Over the next five hours, Lucas's body tried to sleep away the aches and
pains that persisted. With
his fever
decreased somewhat, even in the Captain's relatively warmer room, he began to shiver again as the cold
crept into the room from the outside corridors. It would be another six or seven hours before they would
be any closer to docking at U.E.O. Headquarters.
Lucas had asked for another warm blanket and gratefully huddled within its warm folds as it was draped
over him on the bed. Sometime later, his body did an about face again and he was suddenly very hot
again. His forehead was sweating again and he kicked the blankets off in a vain attempt to cool down.
He managed to fall back in a restless sleep again for about an hour, but then found himself awake again
and shivering. He didn't know why his body was hot one minute and cold the next. Kristen had told him
that she thought he was getting better, but it didn't feel like it. His legs actually mercilessly and his chest
was hurting so bad that he had to swallow back the tears of pain to avoid directing attention to himself
again.
One the second occasion of waking up, his mouth was very dry. He needed a drink of water and maybe
he could persuade Kristen to give him an aspirin as well for the pounding headache he had. He opened
his eyes slowly, but was surprised to see the chair beside him empty. He wondered where everybody
was and suddenly remembered about everybody being sick before. His heart began to race as he considered
the possibility that some of them had become sick again. He told himself that he had to put his own body
aside again for the time being and see where everybody was. Maybe while he was up he could get that drink
of water.
He shook his head and tried to force the fog of sleep from his brain. He sat up and tried to stretch his sore
and stiff muscles enough to get them moving in the cold. With the blankets thrown off him, his skin quickly
took on a goose flesh appearance and he quickly wrapped his arms around his chest in an attempt to ward
off the cold air.
He swung his legs over the edge of the bed for a second time, but was mindful of what had happened last time
he had gotten off the bed. He wanted to avoid an embarrassing situation like that again and waited an extra
few minutes before gingerly getting off the bed and standing on the floor. During that extra time, all sorts of
bad ideas plagued his mind about what may have happened to the others. This only seemed to spur him on
even more to find everybody and check that they were okay. When he had been sick in the past, Kristen
or Bridger or Ben had always been there in his time of need, sometimes they did it in teams. The fact that
he had woken up whilst sick without somebody watching over him only heightened his concern.
He had taken about five small steps towards the door when he stopped briefly to gauge his body's efforts.
So far he hadn't tumbled to the floor in an untidy heap. His chest burned quite a lot but that was almost a
given at the moment. His chest felt so tight and congested that it wasn't funny. He took the additional
five steps that were needed to get to the door to the Captain's quarters and opened the metal door.
He yelped a little as the cold air from the corridor rushed into the room and lapped at his unclad ankles and
feet. In his haste he had forgotten all about putting on any footwear but he didn't think he had the extra strength
to go back and get them. His body was already protesting about being out in the cold again. He told himself
he just had to make sure that the crew were okay and then he could get his drink of water and get back to bed.
No problem.
He had to force his foggy brain to remember which way to turn to head to the Bridge. He thanked the Gods
when he looked up and saw one of those numerous and stupid signs giving him an arrow in either direction and
a choice of the Science Labs or the Bridge. He didn't want to use the internal rail for fear that the cold might
have affected the small narrow tracks.
For the first ten metres or so the corridor was deserted. Lucas walked along the left hand side of the corridor,
almost touching the wall. His steps were slow and deliberate. He had felt pretty much okay coming out of the
Captain's quarters. But now with the motion and the coldness sinking into his bones, his conserved energy level
was quickly waning again and he had paused once already before continuing on his way to the Bridge.
