Sir Barry and Steve

Sir Barry saddled up his noble Steve. You probably think that should say “noble steed,” but Sir Barry named his horse Steve so that’s correct.

“Max, your food is here, honey.” My mom taps my shoulder, closing the magic window. Just that small touch draws out a whole world of pain. I don’t cry, though—Sir Barry didn’t cry even when he was stabbed. I put down my pencil and close my notebook, but Sir Barry’s story is more interesting than food, even when the food is grilled cheese.

A nurse sets the plate on the tray where my notebook was. I reach for the sandwich with both hands, but the nurse stops me. “Uh-uh, only your left hand. We can’t bend your IV.”

I scowl at the tape all over my right arm. How am I supposed to eat a grilled cheese with only one hand? I pick up half of the sandwich with my left hand. The sandwich is cool, so it doesn’t hurt as much, but my fingers still feel like little knives are poking them. 

It’s hard to eat with only one hand. The cheese gets everywhere, and it’s hard to bite. I eat a little bit and set it back on the plate. “Okay. I’m done. Can I write more?”

My dad smiles. “Eat a little more. You love grilled cheese!”

“But it hurts.” My tongue and throat feel like they’re on fire from the small bites.

My parents look at each other. I know they’re worried about me. “Okay,” my mom finally says. “Go back to your writing.”

The nurse takes the plate away, and I open up my notebook again. The bright red cover swishes against my fingers, and I grit my teeth against the pain. But I don’t feel anything as I put pencil to paper and open the magic window again.

Sir Barry hopped on Steve and rode away. He was the bravest knight in the land, and the king sent him to rescue his daughter, Princess Daisy, from the evil wizard. Sir Barry rode for a long time, but then he had to eat. He opened his satchel and pulled out some meat from a rabbit he had killed earlier. He tried to eat it, but it was hard to eat while riding a horse. The meat tasted good, but he couldn’t eat it, so he gave the rest to Steve and kept riding.

“Max, buddy, the doctor is here to see you.” My dad’s voice closes the magic window.

Disappointed, I set down my pencil and look up. There’s a man with black hair and beady eyes, with a stethoscope around his neck. He looks like a dragon. He smiles at me. Even his teeth look like dragon fangs.

“Nice to meet you, Max. I’m Dr. Earl.” He holds out a hand for me to shake. I don’t want to be rude, but handshakes hurt a lot. And dragon scales are probably more painful. So I don’t shake his hand.

“Max! Be polite, shake the man’s hand!” my mom scolds.

I shake my head. “It hurts.”

“That’s okay,” the doctor says. “We’re going to figure out what this is, okay Max?”

I nod.

“I’m going to take a sample of your blood and some cells inside your bone. Do you think you can do that?”

I nod again. I don’t want more shots. But Sir Barry could do it.

Dr. Earl smiles again. He puts on a pair of gloves and pulls out a big needle and a rubber band. He ties the rubber band around my arm. Every time he touches my arm it hurts, and the pain from the rubber band is almost too much. 

“One, two, three!” He pokes me with the needle, and I scream. I pull away, and my parents hold me down. Their hands on my shoulders hurt so bad, like knives slicing through my bones, and I can’t stop myself from crying this time.

Even Sir Barry would be crying if he was in this much pain.

I don’t know when, but I guess Dr. Earl pulls the needle out at some point because the next thing I know, my face is covered in tears and my parents are stroking my arms. “Stop—you’re hurting me.”

Both pairs of hands pull away, and it’s like sandpaper. I open my notebook again, ignoring my parents, and start to write. Then I’m through the magic window again.

Sir Barry, hungry from not eating the rabbit meat, kept riding. He could see the tower from here. Princess Daisy must be there. Steve was getting tired, but Sir Barry gave him a carrot which gave him energy. They started to cross the bridge when a dragon appeared. He had beady eyes and black spikes on his head. “I’m the dragon Earl!” he said. “No one crosses this bridge!” Then the dragon Earl wrapped a giant claw around Sir Barry’s arm and stabbed him. Blood shot out of his arm and he screamed. Before Sir Barry could fight back, the dragon had disappeared.

“I need to do another test,” the dragon—no, Dr. Earl says. He puts a hand on my shoulder and I flinch away with a yelp. His scales feel like red-hot knives.

“What is it?”

“I just need to take some cells from inside your bone. It will hurt a little, and clearly you can’t stay still for that.” He makes a face at my parents. I’m embarrassed. It’s not my fault it hurt so bad.

“So you’ll be asleep for the test. Follow me, and a nurse will give you some medicine to make you fall asleep. Sound good, Max?”

I shrink away. “How bad does it hurt?”

The doctor sighs. “You’ll be asleep. You won’t feel anything.”

I look at my parents. They both nod. So I follow the dragon doctor down the hall. Even with my slippers on, each step on the hospital floor feels like I’m cutting my feet open. The doctor has to stop for me a lot. I think I’m annoying him.

He has me lay on a table and a nurse does something to my IV. I feel foggy. 

“I’m scared,” I whisper. Even Sir Barry would be scared.

Doctor Earl doesn’t say anything, but the nurse smiles. “Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of you. Just close your eyes and dream some happy dreams.”

Happy dreams. What makes me happy? I know—Sir Barry and his story. I don’t have my notebook and pencil, but maybe I can open the magic window in my head. I close my eyes.

Sir Barry’s arm didn’t hurt so much anymore. It was all bandaged, and he was ready to go save the princess. He crossed the bridge with Steve, but little did he know the dragon was lurking nearby…

***

I hear a machine beeping, which wakes me up. I’m still tired. I want to go back to sleep. But I open my eyes and see two blurry people standing over my bed. Then I realize I’m moving. No, my bed is moving. The people are rolling me down the hall at lightning speed. 

One person, I think she’s a nurse, looks down at me. “Hang in there, kid.”

What is she talking about?

I can’t feel much of my body. I’m still pretty numb. The sharp, hot pain that I’m used to is still there in my hands, but I can’t feel it anywhere else. 

Something is wet. My sheets are covered in something warm and slimy. I realize that it’s coming from my hip. I start to panic. I can’t breathe. What is happening? Why is my hip bleeding so much?

The nurse who looked at me turns to me again. “Can you answer some questions for me?” She sounds urgent.

“Yeah.”

“What’s your name?”

“Max James Aldrich.”

“How old are you?”

“Eleven.”

“What day is it?”

“Umm… I don’t know.”

“Where are you, Max?”

Where am I? Why am I here? What’s going on? “I don’t know.”

She looks at the other nurse.

They roll my bed. I don’t know where they’re taking me. But the pain is coming back, stronger than ever. I scream. I’m on fire. I’m being stabbed. And blood and something clear is leaking from my hip. 

“It hurts,” I whisper.

“I know, I know. Just hang on.”

But I can’t. I don’t know what’s going on, but I can’t stay awake anymore. I feel myself going to sleep again. Even though I’m in pain, I smile. I’m going to sleep. The pain is going to go away.

Sir Barry was almost there. He could see Princess Daisy in the tower window, and he called for Steve to run faster. He started climbing the stairs when he felt a sharp pain. He turned around. It was the dragon Earl. He had stabbed Sir Barry again, this time in the stomach. He knew he wouldn’t recover this time.

“I’m sorry, Princess,” he said. Blood was spilling from his side, and he was losing consciousness. He reached for his sword, and with the last of his strength, he cut off the claw of the dragon. Then, lying down, he took his last breath.