CHAPTER TWENTY THREE - BETRAYAL
B cried.
The pale, silent silver tears dribbled carelessly from red eyes, worn and swollen from emotions they could not control anymore. His body was still numb from the wound that had suddenly been torn open somewhere deep inside. He could almost feel himself crumpling inside in waves of physical pain.
Brian’s hand was still enclosed within his own like the paw of a treasured stuffed toy. The dead weight of the limb though was beginning to make him sicker. It was cold and pale so that B no longer recognised it as anything more than the icy hand of a monster that had taken his father’s place. If only he would move or give some sign that he was still alive in there, maybe that could rekindle the weak and dying flames of hope that were slowly being swept away by a cruel wind.
‘This was all my fault…’
He was the reason his father was lying here like this, clinging to live only because the doctors were forcing him too. He was the reason the Gerai had attacked and he knew instinctively that they were responsible for the explosion. He’d already heard that it was a bomb and that meant Gerai.
B tilted his head away from Brian to stare at the rest of the med centre where the patients lay like corpses in death beds. He could see the suffering, almost feel the tangibility of it in the very air that reeked of blood and gasps of air.
He suddenly sneezed and quickly turned away from Brian, not wanting to infect him with the malicious cold B seemed to have caught. The miseries of his illness though were nothing compared to the torturous effect of this event. He barely thought of the constant cold, the tickling throat or the aching head. He began to cough again and he pulled tissue from his pocket, not wanting to allow the germs to reach Brian. He frowned slightly as he noticed the few spots if blood that now marked the whiteness of the tissue, but shrugged. Even though it had been happening since yesterday. He thought nothing of it. How could he dwell on his own well being when someone he cared about was lying before him and hardly breathing?
He clasped Brian’s hand again and sighed. Sammy had left a little while ago under Nick’s gentle urgings and B had insisted that he speak to Lori. She deserved to know what had happened… She was a kind girl and cared about all of them and B did not want his brother’s life disrupted just because of B needed ‘looking after’ as Sammy had put it.
He had to somehow find a path through this, even though it seemed impossible without stepping on the aching pieces of a shattered heart. It hurt… but there was no cure for this pain, no way to stop the agony. It was physical, emotional and it had ensnared him in talons that seized his very blood. Crying did not help relieve anything and there was no medicine a doctor could prescribe him.
It hurt so much and worse… all he could think about was his last argument with Brian and the way his father had yelled at him. All he could see were the Gerai and the one simple fact… This was all his fault.
He rubbed Brian’s hand within his own, begging for a response. He stared down at the fingers and rubbed each one of them as if he could press life into their depths.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered tearfully. “I’m sorry for everything. I’m sorry I put you here.” He looked up above him at the rocky ceiling he knew Brian despised and feared so much. “You shouldn’t have to look after me anymore… it’s hurting you and I don’t want that to happen. Sammy will take care of you, I know he will…” B’s voice broke slightly as the sob ruptured it’s frail lining. He had abandoned Brian so many times, ignored him when he wanted to talk, avoided him… and now he was doing the same again. He squeezed the hand even harder, never wanting to let go. But there was no choice anymore. B was a problem, a dangerous problem. While he was here, the Gerai would keep coming and coming until his entire family was destroyed. He had to get away, it was better for them all. Brian would probably be partly relieved… no more arguments, no more tears, no more brat to have to watch like a hawk… B should have tried harder to stop him from hating him. Sammy kept telling him he didn’t, but B would never believe it. Brian shouted because he hated him and how could he ever like B anyway when he was who he was? A seventeen year old who could not even fend for themselves and merely sulked and snapped.
He had ruined everything here. He had ruined the one chance he had with his father. He would not bring him pain or tears anymore. He would leave and let Brian get on with everything…
He slowly released the hand and gently placed it beside Brian’s body. He looked down at his own arm and fingered his silver bracelet for a moment, the one that Sammy had given to him. It had never been Sammy’s to give though… He unclasped the chain and then delicately tied it around Brian’s wrist. It had been his to start with until he was captured by the Gerai, after which Sammy had passed it on to B.
