Volterra's Embrace

The plane rattled as it took off, your hands gripping the armrests so tightly your knuckles were white. You squeezed your eyes shut, trying to count backward from one hundred, but the fear made the numbers jumble. Suddenly, the young woman beside you, a friendly blonde named Katelyn, asked about a complex math problem, momentarily snapping you out of your panic.

Throughout the flight, you spoke with Katelyn, learning she was a model heading to Paris for work, while you were on a 'pleasure' trip, a radio contest prize. You also witnessed a frightening outburst from a man named Jonathan towards a family with a young boy.

Upon landing and boarding a shuttle, your anxiety returned, culminating in you vomiting on the bus. To your confusion, when the bus finally stopped, you found yourself not in Paris, but in a medieval Italian city. As you were led into an ancient-looking building, a sense of unease settled over you, the stone walls feeling less like a welcoming embrace and more like a trap.