The Confrontation

"Everyone stop! Move away!" The muffled bark of a command pierced the heavy blackness. It sounded like someone shouting underwater, distorted and distant. I blinked, dragging my eyelids up against a crushing weight. The blurry silhouettes above me slowly sharpened into focus. My skull throbbed, every heartbeat a hammer against my temples, but the suffocating darkness retreated.

A woman’s face hov