Chapter 20: Meilo and Medication

"W-why would my dad tell you to give *me* the dracoRex?!" Zeff stammered. "Didn't he know that I could've died?"

Sylvan sat down hard on the bed and let out a sigh, deep and long. "Honestly, in the commotion of the escape we didn't have much time to discuss anything. One day I was rotting away in my cell all alone when Finnius, who had been taken from his cell which was directly next to mine a few weeks before, suddenly burst into the holding ward like a mad man on a mission accompanied by the sounds of blaring sirens." As Sylvan spoke there was an apparent awe and wonder in his eyes. "He released all of the captives, led us to freedom and gave me, a nearly dead old coot, the dracoRex. All he said was, 'Promise me you'll give this to my son and then keep him safe. He won't end up like the others, I swear.'. And then he disappeared back into the facility."

Zeff was speechless. He could only stand there, processing what he was hearing.

"We had talked at length before then and later I would realize that he had been dropping small hints on how to find you since our very first meeting."

"B-but then why didn't you—"

"—Give you the ring immediately the first time we met?" Sylvan finished with another sigh, "How could I? It was obvious to me that Finnius loves you. How could I keep my promise if it meant that I'd be putting you in such danger? If you could die?"

Zeff sat down on the other end of the bed. Sylvan couldn't have known but, though it seemed at a glance that Zeff was confused or overwhelmed, the only thing that was going through his mind was, 'Did my father really think so highly of me?' He hadn't seen his father since he was 7. The idea that his father still cared so much, seemed unfathomable even now. He had heard and believed Sylvan before, when Sylvan told him that his Father loved him, but in the back of his head it still didn't feel real.

A slight smile crossed his lips.

Sylvan continued, "That night I came to see you in the store—"

"You had already known that I worked there!" Zeff gasped as a sudden realization hit him. "That's how you knew where I lived?! You've been following me, haven't you?!"

Sylvan chuckled. "It wasn't like you were very active, boy. Work and home. Work and home."

"Whatever, old man…" Zeff huffed, irritated. "Well, how long were you following me?"

"For about two months…"

"Two whole months?! Where did you sleep and shower and—" Zeff stopped again as his jaw nearly hit the floor.

"Haha…" Sylvan laughed nervously.

"You old goat!" Zeff exclaimed with an incredulous laugh, "You were staying at my place, weren't you?!"

"Well, you certainly never noticed…" Retorted Sylvan with a sheepish shrug, "So why are you complaining?!"

Zeff laughed out loud as images of Sylvan sleeping on his couch, tip-toeing through the living room (as not to alert the neighbors of his presence) and watching TV with a bored expression on his face filled Zeff's head. Of course, he thought it was a bit strange, too. But he already considered Sylvan a friend. Knowing that Sylvan could have a place to sleep even if it was in his very own apartment without his permission, gave Zeff comfort.

But then Sylvan added, "And I only stayed there during the day while you were at work. And sometimes not even then. I didn't want to alert you of my presence in the house by eating your food so I went out by day and… well… begged for money."

Indeed, the first time they had met Sylvan had been dressed in rags and begging for food. "But there's still something I don't understand…" said Zeff as a thought occurred to him.

"And what's that, boy?"

"What changed the night you came into RedBob's?"

"Ah, yes…" Sylvan stood up and walked over to the window so that he could look out at the forest. "That night, just before I walked into the diner, a few things happened… First, I had just come to the realization that I was going to die soon. I was having to use my abilities nearly everyday in order to throw the Rings, Zayn and his men, off my trail. And it was beginning to take a terrible toll on me."

"I don't understand? I thought you were staying at my place?"

"During the day. However at night I would go to other cities and towns wearing the ring."

Zeff only looked more confused now.

"Have you not tried to take off the ring, boy?"

Zeff was taken aback as he realized that he hadn't and shook his head, "No."

"Well? Give it a try! But be gentle."

Zeff didn't hesitate. He grabbed the ring and tugged on it lightly, but nothing happened. Then he pulled harder and still harder until he was afraid he would pull off his finger. "Why won't it come off?!" He said with a worried expression.

