I wasn't sure what to expect when I opened my eyes but the blazing light that greeted me was definetely not it. I instantly shut my eyes and brought my shaking hands up to cover my face. I was vaguely aware that I was trying to shout the word "no" over and over again, but I was producing almost no sound. My mind was reeling...was I back in the room? Had the voice tricked me? Why couldn't I speak? Had those bastards done something to my voice?

I felt hands clasp mine and I dimly heard the voice speaking to me in a soothing but firm tone.

"JC! It's ok. It's alright. There's nothing here that can hurt you!"

"The lights..." was all I could manage to whisper as I ground the palms of my hands against my eyes.

"The lights?" the voice asked. "JC, the lights can't hurt you. You just have to give your eyes a minute to adjust to them. Here, trust me," said the voice as I felt my hands being lowered away from my eyes. I kept them shut tightly and held onto the warm hands that grasped mine for dear life.

"Trust me JC," the voice said again.

I wanted to trust it so badly, but didn't it know that I was afraid? Despite the turmoil and doubt in my mind I nodded my head.

"Good. Now open your eyes slowly. Very slowly. Give them time to adjust."

I followed the voice's directions. I found that the light was still bright, but that cracking my eyes open a bit at a time made it bearable. Before I knew it, my eyes were wide open and I was staring up at the ceiling. I sighed in relief when I saw there was no barbed wire.

"Now, look at me JC," the voice said gently.

I swiveled my head slightly as I turned towards the voice. I let out a slight gasp when I realized I was finally looking at the owner of the voice, the person who had guided me back. It was a woman. She had short brown hair and warm brown eyes and a gentle smile. She was pretty, but in a very ordinary way. Before this whole ordeal began I would not given her a second thought had I seen her face in a crowd. Now I thought she looked like an angel.

She looked down at me and said, "Welcome back JC. Why don't you take a minute to look around?"

I wrenched my eyes away from her and looked around the room. It was a white room, but it was most definitely not the hellhole. It was so far from it I actually felt a smile cross my face although it left quickly. I hadn't smiled a smile of true joy in such a long time that my face didn't know how to sustain it. I kept looking and saw that there were bright colorful pictures on the walls. Beautiful flowers and balloons and cards adorned a table next to the bed that I was laying on. There was even a window. I craned my neck to look outside as best as I could, but my position wouldn't let me see much. I lay back in the bed as I tried to take it all in. Despite the fact that I was thankful I wasn't in the white room anymore, I also wasn't anywhere that I recognized and I began to feel the familiar fear creeping up my spine.

I turned back to the woman with the fear in my eyes. I struggled with words as I sought to ask her where the hell I was and what was going on. But again, no real sounds came out of my mouth. All I could manage to do was make soft strangled noises. This only increased my fear and I began to breathe heavily as I felt myself spinning slightly out of control.

The woman with the voice reached for a plastic cup with a tiny straw that sat on a table next to her. She brought the straw to my lips and lifted my head slightly as she urged me to drink. I took a small sip and was instantly rewarded with cool water. I hadn't realized just how parched and sore my throat was until now. I drank greedily until she pulled it away saying, "That's enough for now. I don't want you to overdo it." I watched the cup go back to the table sadly.

I licked my lips and tried to speak again. This time I found enough of a voice to ask, "My voice?" as I brought a hand up to my throat.

"You haven't used it in a while, so it's a little rusty. It will come back soon, I promise," she said as she smiled.

"Where am I?" I asked as my eyes flew around the room once again. I could hear the fear in my voice as I asked the question. She must have heard it too because she placed a hand on my forearm and stroked it gently.

"You're in Westhaven. It's a specialized care facility right here in Orlando."

"How long...?" I trailed off. My throat was beginning to hurt again.

She looked confused. "How long have you been here?" she asked.

I nodded, grateful that she had understood.

She looked at me sadly as she answered, "You've been here for just over seven months."

"Seven months!" I cried. My voice was on the verge of breaking again and my throat was on fire but I didn't care. "I don't remember any of that...what the hell happened to me?" The slight prickling of fear was turning into full blown terror now.

"It's ok JC. It's ok," she said in her soothing tone as she again took hold of my hand. "Just breathe. Slow and easy, take deep breaths. That's right. In and out."

As she repeated the words over and over I found myself wondering if she had any idea just how magical and calming her tone was. Before too long I was responding to it and felt my breathing and my heart rate returning to normal.

"Better?" she asked.

I just nodded, not trusting my voice to speak.

"I promise I'll explain everything and answer all the questions that you might have. And I'll bet you have a lot." Big smile from her. "But first I have to notify the doctor so that he can examine you."

She let go of my hand and moved as if to leave. I quickly brought my hand up and grabbed her arm.

"Please don't go yet," I pleaded. My sandpaper voice was shaking as well as the hand that held her. Hell, all of me was shaking. "Please tell me, I need to know what's happened to me."

I could see her hesitating. "Well, I really should get the doctor. It's correct procedure..."

"Please," was all I could manage to say as my voice gave out on me again.

I looked into her eyes and tried to project my feelings to her. Please, please don't leave me alone. Please tell me why I've lost seven months out of my life. Please comfort me. Please. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes as I continued my silent plea. God, let her understand...let her see that I need her and that I need to know.

She looked out the door and sighed. "I'm probably going to be in deep trouble for this...but...I guess the doctor can wait," and with that statement she smiled at me and wiped the tears that were now flowing silently down my face.