THE FORGOTTEN YEARS
By Jules
CHAPTER 1 - THE ACCIDENT
Author Notes: This is not a sequel but you will have to had read the Hauntings series to know why Lawrence Wolenczak was in a coma in the first place.
Secondly you will have to have read Solitary Witness to know that Lawrence has come out of his coma (yes the question you all asked at the end of Hauntings - Absolute Fear has been answered in this story).
This story is meant to explore the idea of what would happen if Lucas went back to live with Lawrence on a permanent basis of his own choosing. The first part of this story will deal with how Lucas got to loose his senses all together and how he came to forget all about what happened during his childhood.
Hopefully anything else I will explain as I go.
I have a few others to finish and quite a lot to start so I chose this one next.
Have fun reading...
JULES
the story begins ...
Three weeks after the courtroom scene in Solitary Witness
Lucas sat on the bed in his room, his hands twitching nervously in front of him as he tried to stop them from moving towards the bed-side table and opening the top drawer.
He knew what was inside. Laying at the back, hidden out of sight where he had put it three weeks ago and tried to forget.
How could he forget though? Every single letter on that piece of paper was tattooed into his memory forever. He could still remember how he had felt in the courtroom that day the nightmare had begun all over again:
Dear Son, I hope this letter reaches you. I know it's been a long time since we have seen each other and I am sorry about that. I wanted to let you know that I am no longer the man that you thought me to be. Please believe me when I say that I have changed for the better. I don't want to change your new life, but some day I was hoping to see you again and try and make up for the past. You are most welcome to come and stay with me anytime Lucas. I want the chance to get to know my son again. Please think about it. signed Lawrence Wolenczak.
He tried his best to hide his true feelings from the Captain, Nathan Bridger and Kristin. Lord knows that they had enough to worry about over the last few weeks as his leg began to heel.
They were there for everything he needed and even when he hadn't felt like he need them. He had put them and the rest of the crew through enough stress and strain at the court hearing, not telling them about anything he had witnessed or seen during the murder.
With this being the third week, almost the fourth, his leg was healing nicely and he only found himself having to rest it for brief periods of time throughout the day now. He had even been allowed to move around a bit on it under Kristin's careful and watchful eye.
Lucas somehow found his hands having a mind of their own however and now the blue coloured envelope was once again back out the drawer and in his hands.
He re-read the words for another time, his mind already having memorised the words. From the sound of it, the accident that had claimed the life of Paul Sanderson and put his father into a long-term coma had also robbed his father of whatever sanity he had left at the time.
The guy almost sounded normal and in the eyes of Lucas that just wasn't his father, Lawrence Wolenczak. Something must have been scrambled during the accident that temporary gave him leave from his normal train of thought.
Meeting him again like the letter suggested was the furtherest thing from his mind right at this point in time. Quite the opposite, with the realisation that his father was recovering and could be released from the psychiatric ward of the hospital, he wanted to put as much distance between them as possible.
His father had somehow always managed to find him, no matter what lengths he had gone to severe ties or links between them. His father had caused many physical scars on his body over the years.
Lucas didn't know which were worse, those or the mental ones where he was always constantly looking over his shoulder or trying to hide what had really happened all those years ago.
In the letter, Lawrence stated that he had changed for the better. Lucas had always longed for a relationship with a father figure in his life. Eventually that role had been passed onto Captain Bridger of the SeaQuest who had then made everything legal and adopted him.
But somewhere down deep inside, Lucas regretted that the relationship with his real father had deteriorated to the extent that he hated the very mention of the man's name. Apart from the physical and mental torment, what other factors had contributed to their relationship breaking down so far so quickly.
He had secretly wondered what things would be different if Lawrence had been a kind, loving and understanding father like Bridger. What things would they have experienced together? There was no denying that they had in the past shared interest in similar areas such as computer program design, robotics and artificial intelligence.
When it came to those areas of science, Lucas was more like Lawrence than Bridger. The Captain had often thumbed his nose at technology and wanted to retreat into a world free from computers and the marvellous world of gadgets that existed today.
