A roaring filled my ears, as if I was being pulled through a vortex at stupendous speeds. Strange visions and disjointed images flickered rapid-fire through the swirling void surrounding me.
Flashes of memory exploded like bursting supernovas - Luke's warm smile, our cozy apartment in New York, the first inklings that something was wrong as his calls and absences grew more frequent. Then more disturbing glimpses ripped through - muzzle flashes in darkened rooms, panicked shouting in foreign tongues, a blinding light that whited everything out.
I tumbled helplessly through this maelstrom of sensory overload, unable to orient myself or make sense of the meaningless jumbles assailing me from every vector. Just when I felt I couldn't endure another moment of the overwhelming onslaught, a ne
