My first need was to expel the contents of my stomach the moment consciousness returned. I struggled to keep the nausea in check, but found it difficult. My entire body was on fire, or felt that way at least, every pore gaping wide for relief. I gasped and panted for air, rolling over on something soft, wishing I didn't have to touch anything around me. The very brush of fabric on my skin was enough to rekindle the sensation of flames and crisping skin.
A pain like I had never known tore through me, rising and falling in waves of agony I could only writhe and whimper through as my body's torment went on and on. I was certain many times I was about to die, that I would never, could never survive such anguish, such terrible and endless agony.
When it began to ease I couldn't bring myself t
