Burying his head in his hands, Flash tried to think over the pain that ran through his body.
'It's no good, I'm going to have to tell him,' he thought. 'There's simply no other way.'
Turning and looking at the healer for the very first time, he felt in awe of the impressive dragon that knelt beside him. With his vast experience and training, he knew a thing or two about dragons: ordinary ones, devious ones, powerful ones and extraordinary ones. This one, he knew without a doubt, came into the latter category. Wisdom and a kind demeanour positively radiated off him, and although he looked slightly frail around the edges, Flash sensed more than a little steel inside him.
'He would be much harder to fight than he looks,' he thought.
With no other option left open to him, Flash told the healer who he was, and a little about the mission he'd been on, leaving most of the important bits out, as they were only really for the king's ears. When he'd finished, he sat on the cool stone path, head in hands, waiting to hear what the healer would say, and if he'd help him get to the monorail, and then onto London.
Well, well, well," repeated the healer. "A Crimson Guard, whatever next? I thought I'd seen it all, but apparently not yet."
"Will you help me?" Flash asked urgently from beneath his hands.
"Of course," boomed the healer. "Who on earth wouldn't help you?"
Flash looked up at the huge dragon face smiling back down at him.
"Thank you so much, you have no idea what it me... aaaaaahhhhhhhhh!"
Crying out in agony, before blacking out, the healer caught his head before it hit the ground. Pulsing with evil, the wound on Flash's back oozed a sickly white pus that dribbled down the length of his spine. Watching for a few seconds, knowing full well that what he was seeing was almost certainly going to prove fatal to the young dragon, the healer knew there and then that there was nothing more important than getting this courageous Crimson Guard back to the monarch in London. Scooping up the naked human body, careful not to touch the deadly wound on his back, the healer felt a pang of regret. Every atom in his body screamed at him to head for a med centre, in case there was just the outside chance that a cure could be found. But he knew the information this dragon carried was not just vital, but critical, and had to be brought to the king as soon as possible. Everything he'd heard had convinced him of that, and he knew full well that the brave young dragon had left the most important, and sensitive bits out. Plodding off down the walkway in the direction of the nearest monorail station, part of him hoped not just to get the dragon to the king, but to save his life as well. Over the years he'd seen so much pain and suffering, and he just wanted it all to stop. Somehow he couldn't quite believe that it was just fate that their paths had crossed, here today. It was going to be a very interesting day.
* * *
Flash awoke to excruciating pain racing around inside him. Cursing in his mind, unwilling to open his eyes just yet, one thought dominated all others inside his confused and befuddled head: he must tell the king what he knew, immediately. As he willed the pain away with a view to opening his eyes, the slightest hint of vibration caught his attention. He was lying down, that much he knew, on something comfortable, which made a pleasant change, but there was something familiar, something... Opening his eyes, he sat up swiftly. Hope jumped up and down within him, as he realised where he was. It was almost too good to be true. He was on the monorail. Looking up from his paper from across the carriage, was the healer who'd rescued him from the lava pool.
"How are you feeling, son?"
Flash was about to describe the pain and writhing agony that seemed to go on forever, when he stopped to think about it for just a second. Something was different, different inside his body. Pushing the fuzziness that surrounded his brain to one side, he concentrated on what was going on inside him. While the pain from the wound echoed around in the background, in just about every other part of his body, he felt... okay. Not good, or great, but okay. There were no bruises, broken bones, aches or pains. Raising his hands, he felt around his mouth and nose, remembering that they had been chargrilled by the lava. Nothing... it was all back to normal. Looking across at the healer who straight away smiled back at him, he asked,
"Your doing?"
Folding the paper up in his lap, the healer nodded.
"I'm really sorry," uttered Flash, "but I have to ask. What is it that you're reading?"
"The Daily Telepath of course," replied the healer, a big grin spreading across his face.
"In paper form?"
"You have to know where to get it from, but yes."
"But why?" asked Flash. "What's the point when you can just download it to your mind and read it whenever you like?"
With a look much the same as an experienced adult would give a child when they asked a question that made little or no sense, the healer smiled before replying.
"Do you spend much time on the surface?"
"A little, usually when I have to."
"Next time you do, and you have a little free time, go and visit a book shop. Any one you like, but something small and private would be ideal. Spend an hour in there browsing, just look at all the books, take everything in. Even buy some if you're keen, but you don't have to. Think about that experience for a couple of days afterwards, and then use that internet of theirs to download a book and read it, if at all possible, one of the ones you bought. If you do all of that, you'll understand immediately why I choose to have a physical copy," he said, waving the paper in his hand.
Flash thought about what he'd just been told for a few moments, before agreeing to do exactly as suggested, providing he ever had the chance again.
About to ask another question, the darkened carriage started to brighten up. It was then that he realised they were pulling into a station. Gazing out of the crystal clear window, he was pleasantly surprised to see that they'd just arrived at Bali. As the monorail drew to a complete halt, the only other dragon in the carriage stood up, moved over to the doors and stepped through them as soon as they slid open with their customary whoosh. Seconds after the dragon had left, others came streaming through the open doors, some in human form, some not, but all, for some reason that he couldn't fathom, looking strangely at him. It was all the healer sitting opposite Flash could do, not to laugh. It was only when the monorail started moving again that Flash realised what was going on. There he was lying across one of the dragon form seats, wearing nothing but a fluorescent pink and yellow dragon cloak. Quickly he turned to the healer who by now was guffawing away, tiny clouds of smoke rising from in and around his nostrils.
Normally something like this would have set off Flash's mighty temper, but instead of getting upset or feisty, he just joined the healer in seeing the funny side, and it wasn't long before tears were running down both their faces. Now both were getting strange looks from the other passengers, but neither cared very much. This was very much a new experience for the Crimson Guard, both laughing, and having someone to share that laughter with. Once the fit of fun had died down, Flash turned in the healer's direction, opened his arms wide out in front of him to show off the cloak, and asked,
"Why?"
Shrugging his scaly shoulders, the healer answered,
"It was all I could find at short notice. I thought you said you had to get to London as a matter of urgency. If you're that bothered we can stop off at Hong Kong and get you something tailor made."
Flash pretended to think about it before replying.