He heard… moaning.
He heard… a pained and agonized groaning.
But how? He was under water! Wasn"t he? Yes… He was somewhere in the cold depths of a black, muddy lake… No, he was rising now; he was racing to the surface. Wait, it wasn"t a lake. It was space. Not outer space. Not physical space. But a space. What"s the word? Figuratively, that was it. He was floating… in a space in his head. He was… racing toward consciousness.
Then… geez! Someone screamed! It was a short, startled bleat… and then it was gone; it was cut off as quickly as it erupted. It scared the living hell out of him and… Wait… He suddenly realized it was him! He had screamed. He couldn"t catch his… He was breathing quickly now, panting like an overheated dog, quite involuntarily and, as consciousness became cognizance,
