Flailing, our lead manages to untie and free himself from the mystery robe before tossing it onto the theater bed. He dashes out of the room and shouts a questioning “Hello” to the theater, but receives only a quiet echo in return. Ducking back into the room, he splashes water on his face and regretfully confirms he’s awake. Scurrying outside in his nightshirt and boxers, his car is waiting for him. Did he... sleep-drive back to the theater last night? He pops the trunk, grabs a new outfit, and changes out in the open.
Shuffling his way through the small town, it seems just as barren as the first night he drove through. The stores are boarded up and now in the morning sun, he can see they’re completely empty inside. His shouts all go unanswered. Plopping down onto the trunk of his car, he stares out at the ghost town before his stomach grumbles. Scanning the street, he spots the diner and decides to take a chance. Prying the board from the door, he pushes his way in to the jaunty jingle of the bell on the door. He questions for somebody again, but after neither being answered by a greeting or a dangerous madman squatting in the abandoned town, he makes his way to the back and finds a smattering of canned fruits in the storeroom. He pops the top on a tin of peaches, gives them a questioning sniff, and when a taste test doesn’t make him retch, he finishes the fruit on the way back to his car. He spent too much time wandering the ghost town to make it back to the hotel before the sun goes down, but he passed a few other places to stay yesterday. Tossing the now empty tin of peaches into a garbage can and drives off.
A new motel, a new overpriced bathroom kit, and he’s ready to put the day’s strange events behind him. Before turning off the room lights, he checks the bolts on the door, wedges a chair into the handle, and puts his car keys under the TV. No sleep-driving, walking, or adventuring for him again. Leaning back on another uncomfortable motel bed, he cautiously drifts off to sleep.
The next morning, he stretches. He feels fantastic. Then he panics. He’s back! Our lead bolts to his feet but gasps and wheezes. He’s having trouble breathing and clutches his chest. Gazing at the mirror, he sees that not only is he back in the silk robe, but underneath it, he’s now wearing a matching bodice and panties. His face turns bright red but when he tries to turn away, he feels another pain and the air knocked out of him. He claws at the bodice, finally grasping the ribbons binding it so tight and undoes them. He gasps for air and groans as he’s freed from the garment squeezing him. He scans the room and then dashes to his bag sitting on the table before stopping. He didn’t bring the bag with him last night. The bag full of mistaken clothes and makeup was left behind so... Our lead cautiously unzips it and tosses it against the wall as if it were about to explode. Instead, a collection of lingerie and makeup containers simply spill out onto the floor. Tearing the closet open, it’s full of nothing but blouses, skirts, and dresses. Shouting into the empty void and receiving no replies once more, he tosses the robe onto the bed and swaps into the least ruffled blouse and least frilly skirt. Looking around the floor, he realizes that his shoes are nowhere to be seen so he turns back to the closet with a dejected sigh. Lining the floor are a number of heels and boots, of course. He tosses them aside and manages to find a thin pair of dancer’s shoes and decides they will make due.
Sliding through the door and back out into the town, our lead dashes past his car and through the streets, the small pebbles making running in the thin shoes rather uncomfortable. Desperate to find some villainous prankster that has been kidnapping him back to the town, the place remains empty. He stops, resting his hands on his knees and huffing for breath when a sight catches his eye. It’s the diner again, but the boards are back on the door. Cautiously making his way over and investigating, the boards are nailed shut with a thin layer of dust and dirt on the boards. He backs away, his bead whipping side to side. Then he dashes back through the streets, finally skidding to a stop and kicking up a dust cloud next to a garbage can. He rattles the can and shoves his hands inside, but it’s completely empty. The tin of peaches from yesterday have vanished.
In a state of shock, he shuffles his way back to his car and leans against it. Is he... caught in some kind of loop? Trapped in this town, doomed to warp back in the morning? A plaything to be dressed up like a doll by some unseen force... His mind turns to a solution: burn the place down. It’s some ghost town nobody remembers and- He stops. That’s not right. If there is somebody hiding in the town and he burns them to death, that’s kind of murder, their bizarre games or not. And if there’s some larger force at play, it probably wouldn’t take too kindly to him setting the place ablaze. No, he needs a different direction. If trying to escape the town brings him back, what if he stays another night... But not in that room again! He can set up in the manager’s office and sit at the desk or something!