STRATAGEM Chapter 12

TWO WEEKS EARLIER…
Vanderberg Air Force Base

SO COLD…
Darkness ebbed, yielding to a hazy luminescence—blue, then white.
Muffled sounds: Voices.
Breathe!
Sabine gasped, drew a deep breath and wheezed. Her heart raced like a car with brakes engaged then suddenly released at max-RPM.
Trying to clear her vision, she blinked rapidly.
Lying down.
Normal orientation…gravity.
The cold surface.
Cold air blowing on her face.
She shuddered, sat up.
Other than the sheet that had just slipped off her bare shoulders, she had no clothes on. She grabbed it before it fell away, and covered herself.
Her vision cleared.
That smell…chemicals, disinfectants.
She was sitting in some kind of medical exam room.
“She’s up,” someone murmured behind her.
Every joint in Sabine’s body ached. She tried to turn around but found her neck and back too stiff.