Johnny staggers to a halt and crashes down again, gasping for breath. No. No no no. This is bad, this is the kind of trap that gets set in the worst of his nightmares. He doesn't take Topher at his word, too ready to believe he's being toyed with again, a mouse caught under a cat's paw.

"Goddammit!" he yells, his voice raw with fear and anger. "Let me go! I want to wake up!"