Owen was very excited to participate in the camping event organized by the Youngsters Camping Club. It's a week to his 19th birthday and he couldn't imagine a better run-up to it than this. The participation fee was just $70, which his dad easily paid for him.
Waking up for camp is unlike waking up for school, which mostly has his mum, Carol, insisting he gets out of bed before he does. For this, he didn't need that help.
As early as 6 am, Owen was up for an event that wouldn't start until 10 am, and he wouldn't even need to be driven by his parent since the event planners have a dedicated bus that would pick all the kids attending the event from his neighbourhood. This left Owen with four hours of waiting in anticipation since Carol had already gotten his backpack ready since the night before, filled with everything he will need. In the letter written to the parents, there's a weight and size limit on what each camper can bring along since most of what they'd need will be provided by the club, it was suggested that things campers should come with should only include personal items like diary, books, clothes, etc.
At last, the long morning put him out of his misery when the long yellow school bus parked in front of their building, half of it filled with kids Owen's age.
Carol and Bernard walked their anxious son to the bus and they said goodbye to him as he happily climbed into the bus, and off it went.
Owen's heart rate spiked and he began to panic, finding out he cannot move his legs. They are rigid and stuck, but he cannot see what's holding them, except for a lemon-green mist fuming around his feet. It was simple curiosity that drew him away from the rest of his mates, wanting to find out where the beautiful smell he perceived was coming from. He remembered Carol warned him to be careful, and now he wished he listened and didn't wander off the camp. He tried to shout but no sound came out of his mouth.
Suddenly, he saw a purple ziggurat in the distance, and there's an old woman standing before it. He was very scared by what was happening to him, but it's even more worrisome that despite the distance, he can see the woman's face clearly, as though she was standing right in front of him. Her face is wrinkled and her grey hair shabbily tapers off on her shoulders. From the distance, she beckoned on him to come, and with the movement of her hand, Owen finds himself floating towards her, seemingly powered and driven by the mist around his feet. He tried to look back, but his head wouldn't turn. The only way was forward, and farther and farther he went until he found himself standing before the old woman. She turned around and instantly, a door that wasn't there before opened on the ziggurat and she walked in, magically bringing Owen in, along with her.
The ziggurat covered just a very small area, like the space of a standard room. Bottles, bottles, bowls. Potions everywhere. The mist on his feet has now disappeared and so did the door that led them in. Owen looked around; there's no window, no door, no opening of any kind. This place he finds himself in is completely sealed, and unknown to him, invisible from the outside.
The old woman opened a box on the floor and stared into Owen's eyes. "Child, get into the box."