I groaned as I gradually regained consciousness. Buzzing pain drilled into the sides of my head. My eyes felt like they were getting pressed into my skull. Take the headache of staying up all night studying and then taking three final exams in a row, multiply that pain by five, or maybe even ten times. It was so bad I just wanted to chop my head off.
First thought: How long was I unconscious?
Second thought: Lucky no one tried to kill me while I was out.
Flickering yellow light from an old bulb above greeted me as I tried to open my eyes. “Shit, that’s bright,” I said, my parched throat making my voice sound like I had sandpaper for vocal cords. I immediately closed my eyes again; the lights weren’t blindingly bright, but they made my head and eyes hurt.
Waiting for my eyes to rest, I tried to feel around to have a clue where I was, but my body was too numb and weak to move and would barely follow my thoughts. It reminded me of the time I stupidly forced myself to do a heavy leg workout day after millennia of not going to the gym and I couldn’t feel my legs the next day, only this time, it was my entire body that was sore and out of commission.