A sharp, stabbing pain jolted through my skull, a cruel reminder that I was alive. It took an agonizingly long moment to pry my eyes open, and even longer to adjust to the sunlight streaming relentlessly onto my face. As my senses began to stir, fragments of last night clawed their way into my mind. A sudden surge of panic gripped me, and my hands shot up to my neck, frantically searching for bite marks. None.

Relief came second to the realization of my surroundings. I lay on the edge of a ...