Chapter 206: Alone and Afraid

OLLIE My head felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to it. The pounding behind my eyes was so intense that even the dim light filtering through the broken windows made me want to throw up. I tried to sit up, but the movement sent waves of nausea crashing over me, and I had to lie still for several long moments before I could manage to open my eyes properly. When I finally did, I immediately wished I hadn't. Blood was everywhere. Splattered across the concrete floor in dark, sticky pools that reflected what little light there was. The metallic smell filled my nostrils and made my stomach lurch again. I scrambled backward, pressing myself against the nearest wall as I tried to make sense of what I was seeing.   "Riley?" I called out weakly, my voice barely more than a whisper. "Riley, where are you?"   Silence answered me. The kind of heavy, oppressive silence that made every shadow look threatening and every sound seem amplified. I was alone, and that realization hit me like a phys