Ethan
Stretching before him were oaks and pines and pale ash trees, all lit by tall stone spires that glowed with a spectral, silver-white light.
Water bubbled in a lattice of narrow streams, feeding the trees.
To his right, he saw what looked like fields of crops, all gone to seed.
Looking up, he saw a black sky that had never known a star.
Where were the others? This wasn’t the place he’d seen a moment ago.
A moment ago, he had been standing in Sarah’s bathroom as the barricades fell, the Guardians breaking through.
He had looked into the shattered mirror’s frame and seen some sort of white stone plaza, likely near the city’s heart.
He’d climbed inside, Hunter right behind him, thinking it would be a quick run to a column of silver light that had pulsed up ahead.
He smelled hot ozone. An unnerving tingle climbed the hair of his arms.
No matter. It wouldn’t have helped him against what lay ahead.
Instead, Ethan hurried along the city’s perimeter until he found a winding silver street that looked to lead toward the column of light. Te’lo’hi let out another awful moan, and in the distance a tall white spire began a long, slow fall. This place wasn’t going to last long.
Run.