Hearts and Heroes

Dream to Nightmare

"What's the issue?" You asked Ethan worriedly as you followed him through the exit portal with Adira and Yael.

"We don't know what happened yet, but Mark appeared in the Hub out of the blue fatally injured. He had knife wounds all over and he had lost a lot of blood. Tim didn't show up with him like I hoped, so right now we're trying to take care of him the best we can using the nurse's help." Ethan explained hastily as they arrived in the Hub.

"Woah." Yael breathed in awe as he looked around him.

"Adira, show him around and stuff, I need (Y/N) to come with me." Ethan instructed the teen in a surprisingly terse tone you had never heard him use before, even in videos.

Adira nodded and left with Yael to go to the weapons shop while you followed Ethan to the sick bay, which you hadn't visited before until now.

Rows of identical beds lined the room, but only one was crowded by a large group of people.

Ethan pushed through the crowd to the front with you, helping the single nurse they had on staff clean his wounds and change his already soaked through bandages.

You gasped in shock when you saw him, hating seeing him hurt and hating the useless feeling you felt well up in you as you watched Ethan work.

You could faintly hear him mumbling "shut up nurse," over and over again under his breath, his face deathly pale as he tossed and turned in his dream like state.

"This is a dream, he can't be hurt." You reasoned softly, shooting a glance at Ethan for support.

"Unfortunately he can, and he can also die." Ethan stated grimly.

"What happened?!" Bob blurted as he hurriedly ran into the hospital wing with Wade, Amy, and Kathryn in tow.

As Ethan told them what he knew, you helped keep people back to give him privacy and room to breathe, glad to be able to do something helpful.

You took comfort in seeing the unconscious gamer's chest rise and fall with shallow breaths as sweat beaded his forehead, relieved that he was still alive.

For now.

You pushed the morbid thought aside as the nurse bustled around you, yanking you from your musings.

Bob, and Wade ushered everyone out of the room while the nurse worked, Amy sobbing by Mark's side as she gripped his limp hand tightly in hers, quietly begging him to stay alive through her tears as Kathryn tried to comfort her.

Tyler and Ethan were posted as sentries by the door to keep visitors away from Mark, not wanting them to have to see their leader lying in bed and fighting for his life.

You absently mindlessly wandered to the training room and began sparing with a mannequin, picturing it as a Terrorling.

Dash.

Slash.

Retreat.

Repeat.

You could feel your anger threatening to overwhelm you as you continued honing your techniques, picturing Mark lying helpless in bed every time you closed your eyes to fuel your determination to fight.

For what felt like hours, you fought and fight as your shirt quickly became soaked in sweat, your muscles burning and breathing heavily as you took all the aggression you had in your body out on the innocent training mannequin in front of you.

For Yael,

Dash.

For Adira,

Slash,

For Tuump and their friends,

Retreat.

For Mark.

Repeat.

"(Y/N)!"

Your concentration broke when you heard your name shouted by a familiar voice, causing you to stop and catch your breath to see who wanted you.

"The second chime went off, we need to go." Adira told you gently, as if to anger you with her words.

You nodded, out of breath as you sheathed your weapons and checked your inventory to make you had all the supplies you needed before following her out to the portal, swiping the strands of hair plastered to your forehead with sweat out of your face.