It was hard to breathe.

Nathan sat up from his prone position, his eyes stinging, trying to process the information around him. It was a lot of green. A sickly shade of green bathed his eyes, and his nose burned slightly. He coughed, trying to stand up. Where the hell was he? He tried to wipe his eyes, to get a clearer picture. There were hills all around him, and dead trees dotted the landscape. The sky was an odd shade of grey. He tried to get a bearing on where he was, but as soon as he took a step, the ground shifted consistency, turning into a muddy slick.

"Augh, what the...?" he said, trying to free his foot from the sludge.

[b]"Move..."[/b]

What? What was that voice? What the hell was it-

[b]"Move... You have to get away! Please!"[/b]

Nathan looked down at the ground, which began to glow in a circle underneath him.

"Shit... Shit. Shit!" he yelled, desperately lifting his leg up from the mud. After some deliberation he managed to take a few steps backwards, onto solid ground. And just in front of him, the ground erupted as a large thorny vine sprung from the ground with a terrible croaking sound.

Nathan ran, away from the giant strangling thorn. He looked behind him, noticing more glowing circles appearing on the ground. He ran towards a building he had noticed nearby. Making his way inside, he closed the door behind him.

He found himself in a small wooden shack.

"What the hell was that..." he said aloud, to nobody in particular.

[b]"Um... Are... are you okay?"[/b]

Nathan jumped, looking around the shack.

"Who's there? What's going on?"

[b]"You're... having a n-nightmare right now... but... this is different. It's scarier. It wants to k-k-kill you..."[/b]

"Wait, hold on... kill me? What the hell is... and who are you? Where are you?"

Something suddenly appeared in front. It looked like a floating doll, with long black hair, one star-shaped blue eye, and one teardrop-shaped red eye. Its face was frozen in sadness. It was wearing a Japanese school uniform.

[b]"My name is... Somnia. I... we need each other."[/b]

Nathan stared in disbelief.

[b]"I need something... p-precious from you... and then... I'll help you survive."[/b]