In the deep night sky, a bright moon like an ice tray poured cold light waves into the dark, dead earth. A few blue stars lingering near the bright moon blinked curiously at the "giant python" lying on the ground: a river called the "Swell River" by local humans.

The origin of the river was probably dug in 500 B.C. by a group of burly, long-skinned, blond adult men. Or perhaps it was in 43 A.D., when the Romans made it a province, and drove a group of Celts to dig it day and night with whips, sticks, and daggers.

In any case, neither the first Celts, nor the Romans, nor the Angles, nor the Saxons, nor the Jutes, nor the Britons, who finally lived on their own in this land, would never have believed this strange thing that had happened in the middle of the night tonight.

In the quiet and deep night sky, a large tumbling dark cloud silently appeared, and the dark cloud was accompanied by a bottomless crack. Immediately afterward, a mysterious object fell from the crack and quickly fell towards the Swell River on the ground under the influence of the Earth's gravity......

Isabel, whose head was leaning against the left window, suddenly woke up from a long period of fainting. Sit up straight, keep your eyes wide open, and gaze straight out of the front windshield of your car.

Sensing something wasn't right, she hurriedly looked out of the left window and muttered, "Hell, what the hell is this place?" ”

At this moment, a cold, piercing sensation hit his legs. He lowered his head to take a closer look and exclaimed, "Damn, why is there water in my car?" ”

Isabel hurriedly opened the car door, and she found herself in an extremely dangerous situation. It turned out that her used Ford SUV was stuck on the water of a cold river.

If she hadn't opened the doors immediately, the long-lasting SUV might have given her some chance of survival. But now it's too late.

The seemingly calm, but in fact, icy and bitter cold and hidden turbulent waters of the Swell River invaded the cabin of the SUV in an instant. Seeing the SUV sink to the bottom of the water little by little, Isabel had to temporarily abandon everything outside of her body and jump into the water.

When she swam to the shore on the opposite shore, she emerged from the water and climbed onto land. At this point, Swell River erupted into a series of triumphant little blisters after the whale swallowed her SUV, as if telling her, "Hey, girl, give up." How about accepting the facts? ”

Isabel, who had already been soaked in the river, sat alone on the bank and stared at the river stupidly, thinking, "This damn tornado! Fuck it, how didn't anyone tell me beforehand that it was a 'finger of God' tornado. ”

"God forbid, I'm alive. Oh, I almost forgot, I had to call my mom. ”

"Hell, where's my phone?" Isabel searched through every pocket on her body, but still couldn't find her phone.

"Must still be in the car. Do you dive back and find out, or do you find a payphone? ”

Thinking of this, she turned around and looked at the riverside scenery at night. She found that everything here was so dead and silent, except for the large woods and the large wilderness, and she could vaguely see the fields that seemed to be cultivated by humans far ahead.

Isabel stood up and got out of the woods by the river, and walked to a dirt road to observe her surroundings back and forth. At this time, she had completely calmed down from the horror just now, and thought seriously: "What kind of place is this?" Did I get blown by a tornado near the Rio Grande on the Texas-Mexico border? ”

She crouched down again, touched the pavement that didn't look like a concrete road, and thought again: "The Rio Grande is narrower than this one, and the road under your feet can't be a dirt road." ”

"Even if it's a country road, it should be a concrete road."

"What the hell is going on?"

"Well, no matter where you are, find a gas station convenience store and buy a hot cup of coffee first. Fuck it, the water in this river is so cold! ”

Isabel rummaged through all her pockets again, only to find a few cents, a multifunctional outdoor folding knife with a tabby blade, and a diving watch with a compass on her wrist.

Looking at the time on her watch, and looking at a field far away on her left, she made a makeshift plan: "It's 2:13 a.m., and depending on the position of the moon and the direction of the road, I think we should go northeast." ”

As she walked almost two miles, she became more and more surprised by everything she had here. First of all, during the time she was walking, not a single car had passed through the dirt road, which was still a road. Second, in the darkness of the night, she didn't see a single red light sign at a gas station, a convenience store, or a motel.

———————————

At this time, towering and steady like a mountain peak in Nottingham Castle on the banks of the River Swell, the chief servant, the butler Arthur Field, was directing several uniformed male servants to work nervously.

Arthur frowned, covered his mouth with a plaid handkerchief, and commanded, "You guys should move a little faster, and throw everything this woman has touched into the carriage." ”

One of the new valets hurriedly replied, "Mr. Field, this woman has also been exposed to some things from the lord. The lord's things, do we also have to pull them all out of the castle and burn them? ”

Arthur nodded and said, "Yes." No human life or object in Nottingham Castle is more valuable than the life of a lord. ”

Soon, the manservant present loaded all the daily necessities and utensils that needed to be burned onto the carriage. Then, as the two manservants climbed into the carriage, the coachman raised his whip and drove the carriage through the back door of the castle towards the wilderness outside the city.

Arthur stared at the carriage in the distance, and was relieved that the back door of the castle was slowly closed by the janitor. He put away his handkerchief and said to the other servants, "Before you rest, I will tell you something. If, in the next two weeks, you notice anyone with a high fever, fatigue, headache and back pain, come and tell me. ”

When the servants gradually departed, only one night watchman remained in the courtyard of the castle. Arthur had given a few more orders to the night watchman, and then he planned to go back to his room for a nap.

At this moment, the janitor, who was guarding the main gate of the castle, trotted up to him. After saluting Arthur, he stood at his side and said respectfully, "Mr. Field, there is a strange woman outside the door who wants to spend the night in the lord's castle. ”

Arthur looked at him and said, "Strange woman? From what direction did she come from? How did it come about? ”

The janitor replied softly, "Musk walked from the west." ”

"Walking? Have you seen whether she is one person or several people? ”

"I could see very clearly, she was alone. However, the woman was soaked with water and was wearing very strange clothes. ”

Arthur put his hands behind his back and asked, "Oh......?" Well, did she say who she was and why she came to Nottingham Castle? ”

The janitor thought for a few seconds and then replied, "She said she didn't know why she was here." She also said that her... The car fell into the river and almost drowned. ”