Captain Bridger and the others were in fact on the Bridge Lucas made his way along the corridor. Commander
Ford had informed the Captain that he was having trouble interrogating the people from the rogue sub and the
men inside were very un-cooperative. Bridger was reluctant to leave the sick teenager alone but agreed to help
out briefly enough and then return to his bedside vigil. Kristen was still walking around each of the crew members
on the Bridger making sure that all of their food poisoning symptoms were disappearing quickly enough. Bridger
was only supposed to be gone a few minutes. Neither he or anybody else would have thought that the slumbering
teenager would have awoken again before his return. Bridger finally gave up the interrogation of the submarine
and told Ford that the proper people would be waiting at the docks at Pearl Harbour when they arrived to take
them away and have them formally interviewed and charged with various criminal acts. He told Commander Ford
that he had the Bridge again and then he began to walk off towards his own quarters.
He had only made a few steps himself when he was shocked to see Lucas stumbling along the corridor just a few
yards in front of him. He gasped out loud and shouted back to Lucas and called for Kristen to come. Kristen
immediately came up behind him and could scarcely believe it either when she saw the obviously than well teenager
in the cold corridor.
By this time, Lucas's progress had come to a complete standstill. Not from lack of determination and grit. But more
from the dizziness that had started to turn his legs to jelly. He could barely hold himself up right and his head was
pounding dreadfully from the headache he had. He could hear Bridger's voice calling out his name but it seemed to
be coming from too far away for him to tell where the Captain was.
Bridger was immediately by his side trying to say something to him. Lucas couldn't seem to put the words in the
correct order. Kristen was also there, berating him and asking him what did he think he was doing out of bed.
Her harsh words were soon forgotten though as Lucas could no longer feel his legs beneath him and he sunk to
his knees on the mesh floor. Bridger had a hold of his right arm and Kristen was attempting to look into his
face and ask his questions. He looked up at her. He could see her lips working but he couldn't work out what
she was saying. There was a strange sound in his ears. Probably from his headache but it made it impossible to
hear anything they were saying to him and it was getting steadily louder.
Lucas put his hands to the sides of his head and groaned out loud while trying to massage the pain away to a tolerable
level. It was now that Kristen and Bridger lifted him into a standing position and half-walked, half-carried him back
to the Captain's quarters.
When they arrived back there, they laid him back on the bed and recovered him with the warm blankets in an attempt
to stem the uncontrollable shivering in his body. He opened his eyes and started to use his voice. He couldn't hear
it himself but hoped they worked out what he wanted. Water he whispered in a barely audible voice. He then felt
a cup against his lips and gratefully drank the contents to try and sooth his raw throat. When his throat felt better
he tried to tell them why he was in the corridor. Nobody here when woke up. Though something had happened
to you all he said in a sleep heavy voice. He was lying on his side with the blankets tightened around him. The
warmth they offered was too much to resist and he sank into them even more and his heavy eyelids began closing
again.
"You darling fool boy" Kristen said as she gently kissed his forehead and watched him fall back asleep. She
could feel the heat from his temperature again and caringly bathed his forehead in the cool water. Although the
temperature had reignited, it didn't feel as hot as it had done earlier. It was just his body's way of coping with
the illness. The coughing fits were leaving him breathless and the temperature was leaving him drained of all
excess energy. He would probably need a great deal of healing sleep over the next week or so before he could
be completely deemed fit enough.
"Is he going to be alright?" Bridger asked as he watched Kristen's administrations.
"Yes, but with only a few hours until we dock, hopefully he will sleep through most of it and we won't have to
wake him until we are ready to walk off. I think you and I can attend to packing what few possessions he will
need during shore leave. When he dock, we will hail the nearest transport and take him straight to see my
Chest Specialist friend. We can book into a hotel once we are finished at the hospital and let him recuperate
some more before we take him back to the island for his break." Kristen said. "My friend is the best in his
field. He will check Lucas over very carefully and prescribe the right medication for him."
Bridger nodded his approval of Kristen's ability to think way ahead of anybody else. She obviously had everything
about Lucas's care worked out in her head and by the sound of things, he didn't need to do anything except be
there for Lucas.
For the next six hours, sleep is just what Lucas did. Bridger made sure that the boy wasn't left along again to
go wandering around the ship again. If he left the room briefly, even for a cup of coffee to stop nodding off, he
made sure that one of the other crew members was watching over Lucas while he was gone.
