Chapter 1
Waking Up is Hard to Do
CORMAC
Waking up from a coma isn't like the movies promised me it would be.
It feels like I've been trapped under a surface I can't see, wading through darkness, begging for some semblance of life instead of the drifting nothingness.
And yet, when I wake, I wish I hadn't.
Coming out of it, my brain throbs endlessly, wishing for more oblivion rather than face the bright lights and tormentingbeep, beep, beep,of the fucking machine keeping pace with the dragging of my heart.
Someone speaks in quiet tones, but my mind can't decipher what they've said. Maybe I never will again. It'll just be me and my thoughts for the rest of my miserable life.
Attempting to open my eyes takes every bit of energy I have, my lids scraping apart painfully, only to shut again. If I thought the lights were bright before, with my eyes open, they're completely blinding.
As clarity finds me, the scent of bleach and the sterile white walls clue me in to where I am.
A voice speaks again, cold and detached, and I catch a handful of words I barely understand.
Brain.
Injury.
Awake.
Time.
Am I awake?
Am I even alive?
Unfortunately, I must be. I think if I weren't, it might fucking hurt less.
"Cormac," the disembodied voice speaks again. "Mr. Fomori, can you hear me?"
Another voice, gruff and harsh, mumbles something under his breath.
I groan, the only acknowledgment I'm currently capable of.
Sandpaper scrapes against my lids again as I strain against the exhaustion to force them open.
"Mr. Fomori, welcome back to the land of the living."
Another pathetic groan slips from my lips, the small effort grating my throat. Christ, I need some water.
The doctor remains blurry in my vision, standing over my bed in his sterile white coat, looking over me and my chart with mild interest.
"We weren't sure we'd be seeing you again," he comments.
"Frankly, many of us were hoping we wouldn't," that same gruff, unfamiliar voice comes from the far corner of the room.
"Officer, if you can't be respectful, you can't be in here."
Officer?
"It's lieutenant, actually."
