38. Blind Chaos

Tanner's world suddenly and violently exploded into consciousness, the experience jarring and disorienting. The initial sensations that greeted him were a mixture of piercing pain and a nauseating sense of disorientation. It was as though he had been flung into a realm completely foreign to him. Where every nerve ending in his body was on fire and his mind was lost in a terrifying whirlpool of chaos.

The surroundings were utterly unfamiliar, dim and blurred, like a dream rapidly fading into oblivion. Tanner tried to make sense of what was happening, his mind groping for some kind of anchor in the storm of sensations, but his body was unresponsive. Locked in place by some unseen force.

Faces swam above him, indistinct and shadowy, their features twisted and distorted by his confused perception. He could hear voices, soft and distant, but their words were muffled and indistinct, like echoes from another world.

A firm hand pushed him back down, the touch both comforting and confining.