Charlie
It started like a dream wrapped in silk and shadow.
The world around me shimmered like water disturbed by stones, everything bathed in liquid moonlight that seemed to pour from a sky I couldn't see. The air itself felt alive, breathing against my skin with an otherworldly pulse.
Then came the voice—fragile as broken glass, desperate as a dying breath.
"Help me... please, someone help."
It drifted through the mist like a siren's call, wrapping around my heart and squeezing until I had no choice but to follow. The sound was so raw, so utterly broken, that tears sprang to my eyes before I'd even taken a step.
I wasn't afraid. Not yet.
How foolish I was.
My bare feet sank into earth that felt wrong—too soft, too cold, like stepping into grave dirt. The trees around me stretched