B slowly stood up, every limb aching from being hunched for so long and from the deadening poison of grief that had been so effective upon its victim. He stared down at Brian. “Goodbye dad,” he whispered softly.
He turned away, his eyes closing to try and stop the tears in vain. He took one step forward, but his legs were heavy and weighed like metal chunks. He took a deep breath and then crossed the med centre, ignoring the way his heart seemed to grow in weight and pain. He had to get away. He had to run away…
B froze for a moment as he heard the murmured and whispered voices of urgency. Tentatively he peeped about the corner to see the two tall, dark haired men outside of Darren’s office. He felt his heart momentarily flicker as he recognised Darren and… Kevin. Kevin was back from his tracking mission. He may only have been a second cousin but he was still part of B’s family. He frowned slightly though at the worried brows and nervous voices. He retreated back around the corner and pressed his back against the wall, breathing quietly, not wanting to be seen or heard.
“We came back as fast as we could when we heard of the attack,” Kevin was saying. “Damn it was a good plan for the Gerai… lure everyone away and then attack the base while there’s less people there.”
“There wasn’t much damage in the attack, although one of the science labs that was trashed was the one where Nick and the others were researching the virus.”
B could not help but shudder and stare at his arm where the scar sulked beneath the thin fabric of his t-shirt. He could almost feel it brewing inside of him. He suddenly felt the betraying tickle of as a sneeze prepared to be unleashed and e anxiously gripped his nose, stifling it before it could reveal him.
“Did we lose all the research?” Kevin asked anxiously.
“Luckily, no. Everything was backed up so we have most of it. The blood samples Nick was running tests on were also in a different lab so we won’t have to re-do that again. We may have some results within the next forty eight hours.”
“Lucky the Gerai did not destroy everything.”
“We should have known.” Darren replied softly, his voice dead like the those who had been killed in the explosion. “We should have been prepared for an attack.” He sighed before saying, “What happened to the Gerai you were following?”
“They made a circled and started back to their own base. They weren’t going anywhere! They were just a distraction!” Kevin sounded furious at himself, but what could Kevin have done to stop this? It couldn’t have been hard for the Gerai to plant a bomb…
“It could have been worse,” Darren muttered.
‘Worse? How much worse?’ B thought tearfully. His father was in a coma and it was obvious that the Gerai were becoming more ruthless in their revenge tactics.
“I guess,” Kevin replied. “But Brian… he’s my cousin. He didn’t deserve this.” There was a sigh. “How my two little second cousins?” His voice was suddenly soft with emotions. “God, poor B…”
B slowly closed his eyes. It was his own fault. Everything was because of him…
“I know,” Darren agreed. “I’m giving him and Sammy some space. B’s had a lot on his plate recently… it’s so damn unfortunate that he got caught up in this. He doesn’t deserve it.”
“He’s too sweet for the Gerai to get their hands on and Brian would die if they ever caught him.”
B placed a hand to his mouth to prevent himself from crying out at the very thought of what Kevin had said. Brian could so easily slip into that oblivious black void of death and unawareness. And B, ‘sweet’? He was a monster. He had been so terrible to Brian, so heartless and it was too late to change it now.
“We won’t let them and neither would Sammy. Besides, there’s still hope for Brian. It may take a while, but he’ll wake,” Darren’s voice said.
B removed his hand and wiped his eyes for a moment, his ears tingling with the words. But how long would it take? Maybe B was like a curse and the second he left, everything would somehow slip into place… it would certainly be less dangerous for everyone here. That was what he wanted to do. For once he wanted to be brave and put everyone else before himself.
“I hope so,” Kevin replied. “I really do. I don’t always get to see him, but I still care about him. Besides, B needs his father to take care of him.”
B shook his head. No, this time B was going to take care of himself and he was going to look after Brian. Unfortunately that meant B had to leave before anymore Gerai came after him. Once they realised he wasn’t here, they might leave his friends and family alone.
“I’m worried about him Kevin,” Darren murmured. “And so is Sammy. We definitely know that a bomb was set off.”
“Who could have set it off though?” Kevin asked quickly.