Lawrence had probably been there at the very beginning of Lucas's genius ability with technology. He had been the one to buy Lucas his first computer at the age of 4 years.
Lucas put the envelope back into the back of the drawer and then forced himself to get out of his bedroom and away from past thoughts.
His sleep for the last two weeks had been plagued with re-enactments of the courtroom scene but this time, Lawrence had been there in person, terrifying his son to no end. In some nightmares, Lawrence had even taken the place of the prosecutor where Lucas found himself on trial for all sorts of misdeeds and past wrong-doings.
Hopefully as Lucas made himself return more to a normal routine on a daily basis, the nightmares would begin to subside or ease at least and he would be able to pick some sort of remnants of his life prior to the murder of John Taylor.
about six months later:
Lucas was trying to hurriedly put on his good dress jeans and a polo-necked shirt in record time. Outside the sound of a horn blaring at him, telling him to do it faster rung in his ears.
"Come on Lucas we are going to be late," came the voice of Nathan Bridger as he tried to get his son to join him and Kristin in the car. He didn't see why teenagers left it so short of time to get ready. Lucas had know that they were headed to the restaurant two hours ago and he still wasn't ready.
"Yeah, Yeah, I am coming, hold on just one more minute," Lucas shouted back as he was fighting to get his shoes on. He left his room with his good leather jacket, missing the need to run a comb through his ruffled blond hair. It was passable he told himself not even bothering to look in the mirror.
"Lucas, you could have combed your hair," Kristin reprimanded him as she looked him up and down, disapproving and approving of the attire he had chosen.
"I did," Lucas lied and now climbed into the back seat of the car while Bridger looked once again at his watch, grumbling because they were going to miss the ferry to the mainland. They only had ten minutes to get there and buy their tickets or they would all be staying home for the day on the island.
"You look nice, Kristin," Lucas commented as he noted the doctor's casual but neat dress. Simplicity worked well for Kristin because her fire-red hair gave her enough colour and vitality to pull off any combination. Bridger like Lucas had chosen a pair of dress jeans and a collared shirt.
"This should be a real blast," Lucas said with excitement in his voice. This had been the first real time out they had had since coming back from a three month tour of duty four days ago.
The first two days had been just to catch up on sleep for the entire crew. The tour hadn't been over-dramatic, mostly scientific observation actually, but it had proved a month too long for many of them, including Lucas who often found his mind wandering back to a few months earlier at the hands of Carl Lopez.
"I am glad you are looking forward to it, Lucas," Bridger said as he glanced sideways at Kristin, trying to catch her reaction to the boy's emotions. They both noted the happiness in his voice and sighed inwardly in relief. It wasn't an emotion they had seen in him for a very long time. The last six months had been rough and there hadn't been very much to smile about.
"Just take it easy tonight Lucas, have fun but take it easy," Kristin said in motherly tone. She couldn't help but still feel over-protective of him at times.
"Ben and I have something special planned for tonight," Lucas said with a cheeky grin on his face.
During the last tour, apart from Bridger and Kristin, Ben had proven to be his rock. Krieg was there to listen and never judged unless asked to. He was there to talk to without saying a word and he seemed to understand all the mixed up feelings the teenager had been experiencing since the courtroom.
Lucas had never shared about the letter with Ben though. Not even Bridger knew who the letter had been truly from. There were some things he just wasn't ready to share with any of them yet.
About an hour later, after a forty minute ride across the ocean to the mainland, Lucas, Bridger and Kristin were pulling up outside a restaurant in a U.E.O. transport. A second transport was already parked outside the venue.
Most of the other crew members, including Ben were just beginning to walk in as well. The place had been a predetermined destination for them all to meet and wind down some. Ben and Lucas had actually chosen the venue.
"You two chose quite well, Ben," Bridger commented as they walked through the main entrance in to the sitting area. They were greeted by a staff member who showed them to a series of tables around a dance floor and karaoke stage.
