Keman knew that the doctor was speaking again, but the pressure in his head had gotten even stronger and little things like “listening” didn’t seem so important right now. It felt like his skull was being crushed and his brain squeezed down to nothing. As the light got brighter, the pain got worse. It spread to other parts of his body, to every single bone and joint until he thought his skeleton was going to jump out his body completely.

At some point, right around the time that the light got brightest, he fell off the table entirely and lay curled up on the floor. Everything hurt. His face, his hands, his back; he couldn’t stand the pain and the pressure. Keman grit his teeth to keep himself from screaming—he still had presence of mind not to allow the woman doing this to him that particular pleasure—but he couldn’t help himself.

I want to die. Please, just let me die.