I awake stiff and sore. I have no idea of the time, although I suppose, from the buzzing of the electric sun on the ceiling, that it is the evening of the next day. My head throbs. My mouth is parched.
I stand on shaky legs, then collapse on the bare floor, the pain between my legs like a searing coal.
I grab the bedsheet, struggle to my feet, and make my way to the little table, where someone has left a gla** of water.
Then I catch sight of a girl in the mirror.
She has blackened tiger eyes and bleary chili pepper lips.
She looks back at me full of sadness and scorn and says,
You have become one of them.