A group of heavily intoxicated individuals gather in an alleyway at dawn

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It was a hot summer morning when I stumbled out of the club into the alleyway, arms wrapped tightly around my best friend Emily's waist. We had been partying all night, and judging by the way we were both swaying back and forth like pendulums on a string, it looked like we'd consumed our fair share of liquor.

Emily was always the life of the party, with her dirty blonde hair sporting bright red streaks that seemed to glow in the morning light. She was wearing a pair of yellow jeans and a green bra underneath a plain white t-shirt - not exactly what you'd call "dressed up," but it didn't matter. In this moment, we were both beyond caring.

I looked around us at the rowdy group of guys who had decided to join us for one last nightcap in the alleyway. There was Jake with his messy brown hair and crooked grin; Mike, our quietest friend, who seemed like he'd rather be anywhere else but here; and finally, there was Alex - Emily's new boyfriend, if you could even call him that.

Alex was a tall, lanky guy with an easy smile and a bad habit of drinking too much. He had been trying to charm his way into Emily's heart all night long, but judging by the way he kept stumbling over his own feet, I wasn't sure how well he'd done.

Emily giggled drunkenly in my ear as we stood there swaying to some unseen beat. "I think we're going to be okay," she slurred, her words barely intelligible over the sound of our own ragged breathing.

But just then, Alex stumbled forward and wrapped an arm around Emily's waist - too tight, if you asked me. "Hey, sweetheart," he said, his voice hoarse from shouting at the club earlier that night. "You good?"

I shot him a dirty look over Emily's shoulder. Yeah, real original, I thought to myself.

Emily blinked up at Alex, her eyes glassy and unfocused in the morning light. "Yeah...yeah, I'm fine," she mumbled back at him.

I looked around us at the other guys - Jake was laughing and high-fiving Mike; even I couldn't quite tell what was so funny about this particular joke. It all seemed like a blur of noise and color to me, though. The only thing that mattered right now was making sure Emily got home safely.

But before we could do anything else, the ground beneath our feet began to shift and sway - an effect of the cheap beer and tequila that had been flowing throughout the night.

Emily's grip on my waist tightened as she stumbled forward - I felt her body tense against mine like a wild animal caught in a trap. "Whoa...whoa," she muttered, trying to regain her balance.

And just when it seemed like things were about to get really ugly...

The world went black.