Azura's Intro
Stinging droplets of icy rain assaulted Azura’s skin. The unexpected sensation jerked her from a deep vortex of sleep, panic working its way through a bog of drowsiness. As it broke the surface, Azura was on her feet. Her heart pounded violently in her chest as her surroundings slowly acclimated themselves to her blurred, post-sleep vision. She had fallen asleep in her tiny bed the night before, in the dry warmth of her apartment. She was now standing outside in a harsh, cold climate, a drizzle of rain lightly falling onto the hard, winter-packed ground. She had never seen this place before in her life.
A few yards in front of her was a dilapidated building. Through the film of tears that marred her vision, she made it out to be some sort of school, though long abandoned. She took a deep, shuddering breath and turned to further pan out her surroundings. It was difficult to see through the haze and fog that lingered over the ground. Behind the building appeared to be an equally abandoned playground; she could make out a tall metal slide and a few swings. She turned full circle, attempting to make out any other unfamiliar landmarks. There were none.
She stood there helplessly, a few tears leaving freezing tracks on her cheeks. She attempted to search her mind desperately for anything that might have possibly led to this, but she came up blank. She lived a very routine, very ordinary, slightly boring life. She had made no enemies. Her closest friends were the fellow nurses and interns at the hospital, and they would never know anything about this. The atmosphere and landscaping looked completely different from both where she had grown up and where she had moved to.
She inhaled, held it, and slowly released after ten long seconds. Her tears did not cease, but she felt slightly more clear-headed. She looked down at herself and asserted that she was dressed in the same pajamas she had gone to bed in: blue plaid sleep pants, a navy blue tank top, and a pair of now thoroughly soaked-through white socks. The realization of this suddenly made her aware of just how freezing it was outside. She crossed her arms over her bare shoulders, and her left fingers brushed against coarse leather. She looked down to see her purse dangling from her numbed right shoulder.
Azura tugged it up, unsnapped it, and examined the contents. Everything that she had carried within it still remained; her scarce makeup, brush, rosary, a pair of rubber gloves she had taken from the hospital, lip balm, and-her cellphone! A bird of hope took flight in her heart. She fumbled with numb fingers through the purse, grasped it, and flipped it open. She pressed the red button to turn it on, and waited. Nothing. She pressed it again. Still nothing. She turned it over, but the battery was still there. She tried one more time, and nothing.
With a small frustrated little squeal, Azura tossed it back into her purse. She stood there awhile longer, feeling completely hopeless. She had absolutely no idea what to do. The only useful idea that had seized her mind was the notion that she simply had to get moving soon, or she would both freeze and remain inevitably lost. With more tears flowing freely, she reached back into her purse to grab her rosary. She attempted to pull it out, but the cross was caught on something. She reached down into her purse and grasped the end, lifting out a strange, sleek silver device that appeared to be some sort of fancy Japanese cellphone. A few buttons adorned the front, and a pen-shaped object was attached to the side. She had never seen it before in her life, had never owned anything that looked relatively close to it.
She disentangled her rosary from the device, slipped the rosary around her neck, and further inspected the strange thing. She touched a few buttons until she discovered the one that turned it on. Several options appeared on the screen. She had no idea what any of them meant. She randomly pressed on, and a red light blinked on. Her face appeared on the screen, tracking her at that very moment. It was recording her.
She tinkered around with it for a few more minutes, but the cold was sinking further into her skin. She had to get moving soon. She decided to set the bird of hope alight again, and recorded a video message into the device. She clicked something that looked vaguely like ‘send’, put it back in her purse, and headed away from the school. It was clearly deserted, and she didn’t want to waste time exploring it and possibly injuring herself. She didn’t know it, but she was headed southwest, currently toward the apartment complex.