Soon, I couldn’t feel the cold anymore. A strange warmth crept over me, gentle and deceiving. I knew this was the beginning of hypothermia, the body’s final trick before succumbing to the cold.
I couldn’t fight it. My strength was gone and all I could do was lie there, staring at the darkened ceiling, feeling the fragile thread of my life slipping away. My eyes fluttered shut. And then, nothing.
***
When I opened my eyes again, the sharp scent of antiseptic filled my nose. The harsh white lights of a hospital room flickered overhead.
"You’re awake."
A man in a white coat stood beside me, his features calm yet kind. He held out a glass of water with slender, steady hands.
"How did you end up locked in a utility room like that? Were you kidnapped or coerced?" he asked, his voice soft but serious. "Don’t be afraid. If you need help, I can call the police for you."
I opened my mouth to respond, but the words wouldn’t come. Instead, tears streamed down my face. For the first time in what felt like forever, I was alive. I had escaped death—escaped him.