B risked pressing closer to the corner, nervous and yet keen to hear this new piece of information. A bomb? He had overheard bits about it but this sounded more promising. He gulped slightly and tilted his head to try and get closer without being seen.
“We don’t know yet, but Brian was badly hurt… and not just by the explosion. According to the doctors there was a wound on his leg caused by a laser and there were other signs of physical abuse. They weren’t caused by debris from the blast”
“What? What do you mean? You mean he was attacked beforehand?” Kevin demanded.
B could feel his own shock as adrenaline rushed through him to leave him cold. Attacked? He gulped and suddenly found himself looking about him anxiously in case a Gerai sprang out at any moment.
There was no reply from Darren but B could imagine that slow nod Darren would give when something was true that he did not want to be.
“Who did it?” Kevin asked harshly.
“It could mean that Brian had a fight with someone for valid reasons before the blast which means it was a coincidence.”
“Like hell it was,” B whispered to himself. He was trembling inside and his palms were suddenly becoming very moist. Brian was attacked by a Gerai… The Gerai only ever came after B, which meant Brian had taken a beating for B which could lead to his death…
“What do you really think it was?” Kevin asked bluntly.
“We think we either have a Gerai hiding in the base somewhere… or a traitor.”
A traitor?
“That’s a bit paranoid isn’t it?” Kevin whispered, his voice dropping even lower so that B had to strain to hear it.
“We searched the place after the attack! Damn it, Kevin, we searched everywhere! I don’t like the idea, but…”
“You think they’re after B?”
B froze. He did not have to hear this, he knew they were after him.
“We think everything they’ve done so far is because of him.”
That was all that needed to be said. B had already known it was all his fault, but to hear it said so blatantly… He placed a hand to his mouth as fresh salty tears began their descent. ‘I’m sorry… I’m sorry…’ He had never asked for anything, he had never wanted to be such a burden on anybody.
But it was said now. Everything was because of him… and now his father was dying because of him.
All because of him.
He turned away and then began to rush down the corridor, his hand to his mouth as if fearing that his very heart or stomach might be ejected onto the ground any moment. He was half bent over as he scurried as quickly as his leaden legs would allow him. He felt sick and he wanted to scream at everyone around him.
‘I’m sorry!’
He almost fell into his own room but everywhere he looked he could see remnants of Brian. Brian’s clothes scattered about the room, his things… but Brian wasn’t here anymore. And B was the very reason why.
B found himself collapsing into a heap on the floor, his knees automatically reaching to his chest to take on the position of a protective embryo. He let the tears rule him, wishing they could exorcise the pain that was cracking his soul. He could feel each fracture, slow and spreading.
He raised his head and then fell onto his back. He couldn’t stay here. He couldn’t. More people would be hurt. He closed his eyes and thought of Sammy. ‘I’ll miss you… and dad…’ He had never lived without Sammy before. Sammy had been permanent like a guardian angel. B could even remember Sammy picking him up when he had been no more than a baby. That was his earliest memory… a pair of big blue eyes peering down at him before he reached out a hand to pull on that tempting blonde hair.
Sammy could be hurt next time… it seemed as time were conspiring to rip apart his tiny family. If anything ever happened to Sammy as well as Brian… Sammy was the one who had kept him alive. He had never lived without him and he did not know if he could…
He would have to manage for a short time though. He had to get away before they were all killed in protecting him.
He sneezed and coughed in misery, ignoring the way his throat complained sorely with the tears and now the assault of coughs. He groaned slightly. He had picked the worse time to be ill. Yesterday it had felt like he would be sick and his head had spun while he remembered Brian’s shouts of anger. Why had Brian shouted at him? B still could not understand what he had done wrong…
He would never know now… Even if Brian did wake up, and B prayed to God that he did, B would not be here. He had to go. He would return when he felt it was better.
He slowly pulled a rucksack from the floor and began to pile it with the things he had left, just a few clothes he had salvaged since they arrived here and a few others that he had never taken with him to the village. He filled a bottle with clean water and added it to his bag.
