Chapter 3

20 Months After Release

Four months came to pass and Rex did what was told. His legs healed but his left arm was still in cast. It was shattered severely that the doctors were boggled to the stories of the people who saw his struggle.

He learned of the story of what happened after the explosion. The two of them were the only survivors of the accident. 15 vehicles were involved in the tragedy that was dubbed as the worst in any highway history. The cause was a stray bullet that hit the truck’s windshield and in turn hit the truck driver’s hand that made the truck turn out its way. The rest was as he had remembered.

After the explosion, he covered for the man who carried his brother. His throat was cut by a piece of metal and it was actually a miracle that he was still able to help his brother escape.

His leg was also a piece of story. Amanda told him that his leg was broken from an engine part hitting it. It was a total miracle that it missed his body and thanks to the media, the videos of how he got totally trashed had explained most of the injuries he had.

Amanda asked how he received the wounds on his hands. With difficulty, he told her what he did with his hands; cutting the seat belt with the same sharp metal that stabbed his throat.

Hearing those words, Amanda was in total shock.

After that, nurses and med-techs started to pour on his room as they all visited him to see a living legend.

Rex, in turn, never once neglected to visit his brother every day.

He also learned of the man who had helped him escape that time but he never gave any information about himself. He only got minor injuries and was also thankful that Rex risked his own life to save him from that explosion.

Rex created a roar of news one after another. With the help of the hospital staff, the media who wanted to interview him was stopped on their tracks until they all eventually gave up. They knew that it won’t help the patient recover and it would only add up to the stress that he already felt.

“I knew you’ll be here” Amanda asked and brought a drink to the standing Rex. “Come. It’s time to rest.”

“Is it?” Rex turned his head. Then he stared back to his sleeping brother. Visiting time is already over and only thanks that they were in the same hospital that he could visit him twice in the same day.

“Yes. How are you feeling?”

Rex reached for his throat. Although there were almost no pain left, what he actually touched was the large scar that was sure to leave a mark in there.

“Better.” He said. “All thanks to you.”

Amanda did not hide the blush on her cheeks as she heard the words. She covered his face with the file tray and forgot the medicine packs that were there. In turn, it all fell on the ground and she knelt down to pick it all up. Surprisingly, Rex also helped her.

Their hands touched and she stopped and moved back. But Rex wasn’t minding it and she pouted to see his still reaction.

And then from behind, the doctor came and stopped. Rex turned around and saw his face.

“Uncle Faust.” He called.

“Can I talk to you?”

“Yes sure.” Rex replied and Dr. Faust prompted for him to follow, leaving Amanda with a fleeting glance to his back.

In his office, Rex was reading a set of papers.

Financial papers, regarding his brother’s care. His papers all had the green PASS stamp in their back- ground but his brother only had one of them in their papers. The rest had the red UNPAID in there. But not only that, there were still some papers with information that he did not understand.

“Rex. I know this is going to be hard but hear me out…”

“My parents’ medical insurance, our insurances, isn’t it enough to pay for all of this?”

“It is.” Dr Faust said in a straight, worried face. “But only for the next two months. The life support machine is a different issue.”

Rex read the paper speaking of the life support machines. He was shocked to see the five numbers per day written in there and he knew that it wasn’t a lie. He spent his toddler and younger years in this hospital and he knew the doctor well like a real uncle. He won’t lie to him because his father and Doctor Faust were good friends.

He knew that Doctor Faust was the one who took care of all the necessary papers when the cargo truck’s company offered their help on their bills. But in case of her brother, they could only offer half of it since it was also a personal treatment. He knew that he needed help.

…fast.

“Two months…”

“Rex. Do you know of someone who can take care of this problem?”

“No.” Rex shook his head. “Ever since I can remember, we never once had a relative visit the house. You knew that as well.”

The doctor remained silent. Rex was right. As far as Faust can remember, their only family was the staff of this hospital. Five years ago his parents were scouted by a certain famous electronics company to pioneer the development of a gaming console.

It was rumored that it would push the gaming experience given by the already superb performance of the Dream Rift device.

A year and a half ago, the said project was released and because the idea was still new, and the daring plan of the said gaming company earned a lot of criticism, his family earned the spiteful attitude of all those around them. But right now, the once criticized game was slowly becoming the latest trend. There are others more who was also going out with their same concept but it was his parent’s work that was the only one recognized as the most secure of them all.

The said project was Virtual Reality.

The device that his parents developed was called Neurolink Device. Its purpose is to use the brain’s dream wave patterns as a means of access to a world created by a central server computer.

In the gaming history, there were lots of attempts on creating that dream-like experience and the closest is the Dream Rift where aside from the sense of touch, smell, and tasting, seeing and hearing the game world in a superb 3D rendering was its number one pull.

Gamers all around the world became excited with this and so it became the trend for all game developers.

But then, after five years, Dream Rift slowly lost its edge and the craving of the gamers for the ultimate gaming experience became so insatiable, it forced developers to the edge of their seats. And so, five years ago, they scouted geniuses amongst geniuses on every kind of fields and tried to develop the ultimate gaming machine.

