The pain punched me in the gut in way of greeting. My head thrummed, and each breath sent stars of pain shooting through my abdomen.

“She’s waking up,”� a deep voice said. “Go faster, but don’t rush it.”�

“You’re contradicting yourself,”� a tense female voice snapped irritably. Sparks of pain crawled methodically across my stomach with almost hypnotizing rhythm. “Just hold her still.”�

“Whaa –”� I tried,...