Chapter 154

• As I lay there, my mind struggled to push through the thick fog enveloping my thoughts. I attempted to move, but it felt like my body was trapped in a limbo between consciousness and unconsciousness. The dull, rhythmic thumping in my head combined with my inability to open my eyes induced a wave of nausea that washed over me. A relentless jarring sensation kept slamming against my back, and pain lingered just beneath the surface, ready to spill over and elicit a scream. I could feel it, yet I couldn't let any emotions rise to the surface. Focus, I thought, but the clarity eluded me. Tears threatened to spill from behind my closed eyelids, as colors flashed and spun dangerously in my vision. I needed to throw up. With a tentative motion, I turned my head to the side and opened my mouth, but no sound emerged.
• The world continued to collide against me—a sharp object battering my back and then slamming into the back of my head. An intense awareness crept in; my hair was being yanked away from my scalp with an undeniable force. "Breathe," I urged myself, "breathe and focus." After what felt like an eternity of struggling to calm my breaths, I finally managed to pry my eyes open a fraction. Andrew loomed above me, his hands tangled in my hair.
• His mumbling barely registered as coherent speech. A vacant expression swam in his eyes, suggesting he had slipped deep into madness. A wince escaped my lips as the pain surged through me, and I attempted to gain a firmer grip on the ground beneath me with my heels. Strength eluded me for now, but I sensed the fog beginning to lift from my brain, and the haze before my eyes was beginning to clear.