He wiped his eyes for a moment and then zipped it up. It was only light seeing as he had hardly attained anything worth taking with him. He hesitated for a moment and then slowly crossed over to the desk where several photographs were framed. Most B had acquired from old friends at the base seeing as he had lost most of his own in the fire. He picked one up and stared at it for a long moment. Kevin had taken this one after they rescued Brian from the mines, a picture of B, Sammy and then Brian in the middle. He ran a finger over all three of their smiling faces, wondering how they had turned out so sad in the end.
He placed the picture down and tried to avoid Sammy and Brian’s accusing eyes. “I’m sorry… please forgive me,” he murmured.
His gaze suddenly feel onto another picture, this one containing all three of them again except that there was a difference. Brian was much younger. This had been taken during his brief visit to their time, when B had met him for the first time in his life. He stared at those faces. How had they changed? Brian and himself had never argued then… but now it was B’s fault. He had been angry that his father had been changed by the mines. He hadn’t understood, hadn’t give Brian a chance to show that he was the same as he used to be and they were… no matter how much he ignored it, he knew they were the same.
If only he could turn back and change everything wrong he had ever said to Brian… If only he could change it and be happy and content just to have him back.
He turned away, knowing that the eyes in each of those photographs weed riving nails into his heart and screaming at him to stop what he was doing.
‘I’m doing what’s best. This is better for everyone. I have to go,’ he chanted mentally. ‘Dad hates me…’ He had to tell himself that. He had to give himself another excuse to leave without looking back.
He sat down on the bed and then scrabbled about on the table beside it until he found a stubby pencil and a half used piece of paper. He tore away the writing on one half to leave him with a clean piece and then stared at the photographs again, this time only looking into the blonde framed face of his brother.
“Dear Sammy…” he whispered as he begun to write. The tears helped him to smudge each letter and his hand begun to tremble as he realised what he was leaving his brother to do. He was leaving his brother alone with their father and his pain…
What else could he do? B closed his eyes and saw other explosions rippling through the base. The rocks thundered to the ground and ground into the flesh of all those below to crush and hammer them into mindless pulp. The fire blazed and crisped the red skin of others and in the centre he could see Sammy screaming… it would be him next. His family always paid for the consequences.
He wanted to reassure Sammy and he promised himself that he would never let the Gerai take him. He would never give his brother even more pain and he would return to Sammy again and hopefully… his father… maybe if he left he would wake up.
“I’ll be all right…” he whispered as he untidily scrawled the message. But would he? Where was he going to go?
It had to be somewhere safe, somewhere where he could think and rest and be away from the horrors of the Gerai. He stared about him, everything still slightly blurred and hazy through his sore eyes, still filling constantly with tears as he prepared to leave behind the only two things that mattered to him.
The photographs were watching him and begging him not to leave. There was one of just himself and Sammy that Brian had always kept by him. It had even been in his pocket when they left the village. Sammy was fifteen and B was just a little under five as he cuddled against his big brother’s strong arms.
It was time Sammy stopped protecting B though. Now it was B’s turn to do that and the only way he could do it was to leave so that the Gerai would not attack again.
He was staring at the younger Brian again and his eyes widened slightly. He rubbed them and then stared hard at the photo… to see Brian again alive and awake and not as the phantom in the med centre… It might be B’s only chance to ever tell him how much he cared abut him…
He looked down at the note and wrote faster, begging and praying that Sammy would understand. B would be safe. The Gerai would never find him. He stroked the note for a moment and then placed it on the desk in front of the photo of them both as kids.
“Love you bro,” he whispered. “Even now…”
He sighed and then reached out to take the one picture of them after Brian had been rescued. He carefully demolished the frame to remove the pressure piece of card. For a brief second he held it tightly to his chest and then carefully placed it inside of his bag.
His heart was beating hard as he slipped the rucksack onto his shoulders and the room was suddenly foggy with tears. He glanced about it once more, remembering how he used to share it with Brian before their final argument…
Final argument… Brian could die and the only thing that would remain in B’s head were his father’s last words to him, the shouts of anger as he snapped at him for being so irresponsible.
He pulled an old cloak from the basket in the floor and then wrapped it about his shoulders, tying it securely about his neck.