As Commander Ford relayed to Bridger and Kristen that they were nearing the docks, Bridger never thought
that he'd be so happy to say they were leaving the SeaQuest. All he wanted to do was get Lucas checked over
by the doctor and then get settled in a hotel. Kristen had already made the necessary calls before they reached
the harbour. She had booked them a suite just a short distance from the hospital and then arranged for her
specialist friend to be ready and waiting when they brought Lucas in.
Thankfully the corridors were now somewhat warmer. The life support system had come back to life again about
40 nautical miles out of the harbour and the corridors had slowly and gently been returned to a more acceptable
temperature. The crew would be thankful to get out of their bulky and cumbersome winter layers and into some
more comfortable attire.
Bridger had reluctantly gone about waking Lucas as they docked and helped a very groggy and sleepy teenager
get into some comfortable jeans and a normal t-shirt. The kid had tried to be as helpful as possible, but his eyelids
kept drifting closed. After about ten minutes, the kid was a little more awake and was capable of putting his
sneakers on before standing up. He immediately swayed as a result of getting up too quick, but Bridger made sure
that he had a hold on him. They waited until Lucas felt a little better and started walking out towards the launch
bay. By the time they got to the exit, Lucas was feeling pretty more alert and he told Bridger that he could manage
to walk on his own without any assistance. Bridger wanted to believe the kid and not crowd him like a invalid, but
he made sure that he and Kristen were only a few steps in front of him should he falter.
Lucas paused a little and was greeted by bright afternoon sunshine as he stepped on the boat. He had lost track
of time a little and had to get his bearings before he started off down the jetty. He looked over to his left and
could see that Commander Ford and a number of U.E.O. Security Police were busy taking the three submarine
crew members into custody.
William Murphy made sure that he had stalled enough with the police to get a good look at where the teenager
was standing. He saw the teenager start to walk down the jetty towards a transport. The end of the jetty
was about 30 metres away. Murphy could see that Bridger and the woman were a little bit ahead of the kid.
The kid was walking all on his own. He had to grab the opportunity while it existed.
The police started to walk along side the crew members, caging them in together from both sides and from
behind. There was nobody in front of them however and Murphy had a clear unobstructed view of the
less than well teenager as he walked along. Murphy could see that the kid was a little unsteady on his feet
and he had noted the pale pallor as the kid exited the boat. Murphy's hands were handcuffed in front of
him. But he had enough manoeuvrability to hide the small black dot between the fingers of his left hand.
Murphy quickly glanced at the guard either side of him just to check on where they were. He had already
relayed his plan to the two men and they were to remain silent for the time being. Murphy decided it was
time to put his plan into action.
Everybody was stunned with Murphy suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and started shouting at Lucas
in front of him. Lucas heard the man yelling and now stopped his progress and turned around to see what
all of the racket was. He really didn't care anyway, his head was still aching. All he wanted was an aspirin
and a nice soft pillow to lie on.
"YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS, YOU LITTLE BASTARD" Murphy yelled as he shook his
handcuffed fists at the teenager. Lucas just continued to stare back at him in confusion as the man went on
with his tirade of words.
"I"LL GET YOU FOR THIS" Murphy added and before anybody could react, he started to run at full
speed towards the teenager. Lucas's mind was too quick to act and recognize that the man was running
at him like a crazed lunatic. Suddenly Lucas felt himself propelled backwards onto the hardwood of
the jetty as Murphy barrelled into him. The scream of fright he gave soon alerted Bridger and Kristen
in front of him that something was wrong. Neither of them could prevent the large man knocking the
teenager to the ground apparently trying to assault Lucas even though he was handcuffed.
Almost immediately Murphy was being yanked back off the teenager. Bridger looked ready to punch the
guy out and was demanding to know why the guards weren't keeping a closer eyes on him.
