Instinct

- Prologue -

 I wake with a sharp intake of breath. My eyes begin to water as the afternoon sun shines against them pouring dark spots and bright burns within my vision. I blink a few times to clear my sights before I finally can see where I've woken.

I'm sitting in the front seat of a car, my hands placed on my lap, and my head resting against the passenger-side window. It's only now I register the rumble of the cars engine and the vibration of the glass pressed to my temple.

"Hey... are you awake?" a man's deep voice questions from my right.

I startle and whip around to find the voice's source and am greeted by a man with a fluffy head of hair dyed deep-red, the roots a solid dark-black, brown eyes, tanned skin, and a smattering of stubble against his jaw, chin, and upper lip. He looks as worried and confused as I feel.

"Yeah, I... who are you? What am I doing here?" I ask gently. For all I know, I've been drugged and kidnapped. This man could intend to kill me. Upon thinking this, I press myself a little further against the passenger door and try the handle, though it doesn't budge, even though the lock isn't pressed down.

"Hey, it's alright! I'm not going to hurt you, I swear! I don't know where we are either... I just woke up as well," he explains, both hands raised in surrender.

"What do you mean? You're the one driving!"

His hands remain in the air as the car, surprisingly enough, continues to steer itself along the road I've awoken on.

"I know this all seems crazy... believe me, I know. I swear to you I have no idea what's going on, but I need to ask you to remain calm and tell me the last thing you remember... can you do that for me? I promise you I'm just as confused as you are, and all I want is to figure out what the hell's going on here."

I take a deep breath and let my eyes dart around the car. The vehicle itself is still moving on its own as the man beside me has yet to place his hands on the wheel. The interior looks older, some of it polished wood, the car itself a lighter, tanned-cream. I close my eyes once again, inhale, hold said breath, open my eyes, and let it back out.

"Okay... Okay, uh... I remember... I-I was at home. I was at home and I was playing a game... it was... god, I can't remember. It was... the second in the series... Oh! Outlast! I was playing Outlast two!" I reply giddily after pulling the memory to the forefront of my mind. I frown a few moments later though. "So how the hell am I here?"

"I have no clue. All I remember is that I was at home. I was messing with my computer, and then nothing. I woke up maybe a minute or two before you did. At first, I was worried I was dreaming, but I pinched myself, and am apparently still here... so..."

I nod and then look out the windshield. There's something eerily familiar about the scenery floating by, but I can't put my finger on where I've seen it before.

The terrain looks almost swampy, everything wet and muddy, though there's still rolling fields of dried grass and some fresher looking vegetation tossed here and there as well. There is a multiple-opening rivulet running alongside us, and the sun, which looks to be almost ready to begin setting, is reflecting off of said water brilliantly.

"This place seems almost..."

"Familiar?" the man beside me finishes in question.

"You think so, too?"

"Yeah. I didn't really pay much mind as to how familiar until you said something though. I swear it's like I've either been here before or have seen it somewhere."

"I wouldn't have been here. I've been locked up in the city my whole life. I must have seen it somewhere, I just can't think of where..." I add. He nods and continues to think.