"Hah... haa... haah..."
Ryan's voice came out in desperate pants as he tossed and turned in his bed, his teeth grinding together while beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. The sheets beneath him were soaked, twisted around his thrashing body like restraints he couldn't escape.
"Haah... haah... haa..." His breathing was ragged, each breath a struggle as if he were drowning.
"No... I... no... please... no..." The words tumbled out between his gasps, his eyes squeezed shut so tightly that lines formed around them. He was trapped somewhere between sleep and waking, fighting a battle in a world only he could see.
"RYAN! WAKE UP! RYAN!"
"HAAAA!" Ryan's eyes snapped open as he shot upright in bed, his hands automatically flying to his chest as if checking for wounds that weren't there.