Bridger and Commander Ford looked inquisitively at Lucas and Ben as they spotted the karaoke stage. It was now obvious why the two had chosen this place and what they had in mind for all to participate in.
None of the crew objected to the idea. A round of drinks was ordered and all sat around the table idly talking for an hour or so just to allow themselves to be taken in by the mood of the place and relax a little.
Lucas did have one drink, but stopped it at that. Although he was now 18 years old, he was not a frequent drinker and saw the benefits of having fun using other methods than having to rely on alcohol for having a good time.
Bridger and Kristin praised the teenager to his self-control attitude and sighed in relief that they didn't have to worry about that side of things just yet. Lucas was normally a responsible youth and didn't need much supervision about what was right and wrong to do.
Miguel Ortiz and Tim O'Neill had huddled together in a pair, trying to discuss exactly what they were going to do up on the karaoke stage. Despite Tim's normally restrained personality, he did like to do some off the wall things at time.
While the other people watched on with curiosity about what they were going to do, Miguel and Tim now approached the stage and prepared to be the first act of the night. Luckily the stage was currently vacant and the crew had the entire stage to themselves.
The lights went dark for quite a few seconds and then the speakers roared into life with a rap sounding track. As the lights were allowed to come on, the SeaQuest crew found themselves falling over each other in laughter as Miguel and Tim began their own rendition of a Hip Hop Group.
Miguel even had a hat pulled down over his forehead, looking the part. Tim had put on a pair of coloured framed glasses and had a beanie type hat on his head to try and remain in character.
Needless to say, although their rapping wasn't quite up to standard, the crew were laughing hardily at their efforts and enjoying every minute of it. Lucas was laughing along with everybody else. Some of the crew looked at the teenager and pondered how long it had been since they had seen him laugh genuinely as he was now. They hoped that the smile and laughter remained for a very long time to come.
Whilst Tim and Miguel put the finishing touches on their act, Ben and Lucas now left their seats and went behind the stage to prepare for their own little number. They had even gone to the trouble of costumes for their act.
After Tim and Miguel had vacated the stage and turned the lights back down low, they returned to their tables to the applause of their friends. The crew were really having a great time.
The lights were dimmed again, this time the music not being played until Ben and Lucas walked out on stage. They had not chosen to do a rap group, but instead the crew found themselves looking at the Blues Brothers.
Lucas was dressed like Elwood with dark glasses, suit jacket and hat, although somewhat shorter perhaps. Ben was similarly dressed with dark glasses and a hat but quite a few pounds lighter than the real Jake. The song they chose got everybody wanting to dance to "Shake Your Tail Feather."
Ben and Lucas completed the song and then walked back over to the tables, clapping and applause once again from the crew. Lucas was having a great time and it clearly showed. Bridger would be forever grateful to Ben for suggesting they take the kid out a bit more during this shore leave and show him a good time for a change.
Lucas, who had been laughing along with everybody else, took a drink from his glass as he stood beside Bridger and Ben. He looked up towards an approaching waiter and bent his head slightly as the man whispered into his ear.
The smile and grin that was on Lucas's face faded in a second as he recognized the name of the person he had been told wanted to see him in the foyer. Lucas found himself fumbling with the drink in his hand, setting it down on the table before he dropped it altogether.
"Excuse me please," Lucas said in a very low voice, displaying a grim tone as he followed the waiter towards the front lobby. The crew followed him with their eyes, wondering who it was that wanted to see Lucas. As far as they were all aware, nobody else but the SeaQuest crew should have known where he would have been tonight.
Bridger was about to follow the teenager to see what troubling the young man when Kristin put a gentle, but restraining touch on his jacket, telling him that they should all wait here for them out of respect for Lucas. If he had trouble, somebody out the front would alert them before anything could happen to Lucas.
Bridger compromised slightly and although he didn't follow the teenager out to the lobby, he did go up to the large plate glass windows at the front of the establishment where he could see Lucas now standing. He was trying to get a look at what was going on. Most of the crew also looked out of curiosity.
