The memory vanished from his mind. He couldn't recall the color of the walls anymore. In its place, his phone screen showed a digital piece of jerky. A moment later, a warm, greasy packet slid under his foot. Real jerky.

Liam snorted. "Funny, Google. Ads now?"

He didn't choose.

"What the—" Liam whispered.

And for the first time in six hours, he wasn't bored. He was terrified.

Finally, just as the Vegas lights appeared on the horizon, a boss battle triggered. A pixelated dust storm. The final toll: