David didn't know when he had passed out, but it was the bright sunlight that woke him.

He lifted a bruised, bloody hand to his face, rubbing it and groaning in pain. When he managed to stumble painfully to the bottom of the hill, he didn't find himself on the same beach Max had. Instead he found himself scrambling onto the sandy stone of a pleasant beach side promenade. Looking around, he saw a collection of shops and further on, houses. There were a few people here and there so David approached a tall man with a beard, and a small boy who looked like his son.

"Excuse me," David said. "I'm afraid I'm lost."

"Goodness me!" Cried the man. "You've been through the mill, haven't you? What happened?"

"I- um- I fell down the hill from the road that goes into Empire City," David said. "My car spun off the road."

"Well, don't just stand there, man, let me drive you to the hospital!" The man said.

"Thank you, that's very kind, but I really need to-"

"You need to get patched up before you do anything else," the man said. "You look like you're going to drop like a fly at any second. My name's Mr. Fryman, by the way, and this is my youngest son Peedee. Welcome to Beach City. It's a shame you're here under these circumstances, though."

"I'm David," said David. "I'm so grateful, really, but first I have to find someone."

"Who?" Asked Peedee. "Maybe we've seen them around."

"A small boy, he's ten, and he was in the car with me."

"What's he look like?" Fryman asked.

"Short, skinny, dark skinned, black curly hair... wearing red pyjamas?"

"Hmm, no, I don't think I've seen him," Fryman said after thinking, as Peedee shook his head. David's heart sunk.

"We can send out a search party once we get you to hospital," Fryman said.

David nodded.

"Thank you," he sighed.

Fryman drove and when they arrived at the hospital they had to wait because David's injuries weren't cause for emergency. They were sat on plastic seats, painstakingly filling out forms, when five people walked in and each took a seat on the opposite side of the room. David knew it was rude to stare, but he couldn't help it: there was a man and a boy both with dark curly hair, then these three women who were like nothing David had ever seen: the shortest had purple skin and masses of silvery hair, the tallest had a magnificent square Afro and the other was deathly pale with a pointed nose. The most startling thing about them was that they all had a strange stone on their body: the purple woman had a gem of the same colour set into her chest, the black woman had two red stones on both her palms, and the pointy woman had a large pale smooth stone on her forehead.

"Greg!" Fryman called, getting the attention of the balding man. He looked up and smiled wanly.

"Hey, Fryman, what're you doing here?"

"Same to you, Greg! Hi there Steven, Gems," Fryman greeted. Steven and Peedee started chatting while Fryman explained how David had approached them and clearly needed to go to the hospital. Steven and the 'Gems' (David wondered what on earth this meant,) told them how Steven and Amethyst had gone for a night time walk and found this young boy bashed up on the sand.

"Wait-" David interrupted. "What did you say his name was, again?"

"Max."

The sigh of relief that swept through David!

"That's who I was looking for!" He explained, so relieved he was breathless. "Oh, I'm just so happy he's safe... did he mention me at all?"

"You?" Amethyst repeated. "David? No, he didn't."

"...Nothing?" David asked quietly, the warmth in his chest at discovering Max's safety dissolving slightly.

"Nope, not a word," said Steven.

"So really doesn't care," David whispered. Something small inside his chest snapped into two.

A doctor appeared in the doorway.

"David? If you'd like to come through, we're ready for you..."