A Plea for Strength

The heavy, suffocating darkness that had swallowed me in the hallway slowly began to lift, peeling away layer by agonizing layer. I forced my eyelids open, only to immediately squeeze them shut. A stark, sterile white glare sliced through my retinas, burning my exhausted eyes. Every single muscle in my body screamed in violent protest the moment I took a shallow breath. A dull, relentless ache thr