But in the face of my determination is the hindrance of my blurred vision and limp body. I may be alive, but I don't know the extent of the damage she inflicted. Try as I might, my voice won’t cooperate to allow me to speak. And my muscles are about as useful as broken bow strings with my exhaustion weighing me down. I try and fail again to move myself, the monitor echoing my growing frustration as I come to terms with one undeniable truth.

Ivy thought she could be rid of me so easily. All this time, Mercedes was right. Ivy had lured me in and made me weak. She made me see something in her that never existed. Something worth saving. Now I am left to stew in the starkness of clarity as I process her betrayal from a hospital bed.

A grunt of pain leaves my parched lips as I pat around my hand and yank the IV out. I’m determined to free myself from these confines, but within moments, two sets of hands are on me, forcing me back into bed as I try to fight my way out. I might as well be fighting Goliath.

There’s nothing left in me.

And despite my fit of silent fury, they've got the IV secured in a new location within seconds, pumping a sedative into my veins.

"Welcome back." The distorted voice greets me as my eyes flutter open and focus on the ceiling.

My vision has improved, and now I can make out the details of the room around me. It's dark, cold, and apocalypse-proof, judging by the thick walls. So, I know I must be at one of the IVI locations, but I’m not certain which one. Several medical facilities are located throughout the city and hundreds more around the country. Then there are the possibilities of worldwide locations, which leaves me to conclude I could be in any of them.

I spent more than my fair share of time staring at similar walls during my recovery from every excruciating operation when they tried to piece me back together and make me whole again. I swore I would never come back to a hospital. I would never again set foot in one of these rooms. Yet here I am.

I'm not certain how much time has passed since that first day when I woke to the voice beside me, informing me I was in the care of Dr. Rosseau. Since then, I have had incremental improvements in my strength, vision, and muscle control. But it has been difficult to determine to what extent since they have kept me sedated most of the time. I know because every time I attempted to move, I couldn’t, and while my thoughts were screaming loud, I could not give voice to them.

I am certain they suspect I would tear them limb from limb to get out of here, and they would be right.