“Cassie, sugar. Cassandra!”

Groggily, she rubs the sleep from her eyes, and rolls over. “Mmm.”

“Cassandra. Darlin’. Hon, you gotta get up.”

First the face swims into view, then the thick chocolate-colored fingers stroking her hair. Slowly, everything becomes sharper. This isn’t her bed. She begins to strike out, almost catching the woman on the mouth before she grabs her wrists, forcing her to stop.

“Cassie. Do you know where you are?”

“N-n-no…”

“Hon, you’re in the hospital. Your neighbor called, love. You’ve been asleep for three days now.”

Frantically, her eyes sweep the room. “Shit. I gotta get outta here.”

“Honey… there’s someone who needs to talk to you. I need you to stay nice and calm now, alright?”

“I don’t know anything!” The words rip from her mouth before she can stop them. “I don’t, I don’t…” Tremors wrack her body.

A woman’s frame fills the doorway. “Thanks Myra. I can take it.” Pale pink glasses encircle her eyes. “Cassandra Lanning? We’re going to need your help with something.”