Tssssssssssssh.
A sound like the hiss of a snake found its way through my unconscious mind and pulled me back to the waking world. I cracked a swollen, scummy eye to find myself still lying in the middle of the floor. I was still shirtless, but someone had peeled off my shoes and covered me with a heap of blankets. It was late and the windows were dark. I raised my head with an effort and searched around for the sound.
I didn’t have to look far. Gorey stood over me with a bag of rock salt under his arm which he was pouring out onto the carpet in a wide crystalline line as he walked a slow backward circle around the place where I lay. A spray of granules hit me in the face and I winced, feeling the brush of salt on my eyes.
“Ow, f**k!”
“Oh, hey—you’re up!” he said. “Yo! Guys! He’s up!”
