Anjali was not sure what had happened. One moment, she was crouched in front of her computer, staring at the screen, hand clutching the mouse tightly and the next, she was face first in a field of some sort.
Anjali spluttered, spitting away some of the grass that had gotten into her mouth. She pushed herself up to her feet. Where...was she?
It was frighteningly dark. The moon was a tiny sliver in the sky and the light it gave was paltry. An owl suddenly hooted and flew away, rustling the leaves of the branch it was on, and Anjali barely kept herself from screaming.
Had she lost time? Had...had someone broken in, kidnapped her and dumped her in the forest? It seemed ludicrous, but here she was, in some godsforsaken hinterland, where seconds ago, she had been in her room! It made no sense!
She looked around, clutching herself. It was pitch dark. She could barely make out the outlines of the trees around her. Insects chirped, making the atmosphere even more eerie. There didn't seem to be...
Wait. Was that a light? Anjali peered through a bush. Yes! Far away, there was definitely a flickering light of some sort. A fire? Maybe some hunters or nomads or something?
Just eager not to be alone in this terrifying forest, she rushed through, at least until she realized that that meant getting scratched and cut by everything around her.
Taking her time this time, Anjali approached the fire slowly. It seemed like some sort of camp. She could make out tents and...a dog was barking, very heavily. Wait...was the barking getting closer?
Before she knew anything more, something massive smashed into her and she tumbled to the ground.
Anjali spluttered, spitting away some of the grass that had gotten into her mouth. She pushed herself up to her feet. Where...was she?
It was frighteningly dark. The moon was a tiny sliver in the sky and the light it gave was paltry. An owl suddenly hooted and flew away, rustling the leaves of the branch it was on, and Anjali barely kept herself from screaming.
Had she lost time? Had...had someone broken in, kidnapped her and dumped her in the forest? It seemed ludicrous, but here she was, in some godsforsaken hinterland, where seconds ago, she had been in her room! It made no sense!
She looked around, clutching herself. It was pitch dark. She could barely make out the outlines of the trees around her. Insects chirped, making the atmosphere even more eerie. There didn't seem to be...
Wait. Was that a light? Anjali peered through a bush. Yes! Far away, there was definitely a flickering light of some sort. A fire? Maybe some hunters or nomads or something?
Just eager not to be alone in this terrifying forest, she rushed through, at least until she realized that that meant getting scratched and cut by everything around her.
Taking her time this time, Anjali approached the fire slowly. It seemed like some sort of camp. She could make out tents and...a dog was barking, very heavily. Wait...was the barking getting closer?
Before she knew anything more, something massive smashed into her and she tumbled to the ground.