TWENTY-ONE
Oliver struggled to open his eyes. Through tiny slits that formed a narrow horizontal view of his surroundings, Oliver observed amorphous figures dressed in white coats hovering on both sides of a bed. He attempted to focus his vision with little success. When he reached toward his eyes to rub them open, he battled a resistance that prevented a successful completion of the effort. He felt tubes entering the veins of both arms. With shaking fingers, he struggled to adjust a breathing mask. Something felt tight upon his head. He forced his arms past the resistance that encumbered his movements to touch a thick wad of bandages circumnavigating the occipital mound to his forehead. He looked around the room. He scoured the faces of everyone inside, searching for a familiar