What they could see was Lucas talking to a person none of them had ever seen before. The man was of stocky build, short in stature. Although the man didn't look much of a threat to Lucas, they noted that whatever conversation was going on between the two was getting Lucas quite annoyed.
Lucas was not one normally noted for his temper but one could have been mistaken about that at the moment as the teenager showed every sign of becoming frustrated as the stranger spoke to him.
Lucas suddenly turned away from the man and walked back inside in a very stiff fashion.
Bridger and the other scurried back to the tables in an effort to hide the fact that they had all been spying secretly on the teenager.
Lucas came back into the bar room, and instead of talking to anybody, sat at the table, hunched over. He picked up the glass he had been drinking from and now downed the remaining contents in one swallow. He paged a nearby waiter for a further two drinks without even looking at his friends and family.
Whatever had been said to the teenager couldn't be good. His mood had changed so dramatically within a short space of time. One minute he looked as though he was having the time of his life, the next he was all sullen, withdrawn and non- talkative, like the world was caving in on him.
Bridger wanted to go up to him and try talking to him about what might have been troubling him. He took a few steps towards the table when Lucas suddenly got up again. Without so much as a word to anybody else he now started heading for the front door once again, this time with jacket in his hand.
Lucas had taken a set of keys to one of the transport vehicles out the front beside Bridger's jacket and intended on driving himself away from the place as quickly as possible.
"Lucas?" Bridger said as he tried to get the teenager to slow down long enough to talk to and stop from doing something stupid.
Lucas didn't heed any of Bridger's attempts to stop though and headed out the door and got into one of the transports and was soon driving away before any of the crew could stop him any further.
"We can't just let him leave like that, Captain," Ben now said with worry for his friend clearly on his mind.
"Come on," Bridger said to the others as six of them now climbed in and squashed together in the second vehicle.
Bridger had to keep up the speed a little at first just to catch up to the fleeing teenager. Once they got out onto the open road a little, it seemed that Lucas was slowing down some. They could now see the teenager clearly in front of them but they were still far enough away for him to not take any notice of the vehicle behind him.
"Where is he going?" Kristin asked the others, not sure they knew the answer anymore than she did.
"Who was that guy he was talking to?" Miguel Ortiz now asked.
To Bridger's relief he now could see Lucas now stopped at a set of traffic lights just in front. There was another vehicle behind Lucas and in front of them.
Just as the lights turned green, everything seemed to change to slow-motion for Bridger. Later he would reflect the scene over and over again, knowing that he would never forget the events that were about to unfold before his very eyes.
Lucas had just put his vehicle into gear and started to cross the intersection. The vehicle in front of Bridger's car had now turned, giving the crew a clear view of the teenager and his vehicle with a distance of about 30 metres.
From out of nowhere, a vehicle coming from the right hand side road sped through the red stop light and was headed straight for the passenger side door on Lucas's vehicle.
Bridger could see the imminent accident but from where he was sitting, there was nothing he could do to stop it but yell out, "LUCAS LOOK OUT" at the top of his voice.
The rest of the crew stood in cold stony silence as they watched in horror as the speeding car drove straight into Lucas's vehicle.
Lucas had been warned of the impending accident as he looked into the oncoming headlights just before he felt the impact. And feel it he did. The other vehicle collided with the passenger side door, the sound of crunching metal and shattering glass unmistakable.
The force of the impact made Lucas's vehicle turn 360 degrees on three occasions. How the vehicle didn't roll onto it's side or roof, Bridger would never know but be eternally grateful for.
Lucas vehicle spun out of control and crashed driver's side door into a tree on a nature strip on the other side of the intersection. The second vehicle and sustained a large amount of damage and the drunken driver at the wheel looked to be unconscious across the dash board.
Bridger and the others got out of their vehicle and immediately began running towards Lucas's damaged vehicle. They couldn't detect any movement from within which worried them even more.
Commander Ford, Miguel and Tim O'Neil offered to assist the other drunken driver of the second vehicle. Two ambulances were summonsed on the U.E.O. vehicle's radio and could soon be heard blaring their sirens towards the scene of the accident.
