(Hailey's POV)
DAY 1
Unconsciousness.
Mumbling.
Cold… so cold.
Where am I?
I can't see anything. Darkness everywhere, thick and heavy, pressing against my eyes. A strange cold touch crawls all over my body, like something is searching for me.
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"Mom?"
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"Dad?"
My voice sounds weak, distant, as if it doesn't belong to me anymore.
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Is anyone here?
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I want to go home.
I want warmth.I want something familiar.
Everything feels wrong. My body feels heavy, too heavy to move. My head hurts—sharp, stabbing pain, like it's splitting open.
Light!!!
Blurred light!!!!
I blink slowly.
Trees. Fog. Endless branches stretching in every direction.
Why does it feel like time has stopped here?
Am I lost? Did I wander away during camping? Where is everyone? Why am I alone?
A sudden pain crawls over my skin.
Confusion!!!!
Aah!
It feels like thousands of ants biting me all at once. Burning. Stinging. My hands—why do they look like that? The color is changing. My feet are swelling.
It must be the cold.
It always happens to me in winter.
But… why am I wearing my school dress?
I need to go home.
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Home…
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Where is my home?
My head throbs again. Darkness pulls me under.
Sudden consciousness.
A howl echoes through the forest.
Wolves?
No… it can't be
My stomach twist painfully. I'm hungry. Desperate.
I opened my backpack with trembling hands, searching blindly.
A sandwich.
Relief crashes into me.
Thank God.
I try to eat—but something is wrong.
I can't feel it.
I stare at my right hand.
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It's there… but it isn't.
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No strength. No warmth. No connection.
I try again. Slower. More carefully.
Nothing.
The sandwich doesn't exist for me.
A sob escapes my throat.
Why can't I eat?
Why can't I feel my hand?
Somewhere deep inside me, a terrible thought forms—but I'm too scared to accept it.
I forced myself to stand. My legs shake, but I move. Walking. Walking for miles, or maybe minutes—time doesn't make sense here.
I saw a river
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Thank goodness. Water.
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I kneel and dip my left arm into the water. A sharp cut slices my skin, and blood rushes beneath the surface. Red spreads like ink.
I panicked!!!!!
I started running .
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I was scared
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Too sacred !!!
Prayers spill from my mouth between broken breaths.
"Please, Lord… save me. I need you. I'm calling you… please…" I hide inside the hollow of a huge tree, curling into myself.
Repeating again and again-
"This is a dream"
It has to be a dream!!!!
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I started slapping myself
"I have to wake up," I have to wake up, " I have to wake up!!!!!
My whispers started turning into sobs
"Please… someone wake me up." And I cried, cried and cried
Tears soak my dress as sleep takes me again.
The pain was endless!!!!