Rebels

Ch. 25

Shortly after, Jack had spotted Lyla pushing through a mob of people after them. Arin only had a matter of seconds before he was out cold, and Lyla led them to a small building situated between a diner and a marketplace. It was less than five minutes away from the palace, and this worried Jack, but he knew they had no choice but to stay there.

Lyla slammed the door shut behind them, drowning out the noise of the chaos outside as numerous people celebrated the festival. Jack took in his surroundings. It was a one-room house, with a fairly low ceiling. There was no counter nor any bed, with the exception of a couch and a chair across from each other in the center of the room. The house overall sent a chill down Jack's spine. "What is this?"

Lyla frowned. "It used to be some sort of store, but the owner was caught up in bad situations. So, it was abandoned."

Jack dragged Arin to the couch, and heaved him onto it. All the while he was struggling to say between breaths, "How do you know so much?"

Lyla scoffed, "I've lived in this rugged city my whole life. That's all there is to it."

Jack only sighed, leaning against the wall to catch his breath. He glanced down at Arin, and once again a cold sensation ran through his body. "They beat him."

Lyla nodded, "I can tell. What happened to you?"

Jack took the communicator out of his ear and threw it carelessly to the ground. "Arin went off on me. Is Luca staying at the house?"

Lyla shook her head no. "He said he'd come when I find you. He wanted to thank you in person for Tom."

Jack wiped blood that had come from his nose. He didn't know what to say, and it felt as if he was still running when he knew he was simply just standing still.

"Are you okay?" Lyla asked stepping towards Jack.

Jack turned away from her and nodded, feeling something sharp dig into his leg. Instinctively, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a rag that had been eaten away at by termites.

"Why did you really want to go though with this?" Lyla suddenly asked, catching Jack off guard. She continued, "I know that you and Arin hardly knew each other when Luca and I found you. The only thing you two had in common was that you both were escaped convicts." She crossed her arms, now skeptical of Jack.

Jack sighed, feeling the diamond beneath the rag he held. "I'm not innocent. I am not clean. I am not courageous. All I am is an escaped convict who is marked by the prison brand on his hand. You said it yourself, Lyla. But when I met Arin for numerous weeks on board that ship, he didn't try to get rid of me. He didn't try to beat me senseless in spite of my personality." Jack took in a deep breath. He could not figure out why he was spilling all of this information out to Lyla. "But the real reason, Lyla, is because I want to be known not for my stupidity, but for who I am. This," Jack said, opening the cloth to reveal the diamond to Lyla, "belonged to the best thief I have ever known. It's the most valuable thing I own. To me, this means that I am doing something right." Jack heard himself, and he began to laugh. "Or something horribly wrong. But when I saw the man from the rebellion, and his lifeless body, that was it. That was the last body I'll ever see, I decided. Lyla, I don't know why I'm telling you all of this, but keep it between you and I, please." Jack pleaded. "I-I grew up on the streets. I didn't know who or what I was, but I sure as hell am not going to die until I find out."

Lyla was surprised to hear all of this from Jack. She hadn't heard him talk that much since she found him. "You say that Arin hadn't tried to beat you senseless when you met him. I know it's none of my business, but if you don't mind me asking, had anyone... Ever done so in the past?" Lyla asked, feeling sympathy for Jack.

Jack smiled sadly, wrapping the diamond back up and placing it back in his pocket. "I've told you countless times on how I'm used to the streets. I guess you can say I never had a family, but I wasn't exactly sad from that fact."

"I'm sorry." Lyla said. "I know that... That must have been hard, with a family who beat you."

Jack only nodded. "It doesn't matter now. The point is, we got Arin, and we're all still alive."

A knocking came at the door, and Lyla and Jack both jumped. Lyla stepped up to the door and cautiously opened it, finding it was only Luca. She closed the door behind him as he entered.

"Man, it is hectic out there! Let me tell you guys, there's a man out there who drank way too much rum, and he's revealing-" Luca stopped rambling as he saw Jack. "That bad?"

Jack only shrugged.

Luca sighed and walked over to him. It was then that Jack had noticed Luca had brought a black bag, which he set down and pulled out a large, white rag. "I came prepared." Luca explained. He handed the rag to Jack. "I'll do the honors." Luca said, and without warning he snapped Jack's nose back into place. Jack nearly screamed and bit down on his tongue, and held the rag up to his nose as a steady flow of blood streamed out.

Lyla punched her brother in the shoulder. "Really, Luca?"

Before he could respond, Luca spotted Arin on the couch. He clenched his fists. "Why did we rescue him again?"

"They did something to him." Jack said, all the while holding the rag to his nose. "It's not his fault. Look at him."

Luca did so. He first noticed the needle in Arin's arm, and yanked it out. He examined it quickly before setting it aside.

Lyla had grabbed a few rags and a bottle of alcohol Luca brought along and stepped in front of Arin. Out of habit, she dabbed the rag in the alcohol and pressed it firmly against the gash on the side of Arin's head. Arin stirred, but did not wake.

"Jack, I'm sorry I put you through the trouble of getting to Tom." Luca sighed, then smiled. "I also want to thank you."

Jack laughed, adjusting the rag on his nose. Slowly but surely, the amount of blood coming from his nose was thinning. "It was my pleasure. The guy really was a jerk."

Arin began to stir from the couch. The three of them stopped what they were doing, and Lyla backed away from Arin, bumping into her brother. Jack removed the rag from his nose, though a little bit of blood slipped out, so he wiped it with his sleeve.

Arin groaned, and Jack knew exactly how the man felt at that moment, having been through the same thing. Arin's eyes blinked open, until he was staring at the unfamiliar ceiling above him. He took in his surroundings, and as soon as he saw Jack, his fists clenched. He sat upright on the couch using his arms. "What did you do to me?"

Jack's eyes widened. "I didn't do this. It was that guard."

Arin seemed confused at this, but kept his mouth shut. It stayed shut for the rest of the day.