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    Cold sweat poured down Ashlee’s burning skin, raced over her arms and legs, and was drenching her thin cotton clothes. Her entire frame shook as she tried to rip free form invisible bonds. An iron weight pressed into her chest, digging into skin. Slowly the pressure was released and she felt her entire body slip into absolute numbness. Almost at once, everything changed; she heard nothing, and although she kept her eyes closed she saw only blackness instead of the recent white lights and blue dots. Ashlee wanted to panic and scream, but she found no voice. She wanted to reach out, but she found no strength. It seemed her thoughts where the only thing she had with her. Time passed; she counted seconds.
    There was no way of knowing how long she truly spent in silent panic, Sometime around 8,000 seconds Ashlee had lost count and had to start over. The second time she only got to 424. If she had to guess, Ashlee would have said around ten hours, but there really was no way to be sure.
    When feeling returned, first to her toes then moving up, some of the old pains came back. For a few seconds her head throbbed. Then it seemed to spin and land properly back on her squared shoulders. Her chest felt heavy, and every breath was labored. Toes and knees popped with each move as she tried to prop herself up, to no success. Collapsing, her head smashed into the pillow as her hands wacked metal bars closing off the bed, like those in a hospital. Finally she pealed her sleep crusted eyes open to take in her surroundings. Her room was, thankfully, lit by dull yellow lights that circled the room like the candles that used to float in the pond behind her house. As her eyes focused, Ashlee could just make out a chair. It sat in the furthest corner of the small room. She didn’t think she would be having visitors. The next object she noticed was a small dresser, and beside her was a bedside table. Everything in the room seemed to be miniature, as if it wasn’t made to last. Slowly she tried lifting her head.
    There was nothing to restrain her, and the doors had no locks. If she could walk, or run, she could try and get out. Movement brought pain, but in small enough doses that she could sit up and sling her legs out of bed.