The whole exercise was a ploy and had served it's purpose for the time being. While nobody else was
looking, he had been able to secretly slip the small tracker into the boy's pocket on the front of his jeans.
The boy himself didn't even notice the device being planted on him.
Murphy was being roughly hauled to the transport vehicles now by the guards as Bridger and Kristen knelt
beside Lucas. The kid was awake and seemed to be trying to get his breath back.
"Are you okay Lucas?" Bridger asked worriedly.
"Compared to what?" Lucas answered back in cheek "If your asking do a feel like a squished pizza then you'd
be about right" he added as he tried to take another breath and winced at the pain that resulted. Although he
had landed on his back, the guy had been rather large and his full weight on Lucas's already congested chest
hadn't done him any favours.
"Try and take nice slowly deep breaths Lucas" Kristen instructed as she saw the pain on the boy's face. She
carefully felt around his chest, looking for any signs of injury but was satisfied that there would probably only be
a few minor bruises. Her diagnosis to Lucas only brought a scowl to the teenager's face who testified in vain
that he had been run over by a runaway herd of wild buffalo.
Lucas was helped to his feet and Bridger and Kristen walked slowly beside him to their waiting car as Lucas
tried to breath normally again. Lucas climbed into the middle seat of the U.E.O. transport that awaited while
Kristen and Bridger said either side of him.
Ben drove the transport and told the Captain that he and Ortiz and O'Neill would complete the accommodation
arrangements and register at the hotel ready for them to return from the hospital. Lucas had sat in the seat and
leaned his head back against the seats for the journey to the hospital. After a short drive, Ben drove into a
semi-circular driveway outside a large white building.
Lucas got out with Kristen and his Dad but felt somewhat apprehensive about entering the place. The stark colour
white and the sheer size of the building made him nervous enough to have second thoughts about seeing any doctor.
Kristen wasn't having any of his qualms though and bid Ben and the other men goodbye and promised that they
would make it to the hotel as soon as possible. Ben and the others drove off whilst Kristen and Bridger started
to push a reluctant teenager through the automatic glass doors of the out patients clinic.
Bridger guided Lucas to a row of chairs along a wall while Kristen went up to the counter and enquired about
her doctor friend. The place was very busy and very noisy. Lucas just wanted to get out of there. Bridger
put a comforting arm around his shoulder and told him that they could leave as soon as they checked out that
they were okay. After about a twenty minute wait, Kristen walked over to Lucas and told him that her friend
would be down to see him in a minute.
After another twenty minute wait, Lucas was introduced to a doctor that looked more like Tom Selleck than a
Chest Specialist. Lucas and his family were guided into a private examining room with various bits of electronic
equipment.
"I'm just going to check you over Lucas, and then we'll be able to tell you what wrong" the man said. Lucas
looked at the man's hospital identification which read "John Kavanagh" The doctor could see his patient's
nervousness and Kristen had filled him in a little on Lucas's medical background. He knew that the boy would
feel uncomfortable in the company of strangers, so he would try and make friends with the boy and make things
a whole lot easier. He could see that the presence of the grey-haired man known as Bridger also helped the
teenager to relax.
For the next half and hour, Lucas felt like he was given every medical test known to man kind. They took a sample
of his blood where he had almost thrown up all over the doctor. They had taken innumerable x-rays of his chest.
This left his chest feeling even worst due to the heavy lead-lined apron he had been forced to wear during the
procedure. The man had poked and prodded his ribs, his chest, his abdomen. Lucas had given the man a few
glares as his hands had started to drift a little too south for his liking. The doctor took the hint and started the rest
of his probing a little higher.
At the end of it all, Lucas was beginning to tire again. He had very sore bloodshot eyes and his head was still
hurting him terribly. The doctor had promised to give him some relief from the aches and pains before they
left.
Lucas sat on a long couch just inside the door while the Dr Kavanagh relayed his findings to Kristen and Bridger.
