Heat pressed down on me like a suffocating blanket. I tried to move, but my body felt sluggish, my head pounding with every shallow breath. My lips were dry and cracked, and when I tried to open my eyes, the light stabbed at them like a thousand tiny needles.
Where was Alex?
The thought hit me suddenly, cutting through the fog in my mind. He had been here—his sharp voice and the feel of his hand steadying me as we had stumbled through the subway. But now...nothing.
I forced my eyes open again, my vision swimming. The station around me was dimly lit, the flickering bulbs casting strange shadows on the walls. People huddled in groups, their faces pale and hollow, but Alex wasn't among them.
"Alex?" My voice came out as a whisper, barely audible even to me. I tried to sit up, but the fever pulled me back down, its weight like iron chains.
