"Good," I say, letting out a sigh of relief. I don't know the range on these devices, but if we're getting messages, we're in it, and it's a fair guess that means not in an alternate dimension or on some other planet.

I quickly flip through the screens on my watch, squint a moment at the message, and then close back out again. "I'm going to let you reply to that. I'm gonna check this building out over here, see if I can find something for your feet."

The deterioration of the village around us is pretty advanced, but with no supplies and not knowing how far out we are, the risk of Kira cutting open a bare foot is more than I'm comfortable with. A few days with even a small wound like that and no real care, it could become a full-blown infection by the time we got home, and unless the Simulation Gods wanted to drop us some antibiotics, we'd be fully screwed.

"If all else fails," I call back, coughing against dust as I rummage through the dust-coated furnishings that haven't fallen through the considerable hole in the floor of the hut, "we can always go full Gilligan's Island and strap some coconut shells to your feet."