Everything was calm. It was as if she was floating on nothingness, which was surprisingly comfortable for her rickety old bed.

Sam felt around for her blanket. And pillow. Where did they go? She opened her eyes a crack. Her little brother must've taken it, in an attempt to wake her. With a groan, Sam sat up and was forced to lie back down again, due to the extreme feeling of nausea.

"Woah, there! Careful, that was a nasty transition."

Who was that? A transition from what? Sam tried again, succeeding this time. The dizziness passed, but when she looked up, she wasn't in her bed.

"Heya." The one who spoke from before. It was a stranger, wearing something that looked like it was from an action movie. A black leather jacket with a hood, navy jeans and combat boots. The sheathed sword and vertical scar on the right eye practically shouted 'I'm an anime character who's going to kick your butt if you don't run right now'.

Alarmed, Sam raised a hand in defence, hoping no one would notice it tremble. 'Ow, ow, ow, everything hurts. But wait… THAT WASN'T HER HAND. There was no texture to it, and it was … gray? Upon closer inspection, so was the rest of her body. A wave of embarrassment washed over her upon realising that the t-shirt and jeans weren't hers, but Sam brushed it away. There were more important things to worry about right now.

Her mind was racing a million miles an hour, with thoughts like 'Where am I?' and 'Is this a dream?' Looking around, everything was a shade of grey. No walls, just an endless expanse of vast… nothingness. The only other person for as far as Sam could see was the one in front of her. He-? She-? Seemed amused by her confusion.

They arose, and her heart beat quicker. Clearly, something had happened, but what? Wary of the stranger, she called out, "Hello? Who are you?"

"..."

"Answer me!" she demanded. "I swear, if you're one of Jack's friend's trying to prank me again..."

Still, there was no reply as they moved forward. Sam could see their face. Their eyes were closed and smiling when she heard a chuckle. '

That's not any voice I know.'

"Okay… I know you can talk, you just warned me-"

"Hm." Head still lowered, they got even nearer. "You're Sam, right?"

How did they know her name?

"Now, I'm not usually one for introductions, but I'll make an exception." A hand reached for the sword strapped to their back. A separate part of her wondered when it was unsheathed as she scrambled backwards. No way could she win in a struggle if they had a weapon.

"Welcome to..." her eyes widened in disbelief.

" ."

What- How-? Her eyes darted quickly from their mismatched eyes to wings to clothes to the bloodied sword they carried. Who- What were they?

"Ah, was that too much?" The stranger asked with concern in their voice. Just then, Sam noticed that her mouth had fallen open and quickly snapped it shut. First impressions were important, and seeing that nobody else would be around for help…

She drew herself up from the ground with as much dignity as possible and greeted him… her…? In respect, Sam decided on 'them' for now.

"That's the spirit. You sure you okay?"

"..."

"Um, Sam?"

"You startled me, that's all." More questions popped up, as if her brain wasn't already full enough.

"… If you say so." Was rubbing your eyes offensive in this strange place? Or repetitive self-pinching? The look they gave her was unsettling, to say the least. "Follow me. I know of a better place to talk."

Should she accept the hand that they extended?

Probably. Even if she did make a run for it, she found that they had backed her up against a wall- when had that happened? No maps, clothes, food, or coverage, coupled with the fact that they could easily outdistance her with those wings, sealed the deal. With a jolt, the realisation that they had probably planned this hit her. How could she have been so naive?

Like, stranger danger! Sam mentally kicked herself in the head.

"Hey. Earth to-" Sam gave a shriek when she saw a hand only millimetres in front of her eyes.

"Woah! Okay, okay," they drew their hand back from her face. "You kinda… blanked out on me. Is your head still bothering you?" Despite the pain, she shook her head. No way was she letting them close again, after seeing that blood on the sword.

"Well then… let's go?" Before she could react, she was enveloped in shadows.

The darkness was suffocating. Literally. Sam fought for each breath, the only thing grounding them being the stranger's hand. 'Since when did breathing require so much conscious effort?'

It felt like- no. It was forever, every orifice of skin burning but freezing, moving yet still. She felt her knees suddenly collide with the hard ground, and retched. God forbid she have to do that ever again.

"I'm sorry about that," Here she was, puking her guts out, and all they could say was sorry? "I wasn't meant to support a being such as you... "

'A being such as me?' She thought it over, and stood up. "Okay, that's it! I want answers. First, you kidnap me, then torture me, then you apologise? What in the actual hell?" Her hand flew up when she felt the sensation and went to resume where she had left off.

Except for the previous puddle of bile wasn't there anymore.

Sam stared at the spot in astonishment. "Oh my gosh lookit it's gone haHaHA!" Uncontrollable laughter came out instead of the vomit she'd expected. "HAHAHAhAHahahah...heh…"

And then it all went black. Again.