Upon reaching Lucas's vehicle, Bridger knew the teenager was in desperate need of medical attention. The teenager's head must have struck the steering wheel as his vehicle spun out of control.
Lucas was now slumped over to one side against what was left of the driver's side window. There was extensive damage to the passenger side door which made attempting to open it and getting to Lucas that more difficult.
The crew were unable to get to Lucas via the driver's side as that side of the car rest against the tree trunk. Bridger had tried calling Lucas's name through the broken window, trying to get a response. A cold shiver of pain went through his heart when the boy remained painfully still.
After what seemed like eternity, Bridger finally managed to get the passenger side door open enough to squeeze himself through and scramble onto the front seat beside the injured teenage driver.
Bridger placed a hand on Lucas's right shoulder in an attempt to get him to awaken or so some signs of consciousness. Lucas's upper body now fell away from the driver's side door towards Bridger and onto his chest. Still there was no response from the youth but what Bridger saw made his heart almost stop.
Blood was streaming down the left hand side of Lucas's face. It looked to be coming from several different areas. There was a number of lacerations on his neck from the shattered glass and some of it looked to be oozing out of his ear.
"Lucas...," Bridger whispered, barely able to find the voice to talk.
Lucas remained silent and very still against him. His face was incredibly pale and the blood stood out in stark contrast.
Captain Nathan Bridger was now sitting in one of the corridors of the Prince George Memorial Hospital where the ambulance had taken Lucas after the accident.
Kristin was still in the emergency room with Lucas and the rest of the doctors and nursing staff trying to help the injured teenager.
The rest of the crew that had been in the second U.E.O. vehicle with Bridger were also seated in the waiting room but they sat a little away from the Captain at present.
Bridger was seated on his own, trying to gather his own thoughts away from all of the noise and chaos that was part of everyday hospital life.
In his mind he was going over and over what had happened outside the restaurant, then the tailing of Lucas's car. The whole accident scene had seemed to be played in slow motion. And then the actual shock at how he had found Lucas in what was left of a twisted wreck of a car.
Lucas had never regained consciousness back at the accident scene. The paramedics had arrived fairly quickly, but then there had been the time consuming chore of using the jaws of life to cut into the car and be able to move Lucas out without causing him to much more injury.
They had taken almost forty minutes to cut the teenager from the wrecked U.E.O. vehicle. Most of that time Bridger found himself and the rest of the crew only being able to be anxious and over-worried bystanders.
Thankfully there seemed to be no major injuries to Lucas's lower legs or body. The main areas of injury seemed to concentrate around the head and neck. Bridger didn't know if this was due to the teenager striking the steering wheel with his head due to the impact or from the shattered driver's side window as the vehicle careened out of control and struck the tree.
Bridger kept telling himself that he should be in the emergency room with Kristin as the doctor's worked on Lucas. That was the right thing to do wasn't it? At the moment he told himself that he didn't know much about what was right or wrong anymore.
He didn't know whether he would be any help right at the moment anyway or just more of a hindrance to the medical staff. He scolded himself and knew he had to pull himself together enough shortly to face Kristin, the doctors and Lucas himself once he woke up.
Kristin had now just emerged from the emergency room, still dressed in scrubs and half-way through removing her disposable gloves. There was a certain amount of blood smeared on the front of her hospital gown. Looking at it Bridger couldn't get around the face that it belonged to Lucas.
"He's stable at the moment," Kristin said before elaborating any further about the extent of Lucas's injuries and future diagnosis.
"Is he going to be alright?" Bridger found himself asking without thinking about it.
"I am not going to lie to you Nathan, Lucas has some injuries at the moment that we just don't know the severity of yet. He has a large amount of bruising on his left temple where his head struck the steering wheel," Kristin began explaining.
"He had some superficial lacerations to his neck that needed some minor attention, just that superficial. The glass from the shattered window cut him in a number of places but none where serious enough to require stitching," she continued knowing the most difficult explanation was yet to come.
"What is wrong with him that you can't tell yet?" Bridger now asked with hesitation in his voice. He was preparing to hear that Lucas might not walk again or something more drastic.
