Rebels

Ch. 44

When Jack awoke, he had a pounding migraine. His throat was so raw that he could barely swallow without choking. His body felt limp.

Jack noticed that Luca had fallen asleep on the dining room chair next to the flower vase, with his head in his arms on the table. The flowers were decaying, and Jack thought how someone should throw them out.

Tom was lying slump in the chair across from Jack, and his shirt was off, revealing his bloody shoulder. It appeared as if someone had stitched his wound, and Jack wondered who had helped Tom. Arin had not returned, and Jack did not know what time it was. He slowly stood from the couch, stretching out his limbs. He felt like jello.

Jack assumed Lyla was asleep in the other room, and he did not want to bother her. Nevertheless, he was bored. He walked over to the dining room table and grabbed a gray flower from the vase, and it almost immediately crumbled under his grasp. Jack walked over towards the door to the bedroom, clearing his throat. He knew he still did not have his voice back, and this made him frustrated. He also knew he had not taken a shower in too long of a time, but he didn't mind.

He knocked on the wooden door twice, fumbling with the flower in his hand. He waited until he heard movement on the other side, and the door opened, revealing Lyla. Her hair was messy and Jack assumed she had just come out of bed. He also noticed that she must have taken a shower and cleaned her wounds, for she was not coated in blood anymore.

Jack cleared his throat again, ignoring the sharp pain in his head. "I wanted to wish you congrats on living." He handed her the flower, and she took it slowly, gazing at Jack as if he were the biggest idiot on the planet. "What?"

Jack smiled, but when he did pain arose from his face. It was then that he realized he still had blood on his face. He cleared his throat once more. "Well, it appears you're still alive, and yesterday I thought by now we'd all be dead from the injuries we had, but then I woke up and I realized I was alive, and so I thought of you and how you were doing and I found this flower and here we are now."

Lyla blinked, soaking in what she had just heard. She began to laugh. "Jack, that was the weirdest and possibly most idiotic thing I have ever heard."

Jack shifted his weight from one foot to the other nervously. He could not tell why he was nervous. "Well, congrats."

Lyla laughed once more. "It was also very sweet. Thank you for the... flower."

Jack smiled once more. "You're welcome."

Jack heard someone clear his throat from behind him, and he turned, finding Luca was leaning against the countertop, staring heavily at them. Jack's eyes trailed down to the blood that had seeped through Luca's shirt, and he hadn't noticed that before.

Lyla had noticed it first. She was already in front of her brother, still holding the flower in her hand. "What is that?"

"What?" Luca asked, though he knew what she was asking about.

Lyla became extremely frustrated at her brother. "The blood, Luca. It's from your knife wound, isn't it? It opened?"

Luca only shrugged. "Yeah, but I sewed myself back together. It didn't even hurt, and I'm okay, Lyla. Don't worry about me. How are you doing?"

Lyla scoffed. "Luca, you're not okay. I'm trying to help you. Your breathing's not right. You went through a lot."

"We all did." Luca said, growing angry. "Stop avoiding my questions, Lyla. I have the right to know how you're doing. I am your older brother, and I am looking out for you, so answer my question!" His voice rose.

Lyla was breathing heavily through her nose now, and Jack noticed she had crumbled the flower Jack had given her in her fist. "I'm fine. It hurts, but we all hurt, and I'm not dying."

There was a knock at the door. Jack turned and stepped towards it, opening it cautiously. When he saw it was Arin, he opened the door fully for him. Arin stepped through, taking a deep breath.

"How are you holding up?" Jack asked Arin.

Arin shrugged. "I'm okay. You guys look like hell, though."

Jack frowned. "Thank you for that. That's just what I needed to hear today."

Arin sighed. "I didn't mean-"

"No, really," Jack interrupted, leaning against Aaron's shoulder. "I feel so much better. Thank you, Arin. I don't know what I'd to without you as my friend."

"Guys," Lyla interrupted, her arms crossed. "Tom hasn't woken up."

Luca was the first to walk over to Tom. He couldn't care less if the man was dead, but he knew if Tom was dead then Luca would have unwanted blood on his hands. Luca appeared in front of Tom, and shook him. "Tom, wake up."

Tom didn't wake up. His head was limp to his side, and he was pale. His shoulder now developed a very dark bruise and was swollen. Luca shook him again, and this time Tom groaned, slowly coming awake. When he came to, he sat up, confused. "How would you all feel if you woke up to four people staring down at you as if you were dead?"

Luca backed off, secretly relieved. "If you were dead, I think we'd throw a party." He mumbled to himself.

Tom looked to Luca, exhaustion in his eyes. "I'm under the impression that you're trying to kill me. Hey, thanks for the Tetanus, Luca. Oh, and I should thank you for the temporary paralysis in my arm."

All four of them stared at Tom, shocked. Lyla spoke first. "You can't move your arm? Why are you thanking Luca?" She turned on her brother. "You took the bullet out of Tom's arm? What'd you use?"

Luca sighed, knowing that his sister was about to go off on him. "All we had were spoons, and they were a little rusty, but barely. I grabbed the bullet with my fingers, and sewed him up with wire I found."

Lyla paused for a moment, thinking over what he said. She sighed, crossing her arms. "I'll admit that you did a good job, considering what resources are around us. But, Luca, he's probably going to have Tetanus. His wound is going to get infected, if it isn't already. He can't even move his arm!"

Luca sighed, sitting down in the chair next to the couch. He was looking at the coffee table in front of him, when his eyes widened a little. Luca stood and grabbed the television remote from the coffee table.

Jack knew what Luca was doing. He walked around the chair to get a better view at the television screen as it slowly lit up to life.

The television screen portrayed a black background of what looked like a dark warehouse. Colorful smoke was in the warehouse. In the center stood four silhouettes with a bandana covering their face. The first one to the left was the tallest, and he wore a white shirt with black jeans. The bandana he wore was red, with the skeletal mouth of a skeleton. The person farthest to the right was shorter, and Jack could tell it was a girl, with her hair and all. She wore a white shirt that hugged her form, with silver jeans. Her bandana was also red, with a skull's mouth, but this one had flowers coming from the teeth. The third person lie in the middle, and he was at average height. He, too, wore a white shirt, but he wore yellow jeans. His bandana was gold, with a white skeletal mouth. Jack observed that the man wore a crown and a red cape as well. Finally, the figure next to that man was the same height, too, wearing a white shirt and black jeans. His bandana was comprised of a skeletal mouth, but this one had blood dripping from its teeth and it's eye sockets.

"Nice of them to not include me in the picture." Tom spoke.

Jack turned to him, confused. "What do you mean?"

Tom scoffed. "You don't know who's in the photo, do you?" Tom stood once again, his eyes on the television. "The one with the skeletal mouth bandana to the left is Luca. To the right is Lyla, with the skeletal flower bandana. To the left of her is Arin, with the bloody skull. Then comes you, Jack, wearing the crown and the cape."

Jack bit his tongue. He was not comfortable as to why he was the one wearing the crown. "I'm not the King, though."

Tom raised both of his eyebrows. "Last time I checked, you were the King of the Rebellion."