*~*
True to his promise to them Lucas started eating again. While the food that Dr Westphalen provided for him – a mushy light diet, either green or orange – made shivers run down the Captain's spine at its mere sight, Lucas ate it without contradiction. Soon the doctor was able to take him off the IV and Lucas was obviously grateful for it.
During the next week his conditions improved more and more and the teenager seemed to get better again. He was slowly gaining some weight so that his bones didn't show anymore as much as they had done before. The boy grew less sickly pale and his eyes lost their dullness. They were finally shining again like they had done in former times, even though their bluish-grey color remained. Lucas was getting stronger with every day and after a week Dr Westphalen finally agreed to let him go back to his quarters.
But Lucas wasn't only physically getting better. He finally responded to friends, too. At the beginning he had only paid attention to Justine when she was talking to him, later on also to Captain Bridger and eventually to his other friends who were visiting him regularly. By the end of the second day every corner of his room in Med Bay was filled with get-well-cards and flowers. Lucas would listen when his friends from the crew were talking to him and after a while he began answering them, shyly like he was just learning how to do so. At first Lucas would only nod hesitantly or shake his head but by the end of week he would even give short answers when he was asked directly and say 'Yes' and 'No'. However, he wouldn't talk about his past or what happened weeks ago with the dolphins. When somebody asked him about it Lucas would turn away and lapse into silence, like he was ashamed or even afraid of that topic.
Captain Bridger knew that this might become a problem someday but right now everybody was delighted with these developments. The whole crew seemed to be in a better mood, now that the teenage genius was out of the woods. It amazed the Captain how much influence this one boy could have on an entire boat.
The probably most touching scene in the teenager's progress had been the day when he first saw Darwin again. With the doctor's okay Captain Bridger, Justine and Dr Westphalen had taken Lucas to the Moon Pool. The dolphin had been overjoyed to have his friend back and splashed them all repeatedly in his happiness, whistling and clicking all the time. Lucas too had been more than happy to see Darwin. He was smiling constantly and stroked and caressed the dolphin again and again. Bridger could the tears of joy, shining in the boy's eyes. What surprised the threesome a little was that Lucas didn't talk to Darwin directly, even though the dolphin seemed to have expected it more or less. But Lucas only talked 'via vocoder' to his animal friend, telling him that he had missed him and that he was getting better. At Darwin's question whether Lucas could come in and swim with him, the boy turned to Bridger with pleading eyes. But Bridger shook his head; Lucas' body was still too weak for this. 'In a few days' he promised the dolphin who seemed to be satisfied with that answer. Just Lucas had a look of disappointment on his face. But Bridger couldn't help it; he seriously doubted that swimming would be good for the teenager's health right now.
The one person that Lucas was still spending the most time with was Justine. The young woman was almost all the time at his side. She would listen to music with him, eat with him, they would play with Darwin or simply talk for hours. When Lucas was allowed to move back to his own quarters Justine also often spent the night there with him. Captain Bridger had been a little concerned about this and had considered talking with Justine about this rather serious matter; after all was Lucas underage and people might believe that she was using his present vulnerable situation. But then the Captain had passed by the boy's quarters late at night and had found the two sleeping side by side, curled up to a ball, on Lucas' small bunk. It been simply a heartwarming sight and Bridger had come to understand that they were like brother and sister not lovers. Lucas had looked so peacefully in his sleep, completely at ease with his friend in his near.
Captain Bridger was already wondering (and secretly worrying) what would be when Justine would have to leave the seaQuest – and that day would surly come eventually. It was already nearing mercilessly. The more Lucas' conditions – both physically and mentally – improved the clearer it got that Justine would soon have to return to her own life as her stay had been intended to be only temporary from the very beginning. But how would Lucas react to it? Nobody was able to predict this.
Once again were those thoughts entering the Captain's mind as he watched Lucas from a distance who stood at the side of the Moon Pool and played with Darwin. But he pushed those thoughts into the back of his mind. He could worry later. Right now he only wanted to enjoy himself for a short while – he hadn't done so in days. A clear, carefree laughter sounded over to him and Bridger returned his attention to the two players in front of him: Lucas would throw a ball and the dolphin would 'kick' it back with his nose. A simple game that made the teenager smile all over his face and let his eyes shine.
Someone put his hand on Bridger's shoulder and the old man turned around. Dr Westphalen was standing behind him. She too was smiling at the sight of Lucas and Darwin playing together.
