The phone woke Simon. Not the alarm but the ringtone. It jerked him out of Morpheus’ realm with a start. When he opened his eyes and realized he was not in his bed, he panicked. He couldn’t remember going anywhere, and he always slept in his bed, it was a Rule. Why was he not in his bed?
Then he recognized his living room. At least he was at home.
The phone continued to ring.
He tried to sit up, but his limbs were entangled with something. Someone, he corrected himself. Before he could freak out about the fact that he was in some stranger’s embrace, though, he recognized Ralph’s features. It made the situation a little more bearable.
It took Simon a few precious moments to gain complete control over his body to sit, snake himself out of the sergeant’s strange embrace—how had that happe
