Emily was slowly regaining consciousness, a sensation of vertigo washing over her entire body. Her heavy eyelids fluttered, struggling to open. The room was cloaked in semi-darkness, lit only by the flickering glow of an old bulb hanging from the ceiling. Her limbs felt numb, and when she tried to move, she realized she was firmly strapped to a chair, tight restraints binding her wrists and ankles.

A bitter taste filled her mouth, remnants of whatever had been injected into her. Her head was spinning, and nausea twisted her stomach—the drug's effects not yet fully faded. Her thoughts were hazy, each attempt to focus met with an invisible wall of pain and confusion.