Considering the bandage on her head, this ski-mask filled torture chamber is where Cora spent the two months she blocked out before appearing at a Poughkeepsie detox center aimed at low-income addicts. As an employee points out in "Part III," her head wound was already "stitched up" by the time she arrived, meaning the "Part V" flashback is a peek at her healing time. How Cora actually got the abrasion is unknown, but it’s connected to July 4th weekend. Considering the fact Cora wasn’t a junkie before the 2012 holiday, but was made to seem like one in the two months following it, the most likely explanation is whoever is behind the ski mask conspiracy repeatedly shot up her arms with heroin as an explanation for the time she disappeared. That way, no one would ask any questions about where she was, why she couldn’t remember anything, and why she has a massive gash on her head. This seems especially possible since Cora is petrified of injections in "Part III," screaming, "Not my arms!" when jail orderlies attempt to tranquilize her following a bout of night terrors.