Consciousness returned all at once.
It wasn't gradual or gentle, but like being thrown upward from the bottom of an icy lake.
Blake gasped, or, at least, he tried to.
Something rough was stuffed between his teeth, strapped tightly around the back of his head. The sound died in his throat, turning into a muffled, panicked noise.
His eyes flew open.
'It's dark—'
No... not dark.
He couldn't see.
He was blindfolded, which made him jerk his arms instinctively.
But nothing, he couldn't even shrug his shoulders, since his wrists were tied so tightly behind the chair.
And as he tried to get up, he got to know that his ankles were bound, too.
"...Mmph!"
He pulled harder, but the ropes only dug mercilessly into his skin, they weren't budging in the slightest.
For a split second, his mind went completely blank.
Then reality crashed into him.
'I was taken.'
His breathing accelerated immediately.
The gag made every inhale feel too small.
Too shallow.
Not enough.