He sniffed miserably as he left the room behind, firmly closing his mouth and refusing to sob anymore. He remembered Brian’s yells at him… it was easier to walk away when you thought of hatred over love.
Nearly all of the corridors were empty as he began to make his way to the science lab, where he knew the time machine was. It could take him somewhere where he could keep the promise he had made to Sammy in the letter, the promise that he would be okay. He would be safe there and he would have his family…
“Where are you going?” a soft voice suddenly called to him. “B?”
B froze for a moment and his eyes had closed again. With all the trouble recently he had managed to almost forget about Howie’s daughter Tessa and his painful longing for her. He slowly turned towards her. Here was another person that could be so easily hurt in an attack.
“B?” She frowned at his face and wet eyes before rushing forward. “B, I heard about your dad, I’m so sorry.” Her arms were suddenly wrapping about him in a warm embrace and B closed his eyes as he pressed his face against her shoulder, more tears spilling as he thought of what he was doing and the way he was abandoning Brian and Sammy.
She pulled away. “I was worried about you when the blast went off.”
“Were you hurt?” B asked.
She shook her head. “Neither was my father… how is Brian?”
“Alive,” B whispered. “Barely.” He wrapped hi arms about himself in an unconscious effort to try and comfort himself and the emptiness inside.
He watched her beautiful dark eyes as they fell upon his rucksack. She frowned. “Where are you going?”
B wiped his eyes, needing to appear in control. “Away.” He looked into her eyes. “Don’t tell.”
She stared at him in horror. “Now… but why?”
“The Gerai are after me. They keep coming and attacking and it’s all my fault! I want to get away. Word will get round that I’m gone and the Gerai will leave everyone here alone,” he said, trying to keep his voice strong. “I have no choice.”
“B, of course you do! The Gerai will come here no matter what! This place is still an important location and it will always be attacked! You can’t blame everything on you!”
“Tess, please I have to go! That bomb was a Gerai bomb and my dad was hurt! I want to go before my brother or my friends or you are hurt as well!” he cried desperately.
“And you think running away will solve this? What about your father? He needs you!”
“Do you have any idea how hard this is!” B whispered, his voice breaking into sobs. “I don’t want to leave, but I don’t want the Gerai to come back here! My father was hurt because of me and I can’t stay here! I’ll be all right and I promise I’ll be back soon! I need time…”
She shook her head numbly. “You can’t…”
“I have to… I’m a magnet, I draw Gerai to me. I have to stop that. I don’t want to leave my dad but I’m so scared something else will happen if I stay!” If there was a traitor or Gerai in the base like Darren suspected, then word would get round that B had run away and he would call off the attacks on this base, at least for a limited time. B did not intend to be away forever… he just needed some time and somehow he imagined that Brian would wake up and be okay once he had left. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt it so deeply. “Let me go,” he begged.
She hung her dark head for a moment. “You promise that you ill come back?”
He nodded. “I will and I won’t let the Gerai get me. I’ll be back. I just can’t bear to see anyone else get hut because of me.”
She stared at him, her eyes locking with his until she finally nodded. “I must be crazy to let you go.”
“Thank you,” B whispered. “Look after my brother for me…”
She nodded again and then leaned closer to place a hand against his face. “Don’t do anything stupid,” she whispered, her eyes shining with tears. “I want you back in one piece.” Her eyes continued to stare into his own.
“You do?” he whispered hopefully.
She nodded and then leaned to kiss him lightly on the lips, as if for good luck. “Take care.”
He smiled weakly and then embraced her for a moment, but he could feel something gnawing at his stomach at the fact that he was able to say a proper goodbye to Tessa and yet not to his own brother. Sammy would never let him go, never. Maybe B was party afraid that Sammy would change his mind.
He slowly stepped away from Tessa. Maybe when he returned Brian would be okay and he could have everything he had ever wanted, maybe he could be happy.
Tessa smiled once more and then B slowly turned, refusing to look back as he turned the corner. Again the tears were coming as he cried, but not so much for Tessa, but for those he had not said goodbye to. He wanted to run and find Sammy, wanted to cling to him forever but how could he when a Gerai threat menaced his life? Sammy could be next and B could never allow that… The traitor would leave the base once they realised that B was no longer here.
