Maele jolted awake, the way that people sometimes do when on the verge of consciousness, with a feeling of falling. Unbidden, she stiffened her limbs, the movement jolting her head from its pillow. Her mind swam in a strange haze, and she shook it wearily, her vision clearing slowly. Immediately, a weight settled upon her chest, an icy chill running through her body. This was not her apartment.

Suddenly, the haze was completely gone, replaced instead with a terrible feeling of panic. She sat up in alarm, eyes wide, as if allowing more light in would help her to understand what she was seeing. There were others in the room; a few men looking at the walls, a thin girl who looked just younger than Maele herself, and a few more that were still on beds of their own. The room itself was almost bare, just the beds, a blacked-out TV and the word 'broken' on the wall... and holy hell. No windows. No door. 

What was going on? How did she get here? Who were the others? Maele took a deep breath to stop her thoughts from reeling out of control. Clearly, someone had brought her here, and clearly, the others were in the same situation. But some of them had woken up before her; maybe they knew something more? She decided she would have to ask someone... but who?