The first thing Lena felt was the hum. It came from far and wide and nowhere — downward , steady, like the deep vibration of an unseen machine. But it was n't mechanical. It was organic. metrical. Alive. She opened her eyes to darkness. Not the kind that comes with unrestricted lids, but the kind that has weight. A darkness that presses back. Her lungs pained as though the air itself defied her. She sat up — or study she did but her hands did n't meet the ground. They sank into commodity soft that palpitated noiselessly beneath her fritters. It felt like skin. She pulled her hands back, heart forging, and the darkness sounded to ripple in response. " Where — "