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I want to say yes, but all that comes out is a cough that sounds like I’m choking on dust. Even worse, I’m now in a full-on coughing attack. My glasses slide down the bridge of my nose, and as I go to slide them back in place, she beats me to it, grabbing hold of them and pulling them toward her.

She knows better than anyone that without my glasses the world is quite literally a blur. I want to remind her of that, but all of this is a lot, to say the least, so if her getting her bearings straight means I have to go without the ability to properly see for a bit, I’ll deal.

Whatever calm washed over her momentarily is gone the closer my glasses get to her face and then down to her chest. “Am I…”

“Okay? Yes. You are.”

She shakes her head. “No. I don’t care about that. Am I naked?”

“Umm. Yes.”

“Why?!”

That’s a great question. I would love to say, It’s totally customary when one gets sucked into an alternate reality that all clothes disappear as part of the process, but I have no idea why I transported here fully clothed, and she didn’t.

“You know what? Forget it. We have bigger fish to fry.” She places my glasses back on me.

I’m about to thank her when she decides to sit up.

“Wait. You shouldn’t…” Get up so fast.

She’s now standing, my shirt contorted sideways, partially covering her.

Snapping her fingers she instructs me to rise to my feet. There’s no missing the way her eyes trail over me as I move from being seated to now standing, towering over her. Her gaze appraises me from head to toe.

When you are lonely and have nothing but time on your hands you learn a thing or two about yourself. Turns out aside from gaming I’m capable of having other hobbies. Working out, for one. Before I came here, I was tall and lanky without much muscle or interest in obtaining any. Since I’ve had nothing but time on my hands, I’ve used the obstacles that’ve defined my days as a tool to pass the time which has afforded me a muscular, athletic build.

“You look different.” Her observation sounds like a question.

“Bad different?”

“Oh god, no. Not at all.”

I feel a rush of warm flood to my cheeks. “Cool.”

Cool? Really?

She mutters something to herself that I don’t quite catch. My focus is scattered. My mind is moving a mile a minute with all I want to say to her.

How have you been?

Did you follow your dream of becoming a game designer?

What year is it?

I’m sorry for leaving you.

She walks around the open space, observing our surroundings. The neon haze of purples, vibrant greens, and a lush pink that matches the pieces of hair framing her face creates a halo around her that makes me want nothing more than to suspend reality more than it already is. There’s so much awe in her eyes, similar to how I was when I first arrived. As gamers, to be sucked into a world that looks and feels like a game, is a dream. It looks magical even. Though I learned quickly how deceptive that is.

Another thing I learned is the longer you stay idle, the angrier it becomes.

Natalia stops her pacing. “What is this place?”

Purgatory.

A living, breathing hell.

A nightmare masquerading as a dream.