Darkness.
An endless void that pressed against Damon's consciousness from every direction as if the world itself had been swallowed whole. For a moment he could not feel his body, could not hear a sound, could not even tell whether he was breathing, and the silence around him felt so suffocating that it seemed to tighten slowly around his chest.
Then, faintly, light began to seep into the void.
At first it was only a blur, thin streaks of yellow and white sliding across glass like distant stars dragged through water. Shapes formed slowly, the haze thinning as the roar of an engine grew louder and louder until the world finally settled into focus.
A car.
It was racing through the city at frightening speed, the night outside the windows stretching into long ribbons of light as streetlamps and buildings rushed past in a dizzying stream. The engine vibrated violently beneath the frame, and the road hummed beneath the tires as the vehicle cut through the empty streets.
