an excerpt from the prologue

She was around five foot, pale skin and sunken cheeks. Her eyes were rimmed with dark black bruises, mixed with the dark circles of insomnia. The female’s hair hung limply from her head, cascading down to her lower back, some strands stuck together from the congealed blood, a result from a wound on her scalp. Purple – black bruises littered the skin that just seemed to hang from her bones, blood stains on various patches of bare skin. She was barefoot, and was draped in a jacket that engulfed her thin body, hanging down to her thighs. The female opened to speak, wincing as the cut on her lip opened again from the force.

“Can I use your phone?” She croaked out, voice hoarse and shaky as her thin arms wrapped around her body, fingers clutching tightly to the jacket.