Hey hey everyone :-)

Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews. It really does make my day when I see that you have taken time to give me some feedback. I think every writer likes knowing that there work is appreciated :-D

I hope you weren't too disturbed by the previous chapter, but I wanted to explore Lucas's past a little more. I have done a similar thing in the following chapter, though it's not as gruesome so don't worry :-)

Hope you all enjoy!

Love you all

XXX

Lucas:

I woke up in a small room on my own. The concrete floor was freezing cold and covered in filth. The walls around me had large cracks and looked like they may have given in at any moment. I forced myself into a sitting position. My body was sore and ached all over. Blood had stained my shirt and I remembered getting stabbed. I pulled my shirt up to inspect the wound. Someone had wrapped a rag around it. Blood had soaked through the cloth. I pulled it off. Blood still oozed from the gash. I quickly put the rag back around it. I forced myself up to my feet, and unsteadily walked toward the door. My fist pounded against the heavy metal door with all my might. No one came.

I walked back over to the other side of the room and sat down, leaning against the wall. I brought my knees up to my chest. Goosebumps formed on my arms and I shivered uncontrollably. I wondered where my mother was. I longed to see her. I had to know she was okay.

"Dad will come." I whispered to myself.

Though I was beginning to lose hope. It had been nearly twenty four hours since we were captured, and there was no sign of any retaliation. Give them time I told myself. I leant my head back against the wall. I started reciting the Periodic Table. I always did that when I wanted to take my mind off of something. It was a trick my mother had taught me. It usually worked.

I heard a clicking sound, like a lock being unlocked. The heavy door was pushed open. One of the soldiers who had pushed me under the water approached me. His smile was vindictive. I wanted to shrink away or melt into the wall. But my father had always taught me to be brave. So I stared into the soulless eyes of the soldier.

He seized me by the arm and hauled me up. At first I let him drag me toward the door, and then I found some inner strength and fought against him. He growled and slapped right across my face. A fiery pain registered across the slapped skin. My legs buckled and I almost fell over, but the soldier held me up by my arm. He dragged me out of the room and threw me into another. I toppled over, and landed awkwardly on the stone ground. A voice spoke to the soldier in a language that I didn't understand and he hurriedly left the room, closing the door behind him. I lifted my head and saw the General glaring down at me.

I pushed myself up on shaky legs. I shook not from fear, by from the agony my body felt. My mind had tried to black out the events of the morning, but my body still felt the trauma from being drowned a thousand times. I looked straight into the devil's eyes and waited for him to speak. He kept scrutinising me, so I decided to speak first against my better judgement.

"Where's my mother?"

His dark eyes flashed with a callous pleasure, and he smiled heartlessly. I shifted uncomfortably, suddenly not wanting him to answer.

"She's...entertaining some of my soldiers."

I glared at him, feeling disgusted. I took a step forward.

"Leave her alone." I snarled.

"Or what?" He asked, his grin widened, clearly enjoying my sudden rebelliousness.

"My dad will come and he will kill you." I stated.

I think I must have hit a nerve because the General suddenly sprung forward and punched me in the face. I fell backwards onto the floor. My vision temporarily went white. I could feel hot blood gushing from my nose. The General towered over me, glaring at me.

"Not if I kill him first." He said simply, no emotion in his voice. He walked away, rubbing the knuckles he had just hit me with. I stood up again and wiped the blood from my face. The General turned back to face me. "Your father...he's not that man you think he is."

I frowned.

"Cause you'd say that. You're not on his side."

"Bet he tells you stories of his battles, don't he? Bet you went to bed listening to his stories." His eyes had glazed over as if in a memory. I stood there, unsure what to do or say. The General's eyes snapped back to me and he smiled viciously. "If only you knew the truth." When I didn't say anything the General continued. "Your father is a murderer. I bet he didn't tell you what he did last week. Want me to fill you in?" Again I remained silent, so he spoke once more. "He and his men stormed our villages. They slaughtered our wives and children. Last week I had a wife and a daughter. This week, I have nothing."

I swallowed; the unease growing inside of me. I refused to believe that my father was responsible for any of that; he was a good man and a great soldier. The General lifted up a pistol and directed it at me. My eyes widened slightly, but I didn't move. My legs had become lead weights, forcing me to remain rooted to the spot.

"Can you really blame me for wanting a little revenge?"

