Mind Reading 101- Part 4
The Eagle and Condor made their way down to Keyop's room, where he was being put to sleep for his surgery. Tiny was sitting in a stool next to him.
"Princess made me promise that he wouldn't be alone before the operation…" Tiny looked up at them.
"Yeah, she made us promise, too…" Jason looked over at the little figure lying on the bed. "How ya feelin', Sport?"
"Sport has just been given a dose of the "happy medicine," so he's a little spaced out…"Tiny answered for Keyop.
"Look, there's a dolphin swimming over there, and a seal…and …a whale!" The little guy looked over at Tiny dreamily, with a silly grin on his face.
"Tiny, he thinks you're a whale!" Jason and Mark both doubled over with laughter.
"Real funny, Jason, real funny…"Tiny scowled at them.
"I guess Keyop's feeling pretty good, right now, huh?" Mark said, still chuckling.
The nurse entered the room and sent the visitors out. It was time for Keyop's surgery.
Hours later, Keyop awoke startled, not remembering where he was.
Where am I? He wondered, feeling confused.
Keyop, you're awake! You're in the hospital, remember? How are you feeling? He heard Princess' voice in his head; she sounded anxious to talk with him.
My head hurts a little, but I'm ok… hey! Wait a minute? Where are you, Prin? How come I can hear you but I can't see you? He frowned.
Telepathy. We can talk to each other, just by thinking about what we want to say… Right now, you have connections to Mark, Jason, me… and the Chief. Later, Tiny will be connected. Princess continued the explanation. You'll have to learn to turn the lines on and off though, so until you do, be careful what you say.
Got it. This is too cool! Hey, do you notice I can talk normally when I do this? This is so much easier for me than regular talking! Keyop grinned. Listen to me, I can just talk, and talk, no stuttering here…hmmm…what can we talk about? Oh, I found a new beetle the other day, and I traded another kid for…
That's enough, Keyop! Turn it off! Keyop heard a chorus of voices interrupting his speech.
Okay, okay, I can take a hint…I'm a little sleepy, anyway…He yawned and closed his eyes.
In the mean time, it was Tiny's turn to go in for surgery. Before they hooked him up, he asked, "Don't I get a last meal?"
"Empty stomach…" The nurse scowled, poking him for his IV.
"OWCH! That hurt!" The Owl winced. Jason and Mark joined them in the room.
"Out of all the nurses on this floor, I had to get Nurse Ratchet!" Tiny gave Jason and Mark a pitiful look.
The old nurse wagged a finger at him. "And you'd better behave, if you know what's good for you!" She left the room, mumbling under her breath. "…Last meal…all that boy thinks about is food…he needs to be put on a diet!"
"It'll be okay, big fella, it will all be over with before you know it, and you'll be back to your space burgers again." Mark felt sorry for the big guy.
"Well, they'll be taking you back soon, we're gonna go back up and check on the other two patients…good luck!" Mark headed for the door. Jason followed.
The ancient nurse came back into the room. Tiny looked at her, and then looked back at his two teammates. "Yeah, I'm gonna need it!"
