Feeling the cold wind buffeting his face, Zac opened his eyes, only to see the ground way too far away for comfort. Next came the pain. Explosions of discomfort arced across his body, nearly causing him to blackout from the agony.

No! It didn't work.

He tried his best to stay awake, stay conscious, and began inspecting his surroundings. The ground was far below him. A drop from this height would do more harm than a car, instantly killing him.

He looked around to find the source of his plight, seeing the familiar-bluish green suit of Eidolon. He was being carried, princess style, in the hero's arms. Sorry, Cape. But judging by the funny angle at which his arm was bent and the various injuries criss-crossing his body, Eidolon hadn't been able to get to him before the car had.

I wonder if the driver is okay?

Besides his arm, which now hung limply, lacerations and skin tears covered his body, leaking large amounts of blood, falling to the Earth below.

Brockton Bay was now closer than ever. Zac could now see the skyscrapers piercing the skies, as well as the lights from the traffic below snaking through its streets. As the duo flew overhead, Zac could even see the pedestrians down below point their way, admiration on their face at seeing a Cape, but then followed by disgust as blood rained over them.

Where is he taking me?

Zac tried to talk, but the pain wasn't exclusive to his body. His jaw failed to heed his commands. Eidolon must've noticed he was awake because his glowing eyes shifted from their destination in the distance to meet his own.

"Bloody fool. Stay with me!"

Zac tried to keep his eyes open, but it was an uphill battle. His eyes closed and the world went dark.

Zac woke up, squinting at the bright lights overhead. The air seemed to carry the distinct scent of antiseptic, mixed with the faint aroma of latex gloves.

Around him, doctors and nurses moved with purpose, their faces hidden behind masks as they attended to the steady stream of patients. The air was alive with the constant hum of medical equipment and the urgent chatter of the people working around him.

Zac's eyes darted around, trying to take in everything at once. The rows of curtained-off treatment areas, the bustling nurses' station, the monitors displaying vital signs in glowing green hues.

His frantic gaze was interrupted by a forceful hand closing in on his face, with fingers prying his eyelids open. Light once again blinds him as a torch gingerly moves across his vision from right to left.

A commanding voice rang out, the woman prying his eyelids open. "What happened? He looks like he was hit by a bus!"

"Close! The fool stepped in front of a car." Eidolon?

"On purpose?"

"Mm-hmm." Not a man of many words.

"We need to get a CT scan and X-rays! I wanna know what's going inside," the doctor's voice sounded out again.

Zac was moving again. He could feel the gurney jump every time it hit a bump, causing bouts of pain to erupt from his injuries, along with the constant buzzing of fluorescent lights passing overhead. A door came into view, with letters the same color as the blood drenching his clothes.

"Authorized Personnel Only."

He was wheeled through the now-open doors, causing another flare of pain as the gurney hit another bump. The doctors and nurses continued to mill about him, prodding him with their cold tools. Eidolon stayed where he was, perhaps happy that he delivered Zac to the hospital in one piece. With that, his work was done.

Got some Endbringers to fight, probably.

""And call for a consult from neurology." Zac felt the doctor's hand close on his jaw, turning his head to the side. "Looks like he hit his head pretty bad!" The doctor's orders were rapid fire, concise. ""Let's start an IV and get fluids running. He's probably in shock."

"Doctor, BP and heart rate plummeting. We're losing him!"

Who? Me?

"Damnit! Get a crash cart. Move! Move! Out of the way. Where is my ER?!"

"Wake up!"

Zac bolted upright, finding himself on the familiar large chair once again. Oh, god. Not again.

"You know, the task was not to die. Hehehe."

Zac stood on his chair, gazing at the shadowy figure looming over him, the same large grin splitting the shadowy mass from non-existent ear to non-existent ear.

"But, I thought something like this might happen. It seems the class I chose for you was better than expected."

-Ding!-

[User has died.]

[Kiss of Death activated.]

"You should really check your status when you get a chance!"

-Bleep-Bleep!-

Zac regained consciousness for what felt like the hundredth time, but thankfully now without the agonizing pain. He was lying in a hospital bed, clothed in some sort of hospital gown. His original blood-stained clothing probably incinerated already.

To his left, he spied a heartbeat monitor. It emitted a steady rhythm of beeps, each one marking his heart pumping blood throughout his body, and with each beat, a faint sense of reassurance washed over him.

Surprisingly, it seemed he'd been given his own private room, along with an accompanying bathroom, something he would not normally be able to afford. The curtains were drawn, but it was daytime judging by the small amount of sunlight that was bleeding through the gaps.

How long was I out?

He took a moment to assess his body. Seeing no injuries or awkwardly bent extremities, he breathed a sigh of relief. Even so, he didn't get his hopes up. On the table to the side, he eyed a glass of water and lunged for it like someone who had been lost in the Sahara Desert.

While he was downing the water, he could hear the sliding door to his room open, soon followed by a rather cute nurse in light blue scrubs. Blue eyes, with blonde hair tied back into a ponytail, with a figure even the unflattering scrubs failed to hide. A nametag was fixed to her chest with the words "Sophie" scrawled out in rather tidy penmanship.

She seemed surprised to see him awake, judging by her eyebrows shooting to the sky. She even jumped a bit upon making eye contact.

"You're awake!" she voiced eagerly. Zac couldn't tell if it was a statement or a question.

"Uh, yeah," he said between sips of water. "I don't s'pose you could tell me exactly where I am?" he asked hoarsely, wiping away the water still dripping from his mouth.

"Brockton Bay Medical Center. You were brought in by Eidolon after you…" She trailed off, seemingly not wanting to offer more. Her eyes once again widened as she took in his healed body. Bounding over, she took his arm, inspecting it carefully. "Not even a scar. This is amazing! It was touch and go for a moment. We thought you…" she trailed off once again, not finishing her sentence.

Died, huh?

Zac was too dismayed to care. his hopes of being back home were dashed instantly. He had thought, since he had no injuries, that he was back on Earth – his Earth. That maybe, just maybe, he was in some sort of accident, and was perhaps in a coma, just having a nightmare. No shadowy god monster, no getting transported to a world of fiction. That he had been lying in a hospital this whole time and had woken up to reality.

"This is your reality now!"

Zac grimaced at the words, something which didn't escape the nurses attention. He couldn't see the shadowy figure, but heard his words as if he was right next to him. No escape, huh?!

"No escape!"

It was Zac's turn to be surprised. You can read my mind?

No answer came.

Sophie seemed to sense his frustration, giving him a pat on the back. "Let me get the doctor."

Before she could leave, Zac grabbed her arm, causing her to face him once more. "Uh, more water, please," Zac said, pointing to the pitcher that was on the other side of the room.

She poured him some more water from the pitcher on the table, before leaving him alone with his thoughts.

He wanted to be alone anyhow, to think things through and get his story straight. Only now did he see the blinking notification in the top right-hand corner of his vision, and judging by the nurses lack of concern over it, he doubted she could see it. No, it was meant for his eyes.

Unless this is a normal thing here. Who says the world is the same as the one in the book?

Zac eyed the notification, briefly remembering the words floating across his vision while he had been drifting between the brink of life and death.

-Ding!-

[User has died.]

[Kiss of Death activated.]

[Cooldown remaining: 12 hours, 27 minutes, 12 seconds.]

Author's Note - Anyone know a hospital in Worm? I can't remember any.