Thick as Thieves 2: Under Your Command

Chapter 25

Michael couldn't see a thing. Everything was too bright. Too loud. Then, suddenly, he felt his back collide with the earth. He saw the blue sky and the green tree tops above him. He breathed the clean, pure air. He was home.

Then he remembered Lucas and he bolted upright, ignoring the dizziness. Lucas was lying in front of him, holding his stomach, blood seeping through his fingers.

"No no no no." Michael crawled over to him, pulling Lucas into his lap. He lifted Lucas' shirt to reveal the wound. It was deep. "We need help!"

He raised his head, wondering why everyone was just standing there. Then he realised. The Terra Novans were being held at gunpoint; Hooper and his men had found them. He looked around at his defeated friends and comrades. Reilly, Mark, Boylan. He searched for Alicia. She was safe with the baby, watching gravely from the sidelines. There were some bodies on the floor. Mira was holding onto Sienna tightly.

Hooper stood watching in the centre of them, unmoved.

"You," Michael rasped. He searched for the medic but he was unfortunately one of the bodies on the ground. Skye was standing beside his corpse, her face pale. She was watching Lucas. "Skye, please. Help him," Michael implored.

She looked towards her captor desperately.

Michael could feel his brother fading. He couldn't let him die like this. He couldn't let him be proven right, that he deserved execution, that he had nothing left to live for. For the first time in a long time, Lucas looked paralysed with fear. He couldn't speak, only managing short gasps of pain. He was in shock. His eyes, large with panic, settled on the peaceful image of the sky above him. A single tear slid down the side of his face. Then his eyelids gently started to close.

Michael turned towards Hooper. "Please let her help him!"

Hooper raised a bored eyebrow, then he nodded at Skye. The soldier guarding her lowered his weapon.

She ran over to Lucas, dropping her bag of medical supplies next to him. She knelt down, searching for some tools, then she looked nervously towards Michael.

He nodded encouragingly at her. He knew she could do this. She pulled back his bloodied shirt, revealing the messy wound underneath, took a deep breath, then got to work.

Lucas felt the searing pain exploding from inside him. This was somehow worse than the two bullets he had taken a year previously. He felt himself slipping, each limb and body part gradually becoming numb. He was vaguely aware of Michael, lifting his head up, holding him. But his brother soon blurred out of focus. He concentrated on the sky. Blue. It had been a while since he'd seen it. He had taken it for granted back then, but now...now it was soothing. It helped ease the pain.

He knew he was going into shock. His body was shutting down, trying to preserve itself. His brain was fighting, trying to make sense of the agony his body was feeling. The trees swayed above him and he saw himself, a young boy. He was just a kid, climbing a tree, being stupid. He could hear his dad shouting at him. When he looked down, he saw Michael; young like he was, just boys enjoying their youth. He held out his hand for Michael to join him.

But something happened. His foot slipped. He fell.

His body erupted with pain. He sobbed. His brother was laughing. Then his mother appeared above him, her brunette curls blowing in the wind as she smiled placidly down at him.

"Lucas, darling. It's okay. You have to stop crying now." Her voice echoed in his vision. She held his hand. She had a glow and a calming presence. He let his last few tears drip down his face.