Rebels

Ch. 28

If they were the rebellion, then Jack assumed the rebellion had fallen once again. They all had been defeated. At that moment, Jack felt drained. He was exhausted, both physically and mentally. Lyla was also exhausted, but on top of it all, she was sick to her stomach from both stress and worry. Arin was making all of them exhausted, and Jack could only feel sorry for the man.

They had moved back into their original home after Arin had broken free from his blackout. Lyla had insisted that it was their best move, for they were still in view of the palace from where they were staying. It was a haste for all of them, and they had to move at a fairly quick pace, for they didn't know when Arin would next blackout. Luckily, Arin was stable all the way to the home.

Jack's nose was still aching from two days ago. He had noticed that his head had bled, yet he could not recall as to when that had occurred. Nevertheless, he cleaned himself up.

Now, siting in the chair across from the television, he grasped the remote in his hands. He was unsure of what he would see, but his nerves were nearly jumping. He took a deep breath and switched the television on, and the screen flickered to life. He was disappointed, for the image still held the white smoke with the dead man lying at the bottom. He remembered seeing that same man at the palace, with a knife protruding from his chest. The image on the screen showed no blood nor any knife, so Jack assumed the guards had done that to the poor lad after he was already dead, for their own entertainment.

Lyla came from the bedroom, coming up behind Jack. "I was able to get the knife out with as little bleeding as possible, but he's still not looking the best."

Jack turned around in the chair to face her as she spoke. She had blood covering her hands, and she seemed on the verge to cry.

"He's breathing. That's all that matters."

Jack stood to his feet. "Luca's going to be fine." He tried to soothe her. "He's the most intimidating man I've come to know, and that's speaking in a good way. He's got this under control."

Lyla smiled.

"What did I miss?"

Lyla and Jack both turned, finding Arin had woken from his slumber and was now sitting up in the bed.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

Arin shrugged, then smiled. "Never mind." He took a deep breath. His smile faded as his thoughts took over. "That sort of drug they use in their guns... Would Luca, by chance, have any sort of thing in his bag?"

Lyla turned around, opening up Luca's black bag that had sat on the dining room chair. She searched through it, and Jack could hear the bottles inside of the bag clinking together as Lyla moved them around.

She found a few sedatives, but only eight were in her hand. "Just sedatives. There's eight, so these might work for only eight blackouts."

Arin only shrugged once again. "Well, hopefully those will work for the time being."

A loud noise came from the bedroom. Lyla perked her head up and dropped the sedatives on the table. She walked quickly to the bedroom. "I'll be right back." She said over her shoulder as she slammed the door.

Jack sighed, sitting back down in the chair. He could feel another migraine coming on, and he set his head in his hands, massaging his temples. "You really did a number on me, Arin."

Arin frowned. "I'm sorry for what I did. I don't know how I can ever make it up to you. You can beat me up, do whatever-"

"I'm not going to beat you, Arin." Jack said. "I know you couldn't control yourself. You don't have to repay me."

There was a momentary pause before Arin spoke. "Thank you."

Jack looked up at him, confused. Nevertheless, he gave a curt nod.

<><><><><>

"Luca?" Lyla asked as she stepped toward the bed. She noticed that her brother was deathly pale, and a lamp that was beside the bed had been knocked to the ground. His eyes were closed, and he was sweating, all the while mumbling something indecipherable.

It saddened Lyla to the core, seeing her brother like this. The only time she had ever seen him in such a vulnerable spot was when the two of them were young, and their parents were still around. Luca had come home from his school too early, and he was twelve. He had come home crying, rambling on about how the educator sent him home early because he was sick. Lyla remembered their mother trying to soothe him as he vomited multiple times later that day into the sink. Lyla remembered their mother cradling him in her arms, and her father coming home early from his labor just to see if Luca was okay. The virus had been going around the entire city that year, and multiple people had wound up dead because of it.

Lyla snapped out of her memory when Luca began mumbling something again.

Lyla perked up at him. "Luca? Luca, I'm here."

He moved his head from side to side, his hair sticking to his face. "Lyla... Mom's not dead." His words were slow and slurred, something Lyla had heard under multiple other circumstances.

Lyla smiled, a tear escaping from her eye. She quickly wiped it away, though no one could see. "Yeah?" She played along with Luca, knowing he was hallucinating. She didn't want to oppose what Luca had said, for she dint want to hurt him any further.

"She's right here." He rambled. "Foster... He's... He's going to die." He said, his words breathy.

Lyla's sympathetic smile faded. She knew he was delirious, but this still bothered her. "J-Jack?"

Luca began to move his head once again from side to side. "Mom's here, Lyla. She's right here..."

Lyla became sad once again. "Luca, Mom's not here. She- She's been gone for a while."

Luca's breathing became shallow. This worried Lyla, and her heart skipped a beat. "Luca?"

He didn't respond. Lyla checked for his pulse, finally able to breathe when she felt one. She turned and sped into the bathroom, grabbing a rag and running it under the faucet. She then returned and placed the rag on Luca's head to try to lower his fever. She thought it sad, that in desperate moments Luca would think of his mother. She was always good to him. For Lyla, she was not treated fairly by their mother. Nonetheless, Lyla still tried to keep her frustration under control. She had to be strong for Luca, even though he was very frustrating and idiotic at times.

Lyla exited the room, taking a deep breath.