The ground beneath Willow was cold and unforgiving and not at all like the thickly quilted hammock she usually slept in. It was uncomfortable in a way that made her back ache and a dull pulsing pain in the back of her head to form. Where could she possibly be? There were few buildings in the commune that had concrete floors, but she couldn't fathom what could possibly have led her to sleeping in any of those.
"Hey. Wake up," a voice pierced through her consciousness, sounding far and near simultaneously. It wasn't a voice she recognized, which was also a mystery. It wasn't often that someone came to the commune and wandered on their own without Selene to introduce them to everyone.
Willow's eyes blinked open slowly, and she could feel the sleep thick in them. She was certain that she'd never seen the redhead who filled her vision before. As lovely and unique of features as she had, Willow was certain she would have remembered her. And then other details of her surroundings filtered into her awareness. This was a house of the dead, unlike anything she had seen back home, even though she had heard of such places.
"Who are you? Where am I?" Willow asked, her softly cracking voice only holding the faintest hint of an accent picked up from her mother. And then she felt the cool metal again her right wrist, and a wave of panic overcame her.