Nora's POV
My name echoes through the darkness, pulling at my consciousness like a rope dragging me from deep water.
I struggle to lift my eyelids, but they feel weighted down with lead. Cold seeps into my bones, making my fingers throb and my toes go completely numb.
The voice calling my name sounds both distant and intimate. I draw in a shaky breath, but the simple act sends sharp pain through my chest. It would be so much easier to just let go. To stop fighting.
You need to wake up now.
Footsteps crunch through dried leaves somewhere near me, and the nauseating stench of sulfur fills my nostrils. A gentle wind brushes against my hair, while the sharp crack of breaking twigs echoes all around.
The forest. I'm somewhere in the woods. But the reason escapes me completely. My memory feels like it's been wiped clean, and honestly, I don't want to remember. I just want this agony to stop.
Open your eyes, Nora.
