The cold air hit her face as soon as she opened her eyes. She was lying on the ground... but not on the grass from her garden. Beneath her were dry, yellowed leaves and cracked earth. Above her was no longer a purple sky, but a grey, cloudy, overpowering one. The sun barely broke through the foggy atmosphere.
She rose slowly, still dazed.
- Mum... Daddy! - she cried. - Sophie? Max?! Emma!?!
No one answered. Alise's voice echoed through the void. She stood up shakily, grabbing her head. Everything seemed unreal - she felt that she was breathing, that she was alive, but at the same time she had the impression that she was dreaming.
She looked around. She was standing in a clearing surrounded by dead trees. The area was wild, abandoned, destroyed... as if after a war. In the distance she made out what looked like the silhouette of a large building.
She moved forward with difficulty, feeling more and more consciousness returning to her with each step. She was alone. Completely alone.
After a few minutes she came to a huge metal structure. Tall, massive, with rusted walls and broken windows. Above the entrance was a worn but still legible sign:
FACTORY
Alise looked uncertainly at the building. Despite her fear, she felt strangely relieved - maybe someone is there... maybe someone will help her.
She pushed at the heavy door - to her surprise, it opened without resistance, with a shrill rasping of the hinges. She took a few steps inside.
- Hello? - she called, her voice echoing through the room.
Nothing. Silence.
The factory was large and empty, full of abandoned machinery, crates and wires. The floor was covered in a layer of dust and debris, and the air smelled of rust and something burning.
She walked slowly, choosing her steps carefully. She felt a growing unease inside her - as if someone was watching her... or something.
- Hello? Is anyone here? - she called again, louder this time.
Again, nothing. Just an echo. And that strange, overwhelming lifelessness.
She stopped at one of the machines and pressed her hand against its cold metal surface.
- Where am I...? - she whispered to herself, her voice almost cracking.
In this silence... something suddenly rattled somewhere in the depths of the building.
She turned abruptly and moved towards the sound that was coming from somewhere in the depths of the factory. Her footsteps echoed and her heart quickened with each sound. She walked cautiously, looking to the sides.
Suddenly, something jumped out from around the corner... a brown dog. A medium-sized mutt with a frayed fur. It growled menacingly and stood in front of Alise like a guard.
- Aaaah! - she yelped, stepping back and tripping over a metal pole lying on the floor. She fell with a loud clatter.
The dog barked loudly and wildly, as if sensing a threat. Alise put her hands up, trying to calm it down and not provoke it.
- Calm down... calm down, I don't want to hurt you... - she whispered, her voice shaking.
At the same moment, a man emerged from one of the side rooms. His silhouette was clearly outlined in the half-light. He was wearing a dark jacket and a rifle was visible on his back - he looked like something out of a computer game.
- Rex! Over here," he called to the dog.
The dog immediately stopped barking and ran up to the man, sat down by his side and growled softly.
The man looked at Alise coolly, suspiciously but without aggression.
- Who are you? - he asked.
Alise, still lying down, replied uncertainly: - I ... I was just ... looking for help. I woke up in a clearing. I don't know what's going on... I don't know where I am or where my parents are... ....
The man was silent for a moment, as if analysing her every word. Then he took a step towards her and held out his hand.
Alise took his hand and slowly stood up, shaking off the dust.
- What is your name? - He asked more calmly.
- Alise.
He nodded his head.
- Noah," he introduced himself. - And this is Rex.
The dog looked at her suspiciously, but stopped growling. Alise looked at them both with relief.
Noah led Alise into a small room at the back of the factory. The room looked like a makeshift shelter - a sleeping bag, a few tins of food, a torch, a knife and a toolbox lay in the corner. Against the wall was a metal cupboard, from which Noah took a pair of dark jeans and a light grey hooded jacket.
- Here. It's getting colder outside. And you look like you just got out of bed," he said, handing her the clothes.
Alise accepted the clothes without a word and began to change, shivering not only from the cold but also from shock.
- Why... is no one here? What are you doing here? - She asked, looking at him cautiously.
Noah turned his back to her, leaning against a table with a map spread out and some kind of radio-like device.
- An interesting question for someone who... pretends he doesn't know what happened," he replied slowly, not looking at her. - Where are you from, girl?
Alise told him everything that had happened. About the strange sky, about the rift in space, about how she and her friends had been taken by something she didn't understand. About the fall, about waking up here.
Noah listened in silence. His face was stony, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. When Alise finished, there was silence for a while. Finally he took a deep breath.
- You know... this sounds like complete madness," he said quietly. - But looking at you... maybe it's not so unlikely.
Alise came closer and squeezed the sleeves of his jacket.
- So what happened? What are you doing here?
Noah looked into her eyes. His voice was calm, but full of the weight of memories.
- You see, Alise... If you're really not from here, then you must understand one thing. This world is not the world it used to be. A nuclear war has happened. We were not warned. Rockets fell almost simultaneously in many places. Cities were reduced to ashes. People died in the streets. Civilisation collapsed....just like that.
Alise froze. She felt her heart begin to beat faster.
- Most of the people had died. Only a few had survived. And those who had survived...? Some fight for everything, others just hide. I... just try to survive," Noah finished, a hint of bitterness in his voice.
Alise stepped back and leaned against the wall. Her mind began to put it all together.
- So... I really did end up... in another world..." she whispered.
Alise stood in silence, trying to control her breathing. Only one word pulsed through her mind: another world. Everything she had known - family, home, school, even a simple breakfast at the table - was behind her. Perhaps forever.
Noah looked at her for a moment, then turned and started rummaging through the cupboard.
- If you really are from outside this world... then I advise you to adapt quickly. There is no room for illusions here.
Alise slowly sat down on the cold floor and huddled into her new jacket. She felt tears welling up in her eyes - but she held them back. Not now.
Somewhere in the distance, beyond the walls of the factory, the wind howled. And with it, something else... a deafening, disturbing rumble, as if something was approaching.
Alise shivered.