‘Why am I doing this?’ The words were suddenly inside of his head and he felt the guilt trying to tear him apart within his body.
He gulped and stopped. He turned to stare back at the corner and thought of what Tessa had said.
‘What about your father? He needs you!’
That wasn’t true… B was the cause of all his problems. But about Sammy?
He could suddenly see his brother’s face, lined with tears as it surely would be. He would never understand. B closed his eyes and gripped the strap of his rucksack tighter. When he opened them, his cheeks were wet again. He slowly reached back and pulled the photograph from the bag, staring at the smiling faces of Brian and Sammy.
He wanted to protect them from any more danger, but suddenly his head was pounding in confusion and he felt like a little boy again. If he left then the Gerai would leave them alone but he would be leaving Sammy alone with Brian.
His mouth was dry and he suddenly could see Brian withering before his eyes. He imagined what it would be like to return and be told that Brian had died…
He pressed a hand against the photograph and then took a step back towards the corner. He gulped, a heavy lump paining his throat. He could always… leave another day couldn’t he?
‘I’m a chicken,’ he thought miserably. He had run away before but never anything like this. He sighed and then stepped back around the corner. Tessa was no longer thee but B could feel the light in his head. He wanted Sammy. He wanted to stay with Brian…
“Hey B.”
B frowned and suddenly turned but soon relaxed when he saw that it was Lance. “Where did you come from?” he asked.
Lance shrugged. “Just wondering about. Looking for you actually.” He grinned. “I want to show you something.”
“Can it wait?” B asked. He felt light headed now and so much weight had suddenly been dropped as he abandoned his idea to run away and leave his family. He wanted to find them now and make up for his rash thoughts about leaving. Didn’t Lance know what had happened with Brian?
Lance shook his head and smiled as he gripped B’s arm. “Come on.”
Obviously he did not.
B nodded vaguely and began to follow his friend along the corridor. His stomach was jiggling inside of him and it writhed in sickness. He did not feel well, pain and illness were appearing to bond together to plague him.
“What is it?” he asked Lance, curious as to why his friend was so excited.
“You’ll see,” lance replied with a smirk. “Hey, what’s’ the bag for?”
B froze slightly. “Uh, nothing, just moving some stuff.” Lance may have been his best friend but he did not want to tell him about his near decision to run away. He wanted to keep this quiet and he trusted Tessa not to tell anybody.
Lance shrugged. “Why don’t you leave it here? You can pick it up on the way back,” he suggested.
B nodded and stopped for a moment as he pulled the rucksack from his shoulders. He stared down once more at the photograph of his family and smiled for the first time. ‘I won’t leave you…’ He carefully slipped it safely back inside the bag.
Lance grinned. “Hurry up! It’s real cool!” he began to eagerly dash ahead.
“Wait up!” B called. He zipped the bag up and then began to chase after Lance. The corridor was rapidly growing darker as he descended a ramp into the lower levels. B shivered slightly as the temperature began to drop. These caverns were always colder and hardly anyone ever came down here at all. “Lance!” he called. He frowned. How far were they going? B was anxious to resume his place beside Brian.
He rounded a corner and then halted as he saw that Lance was stood beside Jonathan. “Hey guys, what’s up?” he asked, looking around to see what it was Lance had wanted him to see.
Lance grinned and slowly began to approach him. Something about the way he was moving suddenly made B uneasy and his mind was screaming in his head.
“B, I have a confession to make,” lance said slowly.
“Uh, what’s that?” B croaked, finding himself backing away. He looked behind Lance to see Jonathan pulling something that resembled a laser from his bag.
Suddenly something hit his face and B cried out at the thumping ache that began to throb about his face. He raised his head incredulously to stare at lance, his eyes suddenly widening in fear.
“I’m not your friend,” lance hissed.
B suddenly attempted to scrabble to his feet, but Lance was seizing his arms and laughing at him. B’s mind was bouncing wildly about his head to make him dizzy and nauseous. What was happening? He tried to pull his arms free, but his limbs were aching and his knees trembled.
