*All characters copyrighted to Poseidon Simons

Chapter 9

Cory's Surprise

Cory whistled to himself on the train. He hadn't been home for a while, but he was finally going back...he'd missed Melodie so much...they hadn't been able to get married officially, but they were about to. He fingered the wedding ring he had in his pocket, "She'll not be Melodie Patkins any longer. Once I give her this ring, she'll be my wife!" Cory happily pulled the ring out and looked at it. It sparkled with a red light, just like the tint of her eyes. He closed the ring box before anyone else might notice it and put it back in his pocket, "Melodie Patkins Taner...this entire hunt for the anthro was for you and our marriage. I know you'll say yes, but will your kids? They don't seem to like me that much. Well, this prize money should help them." He watched the scenery race by his window as the train carried him along. In only a few hours, he'd see the love of his life again.

Time passed quickly with the movie they were showing on the train. Cory soon found himself walking out of the station and toward his home to his soon-to-be wife. The moon was full, shining brightly down on him. He walked to the house he hoped he could soon truly call home and knocked on the door. When no one answered, he called Melodie's name. He glanced at all the windows, but there was no light on in any of them, "She's at the doctor's then." He walked slowly toward the doctor's office, enjoying the night time sky. The office was open this late, so he walked right in. Melodie was sitting behind the receptionists desk, "I'm back..."

"Cory!" She jumped up and hugged him, "It's so good to see you again. I really missed you..."

"What about your children?"

"They haven't said much since they got sick. It went well?"

"Yes. The anthro I got never knew what hit him. We're rich, Melodie!"

Melodie looked on the verge of tears. She hugged him tighter, "Oh, Cory...I was so worried about you..."

"Not as much as I've been about you. I heard about the animal attack. Will I get to meet the anthro who saved you?"

"About him...it turns out he was very sick when he fought. He's in one of the rooms back there, but he's highly contagious. Don't go in there."

"When will I get to meet him?"

"I'm not sure. He's in a sort of critical condition now with his sickness and a fractured arm to boot. The doctor barely lets me go in there as it is."

"That bad?"

"That bad. C'mon. My work shift is almost over, why don't I sign out early so we can enjoy the walk home?"

"I'd love that." Cory smiled and fingered the ring in his pocket again. As they headed toward her house, he brought it out, "Melodie, I've been thinking and thinking of the right way to ask this, but I still can't come up with anything clever, so I'll just ask it." He dropped to one knee, "Melodie, will you marry me?" He brought the ring out of his pocket as he asked, making the ruby in it shine in the moonlight.

She gasped and took a step back. It took her a few moments to comeback to herself, then she hugged him with all her might, "Of course I will!!" Melodie let up a little and shook her head on his shoulder. She couldn't believe it, "Oh Cory..."

He waited a minute or two in her embrace, then gently pushed her away, "Let's go home." They walked, hand in hand, the rest of the way. For a moment, Cory thought he saw someone move behind them, but it was only for that brief moment, so he ignored it.

Johnny let his breath go when he made it to the doctor's office, "I think Cory might've seen me! I hope he doesn't decide to come back!" Johnny watched them enter Melodie's home, sighed when they closed the door, then went into the doctor's office. The doctor was there, waiting for him, "Well?"

"Jack's asleep. I'm worried to leave him though."

"Why?"

"Last night he had a nightmare that he reacted quite violently to..." The doctor rubbed his cheek as if remembering, "I want to make sure it doesn't happen again tonight."

"I'm going to be up a while. Can I help with anything?"

"Yes, you can. If Jack has another one of those nightmares, I'll need to have someone there to hold him down. Can you handle that?"

"I can try. How bad was it last night?"

"I had to get a second sedative in his system to make him to make him sleep calmly. He moves around far too much in his sleep for his own good."

Johnny nodded and sat down on a nearby chair to wait out the night.

Cory smiled as Melodie fell asleep. She'd been exhausted, that was for sure. He slowly got out of bed and slipped on his clothes. The night looked so inviting that he needed to walk in it. As he wandered around the village, he saw lights turn off, shops closing up for the night. Soon the only light left on was the one in the doctor's office, "I wish I could thank that anthro. He saved my love's life!" Cory thought about it a little more, then decided to go in and thank the anthro, "After all, how sick can he be? If he's really as bad off as Melodie says, I'm sure the doctor will help me prepare for it. I want to thank that anthro!" He glanced around inside the main office. Seeing no one there, he walked down the hallways, checking into each room quietly as he did so. It seemed like each room was empty, until he heard two voices talking. He crept up to the door and listened.

