It hurt. That was the first thing that
Kenji realized: it really, really hurt. The second thing he
realized was that he was sitting on a small, grassy hill. That
was weird, since somehow the place he was sitting at didn’t
really feel real to him. He was confused, both by the fact that
he was still hurting and the fact that he could remember his
father picking him up and taking him back to Cloud Tower.
"Your mind created this place, child."
Kenji turned, looking over his shoulder
at Mr. Balkus.
"What?"
"You are correct in your
assessment—this place is not
real. It only exists because you feel most comfortable here."
"Oh," Kenji said, turning to stare up at
the blue sky that wasn’t really there. "So, where am I?"
"You are currently in the lower levels
of Cloud Tower, being treated for severe injuries."
Kenji stood up, brushing the grass off
his hands, and walked over to Mr. Balkus. Reaching up to take
the old man’s – or wait, Dad had said he was a Zoalord – hand,
not wanting to feel so alone, Kenji asked the question that had
just come to his mind. "How did I get hurt? And why am I not
awake?"
When Kenji looked back up at Mr. Balkus,
he saw the old Zoalord looking down at their hands. He almost
seemed mad, so Kenji quickly let go and took two small steps
back. "Sorry. But, what happened to me?"
"You were attacked."
And that was all Kenji managed to find
out, because Mr. Balkus disappeared right after he said that.
Sitting back down on the grass that wasn’t really there, Kenji
lay down and just stared up at the sky. It was kind of hard to
remember that this place wasn’t real, but there was always
something just a little off about it that made him remember that
he wasn’t really there.
Of course, if Mr. Balkus had been right,
then he wasn’t really anywhere, and this place was just
someplace he’d made up.
He didn’t know just how long it had been
since he’d lain down to rest, but he was starting to get the
feeling that he was being watched. Sitting back up, he looked
behind him to see who was there and saw Mr. Balkus again, but he
was just standing there staring at him. Kenji was confused, but
then maybe Mr. Balkus just didn’t like being touched. Or maybe…
maybe Mr. Balkus just didn’t like him. Kenji wasn’t sure which.
"You came back?"
"You interest me," Mr. Balkus told him.
"I do?"
"You were never meant to be what you
are, and yet you seem to be coping very well with the changes.
Not just the physiological, but to a certain extent the mental,
as well."
"Um, thank you?"
"That was an observation, child, not a
compliment," Mr. Balkus said, sounding bored.
"Um, okay."
Silence fell while Kenji tried to figure
out what to say next.
"So, um, how did I get hurt again?"
"I have already told you, child—you were
attacked by Aptom."
"Aptom?" He remembered someone named
Aptom. Mr. Balkus faded out for a minute, and when he came back,
he looked mad. Or, not mad so much as annoyed and disappointed.
"You went willingly with
Aptom?"
"Dad says I trust people," Kenji said,
offering a shrug in his own defense, since he didn’t know what
else he could really say.
"You trust entirely too easily, child."
Something that looked like Mr. Gyouoh
appeared for about half a second, and Kenji wondered just why
he’d thought of that. Or maybe Mr. Balkus did; Kenji wasn’t
really sure, but he got the feeling that Mr. Balkus could change
things there if he wanted to, since it wasn’t really real, he
reminded himself.
"Who’s Aptom, anyway?"
"He was a project of mine—one that went
out of its designated parameters. He has no use to Chronos now
that he has become something other than a Zoanoid, but as a Lost
Number he had very little use to begin with."
"Oh," Kenji said again, still confused.
"What does he do?"
"The most that you would be able to
comprehend, child, is that Aptom’s metabolic process resemble
those of a virus. That is essentially what the Lost Number has
become."
"Well, if he’s a virus, then shouldn’t
my immune system take care of him on its own?"
"What do you mean?" Mr. Balkus asked,
turning to look at Kenji curiously.
"Dad taught me about it," Kenji said,
shrugging his narrow shoulders, slightly afraid of the way Mr.
Balkus was looking at him, even though he didn’t really know
why. "Dad said that the immune system is what makes you better
when you get sick. And, um, I just thought that, well… never
mind," Kenji trailed off timidly.
"What was your idea, child?" Mr. Balkus
demanded.
Kenji shivered. "I just thought that if
Aptom’s what’s making me so sick, then maybe my immune system
might make me better," Kenji said, eyes downcast. "Sorry if it’s
a stupid idea."
"Hmmm," Mr. Balkus said, just before he
went away again, but when he didn’t come back, Kenji wondered
just what he’d done wrong.