Good God, I hurt.
I was stiff and aching from the crown of my head all the way down to my heels. It took me a few seconds to remember what happened. Why I was sore. Then it hit me.
He gassed me while I was climbing.
The smell. That sudden and absolute certainty that I should hold my breath. But too late. It was fast.
He was fast.
And he was watching me. There was no question about that now.
I sat up slowly, gingerly. I reached up. Traced the goose egg on the back of my skull with my fingers. That asshole obviously didn’t care if I hurt myself. I could’ve broken bones from a freefall like that. Given myself a concussion. A brain bleed. Fractured my spine. There could’ve been any number of bad outcomes, but he was willing to risk them. Risk his sick plan, but for what?
To keep me away from the ceiling.
That had to be it.
I’d explored before. More than once actually, and hadn’t gotten drugged for it. That told me there was something up there that I needed. Or could use to my advantage. Whether a water source or a way out or even something to use as a weapon, it was definitely something I needed. And definitely something my kidnapper didn’t want me to have.
That meant I had to find a way to get back up there.
I had to find a way to get whatever he didn’t want me to have.