The sky was that same horrendous red, stains of wine and ruby, churning in a frothing boil. The clouds that hung in its grossness, groaned in their standstill. Their energy creaked in hollow womps as they begged to roll on.
At first it had been that same pleading 'go'. But Korin had been here too long, lost in the neverending field, and now it screamed, begged, ached. The grass trembled, static stuck on end, pointing whichever way she walked. Mean little blades that cut at her ankles as she tread through.
'Leave! Leave! Leave!'
At first she'd followed the pointing grass, remembering that it would lead her somewhere that had a door. And beyond that door was someone. Someone she needed to get to, who knew the answers to an unknown nagging curiosity that seemed to be eating holes in her memories. She walked forward, feet shuffling through unflinching green, mind struggling through a haze. Eyes traveling out to watch the horizon for signs of change in landscape then to her feet and the grass and back up again.
A heavier step, crushing stems, chlorophyll staining her toes and soles, brought up the scents of tea, spices, dew, and petrichor. For a brief second she was envisioning delicate cups filled with amber tea and a steaming forest, lush in fern and sappy needle.
Little white flowers she hadn't noticed before peeked out from the cover grass. Five clover shaped petals of ivory avoiding the leeching stain of the sky, hiding in shade. The more she looked the more she noticed the little white flowers that decorated someone with hair the color of caramel and energy as warm as sunshine.
Ah yes! She'd met him before. Once? Perhaps twice? He was angelic, a fairy from an old tale. Dressed in pastels and dotted in flowers. "Eeh… E. Eee?" The sound of his name tittered on the end of her tongue and as she vocalized it, the wind parroted it back, 'ee's' and 'eh's' fanning into the distance.
This caused Korin to pause in her shuffle across the great plain and the grass fell limp. The echoes now traveled into the distance unaccompanied by the light rustle. She turned to the right and the grass flopped right. She turned left and the grass went left. She took a step forward and the blades shot up, once more screaming at her to leave. She stopped and they fell limp again.
Her eyes shot around then, panic rising in her chest. Why had she believed the grass would take her somewhere again? She thought it had guided her the last time she'd been here. Yes the last time, when it'd taken her to the door.
It was scary how little grip she had on her memory in this place. But she was sure she'd been walking for hours. Her head shot around as she hastily scanned the horizon, only met with the same horrible red sky and the never ending sea of grass which only moved when she did.
Korin suddenly felt very small, all alone, and afraid. The heavy sinking in her gut began to twist uncomfortably and a cold sweat spread like dew across her face.
"Eh...." His name bubbled from her throat, scratchy and feral, memories fueled by fear. He'd know what to do, how to leave this place. "ERA!"
"Era!"
"Era."
".....era…"
"......era"
The wind carried echoes of his name into the expanse. "....era...….era...…era...….era...….." Then faded into the distance.
No reply came.
.
At least not from Era.
"............eeeeeeeeeeeeee....." A whisper herald in the distance. "....eeeeeeeeee...…." Closer now. Continuous. The dread in Korin's stomach was knotting tightly.
"..eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…." The echo was circling back around, morphed and changed. It grew in sound until the wail was blowing past her. A thunderous horn, "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!" The ground shook and her hands shot up to cover her ears. They rung, sharp needles of pain stabbing at her eardrums through the muffle of her palms. She was taking steps back, curling into herself, bracing her muscles.
"EEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…" And then the echo was gone. Dissolved much faster than it'd come.
Korin slowly removed her hands from her ears, cautious and concerned that the wail would circle back around.
"You're kind of slow."
Korin spun at the sound of the voice, young and familiar.
There in the sea of grass, just a couple meters away, was a much younger version of herself. Six or seven at most, her face was cast in an open and expressive scowl. Critical judgment overfilling large tired eyes. Though she was a child, round cheeked and little handed, there was an aura of age. Something old and tired lined the fabric of her being.
Korin stared, stomach sinking and unsure. She was fairly certain her younger self had just called her dumb.
"Are you mute too?" The girl let out an annoyed puff and put her hand on her hip. "Well I guess you've just been a husk. I can't expect too much."
An uncomfortable stab in her chest came with her words. "I-" A husk? "I'm sorry."
The girl went to give her another angry glare but as matching yellow eyes met she paused. Her eyebrows raised, momentarily knitted together and she rubbed her arm with another angry huff. Kicking at grass, young Korin spun on heel. The grass did not move with her movement like it did with Korins. It sat still as the girl slowly walked forward. After a few steps, it did not appear she would stop. With nothing else in the infinite void to guide her, Korin decided to follow. "Where are we?"
"Nowhere," came her answer.
"Nowhere?"
The girl nodded, snappy with her clipping words. "It's called Nowhere. And you're not supposed to be here."
Korin squinted her eyes. She did not remember herself being so sassy and rude, but in her defense she did not really remember her younger years at all. "What do you mean?"
The kids next words overcrowded the air around Korin, "If you're here, then it's out there."
"It?" Goosebumps rose across her skin. The red sky, the ominous feeling, Era, the nagging question, her younger self, a husk; everything was flashing in little jerky synapses in Korin's brain. She looked down at her hands feeling the weight of something unseen tugging at her palms. Her eyelid began to flutter and black stars burst across her vision. Then she was pitching forward, body convulsing as she fell into the mounds of grass.
"....eeeeeeeeee…."
The wail was coming back around.
The girl turned back to Korin and the last thing Korin witnessed in the infinite field of green and red was her younger self, two blackened eyes staring down at her, annoyed little expression screwed tight. A small cool hand reached out to caress Korin's cheek as she shook. "Shhhh," She cooed, young voice oddly tired and old-a little hallow. "It's time for us all to wake up now."
"...eeeeeeeeeeeeeeEE-"
Just as the siren met her she passed out, black stars taking her vision and pulling her into the void.