As Darren steps out of the white barrier, he heard a chorus of honking sounds. They seemed to be in a pit, and there was a steep but climbable slope leading to ground level.

The older lady moves her tired legs and begins the climb. The others also move their weak bodies and follow.

When Darren climbed over the last step, he saw that they were in the middle of the road. Traffic was backed up as far as he could see and cars were continuously honking. It seemed like a few people had tried to push forward or navigate their way away from the road but it only made things worse. No cars were backed up even onto the sidewalk. We were gone for at least a half hour. How is no one taking charge of this? Darren wonders to himself.

The older lady lets out a sigh. “Someone call the police. This has to be reported.” She says before putting her gun back into her purse. “I’m going home.” She says as she begins walking.

“Wait! Shouldn’t you call the police? You’re the one who lead us out of there.” The school kid calls out.

The older lady lets out a chuckle. “I’m a helpless old lady. I’d rather not have to worry about such tedious things. I’m going home to relax with a hot cup of tea.” She says with a smile before continuing to walk away.

After she walks away, the younger lady also begins to strut away.

“Hey, where are you going? And don't take the sword!” The school kid calls out.

The young lady doesn’t turn back and continues to walk away. “Thanks, little man. I owe you one.” She says as she gets farther away.

Darren stretches and lets out a yawn. The school kid looks to him with some worry, hoping he wouldn’t leave too. Darren turns his head to see him watching. “Do you want to go to a hospital? Saint Jude’s shouldn’t be far.” Darren asks casually.

The other kid smiles. “Yeah, man. My back is killing me.” He says before following Darren onto the sidewalk.

“What’s your name by the way?” Darren asks as they walk.

“Charlie. Yours?” Charlie asks.

“Darren.” Darren responds.

“So ugh… Do you want to go back later?” Charlie asks, testing the waters.

“Go back? To the dungeon?” Darren asks before his eyes widen in realization.

“Yeah, man! We’ll form a party and conquer the dungeon. I bet we’ll level up too!” Charlie says with some excitement.

“Damn, man. Yeah. You’re right. We should go back. Do you have any buddies who are willing to come along?” Darren asks. He very much wanted to go back. He didn’t want to admit it, but the life and death experience excited him in a way that nothing ever has. And the idea of leveling up at the peril to his own life… It was also very appealing.

Charlie lets out a bitter laugh. “Unfortunately I just moved here. I don’t know enough people to have friends.” He says reluctantly.

“Damn. I also have no friends.” Darren says as his eyes scrunch up in thought. “I guess we could just go to farm.” He says after some consideration.

Charlie smiles. “Yeah, man. When we've leveled up and are super strong, we'll conquer the shit out of that dungeon.” He says before letting out a laugh.

Darren smiles. This was starting to sound fun. He thinks with some happiness.

…

…

The pair was bandaged up, and after hearing their stories, the hospital staff called the police. After they came down to take Darren and Charlie’s statements, the two were free to go with a goodie bag of antibiotics.

Darren and Charlie exchanged numbers and agreed to meet in two weeks. They both felt the need to rest for a while and they also wanted to prepare a few things for their trip.

…

…

“Holes are popping up everywhere. They’re in the middle of the streets, opening up in stores, in libraries, in businesses! All over the world! If you ask me, this look likes the rapture. Are we all going to be judged for our sins? Dr. Malter, any thoughts?” A voice says on the television.

Darren removed his shoes and walks inside to find his mother watching the television with some popcorn.

A man on the tv lets out a chuckle. “I don’t know about a rapture, but it can’t be denied that something unusual is going on. For all we know, this phenomenon could be man-made. I blame the right-wing. Would the earth get to this state without their shameless intrusion into the natural world?” The man says, with a hint of a smile.

“Woah, woah. Let’s calm down here. I don’t think this is the time for things to get political quite yet. Let’s wait for some empirical evidence first before we judge. Wouldn’t you agree, doctor?” Another man says on the tv with some amusement.

“Sorry, sorry. I jumped the gun. But I think we all know that this is going to get political eventually.” The doctor says before letting out a laugh.

The host chuckles. “We’ll be back with more after a short commercial break.” She says before the tv cuts to an advertisement for some sort of medicine.

“Where were you?” Darren’s mom asks after removing her eyes from the tv.

“I got stuck in one of those holes.” Darren says casually as he collapses onto the couch, next to his mom. “There were a bunch of bug monsters inside. I got a few cuts from fighting my way out.” He says as he sneakily grabs some popcorn.

“Oh?” Darren’s mom says with a raised eyebrow as he takes a glance at Darren. There was blood on his pants and one of his arms was bandaged up. “You went to the hospital?” She asks with some worry.

“Yup. But I’m fine now. I’m going to my room to rest.” Darren says before giving his mom a quick kiss on the cheek and getting up.

“Let me know if I have to buy any medicine. And I’ll have dinner ready soon.” Darren’s mom calls out.

“Thanks, mom.” Darren calls back.