"Wa... up..." calls a weak and croaking voice in the distance, the words seemingly bouncing off my mind as a heavy blanket of sleep clings to my addled mind. I feel something tap at my face, withered and leathery it weakly smacks my cheek as though to coax me while failing to hit much harder. I let out a soft groan, my dry mouth and mounting headache leaving me wondering just how much I had drunk the night before.
However, try as I might I simply couldn't remember the night before. With each attempt to dredge up the memories I feel them slip from my mental grasp, everything beyond the mid-afternoon sitting in my apartment with a book simply falling away like grains of sand through parted fingers.
"Mr...ughes..." calls the voice again, the croaking of the elderly male sounding more stern than before. After a moment I hear the clicking of heels of some hard floor, the sound growing closer before suddenly coming to a stop inches away from me. Suddenly, I feel a palm strike my face with no small amount of force as my face begins to sting with an intense heat and pain.
