Chance let out a gasp when his back hit stone; a shockwave slid through his body. His jaw tensed, and his eyes slammed shut. The pain was unlike anything he’d ever experienced before; Chance softly inhaled through his nose to try and regain composure.

After a few minutes, he finally stood up and glanced around his surroundings: Chance was staring at a couple of run-down houses, each one looking like it had been left to rot. “This is just a dream.” He mumbled to himself over and over, but a part of him wasn't believing it. If it was just a dream, why was he in so much pain?

“Hello?” Chance called at the houses as he started to walk over.

“Hello?” A voice called back. The voice startled Chance; he wasn't expecting an answer. Turning to the house on the right, Chance slowly approached before remembering he was naked. “Uh! One second okay?” He spun around, looking for a bush or something else to hide behind.

“I found a Chest in here. You should check one of the other houses; I will come out when I’m dressed.” The voice called from the house. With a new fire in his stomach, Chance set off to the house on the left.

“Please have clothes.” Chance mumbled to himself as he swung the door open, causing the door to tilt off of its hinges slowly. “Man, either this house has been left to rot for a long time, or I am getting super strong.” He snickered. The house was falling apart; Chance had to avoid a few holes in the floor, climbing the stairs was a nasty challenge. Once he made it upstairs, Chance couldn’t help but cheer out loud; he was looking at a small chest. Moving as slowly as possible, he made his way over to the chest, grabbing the handle and swinging it open. The creaking sound scared him half to death, but the clothing inside made all his fears wash away. Getting dressed felt like a much-deserved reward. Although the clothes were stingy, it was nice to be covered.

—

“He-” Chance paused when he stepped out of the door and saw a woman staring back at him. “Hi.” She said softly, and she was wearing the same set of clothing Chance was wearing. “I am so happy to see another person; you have no idea!” Chance stepped off the porch, and the pair jumped at the crashing sound coming from the house. “I guess the floor finally gave way.” He turned back to the woman, “Do you have any idea as to what’s going on?” She asked him.

“No. I figured I was in a coma or something, maybe a dream? Unless you're not a real person, I can’t be dreaming.” Chance frowned. How could this be real?

“I thought I was dreaming as well.” The woman sighed; her thoughtful expression gave Chance hope; maybe she had come up with a logical explanation. “Well, I'm Sage.”

Chance hadn’t even thought about his name. He was so focused on what he couldn’t remember, Chance didn’t bother with what he could remember. “My name's Chance. Do you remember anything?

“Honestly? I remember my name, and I know the names of important family members. I have a dog named Fluffy.” Sage shrugged. “How about you?”

Chance took a moment and closed his eyes. “I can remember my name, my mother’s name, and my favorite food is chicken.” He was disappointed. Not having answers was starting to bother him. “Don’t feel too bad. It took me two days to remember what little I do.” Sage said softly. “So you've been in that house for two days!?” He was baffled.

“Yes, I figured this was a town of some sort, and I didn’t want to wander off by myself. Anyway, once you walk too far, you hit an invisible wall.” Placing her hand on her hip Sage motioned to the end of the dirt path. “Left and right are dead ends; I walked about fifteen minutes forward and hit a wall there as well.”

Chance looked up at the sky; the sun was still high, thankfully. “We should try to leave, and we still have some sunlight left.”

“I thought you couldn’t remember anything?” Sage said as she adjusted her slippers. “I can’t remember details, but I still have my senses. The sun rises and falls, no?” Chance raises his left brow. Sage laughed softly, “Well yes, I suppose I do as well. We will be screwed if we lose the light.”

—

As Chance and Sage began walking to the left, it took only a few minutes to hit the invisible wall. The right took them a little longer; the path was extended a bit more. Walking straight yielded no results, so the two decided to head back to the houses.

“Did you search your house at all?” Chance asked Sage as they swung her door open and headed inside. “A little, but this place is falling apart. Watch where you step.” Sage warned, and the two got to work searching. Chance moved dressers, Sage moved the worn-down couch, and checked the kitchen area. The two came together to move the bed; a loud click echoed from the house as the bed moved.

Chance closed his hand out of instinct and reached over to Sage for a fist bump; she smiled and gave him one. “I am shocked at how well we seem to be working together.” Chance admitted. “We have a common goal. It would only hurt us both not to work together,” Sage replied as the two slowly descended the staircase.

After checking the living room and bathroom, they entered the kitchen. “The cabinets are empty.” Sage sighed, and Chance groaned, “I wasn't hungry until you said something.” He laughed and shook his head. After checking the kitchen, the two walked out of the house. At the end of the path on the left was a glowing blue circle and a glowing green circle on the right. “Those look like the same circle that brought me here.” Chance said out loud; Sage nodded. “Left or right? She asked. “Let’s go right.” He replied.

The two walked to the glowing green circle, and each stepped on the footprints. The pulsing started, and they were sent off.