It was around mid-morning when Bitterroot felt like she’d been hit with a sledgehammer, a fire extinguisher stuffed down her lungs and fired, a lit match jammed up her nose, and a balloon popped inside her eardrums. The suddenness of it all made her stumble to a stop. She screamed raspily, doubled over, and hacked until she thought her lungs were coming out. And considering her spit looked blackened, she didn’t think that was as out-there as she wanted it to be. Her legs ached and her heart pounded in her ears and she was hungry. She figured she was alive again, and being alive stunk.