I didn't respond. The General stormed toward me and put the tip of the gun to my forehead. I kept my eyes locked onto his, not wanting to show my fear. He smiled at my courage and lowered the gun moving back away from me. I realised I had been holding my breath and I quickly gasped for oxygen. Although I hated that man, a small part of me felt pity. If his family really had been killed then naturally I felt sorry for him.

"I'm sorry." I said.

His black eyes looked confusedly at me.

"Why you sorry?"

"Because you lost your family. I wouldn't know what I would do if I lost mine."

He grunted slightly and looked away again. My eyes dropped to the gun that he still clutched in his hand. When he turned back to me, his former apathetic self had returned. The sadistic smile formed on his mouth once again.

"We must get back to business..." I frowned. "Now, you must have heard that I have been conducting some experiments." I tried to keep the sudden fear off of my face. My father had told me about the sorts of experiments they did. I nodded in response and he beamed. "Good. Do you know what we are trying to achieve?" I shook my head. "We want to develop a form of mind control." I shuddered at the thought of him controlling my mind. My mind was mine. It was a gift as my mother often remarked. The idea of someone taking over my mind was incomprehensible. "Our tests are going well. I'd love it if you would become a part of what we are trying to achieve. I think my employers would greatly appreciate the input of the son of the infamous Commander Nathanial Taylor."

"What happens if I refuse?"

Pure evil flicked across his eyes. His white teeth became visible as he smiled down at me. Despite my best efforts of remaining tough, I found myself cringing away.

"If you refuse then your dear, sweet mother will find out just our ruthless we can be."

XXX

I could hear my name being called in the distance. Clammy fingers pressed down on my wrist. A cold breeze swept over me and I shivered. My body ached and my eyes desperately wanted to remain closed; but I forced them open.

At first everything was blurry and I had to blink several times. It was still dark, though the sky was beginning to get an early morning blue tinge. A silhouetted figure was looming over me. I tried to move, but I couldn't. As my vision began clearing up, I realised it was my father. Instantly my body began relaxing again. He looked down at me and smiled. My eyes started to close again; having them open was giving me a headache.

"Are you alright?" I opened my mouth to speak, but no words would come up. Instead I heard myself wheeze. I managed to move my head and nodded slightly. I felt him put his hand on my chest, and my eyes sprung open. I tried to bat him away, but my arm felt too heavy to move. "You've broken at least two ribs I'd say...how's your breathing?"

"I'm fine." I rasped.

He shook his head.

"Your rib may have punctured a lung."

He looked up and around, searching for anything he could use to help me. We were about twelve klicks out from Terra Nova. On foot that would normally only take just under a day. Though at the speed I would likely be travelling at, it would more likely take just under a month. I could feel my heart beating rapidly as my lungs struggled to get the air. I made a mental note to hunt down a Slasher and take my revenge.

"We need to get you back to Terra Nova."

My father's eyes looked over at the river. The rover had completely disappeared. There was a good chance that the currents had taken it downstream.

"Have you seen the others?" I asked in between gasps.

The old man looked down at me sadly and shook his head. He looked up to the top of the cliff. It was quiet up there then; no gunshots or growls. I wondered if the others had escaped. It didn't really seem all that likely. But I had noticed in the past that my father's men did seem to defy the odds. If they had escaped, I just hoped that the creatures hadn't tracked them to Terra Nova and to Skye. I doubted the sonic blasts would have much of an effect on them. I closed my eyes and prayed she was alright.

"Did you get us out of the rover?"

I reopened my eyes and looked at my father. He was smiling at me the way he used to when I was a child; the way that had made me feel like he had genuinely cared about me. I scowled back at him, the disgust at knowing I had saved him causing my stomach to churn.

"I didn't do it for you. I did it for Skye."

He chuckled slightly.

"Thanks anyway."

Part of me was really regretting the moment of weakness I had experienced in the rover; though another part was pleased that I had saved him. I knew it would mean the world to Skye, and making her happy was my number one priority. My teeth gritted as I pushed myself up to a sitting position. The old man reached out to help me, but I smacked his arm away.

"Let me help you son."

I shuddered at his words and glared at him. He backed off. I managed to heave myself up so I was sitting. It was extremely uncomfortable, but it was half way to standing. After a moment's rest, which allowed me to catch my breath, I attempted to stand. I needed something to grab onto, but I refused to accept help from my father, so I remained sitting. My father watched me uneasily.