“Get off of me!” he screamed. “Help!”
“You can scream all you want,” Lance cried, his own voice echoing about the caverns. “No one will hear you down here!” he suddenly shoved B viciously and he whimpered as he hit the floor. His stomach was throbbing and churning at the treatment. He felt sick… he had felt it all day. He couldn’t fight when he felt like this.
He raised his head, his eyes wet and sore. “What are you doing?” He froze as he suddenly saw that Jonathan was arming a laser and smiling sardonically at him. “You… you hurt my dad?” he whispered his voice so quiet B barely heard it himself.
Jonathan snickered slightly. “Didn’t expect this did you? You really should be more careful who you pick as your friends.” He gestured to Lance. “You made his assignment so easy.”
B’s eyes were burning with venom and he curled his fingers into fists as a gasping choke chuckled in his throat maliciously. They were Gerai, the spies Darren had suspected were their friends. He stared at lance and shook his head, tears falling. “How could you?” lance merely shrugged. B turned back to Jonathan. “You tried to kill my dad!”
Jonathan rolled his eyes. “He was a pest and an annoyance… So is your brother.”
B screamed and flung himself to his feet as he hurled at Jonathan, his heart banging in fury. “You leave my brother alone!” he screeched. “leave them alone!” It was a sob, pathetic, but as much as B could manage. He was sick, defeated but he would still fight…
Jonathan laughed and in a moment he had dropped the laser and whipped something else out of his belt. B screamed as a sharp, stinging suddenly ripped at his right arm and he fell back, clutching the knife wound in his shoulder. He stared down in horror as the warm blood began to seep through his fingers and then he stared back at Jonathan with fear. He stared across at his left arm, knowing the scar was lurking there beneath the black cloak. He would be dead if Jonathan cut him there.
He began to back away on all fours, but suddenly hands had clamped down on his shoulders from behind.
“Don’t worry,” Lance hissed. “We won’t kill you. You’re far too important to us alive.”
B took a deep breath and tried to think. What would Brian do if he was here? He looked up at Lance and bit his lip. “Okay,” he whispered. He trembled and made more tears come to his eyes. They wanted him alive so they wouldn’t kill him, that was useful.
Lance slowly released his shoulders and then B spun around with his arm, catching Lance in the face with his elbow. He gave a squeal of pain and then B was on his feet and running as fast as he could, despite the way his stomach was threatening to spew any moment.
He stumbled, weakly trying not to trip but he could hear heavy boots behind him and then Jonathan’s fearsome arms were grasping him. “Little brat!” he snapped. “You know you don’t have the energy to fight! You’re father put up a good fight, I’m surprised he survived the explosion.”
B gave a cry of rage and tried to smack Jonathan in the face, but the older man held his arms tightly, so he kicked his leg up instead, his foot connecting with Jonathan’s crotch.
“Fuck!” Jonathan screamed, the arms releasing B as they clasped his injured manhood.
B pulled away but his eyes suddenly caught sight of something glimmering on the floor, Jonathan had dropped his knife. Lance’s eyes were upon it as well, but B delivered a kick to his stomach before seizing the knife himself.
“Leave me alone!” he screamed.
Lance suddenly pulled a mini laser from his pocket. “You’re not going anywhere B! I’ve worked too hard to let you get away now!”
Jonathan tried to rise to his feet, but B bared the knife threateningly. “Stay back!”
“It’s over B, give up!”
“Why are you doing this to me?” B sobbed. “I thought you were my friend!”
Lance rolled his eyes, keeping the gun aimed at B. “You’re too trusting… It was almost too easy.” Lance rose to his feet and began to approached him, the gun still held out.
B shook his head and backed away. “Get away from me!”
“You’re coming with me! Your father and brother aren’t here to protect you anymore!”
B gave a half moan as he thought of Brian in the med centre. “Dad!” he sobbed.
“He doesn’t care about you! He’ll be glad to get rid of you!” Lance screeched.
