Chapter XLII: Regaining Consciousness

The first thing Salvatore registered upon regaining consciousness was the pounding against his forehead, the ache having him scrunch his eyebrows together before groaning. Then everything hit him all at once: the strong smell of the disinfectant, the sheets beneath his fingertips and the needle in the back of his hand, the mask over his mouth, and the sweat beading his forehead with the light bleeding in through his closed lids.

Struggling to open his eyes, he grunted at how heavy they felt and how difficult it was for him to get his body working again like a computer rebooting. It took him a while, but eventually, he managed to open them, bringing his hand up to shield them from the brightness, a figure looming over him suddenly, their faces blurred and their voices muffled. Pulling the oxygen mask off him, he tried to speak, but his throat was parched and he couldn't manage to get a sound across.

Apparently, the p