Slowly, I drifted back to consciousness. As I did, I became aware of the intense pounding in my head from the blow, which had also left an unpleasant metallic taste in my mouth. My vision blurred, and I fought to stay awake and not slide back into the darkness as before.
I tried to lift myself up but failed. The second attempt met the same resistance. It was as if my body was slow to realize I was awake.
Pains from those two pitiful tries to get up moved all over my body in agonizing slowness. Snippets of the moments before the blow trickled back slowly. Lucy. I swore to deal with her accordingly when I got back, if I ever got back.
Since I couldn't gather the strength to get up and inspect the room I was in, I did so while lying down.
I noticed I was on a soft rug that spread across t
