The Points Between - Chapter 29

Absconditus

Matthew woke from the sound of the rattling in this chest.

It was a long, drawn out rasp, the kind that old smokers have, and it ended in a fit of coughing so intense that his lungs burned as he drew breath. He instinctively covered his eyes with his arms, trying to keep out the sharp, piercing light of the sun. His eyes felt heavy and swollen. His eyelashes were crusty and felt glued shut.

He groaned softly, voice trailing off into a miserable croak as he quickly ran out of breath....