The unfamiliar bench turned out to be a terrible decision, and I knew it the moment I opened my eyes. For several seconds, I couldn't figure out why everything felt wrong. Then reality settled back into place one uncomfortable piece at a time. The concrete beneath me was harder than it should have been, the angle of the bench had forced my shoulder into a position no human body was meant to tolerate, and the city sounded different from this side of town. Somewhere nearby, a delivery truck rattled past before stopping with a groan of brakes, followed by the metallic crash of a dumpster lid slamming shut hard enough to make me flinch. I sat up slowly, immediately regretted the movement, and pressed one hand to the side of my neck as pain traveled down into my shoulder.
The worst part was th
