Chapter 2

                                      .

                                      ..

                                     …

                                   “H…”

                                  “He…”

                                 “Hey…”

                                  “HEY!”

                  “HEY! Miss Sinclair, wake up!”

Eyes fly open to the blinding sun. The air is thinner than the winds of Egypt. More metallic than ancient. That hoarse voice as familiar as the day I left it. His tears pounding the skin above my brain. Sand beneath my palms feel drier than the Sahara desert… wait. Sand?

“Miss Sinclair, are you alright? What happen to you?” The masculine voice hitting higher pitches as the questions roll out.

The man cradling me within his dry hands. The one who competed with me on all of our digs. He now sits here shivering in tears amidst this metallic desert hellhole.

“Wha—“, my words unable to limp along my dry voice box quick enough.

“My god, thank you. You’re alive!” Frets turning over into relief in his voice. Nevertheless, not without questions soon after. “Lutèce, what happened?”

“Huh?” As I’m stuck between worlds, “A land. A medieval land. Silver grass. Cypress and cherry blossoms everywhere.”

“What are you talking about?” His joy twists into agony. The sight of his rival instills the need to ask, “Where did you go?”

His questions go in one ear and out the other. All I can think of is the memories of the initial horror. The encroachment of that dreadful snapping sound.

Yet, I cannot stop. “Fields of dead. Death upon death. Bodies within bodies. Humans that weren’t human. Creatures that weren’t animals. Where’s the castle? Where’s the knight? Where am I?”

Nevertheless, his reply falls on deaf ears. Sight is becoming fuzzy once again. The coarseness of the sand softening to what cotton-balls would feel like. His mouth is moving, yet only the muted vibrations are reaching me. The shine of the sun fades into a shade darker than night. Why? No. What is happening to m—

*Snap*