The Beginning

It all started with a dizzying swirl of black and white spirals, a disorienting descent that sent the world spinning. Time and space seemed to stretch indefinitely. One moment, Isla was confined to her own room, the next she was whisked away to a strange land.

Panic coursed through her veins, struggling to make sense of her surroundings, memory a swirling fog in her mind. Isla was cast adrift in a barren wasteland, confused and alone.

When she attempted to get up, an excruciating pain radiated from the right side joint of her shoulder and neck, restricting her movement.

A searing agony radiated from the wound, a silent scream trapped in her gritted teeth.

With trembling fingers, she gasped at the dripping red liquid, staining the foreign earth a macabre red, she desperately clutching the source of the injury.

"What in God's name happened..." Her voice cracked, stifled by a whimper.