"His chest is very congested Kristen" Kavanagh explained. "I am going to put him on a heavy routine of antibiotics
as well as some pain killers for his aches and pains. You should try and keep him in bed at least for the next
week while his chest is still so tender. Hopefully within two days the medicine will start to loosen up some of that
phlegm on his lungs and allow him to breath a little easier. Try and keep the area around him quiet so that he can
sleep as much as possible. He has a mild temperature but I think that will fade when his chest begins to loosen
up. Try and get him to drink as much liquid as he can. He might not feel like eating very much due to the antibiotics
I'm afraid, they tend to have an appetite suppressing effect on most patients. But do try and get him to drink,
water at first and then some fruit juice as he starts to improve." Bridger and Kristen all took careful mental notes
of what was being said.
"I'll make an appointment to see him in three or four days before you take him home just to see that he is genuinely
starting to improve" the doctor added. "Is there anything else you need Kristen?"
"No thanks John" Kristen said as she rose and shook the man's outstretched hand. "Thank you for seeing him
so quickly. I know you have a busy schedule of your own."
"Pleasure's all mine. He looks to be a nice young man. You just take care of him now until my next visit" Kavanagh
said.
"Ready to go Lucas" Bridger said gently as he said down beside a very tired and pale looking teenager.
Lucas made his eyes open a crack and then concentrated on what was just said to him. "You bet" he said
and tried to stand up all at once with all the confidence he could muster. Luckily Bridger was there to grab
a strong hold on him before he fell on his face. They all chuckled slightly at the boy's antics and bid each
other goodbye.
Bridger and Kristen gathered Lucas and all the medication they needed and headed for the first cab available
outside to take them to the hotel. Lucas was almost asleep already as the car drove to their destination, but
he would need to take a dose of his new antibiotics before they could allow him to drift off permanently for the
night.
Back at U.E.O. headquarters, William Murphy and his crew had been hauled into the security wing, ready to
begin their stint in the lock up before being interrogated for their actions. With the guards relaxing slightly as
they arrived, the opportunity arose again to Murphy's advantage and he took it again.
The guards had been too busy saying hello to their respective buddies as they entered the building to notice
the crew members ready themselves for their little stunt. Without warning, Murphy's two sidekicks tackled
the two guards beside them, allowing Murphy to start running towards the front door without being hampered.
The guards had yelled out in surprise as they were tackled. They had seen the man tackle the boy out at the
jetty, but had little reason to think that they would too be on the receiving end of such a stunt this time.
Two of the security officers at the counter had tried to jump over the front counter and go after Murphy, but
they had been too slow and Murphy was no where to be seen by the time they reached the front of the
security wing.
The four guards got together and started to discuss what should be done about the escape attempt. The whole
four of them were more worried about their respective jobs rather than the escape of one lone prisoner.
"Let's just put the word out amongst ourselves to start out with and see if we can't pick him up again before
anybody finds out from up above" one of them suggested. They all agreed that it sounded a good idea at the time.
None of them wanted to own up to the mistake and see their ass wrung out because of a little slip up. They would
find him again before things got too much out of control.
Murphy had enough contacts in the city so that when he made his escape attempt he had somewhere to hold up
with until the heat cooled off. Once off U.E.O. property he had been able to remove the hand-cuffs with the
help of a spare set of illegal keys and now held up in a one room flat only a few miles away from the U.E.O.
base trying to figure out his next move.
He pulled out a little black box and lengthened the antenna on it. He then proceeded to press a small red
button at the top of the small device and was happy to see the red light flash on and off telling him that the
tracker was doing it's job. All he had to do now was work out the rest of his plan and follow the trail
left behind to find the kid. Once he had the kid, he would contact Bridger and the U.E.O. and make them
listen to his demands.
At the hotel Kristen had pre-booked about 10 miles from Murphy, Ben Krieg greeted the weary travellers
as they pulled up outside in the cab. Bridger helped a very sleepy Lucas out of the vehicle while Kristen
paid the driver and Ben grabbed the small amount of luggage from the boot of the car.
