The drive home was quiet, each of them lost in their own thoughts, the strange events at the lake still weighing heavily on their minds. The usual laughter and light-hearted banter seemed to have evaporated, replaced by a tense silence that hung in the air like a thick fog.
Shoto glanced at Elizabeth, her face soft in the dim light of the car. He wanted to ask if she was okay, if she'd felt the same strange unease he had, but the words felt too heavy, too unspoken for that moment.
As the car finally pulled into the driveway, the sun was beginning to set, casting a golden hue over everything. The evening was still warm, the air crisp with the scent of fresh grass and earth.
"See you tomorrow," KJ called out as he grabbed his bag and headed for his front door, his voice a little too cheerful, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.
Elizabeth turned to Shoto, offering him a small smile. "You okay?"
Shoto nodded slowly. "Yeah. I just… I don't know. Something feels off."
Elizabeth's brow furrowed, but she didn't say anything more. She reached over, squeezing his hand gently before stepping out of the car. Shoto followed her, still thinking about the flicker he'd seen in the woods, that nagging sense that they were being watched.
The house felt unusually quiet when he stepped inside, the soft hum of the evening surrounding him. He grabbed a quick snack, the motions automatic, his mind still racing. Something told him tonight was going to be different.
After a while, Elizabeth had texted him a simple message: "Goodnight, Shoto. Rest easy."
He smiled at the words but couldn't shake the unease that lingered in his chest.
The evening passed in a blur of half-thoughts, and before he knew it, the warmth of his bed was drawing him in. He closed his eyes, hoping to drift off to sleep, but sleep didn't come easily.
Shoto stared at the ceiling, his thoughts restless. What had happened at the lake? What was that feeling in the woods?
Finally, exhaustion took over, and his mind quieted. He fell into a deep sleep, but it was a sleep filled with strange dreams, dreams of shifting landscapes, dark shadows that seemed to follow him, and voices whispering just beyond his reach.
Shoto's eyes fluttered open, and for a moment, he thought he was still dreaming. The room he was in was unfamiliar, bathed in a strange, soft light that didn't quite match the usual warmth of the early morning. The air was thick with a scent he couldn't quite place — a mix of fresh earth and something floral, but not quite like anything he'd ever smelled before.
He sat up, heart pounding in his chest. The bed beneath him was softer than his own, its fabric unfamiliar. Confusion washed over him. Where am I?
Suddenly, his thoughts raced back to the night before. The lake. The strange feeling of being watched. The way everything had felt… wrong, even though they'd all tried to brush it off.
Shoto swung his legs over the side of the bed, his feet meeting cold stone instead of the warm carpet of his room. The walls around him were made of rough-hewn stone, and the light filtering in through the small window was not the usual sunlight — it was more golden, almost ethereal, casting long shadows across the room.
He heard a noise behind him. Turning, he found Elizabeth sitting up in the bed next to his. Her eyes were wide, her breath shallow, as if she, too, was trying to process what was happening.
"Shoto… where are we?" she whispered, her voice filled with uncertainty.
Before he could answer, the others started to stir. Pate blinked up at the ceiling, his hand rubbing his forehead as if trying to shake off a bad dream. KJ, always the first to regain his composure, jumped up from his own bed, surveying the strange room they were all in.
"This isn't… This isn't my room," Braydon muttered, rising from a bed that looked far too different from his own. He looked around, eyes narrowing as he took in the surroundings. "What the hell happened last night?"
Shoto stood up, feeling a strange pull in his chest, like an invisible force was calling him toward the window. The group followed him as he moved toward it, each of them more confused and panicked than the last.
They reached the window and looked outside.
Where there should have been the familiar town of Antwerp, with its quiet streets and sleepy houses, there was nothing but rolling hills, covered in lush, vibrant grass. Strange trees with silver leaves stood in the distance, and the sky above them was a deep shade of violet, unlike any sunset or sunrise they had ever seen.
"What is this place?" Elizabeth murmured, her voice trembling.