Saved by the bell.

STEPHEN'S POV

By the time I came to consciousness, there was an apparent dull ache on my wrist — both of them. My fingers felt numb, and they struggled to move. I felt them twitch, digging into the linen of the bed I seemed to be on. My nails scratched the fabric irritably, the sound getting drowned out by the insistent beeping that I just noticed. I took in a shallow breath, letting the puff of air put shortly after as I struggled to make my eyes open.

My eye lids fluttered pathetically, closing and opening up again rapidly and exposing my eyeballs to short bursts of light. I settled for squinting, as that seemed to be the only action that didn't cause me pain at this moment. My head was pounding, and I was starting to think this headache was a manifestation of a generational curse of some sorts. Jesus, who did I offend?

Squinting seemed to help a bit, and soon I was able to open my eyes just enough to take a look around at my surroundings. I was lying down on a bed — but I had al