Tom came awake with a start. Something was clamped over his nose and mouth. When he started to reach to remove it, he found his arms were bound at his sides. Still, he was warm now and he could breathe easily. Without moving and barely cracking his eyes open, he tried to look around.
He was in a small room, very bright and clean, all silver and white. He seemed to be restrained on a padded platform or divan. At his feet, he saw the back of a man who seemed to be clad a one-piece white garment. The man’s hair was dark, nearly black, and he seemed short, although there wasn’t much to which Tom could compare him to judge.
In a moment, the man turned around. “You’re coming around, aren’t you? I can sense it. Good, that means no serious damage, I hope. You were a fool to get so high with no o
