Chapter 80

Faint sounds travelled in and out of his ears, rebounding off the muffled whoosh in his brain.

His eyes remained unresponsive no matter how hard he tried.

The only part of him that moved as intended were his fingers, which he made sure to tap a steady rhythm with. He was fully present but stiff and that frustrated him to no end. Something was off. He felt off. Brandon couldn't remember clearly what had happened, but it definitely felt good to be conscious, no matter how immobile.

Having tossed and turned all through the night, Elizabeth was up and wearing a hole into the floor by 8 a.m., giving Lola's peppy something interesting to follow. By the time 8:30 rolled around, she was a panting mess. Why? She didn't know. She just... Ugh!

Running her hands through her hair, she went on her knees and prayed. Asked for the mercy of God, prayed for Brandon to be fine, prayed for everyone else, and prayed for her to... Be able to breathe?

Minutes later, she ended and got up. She didn't