Valory

 It's the same thing every night. I go to sleep and it's like I'm transported somewhere else. I'm always aware and conscious. This night was no different. I sat up to survey my surroundings. As I looked around, I noticed something different. Extremely different… 

It was densely foggy, and I was sitting in the middle of a dirt road. I scanned the area around me and saw a multitude of old, worn-down buildings. I place my hand on my knee and grunt as I stand up. I looked right and left before walking into one of the buildings. I pushed the splintering wooden door which swung open with ease. As I looked around the barely lit area, I frowned. It was empty save for the furniture. The building looked like it was abandoned. There are cobwebs, overturned tables, preserved alcohol… This must be a bar.

"Hello?" I called. I continued walking around the bar. There were scattered poker cards and chips all over the floor. Shattered glass from whiskey glasses littered the wooden floor. I made sure to avoid those as carefully as I could, considering I was barefoot and in a grey sweatshirt, completed with some comfortable shorts. Who knew what kind of diseases I could contract from getting cut.

"What in the world…" I leave the area and enter another building; it's in the same state as the bar but it looks like this used to be an Inn of some sort. Given the register and the stairs leading up… Wait. The register. I walked over and frowned.

"This looks like it was made in the 1800's…" I leave the building and look around more carefully.

"Oh crap…." This is definitely a town. One you'd see in those cowboy movies… But where was everyone? Last I checked, towns like these normally included barr fights and all that cowboy stuff.

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Still haven't woken up… So, either I'm dead in real life or something is severely wrong here… I've had to be here for three days. At least. I walked back out on the dirt road and sat down. I was going stir crazy. Nobody is here. I'm all by myself… How long can a person last without human interaction? 5 days? At this rate it'll be less than five. I'm in a literal ghost town.

"Why haven't I woken up yet?" I grumbled angrily. I'm not dead. I can't be. I collapsed back against the dirt. The sky was a continuous grey clouded scene. The fog hasn't lifted, it's not so thick I can't see my own hand but thick enough I can't see any more than twenty yards in front of me. 

Okay… Maybe moping around isn't what I should be focusing on now. I sit back up, dusting the dirt out of my hair. I look up and freeze. Vaguely, I can make out a humanoid figure. I jog over and skid to a stop. It is a person.

"Holy- are you…" I reach out and the boy grabs my wrist. He was about a foot taller, maybe two or three years older.

"Where am I?" He demanded. His reaction was completely valid.

"Look dude, no idea. I've been here for two days at most. I think. That's what it felt like." I pull my hand back.

"Did you put me here?" He asked.

"What?! No!" I exclaimed, a bit offended. "Your guess is as good as mine. Things like this usually happen to me. Maybe not this exact thing, but I usually wake up."

"What are you going on about?" The male frowned, distrust evident on his pale face.

"Look, did you go to bed, or did you get knocked unconscious? I need details." It felt so good to talk to another person.

"You're crazy."

"Answer my question."

"I don't know! My memories have been wiped or something." He told me in exasperation.

"Alright. We're in a town. One of those old western kinds of towns. But this one is completely deserted. What you see now is what I've been experiencing for however long I've been here." I pause, I don't remember going to bed… But there is no way I'm dead.

"You're kidding." The guy sighed. 

"What's your name? If we're gonna be stuck here, we might as well know each other's names at least." 

The guy sighed. "Damien. You?"

"Valory."

"Alright… You say this happens to you regularly, Valory?" Damien clarifies slowly.

"Every night since I was seven. But this one's different. Normally I can remember if I went to bed. I don't remember even sitting on my bed."

"This is a new one for me." Damien mutters. Looking around the area.

"I've explored every building here. It's abandoned. But there's still stuff, it's like they just disappeared or something."

"Okay, let's think about this. Why am I here in your dream or whatever." He took a moment to calm down.

"No idea. But having you here is now slowly relinquishing the insanity levels that were rising." Damien raised his eyebrows at my statement.

"Alright… Have you seen bodies at all?"

I shook my head. "No. It's like the townspeople just gathered up what they had on them only and left." 

"Hmm."