"It can't. And as long as it's on your hand you can be tracked…"

Zeff's eyes got big with concern.

"…But not accurately… I think. I think if it had accurate tracking they would have found me many more times and much faster than they often did. And they likely would have found us by now."

"But why could you take the ring off? Was it because of the malfunction?"

"Precisely."

"Okay… So, during the day you took the ring off and slept at my place but when I got off of work you went out and drew the Rings away?"

"Right again, boy." Sylvan stated as he walked back over to the bed, opposite Zeff.

"But this still doesn't explain what changed so that you made contact. I know you were dying, but you could have drawn the Rings away from me and taken the ring to Dr. Fynn by yourself."

"I wanted to. But I couldn't. Every time I resolved to leave I would see your father's pleading face telling me to give you the ring. The night I walked into that diner I was conflicted and as soon as you told me your blood type I completely changed my mind again. But there was the fear that I wouldn't be able to make it to Dr. Fynn either… So I made a snap decision and gave you the ring to deliver instead."

Zeff fidgeted with the bed sheets with an understanding scowl on his face then said, "I guess it was for the best… I don't know why my Father was set on getting the ring onto my hand but—"

"I think he knew something."

"W-wha—!" Zeff said with a shocked expression as he turned to look at Dr. Sylvan.

"I think he knew that you would be—"

"No, Doc!" Exclaimed Zeff pointing at Sylvan. "Your bleeding! Bad!"

Sylvan rolled his eyes. "Boy this always happens after—" he began as he went to rub the blood from his upper lip. But before he could finish the sentence he coughed hard and violently, spewing a spray of blood across the surface of the bed, almost dousing Zeff. "Oh, dear… That's never happened befo—" he started to say, but without warning his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fainted.

"Doc?! DOC?! Sylvan!!" Zeff cried rushing to the doctor's side.

*****

Zeff was breathing hard as a cold bead of sweat rolled down his face. "I guess I can add 'Grand Theft Auto' to the list of my crimes." He grumbled as he turned his car awkwardly down the main street which lead through Fate Central.

After Sylvan had fainted he had panicked and nearly called the police for help. However, he soon regained his composure and quickly went to the detached garage of the house (which he hadn't yet bothered looking into) where he found a shiny, white Pesla Model S with a dash cam. After a bit more searching he finally was able to find about $17 in bills and change, and the key fab to the car left in the kitchen. After only another minute or two, he had loaded Sylvan into the car and was on his way.

At present, he was driving into Fate Central where his old job and apartment were.

Fate Central was a relatively small town so he was not likely to run into any cops and he knew exactly where the Pharmacy was.

After some consideration, he figured that since Sylvan was suffering from extremely high blood pressure maybe blood pressure medication would help him. It was at least worth a shot. The only problem was going to be getting the medication without a prescription…

He parked the car quickly, leaving it running with the A/C on so that Sylvan could stay cool. "Hang in there, Doc. I'll be back soon." He promised as he shut the door behind him.

As he approached the front door of the Pharmacy, an elderly woman was exiting the building at the same time. Zeff recognized her from his time working at RedBob's as a resident of Fate.

He held his breath as his and the woman's eyes met.

But much to his relief the lady only smiled a warm elderly person kind of smile and said, 'Good afternoon, young man.' and then walked away down the street without a care.

'Of course she wouldn't recognize me…' Zeff thought as he saw his reflection off of a big ceiling-to-floor store window. 'I don't look anything like I used to.' He was dressed in a nearly-too-tight, wheat colored, V-neck shirt with black jeans and flip-flops that he had borrowed from the Stranger.

His long and somewhat wild jet-black hair mixed with his intense saffron eyes gave him something of a 'bad boy' energy. He looked like someone who would uppercut you if you made him mad. Which couldn't be further from the truth, of course.

Zeff softened his brow and tried to smile a bit as not to seem so unapproachable. He did need to convince the store clerk to sell him blood pressure pills, after all.

