Chapter 2: Army Guy

"Max, what are we doing here?" the little boy in my arms said as my sneakers hit the concrete. He looked confused and scared, his blue eyes gleaming with hope that everything was okay. I carried him inside and walked up to the front desk.

"My, uh, brother needs to see a doctor," I said uncertainly to the young lady behind the counter.

She looked at me then the rest of the flock. "Do you have a parent or guardian with you?" she asked expectantly.

"Uh, no," I said, turning to Fang. He shrugged. "Our parents are currently out of town for their, um, anniversary. They won't be back until sometime next week."

She nodded still unsure if she should believe us, but flicked through her papers. "What's his name?"

"Ronan. Ronan Ride." I thought of the name on the spot. Couldn't exactly bring him to the hospital and call him the Gasman. They'd think we were some kind of lunatics.

"Max, my head hurts," Gazzy said.

I bit my lip and nodded to him. "I know. But you're gonna be okay, little man."

"What are his symptoms?" the lady asked.

"Oh, um. Clumsiness, forgetfulness, headaches." She recorded my words on a sheet of paper.

"Does he take any medications?" I shook my head. "Any allergies?"

"Not that we know of."

She wrote a bit more on the paper and then handed to a man, who then walked quickly down a corridor. "Please take a seat."

And we did. Gazzy, seated on my lap, looked at me and said, "Is there something wrong with me?" He looked horrified.

"We'll find out soon enough," I whispered to him.

Before too long, a doctor came and led us to the room that Gazzy would be held in. We were asked to leave him in there and follow the doctor to another room where he would talk to us.

…

My hand is in Gazzy's and he's fast asleep. My heart is heavy and I can feel my eyelids getting heavy, too. We had been here all day and now the night was almost over. They had done a bunch of tests on the Gasman and given the rest of us loads of information. I could hear computers humming and Gazzy's heart monitor keeping a steady rhythm in the background. The noise had almost put me to sleep when I felt something stir in my hand. I looked up and the young boy's eyes were fluttering open, revealing bright blue orbs. His breathing sped back up to normal. "Hey, little man. How you feeling?" I asked softly.

He groaned sleepily. "Weak. Do they know what's wrong with me?" I felt a tug on my heart. There were tears threatening to leave my eyes.

I bit my lip then said, "They found a tumor on your brain. It's cancerous. A stage 4; it's gonna be hard to treat. They're scared they won't be able to." I sniffed and wiped the tears from my cheeks. "They aren't sure how it grew so fast, but I have a feeling it's just like how we are able to heal quickly. I jus-" I choked on my words, unable to keep talking. By this time, Fang had awaken. He walked to me and put his arm around my shaking shoulders.

Gazzy squeezed my hand and I looked at him. "I'll beat it, Max. I never lose. I'll be fine, promise." I nodded my head.

A doctor came in and checked his blood pressure. Fang let me go and I walked toward the doctor and said, "Is it alright if I take Ronan out for a little bit? Just let him stretch and breathe some fresh air."

The doctor checked all of the machines and took a few notes. "Alright. But don't take too long." He unhooked Gazzy from his wires and tubes and I leaned down and whispered in his ear:

"Come on. We're gonna fly away from here."

…

"Thank you so much, Max!" he exclaimed once we were high in the air. I flew slowly, letting him go at his own, uneven pace.

"It's the least I could do." He spun in awkward circles and loops and just had a good time. I wished so bad that I could just stop time and make this moment never leave.

Suddenly, I felt something bump into my side. All of the air escaped my lungs. I clutched my side and saw Gazzy's form growing smaller beneath me. Without thinking, I dived straight down and caught him just about a hundred feet above the ground. I checked his wrist for a pulse and felt nothing.

I hoped with all of my broken heart that I wasn't checking his pulse correctly.

Kit-Kat: Well, this chapter ended up a lot shorter than I had planned. I hoped you liked it. There are only a couple chapters left, REVIEW!(: