Act II — Chapter 15
15
Pain enveloped Mike like a cocoon, robbing him of all sense of time or direction. He felt like he was floating in the dark womb of some alien beast. He sat propped up in his hospital bed, covered in gauze, with Moshen and Natalie at his bedside keeping him awake. The pain sent his mind reeling, almost like a drug. The agony was borderline euphoric.
“It’s your endorphins kicking in,” Natalie said. “They work on your brain like morphine. That’s where the word ‘endorphin’ comes from, you know — ‘endogenous morphine.’ It’s basically natural heroin. Your body’s protecting itself. Making the damage easier to bear.”
“Natalie…,” he asked. “Why are you being so nice to me? We just met.”
“Yeah, but I… Uh… You seem pretty cool,” she said, blushing.
A shadow on the other s
