Bryan suddenly found himself standing in the middle of the sidewalk. He felt dazed and a little confused. There was a sharp pain in his upper arm, about where his doctor had given him shots as a child. His memory of the last several weeks was dim; the last thing he could remember that he knew actually happened was leaving for work. That was July 24. Given that his watch now said it was August 30, some time had obviously passed.

Bryan’s first instinct was to think that he’d been mugged, but if he had the muggers would’ve taken his watch and (he checked) his wallet, wouldn’t they? This was a strange situation.

Bryan realized that he still didn’t know where he was. The people around him were looking at him strangely, and as he looked at himself he thought he knew why. His clothes were torn and stained, and many of the stains appeared to be blood. They probably think I’m some kind of serial killer, thought Bryan. He checked again to make sure he had money, and went to make himself look presentable.