"They are such a cute pair." She said and Bridger nodded in full agreement.
"I took a look at my pictures from seaQuest a few days ago and I noticed something," he told her. "On more than half of the pictures that I have of Lucas he's together with Darwin and the other way round."
"I always thought they shared a special bond. But I never guessed it could be this special..." The doctor didn't have to go into further detail; it was clear to them what she was referring to. Both adults fell silent for a while, watching their young friend and substitute child.
Then Bridger looked around in the Moon Pool area searchingly. "Where is Justine? It surprises me that she isn't here with Lucas."
"She's in her quarters. She had to sort out a few things with her University, you know, why she's gone for so long and things like that. And I told her to lie down and get some rest after she was done. She's been together with Lucas almost without a break for the last few days, so I guessed she might need a few hours alone." Dr Westphalen explained. "But don't worry, we can do without her for a while. It seems to me that Darwin is enough of a substitute for the moment." As if on cue, the dolphin made an acrobatic jump for the thrown ball, causing Lucas to laugh heartily.
"I know, you're right." Bridger admitted. "But I would have liked to try something new with Lucas, to take another step you might say."
"And what would that be?"
"I want him to work with the computer again. Nothing to difficult for the beginning of course. I was thinking of a game with numbers and forms, similar to the one he played when we arrived at Node 3."
Dr Westphalen nodded; the idea was only logical. "And what would be against it? You seem to hesitate." She observed.
"Well, I don't know... Shouldn't we better wait for Justine to be there?" Bridger asked.
"Oh come on, Nathan. It's a computer game. What harm could it possibly do?"
"I guess you're right." He thought for a minute. "Okay, let's do it. Do you have the time right now?"
"Sure, why not?"
With the decision made Bridger walked over to Lucas. When he had almost reached the boy he coughed slightly to let Lucas know that he was there without startling him. But still Lucas whirled around fearfully and took a step behind before he realized who his 'visitor' was.
"Oh, hello Captain." He breathed relieved. Whom that he would have to fear had he expected anyway? Lucas questioned himself. He didn't find an answer for his mentally asked question; just like so many times before now.
"Hey, kiddo." Captain Bridger greeted him, taking in the boy's body language. His shoulders were slumped forward, he kept his head down and held his hands in front of his body in a defensive manner. Bridger wondered briefly what the teenager was trying to protect himself from or if his defensive pose did even register in his mind. After a short pause the Captain continued. "Would you join us for a while, Lucas? I would like to show something to you," he said and smiled.
Lucas hesitated, reluctant to leave Darwin, and threw a short glance over his shoulder at the dolphin who was waiting at the side of the Moon Pool to continue their game. Then Lucas looked back at the Captain and studied him intently. The old man's eyes were shining – obviously this meant very much to him. And after all was Bridger also his friend just like Darwin and had already done very much for him. So it seemed only fair to make him happy, especially when it could be so easy like now Lucas thought. Everything else would be selfish and he didn't want to be selfish; it reminded him too much of certain people he had got to know in his life.
So Lucas simply nodded, indicating that he would do as he was bid. Immediately a huge smile spread across Bridger's face. So, Lucas had been right, this was very important to the man and no matter what they expected him do now, making Bridger smile like that was worth it.
They walked over to Dr Westphalen who had meanwhile turned on a computer and called up the program. Bridger maneuvered Lucas over to the chair in front of the computer and made him sit down. The screen was filled with colorful symbols which were standing on five three-dimensional levels and codes were flashing across the screen. To the two adults the game seemed quite complicated, but Bridger knew that Lucas had found it easy when they had been at Node 3.
"We thought that you might like this, Lucas." Dr Westphalen explained.
"Hmmm..." The boy looked around, slightly tensed. "Where is Justine?" he asked her instead of giving the Doctor a proper answer.
"She's taking a break in her room." Dr Westphalen answered him. "She deserves some time alone, don't you think?" Lucas nodded slowly after a short thought; truth to be told, he felt much better when Justine was nearby. But Dr Westphalen was right, his friend deserved a break. Meanwhile the doctor continued. "But I think we can do just fine without her for a while. Until she comes back, why don't start and try this?" She suggested, pointing at the computer.
