Droplets of sweat beaded on his neck before accumulating on the plastic surface of the pillow. Felix turned over on his side, mumbling that he needed to sleep for a few more minutes, and his alarm hadn't rung yet. Clarity gripped him, even as he groaned, trying to open his eyes only to be met with light, sanitary tiled walls.

This isn't my bedroom.

The realization hit him like a bucket of cold water and he jerked up, dimly aware that even the air smelled different, and that he had no blanket on him. Gwen had to have taken it from him when he was asleep. But why had she also set the thermostat so high? Then again, this wasn't his bedroom. Had he had a heart attack and ended up in a hospital?

Thoughts stilled when he met the eyes of a short, dainty woman who had placed her hand gently, if firmly, on his chest to prevent him from rising when he had tried. She was saying something.

'... You can't just do that! The IV will get yanked out. You know this Fel. Geez, one would think you had regressed to being a baby.' the woman murmured, brightening when she realized Felix was conscious. Her eyes had a matrix of bright electric blue against their natural brown. The matrix moved as she squinted down at him, analysing critically.

'Miss?' Felix forced the word from his mouth. I can't panic. 'What... happened?'

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The woman's red bob cut hair moved animatedly as she hustled around, saying something, not noticing as his eyes went wide and then momentarily blank. Her hands moved swiftly, holding the IV's insertion site down as she pulled the catheter out with slow practised ease. Hand pressing a sterile cloth to prevent excessive bleeding before she checked the spot and made sure it was fine. Only then did she to ask how he was feeling. She looked up, only to Felix staring off into space, unresponsive again as she shook him gently.

Felix, for his part, was not trying to ignore her or space out. It felt like somebody had emptied his brain out into a jar, pulverized them along with someone else's and tried to pour them right back into his cranial cavity. And then, abruptly, it stopped. A chilling clarity settled over him.

His thoughts were not his own.

His body was not his own.

His future had been changed.

Irreversibly.

Felix puked, and the nurse, Kira, if this other person's memory served right, moved quickly, bringing out a basin for him to puke in. He looked up, his head swimming in all the light as all the memories that weren't his became his forcefully. Staring around the room when his stomach stabilized, his eyes traced bleak white sanitary tiles everywhere, with large pieces of high quality equipment standing around, just waiting to be used.

'Are you okay?' Kira emphasized every word, and was holding Fel by his shoulders, but standing as far as she could at the same time. The electric blue was pretty against the concerned brown eyes that were staring as if to understand his soul.

That was the last thing he registered before he fainted.