The taste of metal in my mouth. My ears are ringing. I can feel a large knot on my head, and my hand comes away wet and sticky. I’m lying on a cold steel bed. I sit up and my vision spins in retaliation. The room is dark and large. Shadows and shapes hide at the edges of my vision.

The angles are harsh. Functional. Industrial. Clinical.

Except there. In the farthest corner. Something curved and soft. It’s distinctly… feline. But large. Very large. It must be my mind playing tricks, but I’m convinced enough that I’m frozen where I sit.

Two eyes open, flickering gold and red. They are trained on me. Unblinking. Fearless. Undeniably intelligent.