“Dammit,” a voice said. Sounded like an older dude. And by the inflexion in his voice, the man was pissed. “Why did you have to get another one that was so... grungy?”

I wanted to open my eyes, but I couldn’t muster the energy to pry them open. I was lying on something... sharp. The air was warm, almost cozy. I rolled over and curled myself up like a hedgehog, wanting to get more sleep. I didn’t want to deal with whoever was talking trash about me. Must have been some other dude in my jail cell. I assumed I would have at least woken up in a hospital. I guess the cops didn’t think I deserved a medical examination. Couldn’t say I blamed them.

“You know how difficult it is to pluck people from the stream.” This voice was the total opposite of the first guy. Feminine. Soft. Caring. Some kind of foreign accent. If I had to put money down, I’d wager Kenyan.

“I don’t pay you to waste my money, Nuru. If this one doesn’t do well, we might as well call it quits!”

“You haven’t even given him a chance!” the woman shot back. “Remember, you were the one that picked the last Dungeon Runner. It’s my job to recruit, so let me do it.”

“But it’s my money!” the guy said, all whiny. Thought it odd for them to be talking about… some video game of all times. But I decided to try to sleep off my confusion.

“I’ve gone through his history. Conrad here look very promising from the data I’ve collected.”

That was the first time anyone said something like that about me. Especially considering the fact I was in jail. Maybe she was my lawyer?

The first dude huffed before stomping away. I heard the door slam behind him. With that guy gone, I mustered enough energy to open my eyes. I really wanted to talk to... this lawyer chick and figure out what kind of trouble I was in.

I took in a deep breath and rubbed my eyes together. It was dark, bordering on pitch black but I think that’s because my eyes were so used to being closed. Then I found enough energy to sit myself upright. When I put my hand down, I realized what I was lying on. My fingers rubbed some of the thin, straw-like substance beneath me.

“Hay?” I muttered as I picked up a few pieces.

“Oh, you’re awake!” the woman said with pleasure. I felt a pair of hands reach around my shoulders and keep my upright. She wrapped a piece of cloth around my back. “Don’t exert yourself too much. Take this time to gather your composure.”

“Let’s get straight to the point, miss,” I said with a sigh. I blinked a few times and my vision started to come back. “How much trouble am I in?”

She paused for a moment. “Well, that depends on how you’d define trouble.”

“What charges are they hitting me we? Accessory to murder? Fleeing the scene of a crime?” I had a raging headache. I placed my hand against my forehead and grunted. “How many years am I looking at?”

“The rest of your life.”

My heart sank. Should have figured. That poor manager lost his life for a few hundred dollars and a candy bar. And now I’m looking at the same. I closed my eyes again to stop tears from spilling out.

“But... I’m not talking about what you’re thinking of.”

I lifted my hands from my face and opened my eyes as wide as I could. I was in a stone room on top of a stone platform. Torches and candles surrounded the area. Then I looked down and noticed that I was naked save for the piece of cloth the woman kept pressed against my back. I quickly crossed my legs and covered my sensitive area with both hands.

“What the hell are you doing?” I shouted as I turned my head around, disrupting my hay bed. The woman let go of my cloth blanket as my body twisted to face her.

Her skin was a rich ebony shade. Not much older than me, mid-twenties it seemed. The woman had a pair of big rimmed glasses over her deep brown eyes while wavy black hair rested on her shoulders. She had a beige robe as a top and a tight blue skirt that reached down just above her knees while a pair of leather boots reached all the way to her shins.

She looked embarrassed when her cheeks turned a bright red. Almost guilty. She adjusted her glasses with one hand while her other hand covered her heart.

“I know it’s a lot to take in, Conrad,” she said calmly. “Just give me a moment to explain.”

I looked at the giant stone altar behind her. It reached towards the ceiling and had all manner of weird symbols and inscriptions carved along the surface. “Are you... sacrificing me?”

“Quite the opposite, Conrad. We summoned you.”

My lips froze. I hunched forward, dumbfounded by the lady’s statement. I wanted to yell at her and tell her she wasn’t being funny, but in all honesty it made as much as sense as any other explanation my pea-brain could have come up with.

“What’s your name?” I asked the lady.

“Nuru,” she said with a smile. “And I already know yours.”

“I heard you mention it.”

“I also know a lot about you.”

My heart almost beat through my chest. I immediately thought of the more embarrassing and personal moments in my life. I really hope she wasn’t talking about my internet browsing history. “How much?”

She pulled out a clipboard from underneath her arm and shifted through six or seven pages. “Just what’s in these files.”

“I see.”

“Here, why don’t you get dressed first?” Nuru turned around and picked up some neatly folded garments and handed them to me. “Don’t worry, I won’t watch.”

I took the clothing. Got up to my feet and dressed myself in the brown trousers and white top she gave me in less than a minute.

“Oh, and here’s a pair of shoes.” She handed me some low-cut fur boots. I stuck my foot inside them and tied the string around them. By the time I was done, I looked like I was ready for a renaissance fair.

“What is this place?” I asked, brushing off the bit of hay that was stuck to my pants.

“You’re in another world, Conrad,” Nuru said as she walked towards the other side of the room. She pulled the door open and sunlight flooded the room. I lifted my arm to shield my eyes from the sudden rush of light that almost blinded me on the spot. “Welcome to Igitah.”

“Is that a neighborhood in SoCal or something?” I said as I wobbled towards the door. Nuru stood by the exit, holding it wide open for me.

“I told you that you were in another world. Earth this is not.”

“Great,” I muttered. “You’re not being metaphorical, are you?”

She shook her head. “Nope. Being one hundred percent honest with you. Don’t worry, everyone we summon is just as confused as you are.” Nuru stepped to the side and gestured for me to exit the stone area by bowing. I squinted my eyes a bit tighter to stop the sunlight from blinding me.

A nice calm breeze tingled my bare skin. I let the scent of a fresh meadow flood my nostrils. Smelled a lot better than the chemicals they use in those laundry detergents. A few seconds passed and my brain adjusted to the rush of light. I used my hand as a makeshift visor and took in the surroundings.

“This place is gorgeous,” I said to myself. Granted, I’ve spent my entire life in the less-desirable part of America’s least favorite city, so it wasn’t hard to top what I’ve been used to. As long as food wrappers didn’t litter the streets like snow and graffiti coat every inch of chipped brick, then it would have looked good to me.

But this place looked like something you’d see in a movie. The grass was actually green. And didn’t have weeds sprouting all the way up to my shins. Large wooden huts surrounded the area with people roaming in and out of them. They all wore clothing similar to Nuru, old-timey, fantasy-ish clothing but with a hint of modern sensibility.

“I’d love to show you around the place, but we are behind schedule at the moment. Very behind,” Nuru said as she grabbed me by the arm. “Sorry to leave you with more questions than answers.”

“What? Where are we going?” I didn’t bother trying to struggle away from the lady’s hold. She seemed nice enough, and I didn’t want to get in trouble with these folks after having just been in a police chase.

“I can give you a brief summary on the way there.” She pointed to a large stone structure at the far end of this... village place. Looked something straight out of a textbook on ancient Greece.