She wore an apple red, nylon, thigh-length skirt and it was in tatters. Her dark red blouse, however, managed to survive the tumble she took from the explosion. She opened her eyes and bright sunlight seared into her brown eyes, blinding her momentarily. Slowly the spots faded, and she sat up, marveling at the new landscape that was presented before her. She had gone from a jungle with a building ahead of her to a barren wasteland that she had never seen before.


    Did that explosion wipe out everything around here? she wondered in awe.


    She stood up, looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings. There were no signs of any human, plant, or animal life anywhere within her range of vision. Briefly, she wondered if the people she had been following had been destroyed like the land.


    “Excuse me,” someone said from behind her.


    The startled girl jumped and turned to face the newcomer. She didn''t recognize the small, old man, but he was the only living thing around, except for herself, so she didn''t have much choice but to answer him.


    “Can you tell me where I am?” she asked.


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    The old man nodded. “You are in Hawaii. Now come with me. Let''s get you cleaned up.” He gestured to her legs.


    She looked down and gasped. Her legs were scraped, bloody, and covered with some kind of green ooze. She also saw the blood that was on the ground around her. “Yeah, okay,” she vaguely agreed, wondering why she didn''t feel any pain.


    The pair started off, and pretty soon they came to what appeared to be a village that she hadn''t seen. It seemed to have popped up from out of the ground.


    Why didn''t I notice this village before? It’s not even that far from where I was, she thought.


    She was really confused about everything that was going on, and the old man wasn''t offering any explanations.


    “Stay away from him,” a voice from the crowd hissed at her.


    She looked around for the source, but all she saw were people struggling to survive. After they left the village, the wasteland surrounded them once again and the village seemed to disappear behind them. The girl was even more confused at that.


    When the enormity of the situation hit her, she became very afraid. Here she was, in a strange land, with a strange man, and she didn''t know what to do.


    I knew that I shouldn''t have followed those people. Why did I even do it? Then it hit her. One of them was familiar to me and I wanted to see if I knew him. Now look at me. If I ever find him, I''ll make him pay for this.