Lucas looked from her to the Captain and back. They both were smiling and looked at him expectantly. So he turned his attention to the game and watched the screen for a while. The numbers were showing up and disappeared again to fast for him to follow them properly with his eyes and the different, garish colors of the symbols were distracting him further. He didn't know what he was supposed to do. Lucas was painfully aware of the Captain's and the Doctor's presence and their looks; they were waiting for him to do something with this 'game' as they called it. So Lucas hesitantly pushed a button on the keyboard, without really knowing what he was doing. Instantly several lights flashed up on the screen and the perspective took a sharp turn, changing the whole scenery. The teenager virtually jumped back in his chair at this; he hadn't expected this. He didn't like this 'game' at all; he preferred playing with Darwin by far. But when he saw the Captain starting to frown at his reaction Lucas tried to concentrate on the computer again. All these colors and numbers were confusing him to no end. He tried a few more buttons but it didn't help him understand the game either. Lucas grew more and more tense. In the back of his mind he knew that he had played this before – it had been so simple then! But now he didn't understand anything anymore. His mind seemed empty, like he had simply lost the knowledge of how to play it. Lucas closed his eyes and sighed. When had he done this anyway? He couldn't seem to remember properly. It hadn't been on the seaQuest, Lucas remembered sitting among a lot of young people – there were no other youth aboard the seaQuest. What had he been doing there? And there had been a girl there, Lucas could see the vague picture of a face in his mind. Who had she been? If only he could remember!
Suddenly Lucas' face felt so hot. He knew that the Captain and Dr Westphalen were still standing next to him. Surly they were terribly disappointed of him; he had failed their expectancies – Lucas simply knew it. He always disappointed the people that surrounded him, he always failed his friends. Lucas felt hot tears come to his eyes but he refused to let them fall. 'Never let them see your tears!' whispered a voice in the back of his mind and Lucas obeyed it. Unconsciously he had begun rocking slowly forward and backward in his chair.
Captain Bridger had watched him with growing concern. He had noticed how the boy tensed in front of the computer, then closed his eyes and retreated to the world in his mind where nobody could follow. When Lucas started rocking himself Bridger's and Dr Westphalen's gazes had met. It was clear to both of them this wasn't helping the boy in anyway. In contrast it seemed to upset him only. They had been so sure that Lucas was ready for this! But obviously they had been wrong.
So Bridger gently put his hand on the teenager's shoulder to calm him and bring him back to reality.
"It's okay, Lucas," he said quietly. "You don't have to continue this if you don't want to." He squeezed the boy's shoulder reassuringly.
When he heard the Captain's voice Lucas opened his eyes and looked up slowly. What had the Captain just said? Lucas knew he had heard him talk, but he couldn't remember the words. He felt an incredible heat pulsing through his veins and a sudden wave of dizziness crashed over him. Lucas blinked, trying to shake it off and concentrate on the Captain, but found it incredibly difficult to do so. Why was he sitting here? Lucas suddenly realized that Bridger was still talking to him and so he listened up.
"... to your room?" was the last thing he heard. Yeah, his room. This sounded like a really good idea – well at least Lucas suspected that the Captain had asked him whether he wanted to go to his room. Lucas nodded and got up quickly. He only wanted to be alone now. As soon as he was standing the teenager felt a new wave of dizziness and his vision went black for a moment but he fought it back. With a hastily mumbled excuse Lucas stumbled out of the room. Sending a last glance back at the two adults, Lucas wondered briefly why nobody of them tried to follow him; maybe they felt his need to be alone. Just before he left the room his eyes met those of the Captain and the boy thought he could see the disappointment in them.
And Bridger was indeed disappointed, but only of himself. He had expected too much of Lucas in too short a time. It seemed he had pushed him too far in his own wish to get his old friend and substitute son back. But just like Justine had said a few days earlier it was unlikely that this Lucas would ever come back. The real Lucas was maybe completely different from the one they knew. But Bridger didn't blame the teenager for this; he only blamed himself because he hadn't been able to see this earlier.
*
He had disappointed Bridger, his friend! He always disappointed his friends! Lucas had finally reached his quarters, even though he didn't know how he made it, and dropped onto his bunk. His heart was racing as was his mind. He had seen the disappointment in Bridger's eyes; Lucas hadn't been able to give him what he wanted. Why was it that he could never satisfy his friends? It had been like this with Dr Beck, too. And now Bridger. Dr Beck had been angry with him and had sent him away – would Bridger do so, too?
