MINUTED LATER…

When I opened my eyes again, something had changed. The wind—it wasn’t the same anymore. It felt colder now, heavier… damp, as if the world had sunk into mourning.

The car was gone.

Panic crawled up my spine.

Beneath me, the ground was wet. Uneven. Mud pressed against my skin like rot, and when I shifted, something sharp—twigs? Stones?—dug into my back. Dead leaves cracked beneath my weight.

Where the hell was I?

My head pounded with every heartbeat, my skull too ...