ON MY OWN
For the next three or four hours, Lucas walked slowly along the deserted highway
towards his unknown future.
The weather was still mild this time of the morning. He was wearing his sneakers,
but found out soon enough that the hard pavement of the bitumen road took their toll
on your feet after a while.
There was nothing to see except a great open vastness that was the Arizona landscape.
He had only managed to walk a measly ten kilometres when he came across a small
town on the side of the road. It was about mid morning now and the sun was beginning
to heat up.
The only buildings Lucas could see was a small general store with a gas pump out the
front and a two room motel. Luckily for him there was one spare room available.
The person at the counter had looked suspiciously at such a young person wanting a
room this time of the day, but he took the $35.00 from the teenager and gave him the
oversized key to room number 2.
Before he went into the room, Lucas walked to the general store and bought himself
a cold beef sandwich and a cold bottle of water.
The key was a bit stiff in the lock at first, but with a hard twist and a small kick with
his foot, the wooden door swung open. The room was quite dark until Lucas fumbled
around and found the light switch. When he turned on the light it wasn't much better.
The bulb was a yellowish colour and so that was the colour of the light that was given
out into the room.
There was no air-conditioning in the room. Only a small ceiling fan spun around
on the lowest setting to circulate the stale and musty smelling air.
There was no television, no radio and no telephone but being in a one horse town
without the horse, beggars couldn't be choosers. Lucas took off his back pack and
laid it on the small bedside table. The table was a bit rickety, with one leg propped
up by a piece of cardboard.
Lucas laid down on the bed's mattress. It was as hard as a rock. There was a smallish
pillow, but it was falling apart and didn't do much to support his head and neck anyway.
Lucas tried to close his eyes and go to sleep, but it didn't come easy. His heart was
still very heavy from the thoughts of his friends and family.
Even though he had told himself that he didn't care about them anymore, his heart
told him different. He could still see their faces and hear their voices in happier times.
He wondered how long he would have to carry around these memories before the hurt
would begin to subside. It seemed to be a lot harder to do then when he had tried to
forget about his parents. They hadn't cared so he didn't care. There were very
few happy memories to forget about. It was the bad ones that seemed to linger on the
longest.
With Bridger and the SeaQuest crew it was different, he had been the one to care and
he thought they had as well. They had told him that they did and up until now he had no reason
to doubt them.
Lucas couldn't stop the tears that fell down his face. He cried for quiet a while until the
exhaustion from lack of sleep from the night before and the emotional strain that he was
feeling took their toll. He finally cried himself to sleep and dreamt of nothing.
Lucas slept for a long time. When he awoke it was almost sunset and the clouds in the
sky had begun to turn a pinkish hue in the distance. Lucas returned his key to the
reception desk and then purchased another two bottles of water from the general store
before beginning walking along the highway again.
The road was almost deserted tonight like it had been in the morning. Apart from
the occasional truck, there was nothing on the road, not even a jack rabbit.
About ten miles further down the road, Lucas stopped and sat on the edge of the
road and sipped at one of the bottles of water. There was a slightly steep drop from
the road to the table drain below. One of the occasional trucks passed a little too
close for comfort this time. Not seeing the teenager in the dark.
:Lucas had tried to jump back out of the way, but forgot about the incline of the
roadway. He found himself tumbling backwards into the table drain and landing
in an embarrassing heap on his rear. Thankfully this late at night there was nobody
to laugh and make fun at his misfortune.
Lucas grumbled as his bad luck and called himself a few unfriendly words to go
with it. He attempted to get up and found that he had wrenched his left knee
in the fall. It wasn't too bad and didn't prevent him walking, but there was a
slight swelling to the area around his knee cap and it slowed him up somewhat
from his already snail pace.
Lucas started walking again, but only managed about half the distance he had
walked from the motel before his knee was troubling him quite painfully.
He saw a small service station ahead a few hundred meters. It had been the
first building he had seen since the motel. He managed to hobble over to the
service station and make his way to a tap on the side of the building.
He twisted the tap on and rolled the leg of his trousers up to expose his
swollen knee. He put his injured leg under the cascading water and let the
coolness of the water ease the throb in his knee. He had been too carried
away with the nice feeling the water gave to his leg to hear anybody approaching
him from behind.
He had lost track of time and didn't realize that he had stumbled across the
service station at approximately 3.00 am. He forgot that good honest folk would
probably be sleeping this time of night.
He literally jumped three feet in the air and just about fainted on the spot at the
sound of someone's voice behind him.
"Who's there" the voice in the dark asked.
"It's just me" Lucas said in a small voice. He could now see a small torch light
in the darkness held by the stranger.
The man and the light came closer and Lucas was able to make out a small
shadowy figure by the torch light.
The man walked forward a few steps and allowed himself to be shown in the dull
torch light. He could see that the intruder was in fact a slightly built blond teenager.
"Who are you" the man demanded in a gruff voice. "What are you doing here this
time of night?"
With the man now in view from the light he could see that the stranger waw holding onto
something else in his other hand. The man could see the teenager looking intently at
his other hand and what it held. He moved his hand slightly so that a sound was emitted
loud enough to be heard.
