Rebels

Ch. 34

Lyla found herself standing at the door to the basement. It was quiet from the other side, and this could only mean two things: Arin was out of his blackout, or Arin was still in it. She knew Jack didn't have much time, for they had found he had been poisoned, and his throat was beginning to burn. She knocked on the door, waiting for a response.

No reply came, and her stomach fluttered. She tried the doorknob, and to her surprise and shock, the door was unlocked. She thought Jack had locked it previously. She pushed it open, and found Arin slumped against the wall across the room, seemingly asleep. She wasted no time and began to walk towards him. Her eyes caught on the ammunition crate and she grabbed a loaded gun from it for precaution. "Arin?" She called, but he did not stir.

She noticed something partially hanging from his pocket, and she picked it up, examining it closely. It was a needle, and she couldn't identify what was inside.

Arin's eyes suddenly flew open and he wrapped his fingers around her wrist. Lyla cocked her gun and pressed it against his head, her heart breathing in her chest.

Arin's eyes were blazing with hatred, but he didn't move, for he knew he had no chance against Lyla. "Give that back." He snarled through his teeth.

Lyla cocked her head to the side, ignoring the pain that was beginning to run through her wrist. "What is it?"

"Why would I tell you?" Arin responded, clenching his jaw.

Lyla smirked, "Because I'll put a bullet in your head."

Arin only shrugged, seeming too calm about death. "Go ahead."

This angered Lyla, but she tried not to let her anger get the best of the situation. "Arin, this isn't you talking. Just tell me what this is, and I'll let you go."

Something flashed in Arin's eyes, and for a moment his anger lightened. "You won't let me go."

Lyla lowered the gun from his head. "I will. I'm not as bad as Luca or Jack. Jack needs my help and if you won't tell me what I want to know, you'll be farther away from ever getting out of here."

Arin thought about this for a moment, leaning against the wall. When he was ready to talk, he crossed his arms and sighed heavily. "It's the antidote."

Lyla turned and headed towards the door, taking the gun with her. Arin jumped up and followed behind her, but Lyla turned in the doorway and aimed the gun at his head. Arin became furious, breathing heavily through his nostrils. "You lied!" He screamed, nearly startling Lyla.

"I'm sorry Arin, but I can't let you go." She said. She truly was sorry for the man.

Arin charged at her with such inhuman speed that she couldn't see him do so. He slammed his foot into her stomach, causing her to drop the gun. Before he could manage to shoot her, she slammed the basement door shut, as she heard multiple bullets hit the door. Arin began screaming again, banging on the door. She locked it and backed away quickly from the basement, heading back towards Jack.

She found that Jack was much paler, and she didn't know that that was possible. He had lost his strength to move much anymore, and his eyes were still closed. She figured if his throat was burning then that was where the antidote was needed; as fast as possible.

She took no hesitation and injected the needle into his neck. When the antidote reached his bloodstream, she removed the needle, throwing it into the garbage beneath a cabinet in the kitchen.

A horrific thought entered her mind. What if Arin had been lying? She felt at her lowest for giving in to Arin. She knew she possibly could have just killed Jack. She looked back over at him, and he appeared the same. She checked his pulse. It was faint; so faint that at first she thought Jack was already gone. She figured that as long as he was breathing, then he was okay.

Lyla walked into the bedroom next, knocking before entering. Luca was on the bed, and he appeared to be asleep. She was already closing the door, when he spoke. "I'm not asleep, Lyla." He mumbled drowsily.

She entered the room fully, closing the door behind her. It was then that she realized she was shaking. "I-I think Jack's going to be okay."

"You think?" Luca opened his eyes, finding his sister shaking. He wiped away the smart remark that was about to escape his lips and sat up, when he remembered his wound and winced in pain, biting on his tongue. Nevertheless, he stood, keeping a hand pressed firmly to his stomach. "Are you okay?"

Lyla shook her head no. "It was quiet. I only went down there to see where he was-"

"You went to Arin?" Luca said, growing frustrated at his sister. "How idiotic can you be?"

Lyla took a shallow breath. "The door was unlocked, Luca. He was in there, but he had the antidote, and I gave it to Jack."

Luca laid his opposite hand on her shoulder to try and stop her rambling. "Lyla, it's okay. Just..." He didn't know what to say, and his eyes hardened again. "Did Arin hurt you?"

Lyla hesitated to answer. He didn't necessarily hurt her very badly. Nevertheless, she knew better than to lie to her brother. "He only caught me off guard. He didn't do anything serious."

Luca took his hand off her shoulder. "I swear, I will kill him."

Lyla bit her lip. "You know it's not his fault. If anything, he saved Jack's life."

"You don't know that." Luca responded. "Only time will tell."

Lyla frowned. "That goes the same for you. You still don't sound good."

He dismissed her with his hand and made his way back to the bed. "Quit reminding me, please."

"I can't help it, Luca. Not when you sound like a dying one hundred fifty year old man."

Luca smirked, but came with no response.

"There's one small thing that bothers me." Lyla confessed, staring at her brother with worried eyes. "If Arin had the antidote, then doesn't that mean the guards already knew that this would happen? Who put the drink in my bag that day? Someone's following us, Luca. That's not even the worst bit." She sighed, biting her fingernail. "Jack said his throat was burning. What if... What if he can't talk anymore?"

Luca's ears seemed to perk at this. He seemed to be in deep thought for a moment, before letting the situation slip away. "Jack will be okay. And for my sake, can you just leave me alone so I can actually sleep?" He retorted, though Lyla noted that he really did seem exhausted.

She gave him a slight punch in his shoulder and then left the room, softly closing the door behind her.