In a desperate effort, the man fought to turn over, thinking if he could just get his legs underneath him, he could push against the lid with his back. The space was much too small though, and he fought to turn his overweight, sweat-soaked frame, first to the side and then face down. Making this last movement, he collapsed face down onto the small mattress and found himself unable to breathe, as if someone was strangling him. Extremely nauseated and shaking uncontrollably, he clawed at his throat, his fingers finding the two hoses connected to the mask over his face. After rolling over, they'd become tightly wrapped around his neck, and he couldn't get them loose. The more he struggled, the more they tightened. Unable to move his head due to the python-like coils around his neck, he frantically kicked out in all directions. Almost immediately, he felt a tremendous pain in his left leg as it connected violently with an angled section of the wall. Despite the pain, he continued kicking uncontrollably until he realized his left leg wasn't striking anything and the pain grew tremendously with each kick. There was a part of his mind that knew he had to stop kicking because his fractured bones were rubbing together just above his ankle, but that part wasn't in any way in control. His head pounded from the lack of blood to his brain, and there was a growing pain in his chest which swiftly moved up into his shoulder. He tried to scream, but no sound came out. His strength faded as he fought to get his arms and legs underneath himself to push with his back, but he collapsed against the mattress again. He was facing the left wall, and he could see out of a small window situated at floor level. The view was filled with hundreds of identical containers, aligned in neat rows. Each of them, he knew, contained another member of his team. He hoped desperately to see just one of those containers open, as his should have done. As consciousness faded, he knew he would never see it happen.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Her eyes opened slowly, but she couldn't focus. The light was extremely bright, and it was hurting her eyes. She fought to clear her head, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember where she was. She closed her eyes and rested.

She must have fallen back to sleep because when she woke again, the light was almost as painful as it had been before. She fought to remember. She was inside a container of some kind. It was familiar, but she couldn't remember why she was here.