I followed Sunni down a long, narrow hallway with a low ceiling that made me feel claustrophobic, and I fiddled with my earrings as a way to relieve my anxiety. She's my mom, she won't hurt me, she's my mom, she won't hurt me. I repeated the mantra until I had myself convinced.

Almost.

She still made me nervous. Maybe she was an unstable sociopath too? She did seem to change emotions rapidly.

She flung out her arm and shoved me into a room before I could stop walking. I fell onto the floor. "Mom?"

She slammed the door shut and bolted it from the outside. I was starting to worry. If I could sweat, I would be dripping. "You are here for reconditioning. Sit in the chair." Her voice crackled through a speaker in the ceiling, and I supposed she was in a control room. I shakily got to my feet and walked over to the chair, examining it carefully. "Sit!" she barked, and I jumped, stumbling back into the chair and sitting abruptly. Instantly, bands of ice sprouted from the chair, strapping down my ankles and wrists, searing my skin. I howled in pain.

I could almost hear Sunni's twisted grin. "Begin."

Immediately, my screams of torture echoed off the room's walls, making my reconditioning much, much worse.