There was no awareness inside the pod, but there was a searing pain as he was yanked out of the cocoon. The first real awareness, besides the pain, was the ground under his back. Then the jab of a needle thrust into his chest.
He surged up from the ground with a sharp intake of breath. Eyes wide open, he looked around the cave with a mixture of confusion and fear. His heart throbbed in his chest, and felt like it was going to explode right then and there.
It didn't, and he slowly started to come down off the fear induced high as his pulse began to regulate and awareness expanded beyond the tunnel of confusion. "Liz?" he croaked, his voice hoarse and gravely from months of unuse.
But like a dream, she was there. She was the one who pulled him out of the depths of nothingness. He blinked at her, as if he was uncertain she was real. Was this merely a fevered dream? He didn't know yet.