B closed his eyes and shook his head, trying not to listen to what Lance was saying. He was shaking but he could hear the way Brian had furiously shouted at him and the way he had driven tears to B’s eyes. He stared about him, begging for someone to come and help him. He wanted to scream for Brian or Sammy but they wouldn’t come.
“It’s not true,” he whispered. “It’s not true!”
“You wish!” Lance spat. “You’re an ungrateful brat and he hates you! What do you expect him to do after all you’ve driven him to? How could he ever care about you?”
A sob came to B’s mouth and then Lance was upon him, trying to force the knife from his hands. “get off!” B wailed. He pushed out with the knife and Lance screamed as the blade slit the skin on his arm. Lance pulled away sharply, blood droplets spilling onto B’s cloak.
“Leave me alone!” B screamed. He tried to run. He had to get to the upper levels, but Jonathan reached out a hand clamped across B’s leg.
“Get him Jon!” Lance cried, his face contorted with agony as more blood spilled from the slit veins and blood vessels.
“I told you, you’re not going anywhere except with us you fucking little twit! Stop fighting!” Jonathan pulled on B’s leg and he screamed as he fell to the floor. Immediately Jonathan was trying to pin him back against the floor. “Give me the knife!”
B whimpered and kicked with his legs, but Jonathan was too heavy and B was crying in pain as the fingers bruised his soft skin. Jonathan’s arm suddenly connected with his stomach and a rippling gush of nausea passed over him. He groaned slightly as the cavern spun about him. His head felt heavy and then he felt everything rushing up through his mouth.
“Oh God…!” Jonathan cried out, moving away from B in disgust as he stared at the regurgitated food that now covered his clothes.
Everything else was still hot and spinning, but B struggled to sit up and then thrust the knife into Jonathan’s side. He heard the bellow of the older man and B wasted no time in stumbling to his feet. Jonathan was grimacing in pain and Lance was desperately trying to stop his arm from leaking more blood.
B began to run, but his head hurt so much and he was trembling after being sick. His feet were heavy but he had to keep moving. If they caught him, he wouldn’t get away.
“B, you’re not getting away!” Lance’s voice cried.
B felt like he was going to throw up again. Everything hurt.
He was half falling over as he ran up the ramp to the next level but he could hear sounds of pursuit behind him. He would never make it much further before he collapsed. He was gasping, in pain and in exertion. The last few days had sucked all of his strength out of him.
He stumbled for a moment and caught himself as he grabbed the wall to stop him from falling. He turned his head and heard boots thumping against the ground behind him.
He gave a slight whimper and stared about him. There had to be somewhere he could go… but there was nowhere here he could hide. He was trapped.
Unless…
He took a furtive glance behind him and then began to run again. There was one chance left if he could reach the science lab before they caught him.
He turned left and ignored his wobbling stomach as he stumbled. Every second he expected to feel Jonathan’s or Lance’s cruel fingers seizing him and dragging him away from his family. How could they do this to him? How could he have been fooled so easily?
He almost fell in relief when he reached the lab. He wanted to scream for help but he knew it would be no use. Everyone was all helping clear the debris of the bombing. Jonathan and Lance had set it up as a diversion.
He slipped inside and then hammered on the door panel to lock the door. That should buy him a few more minutes. He had to escape.
He could hardly see anymore, but he knew where the time machine was. Anxiously he connected it up to the nearest consol and watched as the controls lit up. Tentatively he began to press a few panels.
There was a suddenly a banging on the door. He turned his head, his face pale and his eyes wide.
“B, I swear I’ll get you!” Jonathan was screaming.
“No you won’t,” B whispered.
He’d began to program in the year and location. He vaguely knew the address but he would have to find it when he got there. He closed his eyes for a moment and thought of Sammy. ‘I’m sorry, I had no choice.’ He really didn’t anymore. He either left or was captured.
No one would find him where he was going though, even if Jonathan did follow, and B was certain he would. He would never give up, but he might have to once in a different time.
He grabbed a time bracelet from the side and clamped it about his wrist before pressing in the final sequence of buttons on the machine. He closed his eyes as he felt the light beginning to envelop him and thought of Brian.
‘I’m sorry you hate me.’