Back on Lincoln's deteriorating consciousness, the land mass erodes under him. He latches on to the rope for dear life, with the artillery on his back. The weight slowly becomes a hindrance as he tries to get a tight grip on the rope.
Little by little, he struggles to pull himself up. The warrior that he is, he takes aim on every pace, not minding the land eroding from below.
But a threat encroaches from above. Lincoln hears a haunting chant that echoes through the hollow halls. A swarm of ravens hovering from the endless sky swoop downward in a united V formation. This enables them to strike Lincoln from the rope like a gushing wave.
Lincoln then places his shield against them, making them swoop beyond the hollow atmosphere and maneuver for another direct attack at Lincoln.
They do this one more time, striking at his abdomen for him to let go.
But he is able to catch the glowing rope at an instant. The ravens try to peck him on the face, on his chest and on feet. Yet Lincoln intervenes with rustles from his sword. He tries to stab every passing fowl but their ability of flight allows them to dodge him.
With that, he comes up with an offensive towards the swarm. He twists his right on the rope and inspects for a tight grip. He hangs back to the glowing nylon to wait for the swarm to strike. And with precision to his balance, he readies his sword and his shield.
"This is it. No turning back. Whatever happens, I can make it."
Lincoln then leaps to the air and slays the attacking horde. They strike around his armor but Lincoln slices through those he comes across. His might and his faith never stops him.
But back to his external self, Lincoln is in the middle of solving a complex thermodynamics problem (involving a capacitor and its total current) when he gets a weird sensation in his head. His chalk breaks as he presses the sides of his head from the sensation.
"Lincoln, are you okay?" one doctor asks him.
Lincoln ignores his concern as he shrugs this off and continues writing down the thermodynamics solution. "Yes, I am fine."
"Okay, just tell us if you like to stop the procedure."
But the boy insists, "No, I want to solve this problem. It's just a little sting in my hippocampus."
The doctor then just goes along, "Okay, if you say so. Just tell us. Continue."
Lincoln proceeds.
Almost all of the doctors in attendance are amazed how a victim of retrograde amnesia was able to gauge this amount of knowledge and apply it during his therapy. Even Lisa who snuck in the room was amazed at Lincoln's viable intelligence. She could almost conclude that a person suffering from heavy concussion could not process acquiring information that fast. But there it goes, the antithesis of that is right in front of her.
"I can't believe that's Lincoln I see. I mean there would be approximately 6116 logical explanations about this discovery. But this…?" Through her thoughts, Lisa becomes conflicted if she should believe or not.
At that point, Lincoln writes down the numerical solution to the problem. "And that's how you obtain the maximum current through the switch S."
With that, the doctors give him a round of applause over his knowledge.
"Brilliant, Lincoln, brilliant!" one aged neurologist praises him.
"It is a pleasure as a man gifted with blessed intellect," he brags.
As he glances upon the applauding doctors, Lincoln spots Dr. Wong from behind. He can almost spot her wiping tears off her eyes but succumbs to clapping alongside the rest of the doctors. It is like Lincoln is intrigued of her display of affection that requires poignancy. He decides to check on her after the discussion.
In turn, he bows for his audience.
Meanwhile, his sisters wait on the lobby of the hospital to get access to their brother. Thirty minutes go by, and they start to get antsy in waiting. Leni slides her phone back and forth repeatedly. Luna clutches to her guitar as hospital personnel do not allow her to play along the corridor. Luan rocks Lily on her arms to sleep. Lynn and Lucy play tic-tac-toe. Lana inspects the chairs from underneath for wads of chewed bubblegum. And Lola stares at the clock mindlessly.
Gladly, no other visitor has step up in the area because the Louds have occupied all of the seats.
Though Lola's patience is taking its toll that she growls gradually. "WHY CAN'T THIS WAIT?! WE CAME HERE TO SEE OUR BIG BROTHER! AND WE END UP WAITING HERE!"
Immediately, the nurses shushes her.
"I'll keep my shushed if you keep our request!"
