From Surgipelago, the Beach Surgery encyclopedia
Pressure
Leif's shoulder blades burn across red desert. The pressure builds as they drive deeper into the interior, the truck's suspension creaking. Katita hands him pills; he refuses them. Leif: “I can feel them coming. The wings. I felt them last time. Every loop.” Katita's jaw tightens. She has been watching his shoulders since the clinic, running her fingers along the skin when he sleeps, checking for the seam that marks the threshold. At a service station, a mechanic emerges who is also the police officer from Newcastle. Leif sees him doubled: two versions occupying the same space, speaking in unison. Mechanic: “You can't run the loop backwards.” The pressure peaks. Leif's breathing becomes rapid; his back arches against the truck seat. Katita pulls over and holds him down, pressing her palms against his shoulder blades as if she might hold back the inevitable. When she removes her hands, there are bloodstains on her first-aid kit. The episode closes on Leif's face: terrified, and ready.