Woke up in a giant vacuum.

The machine hum between my ears was unbearable. Darkness lurked all around. Through the auditory debris, I could hear things breaking…things falling. Small animals — somehwere — were scurrying.

A small beam of dusty light shot through a crack in what must have been a window. I scrambled to my supposed feet with much effort. Try as I would, I could not get closer. The piercing light grew white hot on my forehead. My eyes would not close. Were they already closed?

Vertigo sensation cast my eyes downward. The shoddy floor beneath me shook in the dimly indirect downcast light. The dust was rising — choking my sensability. Again, I labored toward the source of hope. My limbs, previously useless, broke into action. I found myself tearing through wreckage — unseen rats chewed my bare ankles and toes.

Voices mumbled outside — faint whispers just too far away. My hands tore through cardboard debris. The dust and desperation increased two fold. The cracked window, my portal of hope, deflected my blows with surprising resilience. But, my head bore through the soft wall surrounding.