Right away, Lori, accompanied with Audrey, walks back to her sisters. "Okay, I just called mom and dad. They're on their way. Hopefully, they'll make a turn on this."
This causes for the siblings to cheer for this glimmer of hope. "Yey!"
"They'll show those doctors a thing or two!" Lynn Jr. expresses with boxing in the air.
"I don't think that's what they'll do," Leni reacts.
"Yeah, but doesn't it sound cool?"
Lisa walks back to the group, undetected. It is kind of opportune for her sisters to be unaware that she went off by herself to Lincoln's whereabouts. She would want to tell about how Lincoln was treated or how he became what he is now. But she keeps those haunting revelations to herself. She asks Lana, "What was the commotion from this posse?"
"Oh, mom and dad will drop by here to get us through so we can see Lincoln," Lana answers.
"Hardly a solution. But I hope parental authority would influence the personnel in this institution."
"I don't know what that means but I bet we are going in no time!"
Fast forward to later, and Lynn Sr. and Rita just arrive at the hospital after a hasty day in the insurance broker. They enter in a shouting match with the hospital staff, leaving the children the situation out of their control.
They can almost overhear their parents getting frustrated and annoyed with the repetitive excuses that the hospital gives to them.
"Do you think mom and dad will persuade them?" Lana asks Lori.
"I don't know. I literally don't know," she answers.
"Do you think this is my fault?" Audrey whispers to her.
"No, it's not. This does not involve you."
The sisters try to keep their hopes up, even though the nurses denies the Loud family for a visit to their beloved brother.
Rita tries to intervene with the staff, even calling the hospital administrator. A more laid-back Lynn Sr. looks back at his kids.
"So, dad, is it going good?" Leni asks.
"We're trying our best, honey," Lynn Sr. answers. "Unfortunately, they said that Lincoln's under observation. Of what, we ask. They didn't answer clearly."
"Observation?" Luna gasps.
"Not sure. But stay patient. We're trying to get us through," Lynn Sr. nervously assures.
But the sisters have already saved up their patience from being halted and told to wait by the lobby for answers. It is just unfortunate.
But back again to Lincoln, after the discussion, he is transported back to his room for lunch.
Dr. Wong arrives with his meal. She sees her patient back at the ICU with some nurses strapping the IV back at his hand. "How are we?" she asks me.
"A little bit better. Can't wait for today's meal!" he expresses. "After this, maybe I could skip my studies and watch Animal Planet."
"That's nice. Now here you go." Dr. Wong then offers him his lunch.
Retracing his thoughts later on about her, Lincoln asks, "Dr. Wong, do not wish to be rude but were you at the discussion a while ago?"
"I was."
"How was I doing?"
"Great. I think you did splendid with the thermodynamics problem."
"Well, thank you. I actually spotted on you from the seat above. And you were kind of…emotional."
Dr. Wong is struck by how he described her expression. It somehow hit right home, down to her most recent experience. She does not want to expose it to Lincoln, thinking about the doctor-patient confidentiality. But she maintains her professional attitude. "Emotional? How do you say so?"
"I saw you wiping your eyes. It might be for logical explanations like irritation to the eye or indistinguishable matter having entered on the surface of your cornea. Or must be the byproduct of lachrymation caused by personal cognitive recollection."
"You don't say?"
"But I lean more on my final deduction."
"How do you say so?"
"With the way your face looks."
"You have a very sharp observation, don't you, Lincoln?"
"So, can you tell me?"
"It's just nothing, Lincoln."
"I am just curious. Being a human being, I am receptive of human psychological compassion. And as a result, I am adhering to helping another being in need."
With the way he insists, Dr. Wong just freezes in place. Her throat runs dry and her hand slightly shakes. She is unwilling to sacrifice her dignity to appease her patient who is getting treatment and who is learning once more.
But Lincoln remains insistent, "You can tell me, doctor. If not, okay. Maybe hope we can watch Animal Planet together."
Dr. Wong then faces him, "I can accompany you for Animal Planet. I like that channel."
Lincoln then smiles genuinely. Even though this moment uplifts him, he is unaware about the dire consequences that are going internally and to his family.
