Prologue
The war was over. It didn’t matter because they had each other. The war had brought them together. Elinor, a sweet English island girl. Klaus, the German kid who faked his age to join a war he never believed in. There was hope on the horizon and they had spent that last night in the fields, watching the stars on clear night. And one of those stars had gotten brighter, and closer, and closer until…
They woke up in a land unfamiliar to them both. Bewildered they ran through a forest filled with strange noises. Chirps like a birds, but not quite. Klaus felt compelled to dig a hole as if knowing something was buried beneath. Shock registered on their faces.
A loaded pistol.
They continued running through the forest until Elinor stopped for a breather, placing her sweaty palm against a tree.
A devilish snarl emanated from the thicket and Elinor was pulled backwards—her face a picture of horror—her arms and legs forced to follow the trajectory that her body was violently pulled in.
Klaus reached out but the bush swallowed her, followed by a sickening crunch and snap that signalled the end.
He raised the pistol and pressed the barrel against his temple.
’In God we trust.’
But God had abandoned him.
Razor-sharp teeth emerged from the bush, Elinor’s bloodied blouse hanging from its mouth. A snarl taunted him.
Anger washed over fear, and Klaus pulled the pistol away from his head, pointed it at the monster and fired.