Ella gasped, biting her lip to keep from crying out. The pain was blinding. It throbbed in time with her heartbeat. Scrub, she told herself. Just scrub.

But the room was starting to tilt. The refrigerator seemed to stretch and warp. The heat was a physical weight on her shoulders, pressing her down, down towards the tiles.

I just need to rest my eyes, she thought. Just for a second.

Her arm gave out. The toothbrush skittered across the floor. Ella slumped forward. Her cheek hit the wet, chemical-soaked tile, but she barely felt it. The world went black, and the only sound was the distant laugh track from the television in the other room.

Chapter 2: The Soldier’s Arrival

The silence in the kitchen was heavy, broken only by the shallow, ragged breathing of the child on the floor.