"The doctor's think he may have some damage to his ears from the accident," Kristin said plainly, not knowing of any other way to put it.
"His ears?" Bridger asked in a confused tone. An injury to his ears didn't sound any where near as bad as he was thinking when Kristen said they would have to wait and see.
"Because he is still unconscious, the extent of the damage is unknown at this stage," Kristin explained further. "There may be little or no damage at all, we just can't tell anything further until he wakes up and is able to tell us himself what he can hear."
"How long do you and the other doctor's think it will be until he begins to wake up?" Bridger now asked.
"Given the extent of the bruising on the side of his head I would say quite a while," Kristin said with disappointment in her voice. "He really did take a hard whack to the head. The doctor's think that it is this swelling that is the cause of his ear problems."
"They are going to move him into a private room very shortly, once they clean him up a little and get him out of his blood-stained clothes," Kristin further stated.
"Do you know which room yet?" Bridger asked as his brain still tried to process everything she had just told him.
"No but I will let you know as soon as I do, they are trying to organize it now," Kristin replied.
Kristin went back into the emergency room to sort out the final preparations for Lucas's hospital stay overnight and filled out the plethora of forms that were required by the administration department.
Bridger now went to see the rest of the crew and let them know what limited information he had already received about Lucas. They all listened patiently until the Captain was finished talking before asking any questions.
The crew's initial reaction was mostly shock and worry. They too didn't quite understand what the ear-problem might mean for their teenager friend. After a brief discussion, they all came to the conclusion that it was best that they all didn't try and stay to see Lucas tonight.
Mostly likely he wouldn't regain consciousness for quite a few hours anyway and even when he did there undoubtedly would be confusion, disorientation and uncertainty about the surroundings he would find himself waking up in.
The crew promised to return in only groups of two or three the next day when the teenager would be a little more well enough to receive visitors. Ben was on top of the list that wanted to see him first. He had even tried talking the Captain into letting him stay with Lucas for the night to make sure he was alright.
Bridger had completely understood Ben's wanting to stay, but in the end persuaded the Lieutenant and he would be of little or no help to his young friend unless he too got some rest.
Reluctantly Ben agreed to return the next day. Kristin suggested to Ben that he could be of more help to go to the island and gather some clothes for Lucas and some books to read. No doubt once Lucas was up and around back on his feet, it wouldn't take too long for boredom to set in if the hospital staff were of a mind to keep him in a little longer. At least this way Ben could feel like he was doing more than just visiting his injured friend.
About an hour after Kristin had talked to Bridger in the corridor about Lucas's prognosis and injuries, the teenager was now being settled into a private room on the 11th floor.
There wasn't too many machines hooked up to him to be worried about. There was a nasal tube to aid in breathing, but that was standard hospital procedure. There was one machine beside the bed with a monitor attached to Lucas's thumb. This was to monitor his heart rate and pulse. This too was just general procedure for a patient with head injuries.
Kristin had offered to go with Ben back to the island and get some things for herself and Bridger that they might need over the next couple of days. They planned to stay in a motel not too far from the hospital in case they were needed.
Bridger was now left alone with Lucas in the room. He walked over to the bed and tried to take in the images before him. Somehow things had changed in the blink of an eye. One minute they were all laughing and joking at one another, enjoying a casual drink and each other's company.
The next, the only thing Bridger could hear for company now was the monotonous beep of the heart/pulse machine beside Lucas's bed and the rhythmic sound of the teenager's breathing.
The bruising on Lucas's face was yet to come out fully. For now it looked bad enough with the motley shades of purple and blue beginning to appear at the base of his hairline and then proceed to extend down the side of his face almost to the jaw-line.
Bridger could see the small cuts that the window glass had made on the teenager's neck. Right now they looked rather thin and almost invisible to the naked eye if it wasn't for Lucas's slightly pale complexion.
A few hours ago, the sight that had greeted Bridger when the teenager's injured and unconscious body fell back against him, was a totally different one. Bridger knew it would take quite a few nights to forget about the blood that he had seen staining the still teenager's face.
