The pit of Avery’s stomach tensed. The men who found her were fighting. Like actually trying to kill each other. Hell, that one man, the man with the blue eyes, had killed at least two people right in front of her. Then he touched her, and she felt so calm and comfortable that she fell asleep.
Avery felt a sense of dread in the pit of her stomach.Was I abducted? Am I being held somewhere?A rising sense of panic washed over her. But it made no sense that she would survive the bear attack andnotwake up in a hospital. Or wake up being transported to the hospital.
She knew she needed to see what was outside those tent doors. As she stepped off the bed again, she saw her backpack lying against the canvas wall near the bedside table.
Her phone. She needed to check her phone and try to figure out where she was. This felt like a safer way to gain information on herlocation than walking out that tent door. Her phone had been in the side pocket of her backpack. She knew she had shut it off after taking pictures on top of Quartz Mountain with Morgan.
Gingerly, she walked to the backpack. Her wounds were treated and cleaned, but she still couldn't lift her right arm. She had broken her shoulder, and someone immobilized her arm against her body.
Her phone was right where she left it.If I’ve been abducted, they didn’t search my gear,Avery thought. She powered on her phone and sat back in bed. She was so tired and so light-headed.
The phone buzzed and lit up the dim space. No service appeared in the upper left corner of the phone. Avery wasn’t surprised. She hadn’t had reception at Quartz Mountain.
She had one last hope. The Find My Phone app. She and Morgan shared their locations with their parents before they left on the trip. Avery pressed on the app, but it wouldn’t load. The map on the screen was a blur. Avery felt a rising sense of panic as she let out a gasping breath.
“Oh God. Oh God. What is happening to me?” All the awful horror movies she’d seen and accounts of women being abducted or murdered in the woods flashed through her mind.
Her mind raced as she leaped to her feet, giving way to the adrenaline coursing through her body. She took several quick steps toward the door of the tent before the room began to fade. She was going to pass out. Just as the thought entered her mind, everything went black, and shecollapsed to the ground.
As she opened her eyes, she saw she was once again tucked into the fur-covered bed. She heard a soothing feminine lilt coming from the other side of the tent. Footsteps approached and Avery looked up to see a woman at her side. She was not like any woman she’d ever seen. Tall and thin with a beautiful face, she could have been a runway model. But her skin made Avery’s breath catch in her throat. It was covered in an intricate pattern of lines and whorls, just like the men on the mountain. Like theirs, the pattern seemed to move slowly on its own.
The woman continued to speak in a gentle voice, but Avery couldn’t understand a word of what the woman said.
“Who are you?” Avery said. “Where is my sister? Why have you taken me? Please let me go. I won’t tell anyone about you.” Avery’s heart skittered in her chest. She felt like a frightened animal trapped in a net, and wanted nothing more than to run for safety.
The woman continued walking toward her, all the while talking in low, soothing tones that Avery could not understand. As she approached Avery, she continued speaking, but pointed her light blue eye’s gaze toward the ceiling of the tent. She then reached out and touched Avery’s shoulder. The whorls on her hands shifted before she removed her hand and gave Avery a friendly smile.
“I am happy to see you are awake. I have been worried that you would not regain consciousness. Even your emotions were in a state of stasis,” the woman said.
Stunned, Avery stared at the woman. “You speak English? Where am I?” Avery stammered as she pulled back from the woman’s touch. Now that she saw the woman closer, she realized the intricate pattern was under the surface of her skin. Up close, the woman was even more strikingly beautiful. Like someone who had just the right amount ofplastic surgery and fillers to make her face the image of perfection without looking too fake.
“I do not speak Eeglesh. Mother Althea granted my prayer to give you the ability to speak and understand our language. You are in the nation of Latiah within the world of Aeritis. My name is Kyla.” Kyla smiled at Avery. Her smile was warm and welcoming, and seemed to go right up to her bright blue eyes. Those eyes. They were identical to those of the man on the mountain. The man who had plopped a head into her lap.
Avery’s head pounded, and she once again felt light-headed. This woman claimed that she was in a different world. What the hell kind of messed up people did she end up with?
“What do you mean, the world of Aeritis? Are you trying to claim that I’m no longer on Earth? How did we leave Montana?”
Kyla responded immediately to the panic on Avery’s face. She held a tall clay cup toward Avery’s hand. Her face was close to Avery’s. As they made eye contact, Avery realized how similar they were to the last eyes she’d looked into.
“Your eyes… That man… they’re the same,” Avery whispered. She held the cup in her left hand, but didn’t drink from it. Her heartbeat pounded. Cold sweat soaked through the unfamiliar nightgown.
“What is happening to me? Why did he take me? Please, just let me go home!” Avery shouted, making Kyla flinch.
“Just rest. Drink. You have been injured, and I believe your body has experienced some shock in the… travel to our realm,” Kyla said as she looked across Avery’s shaking body.
Avery stared back at Kyla.Her realm?This experience was like some sort of bad fantasy movie.
“It is only water. You are safe now. Please, you need to drink and rest,” Kyla insisted as she held out the cup.
Reluctantly, Avery drank. The water tasted like pure mountain spring water. Cold and sweet. “Thank you,” Avery said as she handed the cup back to Kyla.
“I know you are feeling overwhelmed and afraid. But know that I won’t harm you. I swear on my soulmate’s life I will not hurt you. But I know you are wondering what has happened to you. My brother found you on Quartz Mountain. You appeared in a clap of light and sound. He brought you to me. Something gravely injured you when you arrived. I treated your wounds and have worked to heal you. I washed you and changed you out of your bloodied clothing. You have been asleep for three days since he found you,” Kyla explained while Avery stared at her in total shock.
“Three days?! What about my sister? Where is she?” Avery said, voice shaking.
“I do not know. You were alone when my brother found you,” Kyla replied, giving Avery a look of genuine concern.
“P-please. I must find Morgan. She could be dead!” Avery pleaded with Kyla, clasping her hands.
