I gasp when my eyes fly open, hauling breath into my lungs as if I’ve just broken out of a pool of water.
I immediately sit up, panting, staring around at my unfamiliar surroundings. And my first thought, absurdly, is that I’m in the dream state –
Because this – this is not the dorm room that I was in with my friends ten seconds ago.
No, as I look around I realize that I’m in the woods now. But it takes me a few moments and blinks to realize that these are not the dream woods in which I meet Luca – but real woods. And it’s dusk, which is absurd, because it was just night time, but why…
My instincts come back to me in bits and pieces and I curl my legs beneath me, ready to get to my feet as I look warily around, trying to figure out what the hell is going on here. My body feels sluggi