"We need to move. We're too vulnerable out here in the open, especially with those creatures roaming about."

I nodded, knowing all too well that we were sitting ducks out there. Even if we were fit and healthy and had guns we'd struggle against the Badland predators. My gaze met that of my father's.

"What do you propose we do?"

He shook his head.

"I don't know. I need to look for my men, but I understand how imperative it is we get back to Terra Nova."

"Maybe they got back."

My father nodded his head slowly. His eyes were looking distantly out across the river. I remained looking at him, checking for injuries. He appeared to be fine, no more than a few scrapes. The worst cut was on his forehead. Dried blood had trailed down the side of his face from the cut, but it appeared to have stopped bleeding. As he was up and talking, I presumed it had caused no permanent damage. I hated that he was currently stronger than I was; it gave him the upper hand. His eyes drifted back to me, and he frowned when he caught me staring.

"What?" He inquired.

I shook my head and looked away, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of letting him know that I was checking to see if he was alright.

"I was just admiring your head wound and pondering the idea of it leaving you brain damaged."

I looked back at him and he chuckled lightly. I smirked as he shook his head. We looked properly at one another, and for a moment it was like the old days where he had been the man I had looked up to, and proud to call my dad.

"Y'know, I still have that bottle of whiskey you gave me. How about if we survive this you come and have a drink with me."

I laughed quietly to myself. I had to hand it to the old man, he was definitely persistent. My eyes met his again and I nodded.

"Alright. You're on."

My father grinned at me, but then frowned.

"Does that mean that you doubt we will survive?" I chuckled again and he joined in. A comfortable silence fell over us. I stared out across the river, the memories of being trapped in the rover coming back to me. I shivered at the recollection. "What do you think we should do?" The old man asked.

I glanced back at him. He was watching me carefully. I shrugged and then wished I hadn't when the movement sent an agonising pain through my chest.

"Suppose we should start heading back home." I muttered, shifting uncomfortably from the pain.

A smile played on my father's lips, and it occurred to me too late that I had referred to Terra Nova as 'home'. I mentally hit myself and made myself promise to never call it that again.

"Yeah. Other than your chest, are you okay?"

I nodded. My whole body ached, but I had felt much worse in the past. I eyed my father sceptically.

"What about you?"

"I think I might've sprained my ankle. But that shouldn't hold me up. I've had worse and survived in places worse than this."

I nodded and watched as my father stood up. He had a bit of a limp, but otherwise looked fine. He stretched his hand down toward me. I glared at it, but knew I had no other option so grabbed on. The old man helped me to my feet and my chest screamed in agony. He kept hold on my arm as I steadied myself, but I quickly pulled away.

"We should head downstream. I know a good place where we can cross over the river. It's shallower and calmer..."

"It's also longer. Let's just cross here, it's quicker."

"Are you sure you're going to be able to make it?"

I glared at the patronising old git, feeling the rage bubble inside me.

"I managed to swim alright whilst dragging your unconscious body with me last time." I snapped at him.

I stormed toward the water much to my father's protests. But I ignored him and slid into the river. The cold water acted like an ice pack against my chest and brought me some relief, until I started moving my arms. I pushed the pain to the back of my mind, wanting to show my father what a condescending twat he was being.

I quickly made it to the other side and pulled myself out onto the bank. I tried not to show how much pain that caused me. Standing back up was worse, but I managed to do it without the assistance of the old man.

I started walking as quickly as I could away from the river's edge. I heard my father swimming through the water, and telling me to wait, but I ignored him feeling pissed off. As he climbed out of the water I was disappearing into the trees. I knew I could easily vanish once in my natural habitat, but my survival instinct kicked in, and although I would never admit it out loud, I had a better chance of getting back to Skye with my father's help.

He stumbled through the trees behind me. Once he had me back in his sight he slowed down, moving silently. I also moved as quietly as I could, though I was fairly sure even Terra Nova could probably hear my raspy breathing. I rubbed angrily at my chest, trying to get myself to shut up; but it was either stop breathing, or breathing loudly. I chose the latter.

It was peaceful being out in the wild again. I often imagined returning out there, but Skye had made it clear she wanted to stay in Terra Nova. She'd also made it clear she didn't want me to leave her, and how could I? So I put up with it. Sometimes I really hated loving her.

"You hungry?"

I glanced back over at my father. He had stopped next to a tree, and was busily using a rock to scrape away the bark.

