My hands instantly fly to my eyes as I adjust to the sudden change in the environment surrounding me. The air is thick with the scent of unfamiliar flowers, and all around me are vibrant banners, people moving about in strange outfits, and... blue trees?

My hospital gown clings to my legs as I take cautious steps toward the nearest tree. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen—its emerald-green wood is streaked with silver, and delicate blue buds cling to the bark, just on the verge of blooming. I reach out, drawn in by its beauty, trailing my fingers along the rough surface. The texture is sharp yet strangely tender, like it’s alive beneath my touch. For a moment, I feel hypnotized, unable to look away.

Then, an earsplitting shriek tears through the air.

I spin around, my hair whipping against my face. My breath catches as I witness a fight breaking out in the middle of the street. A creature that looks like a grotesque cross between a crow and a human screeches, its beady black eyes locked onto a person with unnaturally long, pointed ears. The long-eared figure draws a double-edged sword in one swift motion, its silver blade glinting ominously—its tip dark, wet, and glistening. My stomach tightens. That’s not rust.

I need to leave. Now.

Turning on my heel, I sprint in the opposite direction, the wind slamming against me, making my hospital gown billow. A single drop of water lands on my forehead, cool and sudden. I glance up in confusion—then the sky erupts into a torrential downpour.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, can this day get any worse?" I mutter, rain drenching my hair and stinging my skin. Gasping for breath, I duck beneath a towering tree, pressing my back against its trunk. I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to collect myself, but before I can form a coherent thought, my feet suddenly lift off the ground.

Panic lurches through me as I’m yanked into the air, a net tightening around my body. The world tilts wildly, rain dripping through the woven strands, soaking me further.

“Come on! It was just sarcasm, I didn’t actually want things to get worse!” I yell into the void, my voice swallowed by the storm.

The sky darkens further, storm clouds thickening overhead. Dangling helplessly, I force myself to take deep breaths, pushing back the humiliation of feeling like some wounded animal caught in a trap. My mind races—why would someone set a trap here? Was it meant for me, or did I just stumble into something meant for someone else? My pulse pounds in my ears, but exhaustion dulls the edges of my fear.

I might as well try to get some sleep and think of a plan when I’m better rested.

Shifting as best I can in the uncomfortable net, I close my eyes. A bitter laugh escapes my lips. Who falls asleep in a trap? But I can’t fight the weight pulling me under. My body aches, and the rain's rhythmic drumming lulls me into unconsciousness.

I slip in and out of awareness, the cold seeping into my bones. My fingers twitch, grasping at nothing. Just as my mind begins to drift, a sudden pressure slams against the back of my skull.

Pain explodes in my head.

A sharp gasp escapes me as I crumple onto solid ground. Disoriented, I try to sit up, but something rough presses against my face, covering my eyes. My breathing quickens, the scent of damp earth filling my nose. The pounding in my head drowns out my thoughts.

Footsteps crunch against the ground. Then, a voice—smooth as oil, chilling as ice—hisses close to my ear.

“Finally got her.”

A wave of dizziness crashes over me. My limbs refuse to move. Darkness claws at the edges of my vision, and then—

Nothing.