I followed closely the young woman(?) who had come to my rescue twice in one night, doing my best not to fall into fear and despair and the hysterical panic that threatened me with every passing moment. For the idea I'd lost my mind had long since died, as had the reasoning this was all some kind of dream, induced by my father's rage and subsequent beating.
No, I had to face reality, as messed up and completely unbelievable as that reality was for me in this moment. I had somehow found myself lost on a strange world populated by devils and treated as if I were something I didn't understand. But the burbling power inside me, shifting and growing with each breath, told me this was all very real indeed.