Chapter 5

The cold prickling sensation surrounded me, digging into my skin, my vision blurred, and before I could find my voice to scream, I was falling.

The floor crumbled and gave out beneath me, revealing nothing but darkness as I fell. My stomach turned, my eyes watered, and yet I still couldn't scream. It's as if the air was being sucked from my lungs. The only light came from my skin, as it gave off a faint glow. Even with the light coming off of my skin, I couldn't see anything. It felt as if I were falling forever. The first sensation I had, in what felt like years, was impact.

It felt as if I had landed in water, the way it feels jumping off a diving board for the first time. It couldn't be water though, it felt too thick, too tangible. I spread my arms out and felt the thick substance in my fingers. I continued to fall, slower this time, as I made my way deeper and deeper through the thick, dark, water.

A red light began to illuminate everything, but it showed nothing of what I had just fell through. It was as if I had entered a void, everything and nothing surrounding me. I tried to turn, to face this red light, but my body wouldn't move. I was stuck sinking, my back towards the red light that threatened to engulf me.

Finally, I was surrounded by the red light. It became so bright I had to close my eyes. The substance became thinner, and I began to fall faster. While I was focused on the terror I felt, a small part of me wondered, where would I land?

My body hit the bottom with a thump. I could hear strange sounds all around me. Rustling, thumping, scraping, whispering. The whispers sounded different, more tangible.

I opened my eyes slowly, worried that the red light would blind me. When my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I noticed the red light was coming from what looked like the sun. But, there was no way I was on earth anymore.

Is this where the shadows come from?

I was laying on my back, in what looked like a forest. A forest at dusk, devoid of all color. Sitting up, I take in my surroundings. Trees, bigger than any on earth. Their dark branches, thicker than my body, winding and twisting in different directions. The bases of the trees were as big as cars, some were bigger. The trees had strange grooves in them, some intricate carvings, others had chunks carved out. The most unnerving part was the silence. There were no crickets, no birds, no wind. Everything was still. The only sounds were rustling and cracking in the distance. I looked down at my hands, my skin continued to give a faint glow. The glow grew stronger until the area I stood in was illuminated, revealing the colorless trees as big as houses, and the forest floor covered in grey dirt and black grass. When I heard the voice call my name, finally finding my voice, I screamed.

"Corinne, stop screaming." A firm voice commanded.

I jumped to my feet and spun around, standing behind me was a boy. His skin was pale with fine cracks running down his face. His hair and eyes were so dark they almost seemed black. When he smiled, the skin on his face stretched back, making him look both friendly and menacing.

"Who are you?" I shouted, clenching my fists to hide my shaking hands.

"That doesn't matter. What are you doing here, Corinne?" The boy asked in a harsh voice, his smile fading.

"Here? What is here?" I yelled, my voice an octave higher. Something about this place was wrong. Every bone in my body was telling me to run, somethings coming, you're being hunted, get out of here.

"You don't even know where you are." The boy said incredulously, putting his hands over his face.

"Of course I don't know where I am!" I shouted at the boy, unable to calm myself down.

"Corinne, you need to leave." The boy warned, removing his hands from his face as he stepped towards me.

"Leave! I don't even know how I got here!" I spat, taking a step away from him.

"Listen to me Corinne. Calm down. You need to leave this place, now. You can't do that while you're freaking out." The boy pleaded, almost sounding scared.

"How can I calm down? One minute i'm in school, and the next i'm falling, then i'm here!" I shouted back at the boy. I hardly noticed when his hands grasped my wrists. I looked down when I felt the gentle prickle of the cold.

"Corinne, you need to leave before you're stuck here." The boy said firmly, looking into my eyes. Our faces were inches apart. I could feel the cold radiating off of him. The rustling and cracking of branches became louder.

"Where is here?" I said quietly.

"You don't want to know. Leave Corinne. Leave and don't come back." The boy said, never once taking his gaze away from my eyes.

"How do I-" I began to ask, but was quickly cut off.

"LEAVE CORINNE. NOW!" The boy shouted in my face.

And with that I was falling, again.