Rebels

Ch. 45

Being a King can mess with one's head. Having all of that power and authority to yourself can kill a man. This, Jack knew. He did not like to have all of the authority of being the leader of the Rebellion on his shoulders. He also could not figure out why he was chosen as the leader. Sure, it was his original idea to break into the palace and rescue Arin. Yet, Jack did not define himself as a heroic man. In his own eyes, he was a crook. He was a man who made plenty of mistakes and still does not know what he is doing. He is a man who is a criminal of the law, and who has broken many bones. He still had a broken jaw and bruised ribs, not to mention his fractured nose and swollen left eye. Yet, the entire situation brought him back to the diamond he had obtained when he was young. He never let it go. He had lost the diamond during the explosion when they were taken to the palace by force. Yet, he had never let it go. He had hope, and his eyes were shining.

He had never had a rich background. His family was poor, and abusive. They took their frustration of their financial issues out on their son, but Jack had never let his head drop for more than a minute. Now, looking at their situation, he had a bit of an idea as to why he was the leader. Link Fitzgerald was a man of high honor, and he never backed down. Even when he was stabbed to death in the palace, he wasn't afraid. Jack knew Link wasn't. He also knew that before Jack came to this place, no one was doing anything to stop the King. Sure, Luca and Lyla had some sort of plan, but Luca was in no shape to do anything. He was going to be killed by the King, sooner or later. Yes, the Rebellion was acting against the King, but it's leaders had been murdered.

Another thing that was roaming through Jack's mind was of whom had taken the picture of them, or how they had done so. Jack believed that someone from the Rebellion was still watching them, and he intended to keep his eyes open.

Lyla stepped up to Jack, a smile on her face. "How does it feel to be the King of the Rebellion?"

Jack took a deep breath, though the action hurt his ribs. "Well, it's scary. I am also confused and slightly nauseous."

Lyla laughed. "Well, whoever took that photo should consider giving a promotion to me."

A momentary pause filled the distance between the two. Lyla peered over her shoulder to find her brother, who was sitting in the chair, his eyes planted on the television screen while Tom blabbered off to him. Arin had been leaning against the wall near the door, staring off into the distance for the past few minutes. Lyla turned her attention back to Jack, pulling out a flower from behind her back. This one was bright red, with white tips on its petals. The very edge of the petals were lined with yellow. Jack let out a surprised laugh, taking the flower. "I must say, this flower is much more impressive than the one I gave you."

Lyla smiled. "Yes, it is. I found it lying on the dining table."

Jack cocked his head to the side, feeling the petals of the flower. "Who left it there?"

Lyla's smile faded, as she was deep in thought. Finally, when she inhaled a sharp breath, she spoke. "When you drank that water bottle that was on the table, that bottle was from someone who had been watching us; who had snuck in."

Jack knew what Lyla was implying. He couldn't forget the day he drank the poison, for for the next two days he had vomited and was left with a burning throat that got rid of his voice. Even now, his voice was not back. This flower he was holding suddenly became less of a peaceful gesture and more of a creepy one. He hadn't seen anyone sneak into the home.

Jack hadn't realized he was holding his breath. He looked up at Lyla, an all-too familiar fear freezing inside of him. "Who's watching us?"

Just then, Luca stood from his chair and approached us, breaking his staring contest with the television. When he reached us, he portrayed a weak imitation of a smile. "Jake, good to see that you're the King of the Rebellion, now."

Jack sighed, all of his pity turning into annoyance towards Luca.

Luca continued, "Tom cannot stop talking, so I have decided to talk to my sister and her idiotic boyfriend for once."

Lyla punched him in the arm. "Just because we are physically hurting does not mean I won't kill you."

Luca smiled. "Moving on, we are now the Rebellion and there are still monitors out there with unwanted eyes watching everyone through them. Tom has his connections with the various guards in the palace, so I'm thinking we waltz down there and kill all the guards who aren't on our side and disable all of the monitors."

Jack stood there a moment with his jaw slightly dropped. He straightened his posture. "Luca, I will be sure to consider your idea when we all aren't dying."

Luca frowned. "Just because you're the leader of the Rebellion doesn't mean I won't kill you, either."

Arin cleared his throat, tugging everyone's attention toward him. He pushed off the wall he was leaning on and uncrossed his arms. "Let's keep the killing down to a minimum. We're all not in the condition to do so, so if I attempt to kill either one of you I'll most likely die as well in the process." Arin took a deep breath. He still looked exhausted, even more so than before. "Now I can check being a rebel off my list, seeming as I am a war criminal, wanted for escaping prison, and wanted by all of those guards back in the palace for pretty much killing the King. What's next, rebel against potatoes and go on a strike?"

Jack smiled. "That does not make a whole lot of sense. I suppose if the potatoes were all poisoned and were killing everyone, then we could go on strike. But who would we go on strike against?"

"The potatoes." Luca said.

Lyla scoffed. "Let's please stop talking about a potato apocalypse." She looked to Tom, who had been staring at the television while keeping a hand on his wounded shoulder. "Tom, we need to know who's side you are on."

Just like that, the conversation turned upside down, and all smiles turned into a frown. Jack hadn't known Tom for a very long time, but Luca said that he was a creep, always hitting on Lyla in front of Luca and sending her crates full of gifts. That was, until Jack punched Tom in the face his first time at the palace.

Tom straightened, lowering his hand from his shoulder. He cleared his throat, clearly debating on Lyla's question. "The King was young and an idiot, and was watching everyone as if they were property, so I am not on his side. I don't know why I ever was. He's very... persuasive. But I am here now, and I suppose that determines whose side I'm on." He gave a slight imitation of a smile. "Being a rebel doesn't sound all that bad. Besides, we've got all those guards on our side."

Luca nodded at Tom, silently telling him that Tom chose correctly. Then, astonishingly to Jack, Luca looked at him and sighed. "So, what should we do now?"

As if in perfect sync, Lyla, Arin and Tom all looked to Jack as well, waiting for his response.

Jack was not used to all of this authority. He knew deep down it did not belong to him, but the King did not deserve his authority either. He cleared his throat, though it was raw. "For now, we'll rest. I still can't see out of my left eye and have a bruised jaw and ribs, and I still don't have my voice back. Luca still can't breathe properly and he's been through a lot. We all have. Lyla, you have cuts all over your body. Arin, you're growing more exhausted and weak by the second. Tom, you had a bullet in your arm. If we are the Rebellion, we have a lot of work to do." Jack paused, soaking in his situation. This entire thing still felt unreal to him. "So, for now, we'll rest. Someone's watching us, and if they want to watch us, we'll give them something to see. We have to remember that we are the Rebellion now, and we are going to have to learn to adapt to that title. It's going to be tough, but if we all are still breathing, then we'll be okay. We will do it for our family. For our enemies, and for the members of the Rebellion who were murdered by the King."

Lyla smiled. She hadn't expected this much from Jack, and hearing him speak like he was surprisingly warmed her heart. "We can do it for our past."

Luca nodded. "And, for the present. And hey, now we get to drink all we want." He laughed.

Arin leaned back, crossing his arms. He was now staring at the floor. "For the city."

Tom silently chuckled, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "For mistakes."

Jack raised his eyebrows, figuring it was once again his turn to speak. He looked up at the ceiling until a thought popped into his mind. "For us."