18
VOICES.
There were voices in my head, hollow and echoing.
I was lying on something soft that held me in a half-sitting position, head elevated. My legs and body felt cool.
I couldn’t move.
Why were there so many people around me? Why couldn’t they shut up?
I tried to open my eyes, but there was a sharp light above me that hurt my eyes.
Someone close, a woman with an unfamiliar voice said, “He’s waking up.”
I tried harder and a bright slit opened. Ouch, that light was really sharp.
“Can you turn that off?” My tongue felt like rubber and probably didn’t produce the words as I wanted.
The light remained on.
Someone lifted me under my shoulders and held a cup to my mouth.
I drank.
Water. Cool and soothing. There was a splashing sound around me. I could feel more water lapping a
