A loud gasp was heard from the clearing as Darren Miller woke up. He breathed heavily as he felt air push in and out of his lungs, and slowly over the course of a few minutes, his breathing slowed to a more manageable manner. He laid back down and closed as he began to remember what happened before he woke up.

He began his day with a bit of StarCraft to get himself ready to deal with today. A few online rounds as Zerg to deal with Terran dogs and Protoss scum and he was ready to go. He dressed himself and took a quick look in the mirror. He was of Chinese descent but was born in America at 18 years old with short black hair, brown eyes with glasses, a light tan, and a slightly muscular build at a height of 6 feet and an inch. He wore a black shirt and blue jeans along with brown hiking sneakers. Overall, he had a nerdy look to him, but he was damn proud of it as well.

He took an apple with him for a light breakfast as he left his apartment off his way to college to prepare for classes. As he took his time to get there, it wasn't much of a walk really, he heard a cry of shock. Out on the street to his left a young girl had ran out onto the road as a truck was about to hit her. Her mother tried to run and save her daughter, but she wouldn't make in time. But Darren could make it.

In a quick sprint he pushed the girl out of the way and into her mother's arms but was hit by the truck instead. He blacked out and woke a few moments later to blurry vision and a distant sound of screaming.

Huh, he thought to himself, this really isn't so bad. Can't feel anything either. Weird.

He slowly turned his eyes to where he heard the screaming seeing the mother her eyes wide open with her hand over her mouth still screaming in shock. His eyes panned down to the girl with her mother's other arm wrapped around her. She seemed shocked at the boy who had saved her from death. She mouthed the words, "thank you" in his direction and Darren smiled slightly as he saw that.

Well, I guess I did something right. I wonder what's next, Darren thought as his consciousness slowly slipped away into darkness.

Then he saw light.

He opened his eyes as he began to contemplate his situation.

So, I died. Am I in Heaven or something? Can't be Hell, he thought to himself as he took a quick look at his surroundings, pretty sure Hell is more fire and brimstone and not trees, grass, and water.

He found himself in a clearing next to a running river with a forest surrounding him. The area seemed flattened out with a decent amount of ground. Darren got up and walked over to the edge of the river and looked down at his reflection. He looked fine. No visible scarring on him, no broken bones, not a scratch. He went to pinch himself and felt a small sting.

Okay so not dead, Heaven, or, thank God, Hell, he thought to himself as he started walking towards the center of the clearing. Now I just need to figure out where the hell I am.

Suddenly he felt a strange pulling sensation direct him. He felt some sort of need to dig his hands into the middle of the clearing. His body moved and directed him as he willingly gave himself to the strange instinct. As his hands went into the dirt, he felt an energy move from his hands into the ground. When he pulled away a small mass of fleshy substance covered by a thin film of transparent skin began to pulsate in the dirt.

Darren walked a distance away from the weird thing growing in the ground. He wasn't afraid of it strangely enough, in fact, he felt a sort of joy encompass him as he laid down on the ground, his eyelids feeling heavy as he began to pass out. He fell asleep to a light and calming tune coming from the direction of the fleshy mass.