part three
Lucas piloted the sub until he was safely underway and was unable to control himself. Then he put the sub under autopilot and let the tears flow. When the emotion ebbed a bit, he decided that he couldnÕt put it off any longer. He reached into his duffel bag and pulled out the photograph of his mother. He placed his hand gently on her glowing face and smiled. He turned the frame over and took out the cardboard backing. From inside, a wrinkled envelope fell onto the floor. Lucas picked it up with a shaking hand. Gentle handwriting graced the front of the envelope spelling out the words My Darling Lucas. Lucas took a breath, turned the precious document over and broke the seal. He rubbed his fingers over the broken seal. Pulling out the crinkled stationary and unfolding it, Lucas began to read.
Lucas,
My son; so you're 18. I never thought this day would come so soon. Now you are a man, truly on your own. This is your life, Lucas. Live it to your best. I know you can.
If you are reading this, then the earth itself must have swallowed me, for I have left you. This has to be what happened, because nothing less could have made me leave you. But you must not think of it that way. I will always be beside you, watching over you. Even death cannot separate us. I am your mother. Nothing can break that bond. I know I am watching over you, Lucas, so make me proud and be the man I know you are.
I love you so much. And that is why this is so hard to write. I must tell you about your past-about your father. He didn't die while I was pregnant with you. He left me. He left us. What I did, Lucas, was an accident. I didn't plan to have an affair. It's not something you figure into the equation. But when I found out that I was going to have you, I knew it couldn't have been wrong. And when my husband found out that you weren't his, he left us.
You have to understand that it's okay. I still have you. I can feel you tossing and turning around in my belly, and I can't wait until you're born. I am already planning our years together. I can't wait to peer into your little face and teach you all the things I know. I hope I will be a good mother to you, Lucas. But if I'm not, just know that I love you. And that everything will be okay. Love can conquer anything Lucas. Remember that.
I pray every night for you to live a happy, wonderful life with me. I love you, my son.
Your mother,
Kathryn
Lucas brought up the mini-sub into the docking port, picked up his bag, and left. It was late in the evening, and his melancholy mood led him to take a walk on the beach. It felt good to feel the wind in his face again after so long on a sub. His lungs sucked in the sweet air, and were relieved to find it didn't have the stale taste of tanked oxygen.
Memories...some say they were a gift, but Lucas wasn't so sure. They came flooding back to him so quickly he almost jumped. His mother used to take him on walks on the beach. It was a habit that she had passed on to him, but had left him since living on seaQuest. He could almost see her...a white apparition at the end of his vision, her long, flowing, red hair curled at the temples of her head. She smiled.... God, how he remembered that smile! When her small mouth curled upwards, her entire face brightened. Lucas closed his eyes and let the images come. For once, these were not the dreams that woke him in the night, sweating.
Lucas felt something cold and wet lick his bare feet, startling him out of his reverie. He was suprised to find he had walked so far so quickly; when he tried to look behind him to judge just how far he had gone, he couldn't even see the light wood of the dock.
The last bubbles of the wave receded as he turned to walk back.
Then someone screamed. Startled, he jerked around to find the source. The sound faded, and he almost had himself convinced that he had imagined it when it came again. This time he ran off after it.
Lucas ran for what seemed like forever. Running in the sand was incredibly hard, and tired him out twice as much as the same run would have on pavement. Gasping for breath, he turned a corner and saw the small figure of a crumpled girl lying in the sand.
Lucas discovered that the figure was that of a girl his age as he approached her and kneeled beside her. She stirred and her eyes fluttered, then opened. He could see that they were the most amazing green color. She took his breath away. He recovered a moment later and helped her to a seating position.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, just fainted. Some guy knocked me down and stole my purse!"
"Did you see which way he went?"
"Over there, into those woods." She pointed up the shore to where lush foliage bent down to meet the sand.
"You're sure you're okay?" He made sure one more time before he got up and headed off in that direction.
"Be careful!" she called after him. He smiled as he pushed leaves back with the palm of his hand. He stepped forward and was enveloped by greenery. His eyes looked from one side to the next, searching for a sign of what to do next. His ears begged for some sound - anything - in the awful silence. He moved forward again, and that was when it moved. A small, silent disturbance of air that tells a person that someone has moved close to them. Suddenly he regretted charging into the situation without thinking first.
It took Lucas a moment to realize that he should turn around, but by then it was too late. Before he could react, the cold, terrifying metal of a gun was pressed against the base of his neck.
Captain Bridger had left the bridge in the trusted hands of Commander Ford and retired to his cabin, after making sure the tracker on Lucas' PAL was operational. He layed down on his bed and put his arm over his eyes. He knew he wasn't going to be able to sleep, though. Not when Lucas was out there looking for a truth that only Bridger could provide. I should have told him when he left...I almost did, but I couldn't lose face with him. Not yet... With a beep, the UEO symbol on the comm screen opened to reveal the face of Tim O'Neil.
"Captain Bridger?" He sighed and rose to his feet.
"Mr. O'Neil."
"Sir, Lucas is on the move."
"Where is he headed, Lieutenant?"
"Sir, it looks as though he's headed for the New Australian border."
"What would Lucas want in NA Territory?"
"I don't know, sir." he paused. "Do you want me to call him?"
"No. Let's just wait and see exactly where he's headed."