"...can't help it. He's been like that ever since I found him." Was it Cory's imagination, or did that voice sound like Greenwood's?

"Really...he lost his memory? Poor guy. I'll see what I can do tomorrow if you'd like." the doctor got up and started rummaging around on a desk in the room, "I have some techniques here that might even be able to help him. The usual whack to the head of course, along with a few other ideas that have worked for amnesia patients."

"Amnesia? I wonder who they're talking about?" Cory pressed closer against the door to listen.

"Well, he's doing fine without his memory. He fits in real well for his size."

"How did he manage to get so tall anyway?"

"You'd know as well as I. He can't remember anything of what happened to him before we met...hey, doc, there is one thing."

"Really? What?"

"He claims he can talk to animals."

"What?! No one can do that!"

"I am a close, personal friend of one who can. This is actually the third guy I've heard of that can do it."

"Who're the other two?"

"James Elias of the Deep Rockers, and a black dragon named Gareth. I haven't met the second one."

"And they can talk to animals? The animals understand them?"

"Well, they seem to. This is the biggest case I've ever seen though. He came here riding the back of a fairy dragon!"

Cory backed away from the door, "He did what?! But, but that's what the anthro at Wrall city did to escape! The guy I wanted to thank is him?!!!!" Cory hit the other wall, felt around with his hands, then ducked into an empty room.

The doctor and the other anthro came out of their room right then, "Well, it looks like he'll be okay for the night. Goodnight Mr. Greenwood."

Johnny's voice called from somewhere at the end of the hallway, "Call me Johnny."

The doctor laughed, "Okay. Night, Johnny."

"Goodnight!"

A door closed, leaving only the doctor in the hallway. He chuckled and walked away, locking the entrance doors when he left. Cory glanced down both ends of the hallway before creeping to the room. Inside was an anthro that looked to be too big for the bed. Cory smiled, "I found him..." He looked around and picked up a scalple before filling a plastic cup full of water and throwing it on the sleeping anthro, "Wake up, pacifist." The water dragon blinked a little, then opened his mouth to scream. Cory squeezed it shut, "If you scream, this will be your deathbed! I want some answeres, pacifist."

He let go of the dragon's mouth. The dragon was staring at him wide-eyed, "Ge--get away..."

"Answer my questions and we'll see." The dragon gulped. Cory set the scalple down and held onto his arm cast instead, "Now. Why?"

"Why what?"

Cory squeezed the cast, causing the dragon to groan in pain, "Don't play games with me! Tell me why you claim to be so against me, then go and save my fiance's life! Where do you stand?!"

"I--I really don't understand..."

"Damn it, do I have to spell it out for you?! Why are you so confusing?!!!!!!!"

"I don't know...I don't even know who I am."

"What the--you mean you really do have amnesia?"

"Yes. All I know is what's been happening to me. I had no idea I hated what you did so much until I saw it for myself. I still don't even know my own name!"

Cory squeezed the cast to make him quiet down, "What can you remember?"

"Not much. Just little things here and there...a green dragon, a fairy dragon that loves to play jokes on Player from the Deep Rockers...things that don't make any sense by themselves."

"Hmph." Cory looked around, "What's this?" He asked as he picked up a small face mask.

"They--they used that to make me fall asleep. I'm not allowed to move..."

"Good." Cory gave the dragon's cast one last squeeze, then shoved the mask over his mouth, "Before you fall asleep, what's your name?"

"...Jack..." Jack said as his eyes closed.

Cory lifted the mask from Jack's face and set it back on its holder. He started to leave, but Jack's strange behavior made him stay.

"No..."

Cory turned around when Jack started talking.

"I can't let you win...go help Hana, she's down...don't hurt her..."

Cory waited a bit more, "Who?"

"Hana...don't let them kill her...Peter will do..."

"Where is she?"

"At the end of the hall..."

"No no. Is she on the bigger or the smaller island?"

"The...the bigger one. Yann city..."

Cory smiled again, "Okay, I'll make sure she's safe." He had to climb out of a window to get out of the building, but he made it, and walked back to Melodie's house, "Hmm...I wonder..." Cory wrote a note, telling her when he expected to be back, then bought a ticket for the train. One day later, he was on the larger island.