After a few moments he could open his eyes a tiny crack and squint out at the sights around him, though he still dared not take his hands from his ears lest the horrible high-pitched shrieking drive him insane. The light everywhere was still brilliant, as though he were looking directly into the sun at midday, and his eyes watered from the pain. The glare made the colors around him seem pale and washed out, and the scene appeared two-dimensional and unreal. Nothing had a sharp edge to it; everything blurred into everything else, making the details hard to establish in his mind.
There was movement all around him, indistinct shapes flitting from place to place in constant turmoil, as though nothing in this hellhole remained put. The beings who darted about looked vaguely human, but their bo
