Knock. Knock. Knock.
The sound echoed through the black void like hollow bones clattering in the dark.
Elara!
The voice was distant, muffled, like it was underwater.
Elara, wake up!
I spun in the emptiness, searching for the sound, searching for anything but this crushing dark. My arms flailed in the nothingness, desperate to grab hold of something solid—
Knock. Knock. Knock.
This time it was louder, closer—like someone pounding on a door just beyond where I could reach.
Elara, please!
Tyler? Was that Tyler?
A weightless panic clawed at my chest as the void began to twist and pulse, sucking me down, down, down. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t—
ELARA!
My eyes shot open.
I was on the ground. Gravel bit into my palms. And I was screaming—high, raw, and uncontrollable. My legs kick