The sound was a chain of some description clinking together. As the chain clinked, it
signalled something else to come out of the darkness where it had been standing. A dog.
Lucas now took a few hasty steps back with his face paling at the sight of the huge
vicious looking dog. It was a Rottweiler with big white teeth glaring back at him.
Saliva dripped from the joules of the dog's mouth for emphasis. The first thing that came into
Lucas's mind was an old classic movie about a Rottweiler dog that had gone crazy and killed
people. Lucas's brain looked up the references to fierce dogs and came back with the name Cujo.
Cujo, yeah that was it Lucas said to himself. He took another step back from the big dog
just to be on the safe side.
"Heel Mac" the man said with a firm voice. He could see that the teenager was frightened by
the sight of the dog.
MAC Lucas's mind said to himself. That didn't sound like a name for such a big dog. It
wasn't macho sounding like Truck or Tiger. Lucas hadn't had much contact with dogs before.
You didn't get to have too many pets on board a submarine. His parents had certainly
never let him have any cute or cuddly pets during his childhood. The limited contact he
had with dogs expanded only to the guard dogs that his parents kept on their estate to deter
intruders.
"Who are you and what are you doing out in the middle of nowhere like this all alone" the
man now asked. "Where are your parents boy?"
"I-I-I um was just using your tap to help ease my knee" Lucas said as he indicated
his sore leg. The stranger could see that the knee did indeed look swollen and there
was some motley coloured bruises to match.
"You'd better some inside so we can take a look at it" the man said in a softer tone.
He didn't like the idea of any teenager being out all alone in this neck of the woods.
"We" Lucas said nervously as he noted the use of plural words.
"My name is Bob, Bob Stevens. My wife Sandra and I run this Service Station.
Have done for the past twenty years. But enough of that for the time being. I am sure
Sandra will just love to fuss over you and look at your injured knee."
Lucas was a little bit apprehensive about accepting this kind invitation, but at the
moment, the only thing he was looking for was a nice soft bed. He gave a wan smile
and started to walk after the man with the dog.
"Sorry about startling you like that" Bob said as they walked towards the small house
behind the service station. "Can't be too careful out here all alone at night time though.
You never know what strange characters you likely to come across."
Lucas nodded his head in agreement. There wasn't much to see in the landscape. A
few scattered buildings , but mostly just vast open plains with a bitumen road dividing
them right up the middle.
"Sandra" Bob yelled as he guided Lucas through the back door of his humble home.
"We've got a patient for you here to attend to. He's a young teenager I found outside.
His knee needs some doctorin'"
"What in the world" Sandra Stevens started to say as she stumbled out of her bedroom.
She wondered why her husband Bob was yelling at such a hour in the middle of the night.
She spotted the handsome young teenager that was limping slightly and she found herself
falling straight into mother mode. Bob just smiled to himself as he saw the happy look
on his wife at helping the injured teenager. As he suspected she was more than happy
to fuss over him. She had guided him to the dark brown recliner in the living room and
had his swollen knee propped up on a small stool with a cushion underneath it.
It had been a long time since he had seen that happy look of motherhood on his wife.
There own teenage son Gavin had run away when he wasn't much older then Lucas.
They hadn't been able to find him since. They searched the entire country for about
six months, but then they were given the devastating news by the police department that
their son had been found beaten in some back alley for the few dollars he had in his wallet.
Neither of them had time to say goodbye to their beloved son and it still weighed heavy
on their heart, even today some five years later.
"I don't want to be too much trouble" Lucas started to say, but Sandra held up her hand
and told him just to sit there.
"You're no trouble at all" Sandra said. She looked at the boy's tired eyes and noted that
he probably could use something to eat and a place to sleep for the night. She found
herself wondering the same question that her husband had asked when they were outside.
"What's your name honey" Sandra said in a soft and caring voice. She could see the
nervousness in the boy's body language and wondered what had happened to him to make
him so apprehensive around other people.
Lucas sat and thought for a moment before answering. He didn't want to lie directly to
these nice people who had decided to help him out a little.
"Lucas, Lucas Smith" he told them. At least the first name was right. He didn't think
they would believe a completely phony name.
Sandra looked at the boy as he spoke and told herself that this wasn't the boy's real name.
For some reason he was trying to hide his true identity, but for now, this late at night, she
was willing to wait until another time to talk to him about his deception.
"Well Lucas SMITH" she said "Would you like something to eat while I take a look at
this knee?"
Lucas nodded his gratefulness and gave her a warm smile to match for thanks.
Sandra sent Bob into the kitchen while she went about looking at his knee. She rolled the
leg of his jeans up and tried to probe the bruised skin as gently as possible without hurting
him anymore. She could hear the whistles clenched between his teeth from the pain he
felt, but he never uttered a complaint.
Bob walked back into the living room from the kitchen with a cold beef sandwich. It was
the only thing he could rustle up this late at night. He had smothered the meat in pickles
and hoped it would be sufficient for his young guest.
Lucas gave the same smile of thanks to Bob as he was handed the plate of sandwiches.
He didn't realize how hungry he was until the food was put in front of him and the delicious
aroma wafted up to his nose.