As he passed another young lady who was maybe only a few years older than him and actually quite attractive, she raised an eyebrow as she looked him up and down with an expression that Zeff didn't quite recognize. "H-hey!" She blurted awkwardly as their eyes met and she blushed.

Zeff, becoming immediately defensive, only said, "What is it?" in a low but firm voice that was more hard-boiled than he maybe would have liked had he been aware.

The woman blushed again as a Fear reading popped up over her head that read (2/3) and said, "N-nothing." as she lowered her head, walking at a brisk pace from the Pharmacy.

'What the heck was her deal…' Zeff thought to himself both concerned and confused.

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"Man! I'm always jealous of guys like you." Came a youthful but husky voice from Zeff's right. "You handsome guys steal all the girls from the rest of us!"

He turned to see a tall young man (who could perhaps be Zeff's age or a bit younger) staring at him from behind a bookshelf with a tender smile.

"S-steal the girls?!" Zeff stammered.

"Yeah, man. Leave some for the rest of us."

Zeff, blushing himself, at once realized that the the girl had not been acting in fear. She had been attracted to him! 'Impossible!' Zeff denied. Such an attractive girl had never even locked eyes with him, let alone been attracted to him!

"Hey." Said the young man casually as he came from around the book shelf and approached Zeff, interrupting his existential crisis. "I'm Meilo. M. E. I. L. O. But pronounced Mee-Low! Yes, I know, it's a strange name! My parents had a strange sense of humor to match it." At that, he laughed heartily. He had an charming and lyrical quality to his laugh that made Zeff smile without even realizing it.

Zeff was surprised that such a person would call *him* attractive. Meilo was a solid 9.5 out of 10 and was only slightly shorter than Zeff himself. He was well kept with short, blonde hair, an athletic build, a strong chin, and the most deep, purple eyes Zeff had ever seen. In fact, they were the only purple eyes Zeff had ever seen…

"H-hi, Meilo. I'm Ze—chary…? Ahem! I'm Zechary."

"Yo, Zechary. I've never seen you around here?" Said Meilo. "Are you new in town?"

"N-naw." lied Zeff. "Me and my Uncle Silver are just passing through. But he is having issues with his blood pressure… So I came to see if I could get some medication for him."

"Ooo." Winced Meilo. "I don't know 'bout that? If you don't have a prescription that might be difficult for you…"

"Yeah… But—"

"But let me talk to the clerk for you! As a new guy on the block it might be more difficult for you than for me, yeah?"

"T-thanks, Meilo." Zeff stammered not from nervousness or unease but because he was not used to people being so kind to him.

"No prob, Zechary." Meilo responded with a smile as he began to walk towards the back of the store where the Pharmacy was located.

Zeff had lived in this town for a large portion of his life and had never seen Meilo, which was a real shame… Meilo was really kind. Maybe they could have been friends in a different life. But then again, maybe it was just because he didn't look like a complete loser anymore…

There was no one in the queue, so Meilo walked immediately up to the clerk with a Hollywood smile plastered on his face. "Good afternoon, sir." he began.

"Well, hello there, young man." responded the old clerk who had a comically large, white mustache to go with his white hair. "How can I help you?"

"Well, y'see, his uncle is suffering from high blood pressure but unfortunately he forgot it at home… several hundreds of miles away… They're traveling through our great state and—"

"Let me stop you right there, young man. I can't give such a thing over the counter. It just wouldn't be—"

"Mr. Gill, may I call you that?"

Mr. Gill was taken aback, but then realized his name tag was on full display and smirked sheepishly and said, "Of course, young man."

"Mr. Gill, my uncle is visiting from New York and, at this very moment, is unconscious in that Pesla outside!"

Zeff was at once taken aback by that statement but Meilo went on. "We don't have insurance and we think it's a real emergency."

"He even coughed up blood, sir." Zeff quickly added.

"Oh, dear…" groaned Mr. Gill through his mustache. "That does sound serious. He must normally take a diuretic— or better yet, a beta-blocker if he is coughing up blood, right?"

