Chapter 10

The area in front of the hospital had emptied out quickly, with everyone having already moved a safe distance away. There were a few injured stragglers that were busy being carried out of harm's way, but it seemed that a large portion of the pedestrians had been able to get away in time.

Looking at the crowd in the distance, Zac could already see people on their phones. Some were filming with their crappy flip phones, but he could see a few with their phones pressed to their ears. No doubt they were phoning the authorities.

Honestly, this was a good chance to leave. He could take his minions and disappear into the city. From there, find Skitter, the Undersiders, and come up with a plan from. Hell, even speaking to Contessa wasn't out of the question.

As he was considering his options, Zac heard a voice call out for help. Looking for the source, he could see a young man supporting an injured woman. Her leg was in really bad shape, with a large gash running down the side of it. Zac wasn't sure, but he thought he spied the white of bone in the wound.

Running over, he took her free arm and slung it over his shoulder. Together they carried her to a patch of grass and laid her down. He wasn't sure who was going to help with the wound, since a large portion of the city's health workers had just died in a fiery explosion. She looked pale, probably having lost a lot of blood already.

His hearing was steadily coming back, and he could already hear the sound of sirens in the distance. No doubt the PRT would be here soon as well.

"Thanks," the young man said, before turning to look at the ruined hospital.

The young man was skinny, probably early 20s, with only a few strands of hair on his lip and chin that he was probably trying to grow out, and wearing a checkered shirt with some jeans.

"Do you know what happened?" Zac asked, joining him in looking at the still-smoking building.

The young man took a breath before answering. "Azn Bad Boys," while coughing. "Lung walked in the lobby with, like, 20 of his goons. The dude started throwing fire around, so I just got out of there. Started telling people as I ran, and then next thing I know, I'm staring at the sky."

Lung? Zac thought inwardly. But he's supposed to fight Taylor and get arrested? What's he doing here?

"Fuck," Zac cursed loudly. If things had already changed, that meant Skitter wouldn't join the Undersiders. Any plans he had had just went out the window. The entire plot would now change.

"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?"

Zac ignored the voice, even though it sounded like it was coming from beside his ear.

"Hey, man. Are you alright," the young man asked, noticing the wounds spread across his back.

"I'm fine,' Zac replied in a harsh tone, regretting it instantly. "I'm fine," he added in a softer tone.

More importantly, Sophie had just sprinted into a hospital that not only could fall apart any second, but was also filled with a bunch of gang members. There was no way they'd blow themselves up, so they had to have had a plan.

Zac could only think of one reason they'd be here. The prisoner he'd seen on the first day.

Or, maybe they just like blowing up hospitals?

His memory of Worm wasn't perfect, but the prisoner is what made sense to him.

Satisfied the young man and woman were safe for now, Zac started a slow jog to the hospital.

"Hey, you can't go in there, man! The place could fall apart any second."

Zac ignored the words, already entering the shattered glass doors of the lobby.

The ceiling had collapsed in some places, with light fixtures hanging by their wires and flickering intermittently. There were also scorch marks along the walls, which matched the young man's story of Lung entering.

As he walked, he could feel the crunch of glass beneath his feet. If it wasn't for his flimsy slippers, he'd be leaving red footprints along the floor already. He took only a few steps before he saw an arm sticking out from underneath a table. Rushing over, he grabbed the edge of the table, freeing the body underneath.

Zac knew even before looking at the body that she was dead, but he had ignored his ability, hoping that it was wrong. He'd felt his ability flare, letting him know he could turn her into one of his minions.

He was about to pass over her, but thinking of what the young man had said, and that Lung was still most likely in the building, he used his ability on her, instantly feeling the connection form and the tiredness wash over him.

He gave her the command and she stood up. Besides the large amount of blood around her midsection, she looked normal. Pencil skirt, with a blazer over her a white shirt and high heels.

Sales rep? Zac wondered. She has the face to pull it off, he thought, regretting it when he realized that she was, in fact, dead.

He was noticing that the dead bodies were starting to matter to him less and less.

He had her follow him. The click-clack of her high heels in the silent building was especially ominous. Zac found 3 more bodies before even making it out of the lobby. Well, his ability did.

He felt the pull from his ability, which led him to the duo who were covered from sight by fallen ceiling panels.

Two unknown males. One in scrubs, and one in casual clothing.

The one in the scrubs was missing his head, but even so, his ability worked on him. He felt a bit weird about having a headless body follow him around, so he spent a few seconds looking for it, but failed to see it anywhere.

Sorry, buddy, Zac thought, having the duo join him and the sales rep lady.

He wished he'd spent some time practicing controlling them better, but it was hard to find time to play puppet with dead bodies without being caught. He could make them do basic things, but it was hard to control each one's actions simultaneously. Zac put it down on his to-do list for later.

What was more surprising, though, was the blinking notification he saw in the top-right corner of his vision.

-DING!-

[Raise the Dead! Completed]

For completing the quest, he had the choice of two new abilities. The first was [Sense Share] and the second was [Pocket Dimension].

It didn't give him any more information than that, but he could guess what each one did.

"How about some help?" Zac said to the empty room, knowing his intended target could hear him if it wanted.

"Now, where's the fun in that?"

He didn't expect any help, but thought he'd try his luck anyhow.

Judging by the ability names, [Sense Share] would allow him to see, hear, and smell what his minions did, and [Pocket Dimension] was an alternate dimension where he could…

Zac wasn't exactly sure how big it was. Was it, say, the size of a backpack or a room? Ideally, it would be big enough to store some of his minions, so that he could carry them around with him at all times.

You're slowly turning into a psycho, Zac, he thought to himself.

He had another notification as well.

[Raise the Dead II!]

[Status: 0/20]

Another quest, but with the amount he needed to raise doubled, so even if he didn't choose one now, he'd probably get the option again in the future.

Not wanting to waste any more time, he went with his gut and picked [Sense Share]. [Pocket Dimension] had too many unknowns, and [Sense share] could be valuable to him right now.

He looked over his minions, and so he wouldn't get confused, gave them each names off the top of his head. Eeny was the sales rep lady, Meeny was the one in scrubs without a head, and Miny was the man in casual clothes.

Looking at Miny, he activated [Sense Share]. His perspective instantly shifted. He went from looking at his minion to looking at himself.

Jesus, I look like shit, he thought while looking at himself.

His dark, curly hair was sticking up everywhere, his beard had grown out in patches. It was extremely disorientating looking at himself while moving his own body. Every action was reversed, like looking in a mirror.

He turned his body around while looking at himself, wanting to see his injured back. His jersey was torn in places and he was bleeding from debris hitting him. It stung every time he moved, but it wasn't that bad overall.

Curiosity got the better of him, and he switched to Meeny, his headless minion, eager to see how the ability worked using him. He saw only blackness. No smell, no sight, no hearing.

Creeped out, he stopped the use of [Sense Share], looking at the world through his eyes once more.

"All right. Let's get Sophie and get out of here," he said to his minions while heading deeper into the hospital. While walking, he took control of his minions in the morgue. "And whoever else we can find, I guess."