Slowly, Max's eyes began to flutter open. He had expected it to be difficult, bracing himself for pain to shoot through his body. But instead, it felt more like he was trying to control someone else's limbs, like he had been placed in a body that wasn't quite his own.
His arms, his legs, they responded sluggishly at first, unfamiliar in their movements, but gradually, they began to cooperate.
Even without opening his eyes fully, he knew where he was. The sterile scent of antiseptic, the faint humming of machines, it was unmistakable. He was in a hospital.
And he remembered. All of it.
Everything that had happened came rushing back to him like a nightmare he couldn't shake. After going through all that, he wasn't too surprised to find himself in this place.