Take Me Back to Eden

Fear. Unyielding, terrifying, animal fear overtook him. His body flushed with heat as, his muscles tensed as he gargled frantically underneath the towel, his body fighting in pure desperations to stay alive. He tried in vain to cough the water out, only for more to take its place. Though his eyes were squeezed shut, the darkness behind his eyelids seemed to grow deeper as the sounds of scars questions began to slowly fade. His brain began to shut down as the lack of oxygen forced him closer and closer into unconsciousness.

And yet strangely, that feeling started to become welcome, as though it were a comforting embrace that promised him safety, if only he would just let go. Though it felt odd, Michael could not find any good reason why he should not let go, if only for the promise of peace. If it would only take the pain away. He left himself relax and stopped fighting, a sense of peace settling over him as he felt his mind begin to slip away.

Suddenly pitch black gave way to blinding white and the very painful sensation of someone pushing on his chest.

His fear and his will to survive came crashing back as he began to vomit, water spilling from his mouth. Michael sucked in one massive breath of air and them promptly began to hack and cough as he involuntarily curled into a ball. It took several more moments of frantic breathing before all of his senses began to return in full.

The first thing he noticed was that the basement was no longer dark, the whole room awash in bright light. Next he noticed that his hands were no longer bound behind his back as they had been just a moment ago. Then came the sound, at first a dull thumping noise next to his ear that, as he turned, realized was from someone tapping him on the side of the head.

He slowly turned over, the whole room spinning dizzily around him, and saw a new face he had never seen before. It was mottled with green, brown and tan scales, with little slits for a nose, a forked tongue flicking out at him.

"Hey, hey, that's it. Look at me dear. Can you look at this little light for me?" a feminine voice rang out, thought it echoed in his ears. His eyes swam in and out of focus but he tried as hard as he could to focus on a little white light. It took several moments for it to become clear, but he nodded his head once it was.

"Okay that good. Why don't you go ahead and lay down for me alright, we're going to get you some help," she said as she slowly guided him to lay back flat on the ground. She turned and began shouting instructions that he did not understand to someone behind her.

The last thing that Michael remembered seeing was a blond-haired woman in a long, black pencil skirt wearing shades walking towards him before kneeling down and raising a hand to his face. Then unconsciousness finally took him.