The world nothing but heavy air and ringing, as far as Elphias could tell. The weird feeling didn't pass immediately like it would if he was rousing from a night's sleep. The process was slow and his mind was sluggish. His pulse was behind his ears and rhythmically throbbing. He tried to process what was happening and realized he couldn't lift his head, but he didn't panic or gasp for air -- nothing moved. He felt like he was floating on the pillow beneath his head and he could see the darkness of the bedroom. His chest rose and fell as he breathed but it was out of his control.

Elphias despised waking dreams. Each time one occurred, his mind was convinced that he was dead and this out-of-body experience would never end.

Several forgotten minutes passed before Elphias found himself able to breathe on his own -- he was actually waking up, now. His ears were still ringing and his body still felt heavy. The first thing he realized, though, was that he was not in his own bed. Garbled voices and muted sounds kept a steady, but quiet din above the shrill pitch of his own ears. The room smelled clean -- cleaner than clean, actually -- and the air was cold.

Elphias breathed-in deeply and felt his body tense in response to the pain. He flopped over a hand and felt more pain. Well, this was odd.

His mouth was parched and difficult to peel open. Licking his lips did him no good, his tongue was just as dry as his throat. As the ringing in his ears subsided, he became more aware of his body and its surroundings. His bleary eyes opened a crack before sliding shut again; the light of the room stung. He tried to remember where he could be, but nothing was coming to him. He felt someone move along the side of the bed.

"What happened?" Elphias hoarsely croaked. He let out a soft groan -- it even hurt to talk.