"Y-yeah. I think it's that one." agreed Zeff. "What does that one do again?"

"Beta-blockers reduce the heart rate, the heart's workload and the heart's output of blood, subsequently lowering the blood pressure."

"Yeah, that's definitely the one." chimed Zeff with a convincing, recollecting finger snap.

"Well the problem is, without being completely sure, it would be irresponsible to give him something. Not to mention, it's against the law." He raised an eyebrow as he said the last part. "I recommend you go to the E.R."

Meilo drew closer to Mr. Gill and said low, "That won't be necessary. You and I go way back, don't we."

Mr. Gill seemed at once to be more relaxed as he said, "Indeed, we do…"

"You owe me a favor or two, don't you, Mr. Gill."

"Yes—." responded Mr. Gill monotonously.

Zeff felt uncomfortable with the way the conversation was presently going. It almost seemed as though Meilo was threatening the poor man. But just when he was about to chime in Meilo lifted his hand urging him to remain silent.

"Just give us the medicine and we'll be on our way. Then you can just forget we were here."

At once, and without so much as another word, Mr. Gill walked into the back of the Pharmacy. After only a few seconds he returned with a small orange and white box of blood pressure medication. "Here ya go."

"Thanks Mr. Gill." Said Meilo with a smile, taking the medicine and walking away from the cash register pulling Zeff along.

"Aren't we going to pay?" Inquired Zeff.

Meilo seemed to be taken aback by the obvious question, but only for a moment. "No don't worry about it. Mr. Gill took care of it for us."

"O-ok… But that was a bit weird at the end there, wasn't it?" Zeff asked apprehensively as they walked passed the book shelves. "At first, I had the impression you two didn't know each other. He even looked surprised that you knew his name."

"No. We are just usually on a first name basis, that's all."

Zeff didn't want to push the issue anymore. It didn't matter at the end of the day as long as he got the medication for Sylvan.

Then one of the books caught his eye. The books was entitled 'Basic Human Anatomy 101' for $19.99.

Zeff suddenly remembered one of the conditions for unlocking a certain skill had been 'Gain a sufficient amount of knowledge about the human anatomy.' But he only had $17. "Hey, Meilo." Zeff began as he stopped to grab the book. "Would you happen to have 3 dollars I can have."

Meilo didn't hesitate for even a second as he reached into his pocket and produced a 5 dollar bill. "Sure."

He handed the money and the medication, both, to Zeff.

"Hey!" Zeff exclaimed with a smile, looking at a ring on Meilo's right hand. "That ring looks a lot like mine." Zeff showed off the dracoRex.

"You're right!" laughed Meilo. "I got this ring from a place up in Montana while traveling with my brother. What about yours?"

"Er—My uncle gave it to me. My dad had given it to him a while back and he passed it on to me." Lying, even if it was partially true, made Zeff feel uncomfortable, so he quickly changed the subject. "But, yeah. Let me buy this book real quick so I can get this medicine to my uncle."

"Sure. Use the registers at the front. Wouldn't want to bother ol' man Gill again, am I right?"

*****

Meilo watched Zeff jump into his Pesla. The windows were tinted so he couldn't see into the car and Zeff had only let down his window a smidge so that Meilo could only see his eyes.

"Thanks a bunch, Meilo. I owe you one." Said Zeff through the crack of the car window.

"I'm sure you'll find a way to pay me back, Zechary." Said Meilo with a smile.

"Doubtful. We're leaving soon."

"Well, it's a small world. You never know what could happen."

"Y-yeah." Was all Zeff could say as he pulled out of the parking lot. "Well, see ya."

Meilo, smiling and waving enthusiastically, watched Zeff's car vanish around the corner.

At once a man with long, straight, black hair, holding a tablet approached him. "Magnificent performance, Master. And your intuition was spot on."

"Rendall, track that car. I want everybody within 100 miles, from the Cops to the FBI, alerted of Zephaniah Corad's position."

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