Bridger now pulled up a chair and brought it closer to the side of the bed. He reached out his hand and took Lucas's sleep limp one laying across him. For a moment he was lost as to what he should say to the teenager. He knew Lucas couldn't hear him at the moment and was rather thankful for that. If the teenager was awake, the silence between them would be almost deafening.
"You're going to be alright, Lucas," Bridger now heard himself say. For a moment it sounded as if it wasn't his voice at all. "We are all here for you. You just get well again you hear?"
Somewhere in the back of Bridger's mind he was reminded that people who were unconscious and in coma's could sometimes hear their loved ones talking to them. He could remember hearing that they should be involved in everyday normal conversations as if they were really able to understand everything that was going on around them.
"You know we have got that extra maintenance due on the boat again after our leave," Bridger found himself saying. He tried to submerse himself in the everyday mundane routine of the SeaQuest, hoping that it would help bring the boy around a little quicker.
Bridger talked idly for a few more minutes, looking about the room some as he did so, trying to deflect his line of thought somewhat from the sight of Lucas's injuries. It wasn't until he looked back towards the bed that he saw a slightly opened pair of eyes looking back at him, not saying a word.
"Well, hello there," Bridger said with a smile. Part of him wanted to run out of the room to get the doctors to tell them that Lucas was awake. But the other part of him saw the slight confusion, even fright in the boy's expression and knew that he needed to stay for just a few more seconds before getting the doctors.
"You had us all worried you know that," Bridger now added, trying to keep the conversation casual and quiet so as not to startle the boy any more than necessary. "But you are going to be aright."
The boy still didn't answer, the confusion on his face very evident. He tried to move his head on the pillow from side to side and immediately screwed up his face at the pain that instantly resulted.
The young man laying on the bed frowned as if he were trying to figure something out. He tried to open his mouth to say something but the words seemed to catch in his throat. There was virtually no sound at all.
"Where are you hurting, Lucas?" Bridger now asked, already seeing the grimaces from the teenager when he tried to move his head. It seemed like the most logical question to ask at this point in time.
Lucas again tried to make words with his lips. The effort obvious. His head throbbed mercilessly and all his body wanted to do was retreat into the void of darkness away from light and pain.
The words finally came out. Barely above a whisper.
"Who are you?" the boy had asked..
Bridger wasn't even sure if he heard them correctly at first. When he realised that he had heard the boy's question, the effect of just three little words was almost too much. It was almost as bad as seeing the boy trapped inside the vehicle all over again covered in blood.
The teenager didn't repeat his question. The tiredness in his body took over and his eyes slowly closed again in a healing sleep. The words that he had uttered seemed to echo inside Bridger's mind.
TO BE CONTINUED...
THOUGHT IT NEEDED FIXING UP IN A COUPLE OF PLACES AND ADDING TO THE END TO MAKE IT SOUND BETTER.
THE PROBLEM WITH THE EARS WILL BE EXPLAINED AS I GO - THE WHOLE IDEA IS THAT LATER ON WHEN LUCAS GOES BACK TO LAWRENCE IS HIS FATHER THINKS HE IS IGNORING HIM RATHER THAN NOT BEING ABLE TO HEAR WHAT HE YELLS AT HIM (HINT HINT)
I WAS ORIGINALLY GOING TO HAVE THE ACCIDENT ON THE ISLAND SO THAT BRIDGER AND THE OTHERS CAME ACROSS IT - BUT CHANGED MY MIND SO THAT THEY SEEN IT HAPPEN.
SOME MORE STUFF TO HAPPEN AT THE HOSPITAL NEXT BEFORE HE GETS TO GO BACK HOME AND START THINKING ABOUT LAWRENCE.
I SERIOUSLY CONSIDERED RETIRING AFTER I FINISHED BREATHE BUT I WILL TRY AND HOLD ON A BIT LONGER AND SEE HOW I GO.
KEEP READING AND HOPE YOU LIKE THE CHANGES
JULES