violently through the room.
Pain immediately exploded through my skull.
Not a headache.
Not even close.
It felt like somebody had cracked my head open and poured molten metal directly into my brain.
My vision blurred.
Then doubled.
Then steadied.
I sucked in a sharp breath through clenched teeth.
Jesus Christ.
For a moment, I genuinely had no idea where I was.
The room swam around me.
Concrete walls.
Rust stains.
Damp air.
The smell of mold.
The smell of blood.
The smell of infected.
Then my eyes landed on them.
Faces.
Dozens of faces.
Red eyes stared back at me from every corner of the room.
Every single one fixed directly on me.
Watching.
Waiting.
One stood closest.
A man.
Or what used to be one.
He stood directly in front of me with his hands folded behind his back.
His expression wasn't hostile.
Wasn't angry.
Wasn't hungry.
