The next morning, the light that filtered through the tiny, cracked window of the attic room was a dull, dirty gray.
Lin Wan woke up with a sharp chest pain. Her body felt heavier than it ever had before. Her throat was dry and raspy, and every single bone in her legs throbbed with a deep, aching fatigue.
She sat up slowly, the rough straw mattress groaning loudly under her small weight. She rubbed her eyes, trying to clear the lingering fog of a deep, restless sleep.
For a second, she forgot where she was. She looked around the small, bare room, her eyes hitting the dark wood of the sloped ceiling.
Then, the memory of her frantic run through the fog came rushing back, making her heart give a heavy, terrified thud.
"Weiwei," Lin Wan called out in her mind, her voice trembling. "Are you there? Are the sensors clear?"
A faint, slightly weak digital chime echoed in her brain.
