It left his head spinning. He found himself lying on his back, knees bent, on the dirt about five paces from the creek. Above, puffy white clouds floated across a pale-blue sky. Had he not just been sucked through a vortex of color, he might have thought he was in his own realm but for the sparse foreign foliage. The predominant plants were tall, rotund shrubs of deep teal green, and tall wispy trees whose long leaves danced in the breeze. He pushed himself to his knees, spurring another wave of dizziness. A black bird sat in the nearest tree, squawking angrily at him. A foul scent like burnt corpses wafted by on a stiff breeze. He turned his face in to the wind and squinted. In a clearing downstream from him was a village, or rather, the remains of one. The ground surrounding the dozen or so crumbling buildings was blackened as were the lower thirds of the walls. From where he knelt, Gavin could see no signs of life there. Perhaps he would find some clues about what had happened to the inhabitants.When the dizziness subsided, he headed toward the village.