"You wait right there and finish that sandwich while I get some bandages and salve for that
knee" Sandra said as he gently patted his leg while she got up. "Bob, you go and find a
towel and place some chipped up ice into it. I'll wrap the knee with the ice and try to reduce
some of that swelling."
Sandra and Bob left the teenager alone for a few minutes to gather the items they needed.
Bob went into the ice chest in the kitchen and crushed some ice in a towel. Sandra had
gone to the bathroom and gathered the salve and the bandage. They both arrived back
in the living room about the same time.
They both chuckled together at the sight before them. With his body now stopped from
the constant moving about, it didn't take Lucas long to succumb to this tiredness.
The corn beef sandwich was still clasped in his two hands, there was a small bite missing
from the middle of the triangular piece of bread. His hands had not relaxed sufficiently
to let the sandwich fall back onto the plate on his lap.
The boy was sound asleep. His head was bowed slightly as nestled in the padding of the
recliner. His injured knee was still on the stool. His features were calm and peaceful.
"What do we do with him now?" Bob asked Sandra in a quiet voice so as not to disturb
the sleeping youth.
"Well" and she thought for a moment "I know of an empty bed at the moment" she left
the sentenced unfinished and hoped that the pleading look in her eyes would be enough to
portray her thoughts to her husband.
Bob saw the look and knew exactly which bed his wife was talking about. It was their
son's Gavin. When Gavin had gone missing, both of them could barely stand to go into
the room without feeling remorse and guilty about the boy's sudden disappearance.
Now his wife was suggesting that they place this almost complete stranger into their
son's bed. The boy looked innocent and harmless enough. Something told him that this
boy had family somewhere who were out looking for him too.
"You go and make the bed up love" Bob said with a smile. "I carry him in. We can
tend to that knee in the morning. It might do it some good to actually rest on a bed
for the night. The rest might ease the swelling by that time."
Sandra left the room with her heart a glow. She finally had somebody to fuss over again.
Sometimes she felt that she had coddled Gavin too much and that was what drove him
away in the end, but looking at this sleeping boy's face, she couldn't help but wonder
why he was all alone. Why wouldn't he tell them his real name?. Where was he headed?
Where were his family and friends?
Lucas let out a small whimper in his sleep when Bob Stevens lifted him out of the recliner.
The boy was thin, maybe too thin for his age. He was careful not to jostle the knee to
much and cause any more discomfort. When he entered the room, it was already for its
new occupant. Lucas didn't stir at all when his head was gently laid on the soft white
pillowcase.
Bob straightened Lucas's legs as much as possible, but could feel the puffiness even
under the denim fabric of his knee. He wondered if they should get a doctor to look
at the boy. They would have to wait until morning for that anyway. The nearest
doctor or hospital was some forty minutes drive east of here.
Sandra tucked a sheet around the boy's sleeping figure and a thin blanket. She
brushed the blond hair off his forehead that had fallen over his eyes. The boy gave
a content sigh and rolled slightly on his side and continued his restful pose.
Sandra and Bob Stevens left the young man alone in the room to sleep in peace.
For the first time in a long time, they felt that they were needed again. Their own
sleep might be just as restful tonight.
******************************************************************
While Lucas was sleeping sounding that night, there was a very different scene being
played out at Bridger's house on the island.
The place was a hive of activity with people formed into three and four small search
groups ready to head out and start looking for the missing teenager.
Commander Ford seemed to be the one in control of everybody at the moment.
He was standing in the centre of the room with both hands stretched out as he barreled
full ahead into his speech about what the different search parties were supposed to be
doing and where their designated search areas were.
Captain Nathan Bridger and Kristen had been busy together with most of the other
senior crew members, trying to put an advertising campaign together suitable to broadcast
over the television.
Hopefully the media attention for the missing boy would prompt somebody to phone in and say
they had seen him in the last few hours. They also intended a similar barrage on the newspapers.
They had a series of the most recent photo's they could find of Lucas.
Bridger had been lost in his own world for a short time. He held the photos of the missing
boy in his hands and felt the quiet but constant building of remorse and guilt. It was
his words that had driven the teenager away. It was his words that had hurt him. Now
it was up to him to find him and bring him home again. Firstly they had to find out where
he had gone and then he had to somehow explain to Lucas that everybody still loved him
and needed him to be alright.
He had told the television station and the newspapers that he was offering a $100 000
reward for anybody who could supply information that would be successful enough
to lead them to Lucas. He would spend more if it warranted so later on. He was
determined to do whatever it took to find the one he had lost.
The search parties would move out in another hour's time. They didn't have much
to go on, but it was better than nothing. Most of the people involved were actually
crew members from the SeaQuest and they needed to feel as though they were doing
something.
Commander Ford had thought it best that the Captain and Kristen remain close
to home in case the teenager rang or came back home on his own. It was very unlikely,
but the possibility needed to be accounted for. Krieg and the other senior crew
members would be the ones to deliver the advertising campaigns to the newspaper
printers and the television stations. They all had their roles to perform.
*******************************************************************
DON'T WORRY PEOPLE - THE BAD THINGS ARE ABOUT TO COME -
JULES
