the knife’s blade being wrenched out of me, and with that I felt the ground come up to meet me.

The world vanished. Silence and dark blindness ruled in the kingdom of my mind only for a moment, it seemed. It was almost as though someone let the air back into the room, and I gasped at its sudden presence. Without opening my eyes, I listened. People were walking, all around me, a zipper sounded, squeaking wheels. I was out for more than just a moment. Something was weighing down my chest, something warm, and when I managed to squint in the barrage of painful light in the ceiling, I found myself still in the garage, with new people mixing with the police that had come to meet my killer and myself. Something blocked the glare of the light then, and I had to focus to see the face of Ron Sumner.

Lifting a heavy arm, I waved him away and sat up. My body felt heavy, as though it had been submerged in lead and left to dry. A dull pain lingered in my chest, and when I put my hand up to feel it, I discovered a pooling of blood that made my shirt stick to me. Ron grabbed my hand and hoisted me up, and for a moment the room spun. “You all right, Daren?” Ron asked.