"The boy has cancer." The doctor says. I look up from my book, wondering what he said. I wasn't really listening.

"W-What? B-But he..." My dad says, trailing off with tears in his eyes. Tears are already spilling out of my mother's, and I don't know what's going on.

Cancer?

Cancer.

My mother and father told me I had cancer when I was just a little boy. The cancer was in my bones. They told me I was in the hospital for a long time, taking medicine and feeling terrible. They told me I'd cry day and night receiving...

What was it called?

Chemo. Chemotherapy.

But I just call it Chemo, because chemotherapy is a really big word and it's hard to pronounce. My dad says it helps take the cancer away, but I don't know.

I look over to see my two brothers, Zane and Vylad playing with toys they were given. Well, Vylad more or less throwing his around, considering he's only two. Zane is six, and clever for that matter. But he's also a little devil.

Neither of my brothers ever had cancer, just me. It sucks, knowing that you're pretty much the only person you know who has had or has cancer, for that matter.

"What... What kind?" My dad stammers nervously. There was an awkward silence for a few minutes.

"Neuroblastoma, rare in children his age. He's eight, correct?" He looks at me, and I nod my head. He gives me a light smile and looks back at my mom and dad.

"H-How... What..." My mom can't finish her sentence, the tears are flowing out like Niagara falls.

"What do we do?" My dad is a strong man, but this is the first time I've ever seen him cry before, but I'm sure he has.

"Well, we start with a surgery. A few weeks of chemotherapy, and-"

"Surgery?" My mom cuts him off, unsure of what he meant. I jump at the word surgery, I don't ever remember having one.

"Yes. We need to do a brain surgery to remove the tumor." The doctor hands my parents one of those papers that gives you information about things that you might not understand. "We also might have to go with radiation."

The doctor's eyes show that he is sorry for me, but I don't like it; I've never liked people feeling sorry for me.

"Wouldn't radiation cause more cancer?" My dad asks a question that I don't understand. I'm only eight, I barely know what cancer is.

"Well, radiation in this sense is attacking the cancer, not causing it. Do you have any questions, Garroth?" His dark brown eyes stare at me. I stare back with my blue eyes, that I inherited from my dad.

"W-What is cancer?" I don't want it to sound like a stupid question, so I look down in shame.

"Well, bud, it's when bad cells in the body gather in one part of the body. In your case, it's in the cells by the brain. We'll have to give you a surgery to remove that gathering of cells." He used some words that I don't understand, but I kind of get it.

I need to get something removed to my body can be strong and healthy again, and so my eyes won't be funny anymore. My mom says my eyes were funny because I just needed glasses, but when I went to the eye doctor, he said to come here. So we did. And this is what we get out of it. More cancer.

"How soon do you want him to come in?" My mother asks, tears still flowing down her cheeks. I become nervous, I don't want them to cut open my head!

"As soon as possible." No, please, no!

My dad's grabs my mom's hand, and she squeezes his hand so tightly that her knuckles turn white. My dad wraps his other arm around me and holds me close to him. Tears burn my eyes.

"We got everything of his packed... well most of it. Just in case something like this happened." He squeezes my shoulder, and hot tears flow down my cheeks. I'm scared, I want somebody to tell me it'll all be okay.

"That's great. I'll give you everything you need to get in there, and the surgery will take place tomorrow." He gives me a small smile and a wink, "You guys will do fine."

God, I hope so.

~•~

The hospital is white, and I don't like it. I seem to remember things that I don't think I'd ever remember before.

"Buddy, please go to sleep. It's so late. Garroth, please. I love you, but sleeping will make you feel better. I promise. It'll take the hurt away for a while." My dad rocks me and kisses me on the forehead several times, tears flowing down his cheeks.

I look at the white floor with blue specks that are hardly noticeable. How in the heck did I remember that? Out of all things I could have remembered?

"All right, Ro'Meaves. You are all set." The nurse hands us a paper and leads us to my room. I'm shaking, I'm so scared. If I close my eyes hard enough, maybe this would all be a dream.

A dream where cancer didn't exist.

A dream where I'm not about to be lead into a room to spend for the next few months.

I want to go home.

"Okay, bud." My dad motions across the room. "A king's palace."

I smile at his sarcasm and climb onto the bed. Then, I start to think about everything that is going to happen. They're going to prick needles into my skin, and I'm going to lose all of my hair again.

"Dad, how long am I going to be here?" I look into almost my exact face. I always looked like my dad, with his blonde hair and blue eyes, plus his facial features.

"Well..." he looks at my mother, who nods sadly, "We're going to be here for a while. A month at least."

I start to tear up, burning the rims of my eyes. I'm scared. I want to go back to where I belong, home. I want this to be all right, somebody just tell me that!

My mother comes over, sits next to me, and hugs me. Tears fall down my cheeks as she rubs my back and strokes my hair. The hair that I won't have for much longer.

"You'll be okay, baby. I promise." She whispers into my ear. "I love you too much to let you die."

••••••••
Hey everyone! The qod is:
Do you think Zane will be alive when they get Garroth out of the Irene dimension, or not?

Quick announcement, Garroth's Injury will be posted tomorrow. I am having very slight writers block.
Thanks for reading! Bai!
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