The music reached its sweet spot.
My fingers hovered over the switch.
Then—
The saw roared to life.
I smiled beneath the mask.
It was time to begin.
???
I spent over two weeks working on her limbs and skull. The amputations required clean cuts and full cauterisation. She needed time to heal—time for the nerve endings to settle, for the inflammation to subside. I monitored for infection, thrombosis, and any signs of tissue rejection.
Skin grafts would follow in another two weeks.
I couldn’t risk adhesion failure.
No, she needed to remain under until the worst of the pain response was over.
The cortical feedback loop had to reset.
The mammary implants could wait.
Her body needed to stabilise first.
Chapter 3
Lena
My lips were dry and my head was pounding. I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids were too heavy. When they finally flickered open, everything was blurred. My eyes felt drier than my lips. Slowly, as my vision cleared, I saw wooden beams above me.
I tried to turn my head, but it didn’t budge. So I tracked my eyes instead.
I was in a hospital room. All white—except the doorway, which was a pale grey. Something had happened.
An earthquake?
A car accident?
I blinked again.
No…
It wasn’t a hospital recovery room.
It was an operating room.
Was I paralysed?
My work.
The school.
My pupils.
Did they know?
