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First Brian heard the wind, then the ocean, or what he thought was the ocean, except it sounded as though wads of cotton were shoved in his ears. Someone was laughing and Brian was cold. Lying on his side, he couldn’t feel his hands and couldn’t lift himself up. It felt as though his tongue had been cut from his mouth. He blinked, but it was dark. Flashes of dark red shuttered across his field of vision. He felt his breath as every exhale blasted back into his face. The red flashes increased in frequency and size, growing larger, as though something was cresting to the surface in a pool of black water. Waves of red emerged from the black, soundless. It was coming closer to him. He tried lifting his head and something, someone, held it down. The force was gentle yet firm. Brian couldn’t
