Maddie O'Brien takes a deep breath, pushing greasy strands of sweat-soaked ginger hair back from her face, trying to remember how she got to this place...wherever 'this place' is...

She wracks her mind, looking for whatever shreds of memory might help her find her way to the present moment.

The last clear impression is pain.

Oh God, it was the worst pain she had ever felt in her life. Waves of agony that tore through her body with ever beat of her heart. It was like her vein were filled with broken glass, the hsards ripping her apart, shredding her insides as they flowed from her mouth, coughing and puking up blood. It had dragged on for an eternity before blessed darkness had finally taken her.

That doesn't help her remember how she got here, though. Fuck.

Maddie presses her hand to her forehead, trying desperately to recall something else -- anything else.