Prologue
The sky was shrouded in thick clouds, and an ominous darkness loomed, relentlessly expanding. Strong gusts of wind roared through the garden, violently uprooting the flowers from their beds.
"Cooper!" The high school girl's voice trembled with fear, her concern focused on her dog being swept away by the tempest. "Cooper!" she shouted, her hands forming a makeshift megaphone around her mouth. Her long, soft brown hair whipped in every direction, as the wind continued to gain strength, impeding her progress in any chosen direction.
Desperately fighting against the forceful gusts, the girl pressed on, determined to find her beloved dog amidst the chaos. The rain started pouring down, drenching her clothes and further obscuring her vision. Thunder roared in the distance, echoing the tumultuous nature of the storm.
"Cooper!" she called out once more, her voice strained and carried away by the howling wind. Her heart raced with worry as she stumbled over fallen branches and debris. But then, through the dense downpour, she spotted a flicker of movement up ahead.
There, in the distance, she saw a familiar shape—a small, wet nose and a wagging tail. It was Cooper, standing atop a sturdy rock, unfazed by the storm's fury. Relief washed over her, mixing with the raindrops that streamed down her face.
Carefully maneuvering through the wreckage, the girl made her way toward Cooper. The dog barked excitedly, his tail wagging furiously. As she reached him, she knelt down and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close in a tight embrace.
"Good boy, Cooper. You're safe," she whispered, her voice barely audible above the raging storm. Cooper licked her face, his wet tongue leaving traces of comfort amidst the chaos. In that moment, they found solace in each other's presence, oblivious to the tempest raging around them.
Realizing that they couldn't stay exposed to the elements, the girl tightened her grip on Cooper's collar and scanned the area for shelter. Amidst the darkened landscape, she spotted an abandoned barn just a short distance away. Determined, she braced herself against the wind and led Cooper towards the relative safety it offered.
As they approached the entrance of the barn, the girl exerted force to push open the creaky door, unveiling a dusty interior adorned with scattered hay bales and vacant stalls. Although not the most comfortable space, it offered temporary respite from the relentless fury of the storm.
"Stay here. I need to find Mom," the girl instructed firmly, kneeling before the dog to scratch its ears before venturing back toward the barn door. "Stay," she reiterated, exposing herself once again to the relentless tempest outside.
As she advanced against the wind's fierce current, its force relentlessly battered her body, making it nearly impossible to locate her mother, who had been tending to the garden just moments before.
The storm's intensity was blinding, rendering the high schooler incapable of seeing even a foot ahead, causing her to stumble repeatedly over protruding roots jutting out from the ground. The brunette's hands bore cuts from these constant tumbles, blood staining her long-sleeved white shirt.
Using a rock for support, she managed to regain her footing momentarily, only to have a hefty twig strike her cheek, slicing through the skin deeply. Realizing it would be too arduous to raise her arm to tend to the wound, she refrained from touching it.
"MOM!" she screamed, her own voice drowned out by the roaring gusts of wind.
The wind grew stronger and more perilous, relentlessly lifting her body off the ground. Desperately, she grasped the shovel she had stashed in her back pocket and drove it into the earth, hoping it would anchor her to the ground.
However, the shovel's grip on the soil proved to be short-lived, and both the girl and the tool were ensnared by the wind's force. Gradually, white specks filled her vision, and she succumbed, going limp as she soared through the sky.