Apex Predator

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

"No," he stares at me in disbelief. "I was just there with you. Our parents were waiting for us outside. How did I get here? Why do you look so much older?"

"While you're asking me that you should look at yourself." I say. I turn the camera on in my phone and flip it so that it's screen-side. I give it to him.

"That's me?" he touches his face. I nod and bite my lip. Sy is nine all over again. He hands the phone back to me. "What happened?"

"You fell," I say. I don't like lying to him but I must—to save his life. "You hit your head really hard and shook your brain up a little." I struggle to put his condition in terms a nine-year-old will understand. "You lost some of your memories."

"Will I get them back?" he asks.

"I don't know." I say. Tears spill over onto my cheeks.

"Why are you crying?" he asks innocently. I wipe the tears away.

"I'll go find the doctor," I say and stand. "He'll know if you'll get your memories back or not." I begin to leave.

"Wait," Sy grabs my hand. I look back at him. "Where are my parents?" he looks at me with curious eyes. My heart sinks. How would I break that to him? He hadn't taken his abandonment well two months ago. How would he react if he learned about it at the mental maturity of a nine-year-old? I start crying again and pull away from him. I hope this wears off.

I find Dr. Maison at the end of the hall.

"Dr. Maison," I call. He looks up and acknowledges me. "He's woken up."

"Already?" he smiles. "That's wonderful news."

"He's forgotten the past seven years of his life." I add.

"That isn't so wonderful," he frowns. "Let's pay him a visit, shall we?" we walk back to Sy's room. Sy looks up when we enter. "I'm your doctor. I'm going to see if you're healthy alright?" Sy nods. Dr. Maison shines a flashlight in his eyes and checks his reflexes. He takes notes on the readings on the monitors and disconnects the IV and blood bag from Sy's arm. "Everything looks good physically."

"But he's not right." I say.

"What's his name?" Dr. Maison asks.

"Sy." I answer.

"Sy," Dr. Maison leans over to look him in the eye. "How old are you?"

"Nine." Sy says without hesitation. I look at my feet.

"How old is he?" Dr. Maison looks at me.

"Sixteen." I say. Sy looks at me strangely.

"Sy, do you know this girl?" Dr. Maison asks and points to me.

"Of course." Sy said and tilts his head.

"Do you have any other friends you've met in the past seven years?" he asks. I nod. "Ask him about them."

"Sy do you remember when you met Quinn?" I ask. Sy stares at me blankly. "Cindy or Karla? Zayx? We all live together." Sy shakes his head. "What's seven times seven?"

"Uh," Sy counts on his fingers. "A big number?"

"Will it come back?" I ask. "His memory?"

"Gradually," Dr. Maison says. "Environmental factors may help. Take him back to his home. Take him to his school and get him reacquainted with his friends. He recovered from the coma much fast than we'd predicted so he may pull out of this fairly fast."