"We don't have time to stop."

"Sure we do. May as well eat while we have the chance...aha!"

He pulled out a handful of beetle grubs and shoved them into his mouth. He got out a second handful and offered them to me. I looked at him disgusted. I had never been fond of beetle grubs, yet my father seemed to be genuinely enjoying them. I had spent much of the first month of my isolation living off of beetle grubs, but as I had became more accustomed to life in the wild, I had become better at hunting and gathering my own food. After the first few months, I had made sure that I would never eat like a peasant again.

I looked up into the tree tops. I knew that the trees there concealed a fruit that looked like a golden apple. It was bigger than a normal apple and sweeter. I longed to climb up and grab one, but I doubted with my ribs the way they were, that I would be able to climb up very far. So I relented and walked toward the tree. I refused the grubs my father held out to me, but got some for myself. I turned to start moving again, but my father leaned against a tree. I stopped and glared at him.

"We need to keep moving." I ordered.

He shook his head frowning, and I got the feeling he was in more pain then he was letting on. His eyes met mine and he spoke.

"Eating and resting are more important than travelling a greater distance in a shorter amount of time, especially in our conditions. We need to conserve our energy incase we need it." He then looked at me in a similar way a parent may look at their six year old who wasn't eating all their greens. "Tell me you didn't starve yourself whilst you were out here."

"Usually I prioritised getting as far away from the predators as possible." I snapped.

I was not going to be fooled by his fake fatherly concern. Clearly I had taken care of myself otherwise I'd be dead. As if on cue a low grumble travelled through the trees. For a moment, I smiled smugly knowing I was right, but then it hit me that something was watching us and I had no weapons and a couple broken ribs.

My eyes snapped in the direction the menacing purr had come. I looked back to my father. He pointed up at the trees and I nodded. We would not be able to outrun the creature, so climbing was our best chance. I dropped the handful of grubs, much to the disappointment of my stomach, and reached up to grab a branch.

My father was already beginning to clamber up the tree next to mine. I winced at the pain, but forced myself to keep stretching. I felt something move in my chest and I gritted my teeth. I managed to pull myself up onto the first branch. Getting to the next branch was a lot easier; there was a shorter distance between the two.

My dear old dad was making good progress. My mind turned that into a race and despite the agony I pushed myself forward. I concentrated on the branches above me. My focus was quickly pulled back to my father when I heard a loud snapping sound. The branch he had grabbed fell to the floor. Normally he would have been fine, but his ankle gave way and he slipped. I watched as he began plummeting to the ground. Luckily he managed to latch on to one of the trees lower limbs.

"You okay?" I called down. He looked up at me and nodded. I guessed he'd had the wind knocked out of him and couldn't speak. My eyes widened as I saw a Slasher appear under him. It's big, beady eyes gazed up, and I saw it tense up to jump. "CLIMB NOW!" I shouted down.

My father glanced over his shoulder, got the message and starting moving. I saw him wincing in pain, but he kept moving. The Slasher pounced upwards and grabbed his leg with its sharp teeth. My father groaned in pain and kicked it with his other foot. It howled, letting go and landing back on its feet. He began speeding back up the tree, and when the Slasher next pounced it missed him, grabbing a thick twig instead. I remained still until my father was level with me. He looked over at me.

"You good?" I asked.

"I'm fine."

I could tell he wasn't, but my father's physical condition was not our main priority right then. We moved further up the tree before settling. Two branches on my father's tree forked out, providing him with a comfy place to sit. He took full advantage of it, and analysed the damage caused to his leg. I went a little higher, until I could see the golden fruit. They weren't much further up, so I climbed higher much to the protests of my chest. I picked a couple and stuffed them in my pocket. My eyes fell back to my father. I sighed and picked another two. I then made my way back down so I was level with him again.

There were four Slashers circling the base of the tree trunks. They growled and groaned, but couldn't reach us. They kept pouncing, and tried digging their claws into the bark. I watched amused as they slid back down to the ground. My eyes flicked back over to my father. Blood was pouring out of the bite mark on his calf. He tore off a large piece of his under shirt and wrapped it tightly round the wound. He then carefully pushed his trouser leg back down. I threw one of the golden apples at him, and it landed in his lap. He picked it up, studying it, before looking over at me. I shrugged at him as I bit into the juicy fruit.

"Prioritise eating right?" I mocked in between bites.