Rex’s parents were among them.

They are the prodigy of modern Neuro-Science and they were recruited to the team from the same people who developed Dream Rift.

Using the mind as the medium, the texture and quality of the preset created world would appear to be almost real. And with that, a second life in a different world was created and all of the hungers of the gamers were met. That world is then dubbed as Virtual Reality.

Since then, Faust never had news of how it went until he received the news of its release over a year ago.

This family who had never once talked about any relatives, meeting this kind of accident is just purely heart wrenching. It was devastating news.

“I’m sorry, Rex, the hospital management is strict on this.”

Rex dropped the papers and closed his eyes. He endured the throb on his temple and the increasing heart rate on his chest.

“No doctor. You already did what you could. I am already in your debt as it is. I will try the bank and check if dad and mom’s savings accounts would have enough.”

“Alright. I will give the permission to let you go but you won’t be alone. You will be accompanied by a nurse.”

***

As the day passed, Rex was preparing to leave when he heard a knock on the door.

“Come in.”

As he spoke, the door opened and Amanda came wearing casual red shirt, a sleek miniskirt paired with an everyday kind of jacket. She looked dazzling in street clothes, simple yet beautiful, and Rex’s eyes were glued on the clear curves that her clothes emphasized.

“Is it your day off?”

“No.” She replied with a bright smile. “The doctor asked me if I can accompany you so I told him yes.”

“Lies.” A second voice came from behind her and Amanda jolted to see her partner, the med-tech Alice, entered the room.

“Alice!”

Alice made a smirk.

“She was the one who pestered…hmfffft…”

“Ahahaha…don’t listen to her. She plays too many games so her brain is a little bit jumbled with reality and fantasy.”

Alice pulled the hand covering her mouth.

“Phwaa…and here I came to tell you to take care only to hear you say such lies about me right in front of my face.”

“But you came spouting nonsense first!”

“But it was the truth, you stalking freak.”

“I’m not a stalker and I’m definitely not a freak.”

“Yes you are.”

“No I’m not.”

“Yes you are.”

“No I’m not.”

“Alright. Alright. Girls, girls, shut up and let the patient prepare his way.”

“ “Ah! Head nurse.” ”

The two turned their heads to the direction of the door and saw a bulging woman holding a paper in her hand. The woman went passed through the two and gave the paper to Rex.

“It’s been signed. Show this to the guard and they will let you pass. Just make sure that you come back before night. And eat well.”

Rex received the paper and smiled. “Thanks nana Mendez.”

“Heh. When I was younger, you calling me that made me mad but now, well, take care of yourself child. You’re still not well.” Then she turned to Amanda. “And you young lady. Oh I knew what you did last night. And I am telling you to do your job properly.”

Lowering her head and pouting, Amanda nodded and Alice was in the verge of laughing.

“If you’re ready, we can go now.” Rex said and the two went out of the room.

***

Moments after the two had left the hospital grounds the Head Nurse turned and faced Doctor Faust who was also looking at the window towards their direction.

“He grows fast.”

“Yeah…” With a long sigh, Faust held a picture in his desk and in there was a family and the hospital staff. It was a picture full of life. At the middle of the picture was a boy wearing a lab gown that was too big from his elementary size. “To think he would grow up to be a strong kid. His parents would be proud of him.”

Martha Mendez could only nod to that. Looking at the papers, she checked the details of the investigation regarding the accident. And it came directly from the investigators who investigated the accident.

“He went so far as to defy death…”

“Yes.” Replied Faust and he checked a video on the holographic display in his desk. The video was about Rex who was punching the back window of the car with his bloody hands. Then a man came and helped the two. “He inherited her kindness and his bravery.”

The old nurse looked at him and then to the video. Her expression softened when he saw Rex’s bloody state when he got out of the car.

“Such accident, why him? Why them…” As she spoke, she wiped the tears that formed in her eyes and sobbed softly at the handkerchief on her hands.

“Accidents happen, Martha, it can happen to us all. We can only be thankful that he was still alive and was able to save his brother.”

“Rex…he grew up to be a splendid man.”

“I just hope we can help him more. The hospital is strict on these kinds of problems. Not even him being his father’s son can be saved from the financial world’s cruelty.”

“We’ve done our best.” Martha said and handed down the signed paper in Doctor Faust’s desk. “But Doctor Faust…”

“Yes. I know.”

“Keeping this from him…he will be shocked.”

The paper in her hand were a different paper. It was a diagnosis paper and the words written there were in a clear printed red ink, indication of VIP and a severe kind of medical situation.

“I‘m not keeping it from him.” Faust said and put a hand on his face as he sat down. “Rex would be very shocked to learn it the hard way so I have to prepare him for it.”

“Baron…he‘s too young.”

“He will live. We will do what we can.”

“How cruel. After all these years…the new hospital management is just too cruel on those kids.”

“It‘s business for them.” Faust’s voice was stern. “I had personally experienced this kind of cruelty before and even if we say that he was Kingsley‘s son, money is the real fuel that drives the world.”

Saying that, the room was filled with a different kind of suffocating silence. Martha could only purse her lips in frustration.