As Bexy is walking fast heading towards Lee, Sue jumps in front of her son in a protective way.

  Bexy, reading Sue’s body language, dims his brain activity lights; his eyes seem to zoom around the room, then they fixate on her face. He lifts his hands up, then almost as a second thought, he clasps his hands together in front of himself and, bowing, takes a step back.

  Sue is a bit shocked and, looking behind Bexy, she sees her husband still holding Sakura and walking towards the three of them; as their eyes meet, Sue lifts a hand forward and shakes her head, indicating for her husband to stay put. As a response, Kenji lowers Sakura to the floor and moves her behind him as his body tenses, ready for action.

  Bexy looks up and says, “Sorry if I scared you by the way I was moving.” He then tilts his head to the side as he straightens his back. “Did I do the right gesture of ‘I mean no harm’? There were so many to pick from, even someone like me got confused.”

  Sue takes a step back closer to Lee in order to shield him. “Yes, that was the right gesture for our culture.” Her voice is smooth and gentle, but the tension in her body never goes away.

  Bexy drops his hands, then takes a step forward. “I have a request to ask of Lee, but even if he agrees, I will only do it with your consent.”

  Finally noticing that Bexy poses no threat, Sue relaxes but doesn’t stop shielding Lee with her body, even when Kenji gets near them and places Sakura behind them near Lee.

  “And what request would that be?” asks Kenji, narrowing his eyes.

  “It’s simple…” Bexy starts to say, the lights on his head starting to shine faster; then he composes himself and the lights dim once more as he continues. “All Lee has to do is retake the test with the helmet designed for mapping the human cerebral cortex.”

  At the mention of having to take another test with an identical helmet that caught fire before, there are a few reactions. First, Lee is not sure if he heard correctly as both of his parents are in front of him and Sakura is calling for him. Sue and Kenji tense up, remembering that what Bexy is asking is for Lee to go through the same test that kept him asleep for seven hours with singed hair due to a short circuit.

  Then Beta and Charlie tense up, knowing that if Lee takes another test and the helmet catches fire like before, he might not get away with only singed hair; finally, Doctor Jaborian manages to catch the reflection of Beta and Charlie and, remembering what happened before, asks with a trembling voice, “Is that a good idea, Master Bexy?” He looks over his shoulder and finds Beta and Charlie looking at him. “The last time, the helmet caught fire after short-circuiting.”

  Bexy turns around and says, “I will personally run a safety test on the model.” Then, to show that he trusts his technology, he adds, “And to be sure that it was only a defect with that helmet, I will check around ten of the helmets to make sure that they are in fully working condition. That way, in the event that something goes wrong, I will take full responsibility and recall all the models.”

  Lee, remembering having seen the insignia and the name Zurc D’antas when he was doing the test, and being at the age of five with the curiosity of one, says, patting his dad on the arm, “I don’t mind doing it.”

  Kenji looks at his son and interjects, “But the test can be bad for you; if the helmet is broken, it can hurt you.”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Lee shakes his head. “The helmet was broken. The hospital has more. Are all of them broken?”

  Bexy, wanting to run the test to see what Lee can do with the software, interjects, “Like I said, I will examine the helmets, and I promise that I will only use the helmet if everything is perfect.” He says then, adding in an exaggerated tone, “So you can be sure, even if the helmet has the paint scratched, I won’t use it, even if all the systems get a green light.”

  Kenji and Sue look at one another to see if the other has any objections; on one hand, they are afraid that something may happen again, but on the other, if they refuse to do the test and there is something wrong with Lee, they will be the ones to blame.

  Noticing movement as they are debating, they look to the other side of the glass wall and see Beta and Charlie; this helps them make up their minds, so Kenji says, “As long as the helmet gets your approval that it is in fully working condition, we have no objection.”

  The lights on Bexy's head flash again in multiple colours as he claps his hands once. “Perfect! Unfortunately, you will have to wait a bit as I conduct the safety test on the helmets. So, if you don’t mind and give me some time, I will then ask the doctors to call you when all is ready.”

  With that, the Watsons leave the room. As they are exiting, they nearly crash against the fairy nurse, but with a quick muscle reflex, her wings move and she flies over them.

  “I’m so sorry! I know I’m not supposed to fly over patients and their families within the hospital,” she says, landing and turning around.

  Sue shakes her head and says with a smile, “We prefer that you fly over us than hitting us anytime.”

  “Thank you ever so much,” the nurse says, taking a bow, then, looking up, asks, “Is the examination finished? Are you going back to the room?”

  “Yes, in a way,” Kenji says. “This test gave an error, so they will have to repeat it, but Master Bexy wishes to examine the equipment beforehand. So, if it’s okay, we will go and have lunch.”

  “Okay. Do you know your way around, or would you like me to show you the way?” the nurse asks.

  “We need to go to his room first, then we will head to the canteen,” says Sue, placing a hand on Lee’s shoulder. “But we appreciate the gesture.”

  After they make their way to the hospital room, Lee changes from the hospital slippers to his trainers, and Kenji helps him with his coat as Sue helps Sakura put hers on. After that, they head to the canteen and have lunch, as it is already coming to one in the afternoon.

  As they are having lunch by a window, and the day has a clear sky, Lee notices some birds flying… at the same time, he gets fragmented memories of watching birds; in some, he is holding a baby; in others, he is on top of a tree; and in others, he is walking through a dirt trail surrounded by trees.

  In all his memories, the birds are different, but all identical: a beak, two legs that end in a claw, some with sharp talons, and a pair of wings. When he compares them to the birds he is watching, there are clear differences: some of the birds outside have four wings, others only have two; some have taloned claws, others have four paws. But they all seem small; one of them in Lee’s memory he compares with a gryphon, except that it is really small, like the size of a canary.

  That is until medical staff start to run into the courtyard that is visible via the window; then they start to evacuate everyone to make some room. When Lee looks back up, the canary-like gryphon is now the size of an eagle and getting bigger. Finally, when it lands, Lee and the rest of the canteen can take in the full magnificence of the actual gryphon: head and body of a lion, wings and eyes, as well as the front paws of an eagle with two tails, and as tall as a mustang horse.

  On top of the gryphon sits a paramedic; attached to the side is a stretcher with someone lying on it. The individual is taken into the hospital and, when the paramedic jumps down from the gryphon, through the window, it looks like the medics are thanking him. He signs something on a holographic tablet display that is given to him, then he gives it back, mounts the gryphon, and takes off into the sky.

  Lee and little Sakura are fascinated looking at the scene, not because of the gryphon but because of the rider. From memories of this life, Lee remembers that these are paramedics called by hospitals for rescues or transport of critically ill patients, as in some locations the emergency rescue vehicles can’t operate safely.