Lucas leaned his head against the aqua tubes next to his bed, savoring their coolness against his skin; he was so hot, like he had been sitting in the summer heat for too long. The teenager suddenly longed for the ocean, longed to swim in the cool sea, to let it cool his hot body. And oh, how he longed to be with the dolphins again, his pod, his family. A sudden loneliness came over Lucas with an unknown force. He had no wish to stay with humans anymore; what good were they anyway? They were only selfish, demanding things from him that he couldn't give, seeing only themselves and their own wishes. Lucas felt like he had no friends in this world, nobody who loved him. Yes, in the back of his mind there was a small voice, telling him that this wasn't true, that he did have friends who loved him for who he was. Friends like Ben, Captain Bridger and Justine.
But Lucas couldn't believe this voice anymore. For him, all humans were the same right now and they were all bad.
Eventually Lucas fell to an exhausted sleep even though it was still early in the evening. His dreams were confused; swirling pictures of dolphins and faces that he couldn't quite place and mixed shadows of known emotions.
When Bridger came to look after him later that evening he found the boy deep asleep, curled up to a ball, with his clothes and shoes still on. Smiling the Captain removed Lucas' shoes and pulled a blanket over his sleeping form before he watched him for a short while.
"I'm sorry, kiddo," he whispered. "I didn't want to push you." Bridger stroked a stray of Lucas' blonde hair out of his face and found the boy's skin surprisingly warm to his touch. Maybe the teenager had caught a small virus of something – surely nothing to worry about. He would let the boy sleep now; tomorrow was still early enough to let Dr Westphalen have a look at him if it was necessary.
*Sleep is the best medicine.* Bridger told himself as he left Lucas' room quietly.
*~*
Late at the next morning Justine knocked at Lucas' door as she wanted to pick him up for breakfast like she had done frequently the past week. On her way to the teenager's quarters she had met Ben Krieg who was a little frustrated for he been unable to convince O'Neill to get him some 'extra time' on the vid phone.
Ben's shift was scheduled to start only in an hour and so he had decided to join Justine and Lucas in a second breakfast. He hadn't spent much time with the boy lately and wanted to make up for this now.
So Ben stood behind Justine as she knocked on Lucas' door for about the fifth time without getting a response. Giving up the idea of any politeness – not that he would have had any if Justine hadn't been there – Ben finally reached forward and simply opened the door. Knowing Lucas the boy was probably caught up by one of his books or listening to music with his headphones and couldn't hear them. For a short moment it registered in the back of Ben's mind that he hadn't seen Lucas anywhere near his beloved computers for weeks and wondered if this held any meaning.
However these thoughts were washed away immediately when Ben stepped closer to the boy who was still deep asleep on his bunk. Lucas' cheeks were deep red, standing in contrast to his pale, shaking lips. On the teenager's forehead Ben could see drops of sweat and he was shivering violently. Justine was standing behind Ben and gave a small shriek at this sight.
"Lucas!" She rushed to his side and stroked across his forehead. Lucas whimpered softly but didn't wake up.
"He's so hot!" The young woman told Ben, the concern clearly audible in her voice.
"Maybe it's best if we take him directly to Med Bay." Ben suggested. At Justine's nod he bent down and picked the teenager carefully up. Again Lucas whimpered but didn't wake. In his sleep he snuggled more closely to Ben's chest, searching instinctively the warmth of his body.
Lucas didn't notice how he was carried to Med Bay but in his dreams he was suddenly comforted by a new warmth in his near, warming his own shivering body from the cold that clung to his bones.
