Rebels

Ch. 31

The following day, Jack ceased to vomit, and he took this as a good sign. It stood to be the most odd virus Jack had ever experienced, for it had only lasted one day. Nevertheless, he was glad to be out of the basement.

When he had gone upstairs, he found both Lyla and Arin were still asleep. Though Jack could not sleep all throughout the night and though he was exhausted, he still somewhat felt energetic.

He didn't know what he was doing, nor where he was going until he found himself standing before Luca. He appeared to be asleep, and Jack sighed. He felt bad for giving Luca those bottles, but he also felt a sort of weight off of his shoulders, knowing that Luca hadn't had to suffer as much as he would have.

"Jake, bud, please stop staring at me." Luca mumbled, reaching up to rub his eyes from slumber.

Jack stiffened, clearing his throat. "Sorry, I just... I was just checking up."

Luca took a deep breath before wincing. "I hear that you got yourself sick."

Jack scoffed. "You can thank your sister for that. I have to ask, how are you holding up?"

Luca smirked. "I'm okay. Very sore, but I'm fine. We have to get moving on our plan if we want to make this work."

Jack frowned. "I agree, but none of us are in the condition to do so."

Luca nodded. "I know."

Jack could hear every heavy, ragged breath Luca took. Jack knew Luca was getting better, but he wasn't so sure. He had never heard someone breathe with such difficulty, and it saddened him. "Luca, you don't sound okay."

Luca became frustrated. "I am fine. Do not push me over the edge."

Jack sighed. "Sorry."

There was a momentary pause before Jack found something to talk about. "Those crates down in the basement, how much belongs to Tom?"

Luca's ears perked at this. "The crates filled with money are Lyla and I's. The rest are Tom's."

Jack nodded. "While I was down there, I couldn't help but notice a few papers... What are they?"

Luca sighed. "I've seen them too. They're documents of the rebellion. All that they've done, all that they've said, all of who they are. Funny how no one knew where this rebellion was located, huh?" Luca's smirk was replaced by a heavy breath. "Link was the one who you saw at the palace, dead. Tom had been collecting these things, most likely either hoarding them for whatever reason or reporting them to the king."

"What about the King?" Jack blurted.

Luca's mouth straightened into one thin line. "What about him?" He turned his head to face Jack, and it brought out the healing, red line on Luca's neck from where Arin had clipped him with the knife. "The King has despised this rebellion for years. The rebellion first began even before the Festival of the King came around. He is ruthless, Jack. He's taking people off of the streets and killing them for no reason. He's got every citizen in this city under surveillance. We're not perfect, and that means all of us are going to die by the king sooner or later."

That last part scared Jack for a reason he could not find. He itched to change the subject. "What happened with your parents?" He immediately regretted saying that to Luca. He hadn't meant to actually let it slip out, and he instinctively inched back.

Luca looked away and stared at the wall in front of him, filling the awkward silence with his ragged breathing. "I knew you had seen those."

Jack cleared his throat. "I hadn't meant to-"

"It's okay." Luca interrupted. "Long story short, our parents wanted a boy, not a girl."

Jack bit his tongue. "If it makes you feel any better, my mother never wanted a kid in the first place."

Luca sighed heavily. "Jake, not to be rude, but I'm not the kind of guy to talk to about this. I-I don't... I don't prefer to talk about things like this. I just... Keep looking ahead."

Jack sighed. He never had expected to get any answers out from Luca, so this didn't come to him as much of a surprise. "Alright. Sorry to bother you." He said as politely as he could, turning to leave the room.

"Jack?" Luca said.

Jack turned to face him. Jack didn't know what would come out of his mouth, but he sure didn't expect Luca to stop him from leaving. Of anything, Jack had figured Luca had thought he was an annoyance.

"I know how we're going to get the King."

Jack was somewhat eager to hear what Luca had to say. "How?"

Luca smiled, bringing notice to his cracked lips. "Don't touch my bag."

Jack frowned. "What do you mean?"

Luca didn't answer, and instead changed the subject. "I think Lyla is waiting for you."

Jack took this as his cue to leave, and so he did, finding Lyla was slowly waking from her sleep. Arin, however, made Jack reel back a few steps, for he was sitting as straight as can be on the bed and was staring right at Jack. "A-Arin, is that you?" Jack asked, his heart beginning to pound.

Arin nodded slowly, still not saying a word.

Jack took a cautious step forward. "What's wrong?" He thought for a moment. "Also, how are you awake right now?"

Arin blinked, his eyes cloudy. "There's a voice in my head."

Jack became confused at this, and his heart pounded harder in his chest. He swallowed down his fear. "How so?"

Arin stood. "I can hear the voice of the guard who tortured me."

"When did this start?" Jack asked out of concern.

"When I was asleep." Arin answered, his eyes still blank. "He's telling me how I am the King's pet. I keep seeing the knife, and..." As his voice trailed off, his eyes looked to Jack. "You have to let me go."

Jack scrunched his eyebrows together. "Arin, don't even consider that. You're still you, Arin. As long as some part of you is in there, then you're still a part this rebellion."

Arin thought about this for a moment, and then shakily nodded. "Just promise me that you won't let me hurt Lyla, or anyone else for that matter ever again. I almost killed Luca, Jack."

"But you didn't." Jack's heart ached for the man who stood in front of him. "That's what counts."