Zeke woke with a start. His head was throbbing painfully as if it had been kicked by a mule. He gingerly sat up and opened his eyes, but when the world came into focus, he was confronted by a truly peculiar scene. He blinked several times, but the scenery remained unchanged.

What was this?

He was on an endless plain. The earth was a vast expanse of coarse black dirt, stretching as far as he could see. The sky above was equally dark, devoid of sun, moon, or stars, making it impossible to determine if it was day or night.

An ominous feeling crept into his heart. How had he ended up here? The last thing he remembered was eating dinner and then…

He gazed at the alien landscape for a long moment, lost in thought. When he finally decided to get up, pain flared through his body, but he persisted and eventually managed to stand. Though he had no visible wounds or broken bones, something felt off. Every movement hurt, as if his entire body was sore from overexertion.

What the hell happened?

[Answer]

An unknown entity has poisoned Host and his companions with a potent paralyzing agent. The headache Host is now experiencing is likely an aftereffect of that substance.