Paddy O’Reily returned slowly from the dark place. He opened his eyes, and his first conscious thought was that it was still night, wherever he was. He tried to lift his head. A pain, white hot and instant, pierced his temple; a pain on top of the dull throb he recognised as the after effects of his over indulgence the night before. Or was it the night before that? What day was it? What night was it?
He closed his eyes and waited a few seconds for the wave of pain and accompanying nausea to subside. Paddy was no stranger to the effects of a hangover. He had, he figured, experienced more of them than most people. But, this was something more than just another hangover. It was different, somehow; strange and frightening, like no hangover he ever experienced before. Something was wrong, terr
