Dolores pov
I sat in the porch of my childhood home looking out into the beautiful land of the ranch my family owned, It was green and it smelled like fresh open air. The sky was a bright blue and there was no clouds, i looked down at my pink dress with daises swinging my feet on the porch then looking up to see everything in the ranch on fire along with the animals screaming in pain.
"MOM! WHERE ARE YOU??!" i felt like i could only watch in horror, my wouldn't move wouldn't even make a sound as everything burned,
Jumping up in my bed from my nightmare feeling like i had drowned, i coughed and tried to breathe only got worse, looking around i grabbed some water by my bedside immediately started drinking all of it in a couple gulps. I looked toward my window and see my curtains covering it, without much thought i got up and opened it to see my entire ranch was no longer home
I remembered the group of guys around my age i had rented my small cabin out to, a large gasp left my mouth as my legs immediately started running toward the stairs leading directly to my front door. I grabbed my rifle and i ran.
When i got the cabin i knocked with a purpose loud enough to wake all of them up, on my run here i knew i wasn't crazy this isn't where my ranch was and i see some light behind the house. "What the hell? what going on?" I pushed my way in "WE HAVE TO GO NOW THERES A FIRE" The guys turned and looked at me "why do you have a gun?"
"You need to listen to me if you want to fucking live, you'll follow me and listen ok?" they nodded skeptically but i was serious, "wait why does the outside look different?"
"We're going to run and follow the lights of a town ok? don't stop until we get there" i felt big pit of anxiety in stomach and have no idea where we're going but it's not safe here.
We ran through the trees onto the dirt road and saw the town, but there was shadows coming from the forest "WHERE ARE WE??" i heard them scream and run faster into the town.
When we got there was a strange person looking thing, it felt off and uncanny valley type of way and we all stopped i lifted the rifle and aimed while shouting "RUN", the thing was already in front of us. Before i could shoot it, it grabbed the gun and tossed it while grabbing me.
The others had already ran off and started banging on a door to have someone open it, there was a couple oil lamps and i picked one up and and threw it at it and once it landed and exploded i fell back and scrambled to find my gun "WHAT ARE YOU"
It looked at me like it was going to eat me.
"Don't be like this... we just want to have fun" The thing talked and grabbed me again as i was trying to run, i cursed and rolled away and lifted my dress and grabbed the knife holstered on my leg and ran to it immediately stabbing at the base of the stomach and dragging it up to the ribs, it let out disgusting liquid and i fell trying to grab the gun and i was trying to point it i felt its long sharp claws grab my hair to drag me. On my knees i pointed to gun up as it dug into my forehead trying to grab me again and i shot again straight throw the bottom of the skull, the blood landed all over my face and i didn't know what to do for a second.
It stopped and smiled but then it held on to the area i had shot and coughed out what looked like black thick liquid and started screaming while its face started to shift into something horrid and inhuman
The other things that looked human were just standing there and i turned to see some towns people looking through their windows "SOME ONE OPEN A FUCKING DOOR NOW" i aimed the gun at the things and walked with my back facing a wall until i made it inside.
"PUT THE GUN DOWN." i looked over and saw the other guys on the floor holding their hands on their head and turned my aim to towns people "Who the fuck are you? and what are you." i sternly said as i walked in front of the guys.
"I said. Put the gun down." looking over i see only 2 others with guns but they look scared and the man talking opened his mouth again to repeat, i sighed and put my gun down and put my hands in the air. "My name is Dolores Mori and i mean no harm. My ranch appeared here along with them, they were staying the night with me ."
The people looked around confused, " a whole ranch? That's never happened before...Philip what could that mean." A what looked middle aged man that was sitting down sighed "Is your ranch empty or do you still have your livestock"
"I didn't check i made everyone run as soon i had realized we weren't at home," he looked at me and took a deep breath. "If you all would like to eat something or drink water, follow Jenny into the kitchen. Dolores, would you please take a seat i have a lot to discuss with you." i nodded and sat down.
"This place...it's like a trap. There's no way out and we're in here with those things. Now what you did we've never been able to do." He looked severely unsettled but i knew the moment i woke up that there was possibility i was going to die.
"Dolores...We've never been able to kill those things. We have guns and bullets but it's like they don't do anything. What did you do." Sitting there i didn't know what to think, I looked at my gun and got up to grab it and take out a bullet
"My family was very superstitious, in town we had one of our elders she was very strange. She told me when i was young that every gun and knife in our ranch needed to be craved into with this symbol and she blessed them."
The man's eyes widened in horror as he looked at the craving on the gun. "That's the symbol of our talismans we have on our doors.. We have no idea where they came from but we found them and they keep those things out... but this begs the question for us here today. We weren't sure if we were dead or in purgatory or wherever. We weren't sure we were a part of the real world but Dolores... if she knew about the symbols that could mean there's a way to get out.
I felt a rush of emotions. How did she know and how did we all end up here.
