Finding the Last of Elyse

On the night of his 21st birthday, Zyran Mercado became a man. But as the last candle flickered out, a sudden gust of wind crept through the room - cold enough to make him shiver, strange enough to make him wonder. They said it was luck. They were wrong.

Drunk and dazed after the celebration, Zyran passed out - only to wake in a dream he couldn't escape. A girl stood in the darkness, pale and trembling, begging for help. Her eyes were hollow, her voice a whisper laced with terror. And as the line between dream and reality begins to blur, Zyran realizes she didn't come from his mind... but from somewhere else entirely. Somewhere that's been waiting for him.

Some birthdays are a blessing. His might be a curse.