*~*
Lucas was swimming in the ocean with the dolphins once again. The water was cool upon his skin, caressing his body as he moved in the sea. Lucas looked at his family; the dolphins swimming beside him. He could hear their whistles and clicks, asking him to play with them. Some of the younger ones bumped into him but their touch felt more like a stroking hand upon him. The teenager was absolutely happy. When he looked down on his own body he could see the contours of his hands begin to fade away, taking more and more the shape of fins. His pale skin slowly turned grey-blue and Lucas knew that he resembled more and more a real dolphin. Lucas gave a happy whistle – everything was perfect now. But suddenly his surroundings changed and Lucas found himself standing on a beach, back in human form. The sun was burning down from the sky with not a single cloud to reduce her intensity. When Lucas looked down to the beach again he was confronted with a terrible scene: The dolphins of his pod were lying on the beach, dying, the hot sun burning their sensitive skin more and more with every passing second. Immediately Lucas tried to pull them back into the ocean but as soon as the dolphins were in the sea they let themselves be carried back onto the beach by the waves again. Lucas kept on trying to bring them back into the water; he cried and whistled to them to stay away from the land but the animals didn't obey. Lucas was fighting to be able to pull their weight, the dolphins were so heavy on the land. The teenager knew that if he wasn't fast enough they would suffocate from the weight of their own muscles on their lungs. Lucas was breathing heavily, his lungs didn't seem to be able to get enough air, and he was sweating. The sun was still burning down mercilessly, making him sweat even more. Finally Lucas broke down, unable to do it anymore. The whole pod was lying on the beach again next to each other. The sun was glistening on their skin of their elegant bodies, giving the scene an supernatural, horrible beauty. The dolphins' dying whistles and clicks filled the air, together with the cries of the seagulls that were flying in circles above their heads, sounding like a lamentation of death. Slowly the sounds of the dolphins grew more and more silent and began to fade away. And Lucas knew that this meant that the dolphins were either too weak to whistle anymore or already dead. The boy was breathing heavily with a big lump in his throat and tears flowing freely down his face. His mother was lying directly next to him. Her cries too were becoming seldom as she grew weaker and weaker with every passing moment. Lucas stared into her eyes, those wonderful deep black pools of wisdom and love. He didn't take his eyes of hers for one second, willing her to live on, but he knew it was too late. The sadness that was speaking out of her eyes was telling him the truth. Lucas didn't even attempt to stop his tears. He stroked over his mother's skin – he knew it would be the last time. Eventually the dolphin gave a final weak whistle – her goodbye to Lucas. Then her eyes became dull. She was dead. A heavy silence fell over the beach that was filled with the bodies of the dead dolphins. It was an almost grotesque sight to see so many of them lying dead next to each other, the dolphins that were one of the most famous symbols of live and vitality. Lucas was standing between them, looking around. Everything was silent, even the seagulls above him seemed to grieve for the loss in their unusual silence. A gentle breeze had begun to swell, carrying the salty scent of the ocean over to Lucas, mixed with the scent of sea grass, alga and fish and the smell of death. Lucas looked down on his hands. They were covered with blood, the blood of his only family. Lucas laid his head back and finally gave a bloodcurdling scream of desperation and grief. Just as he was screaming out all his misery the scene changed yet again. The bodies of the dolphins disappeared and Lucas found himself in a small room with white walls. He looked down on himself, he was a young boy again, maybe ten years old. When he looked up again a woman was standing in front of him with short blonde hair and piercing green eyes. "Tell how you do it." She said. "Come on, Milan, you have to tell me. I need to know. Tell me how you talk with the dolphins, Milan. You can't go back unless you tell me." The young Lucas shivered. "But isn't the vocoder enough for you?" he asked her. The woman's face changed and Dr Westphalen laughed. "Not anymore!" Lucas squeezed his eyes shut, trying to suppress the terror inside him. When he heard a new voice he opened his eyes again. An old man with tanned skin and white hair was standing where the other woman with the British accent had been (what was her name again?). "Hey, kiddo," the man said. "You have to tell us. And I have a game for you, you'll like it!" Suddenly Lucas was surrounded by gigantic faces who were all laughing at him. There were those two women he had first seen and the old man with the soft voice. Then there was a girl with green eyes like the first woman. And a man with dark hair and an incredible grin on his face. Then there were two more men, one with glasses and one with curly hair and the color of a Latin American. And a woman with piercing blue eyes and short hair and a dark skinned man with a very serious look on his face. All the people held a familiarity but the teenager couldn't place them. The faces were dancing and swirling around Lucas, getting faster and faster. Their evil laughter was sounding in his ears. They were so loud... Lucas put his hands over his ears, but their laughter was still ringing in his head. He screamed and fled from the small room with his head bent down and his hands still over his ears. A door appeared in front of him and the teenager ran through it. Suddenly he was on a long corridor. Lucas heard the pounding of his feet on the iron grating of the floor and saw the blue light shining from the strange tubes filled with water next to the corridor. Finally he reached a small room and ran inside it. It was completely dark. In a corner Lucas let himself slide down to the ground. He grew his knees up to his chin and hugged himself. He had escaped them, at least for a short while... Slowly he began rocking himself back and forth, back and forth. From time to time a short whimper escaped from his lips or a tear slid down his cheeks, otherwise he did nothing. And like that he remained. Alone in the dark room.
*~*
Captain Bridger woke with a start. Slightly disorientated he looked around. He was lying on a bed in Med Bay and a look at his clock told him that it was 4 o'clock in the morning. But what had woken him? When the sound started again Bridger realized what it was: Lucas. The boy was lying in his bed and was tossing and turning in his sleep. Yet again. He had done this since he was brought in three days ago by Ben and Justine.
It had been a shock when the boy was carried into Med Bay that morning. He had a severe fever and wouldn't wake up. Dr Westphalen gave him antibiotics to decrease the fever, but at first Lucas' body wouldn't react to it. His temperature was still rising and he got deliriously. Captain Bridger had handed over the Bridge to Commander Ford and was constantly at the boy's side. The old man blamed himself terribly – he had seen Lucas the night before he was found ill. He had seen that he was developing a fever and had done nothing. So maybe it was his fault that the teenager was now here like this? Would they have been able to do anything, had he brought Lucas to Med Bay immediately? Dr Westphalen had told him no, that it wouldn't have changed a thing. But still the sting of doubt remained in Bridger's mind.
On the other side of the room someone was moving. Ben Krieg and Justine were sitting asleep in chairs at the wall of the room. They too had been here ever since they brought Lucas in. Ben only left when it was absolutely necessary to go to his shift and Justine refused to leave the teenager's side altogether. The two had fallen asleep on the chairs, Justine's head leaning on Ben's shoulder. Right now they – or at least one of them – seemed to wake up to the noise. Bridger's eyes had by now adjusted to the dimness in the room and so he could see Ben standing up, careful not to wake the young woman at his side, and walking over to Lucas.
The two men stood side by side, looking down on their friend. Lucas was still tossing and turning, caught up in a nightmare that he couldn't wake up from. Bridger stepped to his side and stroked across the boy's head, whispering soothing nonsense. The teenager's skin was still warm, but no longer as hot as it had been only days earlier. The Captain silently thanked whatever God for it. It had been a terrible time. Lucas fever had gone up and he had been shivering violently. The doctor and his friends had been at his side constantly but had been unable to do anything. Lucas had gone deliriously, mumbling and whistling from time to time in his troubled sleep. The second night had been the worst. Lucas' fever had reached its absolute highlight. Dr Westphalen had already pumped the boy full of drugs but they hadn't yet showed any effect. The doctor had been afraid that Lucas might even die but had decided not to inform the Captain of this possibility. He was already sick with worry and this would have been the final blow for him. In that night they all – Captain Bridger, Dr Westphalen, Ben and Justine – had stayed with Lucas, praying silently, talking to the boy and cooling his hot body with cold wet cloths. But still Lucas had tossed and turned, even lashed out in his sleep, whistling shrilly with tears streaming down his cheeks. Then once he gave a bloodcurdling scream that shocked his friends deeply. But after that the antibiotics had finally begun to show effect and the fever had slowly gone down.
Since then they had been waiting for the boy to wake up. Which he should do any moment now as Dr Westphalen had said. But this hadn't been the case. Until now.
Bridger was still stroking the teenager's forehead and Ben had taken the boy's hand into his. Slowly he calmed down again until he was absolutely still. Ben was just getting ready to go and settled down in his chair again when he felt Lucas squeeze his hand. The Lieutenant jumped from shock.
"Captain..." he said and gestured into the boy's direction. The old man understood immediately and leaned closer to Lucas again.
"Kiddo? Come on, it's time to wake up!" he whispered in his ear.
Lucas' eyelids began to flutter and then slowly opened. His gaze was empty and dull. Bridger leaned even closer so that the boy was looking at him and gently stroked his cheek while Ben patted his hand.
"Hey, kiddo. How are you?" The Captain asked him.
Lucas looked at him for a moment, before he let his eyes wander over to Ben and then to the aqua tubes where Darwin had just shown up as if he had sensed that Lucas had woken up. Bridger saw how the teenager moved his lips but he make out the words.
"Excuse me, what did you say, Lucas?" he asked. "I couldn't hear you..."
Lucas turned his look back on the Captain; his eyes were so empty. He remained silent for a while, simply looking at the man next to him. Just when Ben thought that he wouldn't answer and was about to ask him something Lucas spoke up. He whispered only, his soft weak voice barely audible. But still the five words were enough to shock both men standing next to him to no end:
"Light is dark and one."