The suite they had paid for was about two levels off the ground. They entered the lift and guided Lucas to
Room 167. Tim O'Neill opened the door and let them enter. Bridger and Kristen didn't stop until
they reached one of the single rooms inside.
Kristen had gently shaken Lucas a little more awake and told him to take a shower and she would leave
a dose of medicine and a glass of water on the bedside table. Once he was showered and changed he would
feel a lot better. Kristen told him she would organize a light meal for him from room service while he took his
shower. Lucas reluctantly agreed that a nice hot shower sounded good and might actually help some of his
sore and stiff muscles relax. Kristen and Bridger left him to go about his shower on his own while they
went into the main living area of the suite to check out their accommodations.
While Lucas was showering, Kristen told O'Neill, Krieg and Ortiz about what instructions the doctor had
given about Lucas's recovery. She told them about keeping the noise to a minimum and ensuring that Lucas
drank plenty of fluids. All of them agreed to do what they could for the sick teenager. They all wanted to
be there for him like he had been for them a few days ago.
The room service arrived and O'Neill and Krieg had already started eating their meals when Bridger started
to worry about Lucas's time in the shower. Bridger got up from the table were they were all seated and knocked
gently on the bedroom door, asking Lucas if he was okay. He couldn't hear the shower running anymore and
the room appeared to be silent on the other side. He threw caution to the wind and gently pried the door open
just enough to look inside.
His heart melted at the sight before him and he motioned for the others to see what the teenager was doing as he
chuckled to himself. The others were a little curious about the Captain's laughter and walked over to the room.
Bridger put his fingers to his lips in a shushing motion as they approached but then allowed them all to look inside
the room.
Laying sprawled on the bed, with his fresh clothes on and sound asleep on his back on the bed was Lucas. He
seemed to have been in the middle of putting shirt while sitting on the bed when he had just simply fallen backwards
and fallen asleep where he lay. Bridger assumed that the kid was probably asleep before he fell back on to the bed.
He had seen the tiredness and fatigue in the boy's features when they had left the hospital.
Kristen walked over to the bedside table quietly and was happy to see that the kid had swallowed the two tablets
left for him and drained the cup of water with it. She gently brushed some of the hair out of his eyes and then
helped Bridger lift his legs all the way onto the bed and cover him up with a quilt from the cupboard.
He would probably sleep most of the night without being disturbed they assumed and gently reclosed the door
and let the tired boy sleep.
Kristen and the others had an enjoyable meal but then all admitted to needing a good night's sleep. They all
were in bed and asleep before nine o'clock that night. Bridger had checked on Lucas twice before retiring, but
found him sleeping soundly enough on both occasions.
He and Kristen were sharing a double room. Ben had a room on his own with a single bed. Tim and Miguel were
sharing a room with single beds as well.
Approximately 12 midnight that night, a shadowy figure emerged underneath the windows of the hotel where the
crew were staying. In his hand he held the small box for receiving the tracking signal. He was dressed in dark
clothes and for the most went about undetected by anybody. He used the hotel's rear fire escape to climb to
the second level and break a window into a room about three doors away from where Lucas was staying.
He turned on the light in the bathroom and started filling the small waste paper bin inside with papers and toilet
rolls. He spread the contents of the bin on the double bed in the room and then made sure the front door was
locked. Before exiting through the same window he put a lighter to the mound of paper on the bed and watched
it smoulder for a few minutes before bursting into flame and quickly engulf the bed and linen. It wouldn't be
long before the smoke alarms in the building would be activated and people would notice the flames coming out
from the door in the corridor. The whole thing was supposed to be a diversion. He crept up to one of the rear
windows where the signal was coming from and peered inside to see if there was any movement. There didn't
seem to be any at first. He would just bide his time and wait until they left to enter the suite.
Murphy didn't have to wait a terrible long time. Less than ten minutes later, someone was banging heavily on
the front door to the crew's suite screaming that there was a fire in the hotel. Bridger and the others, except
Lucas seemed to be awoken by the screaming and shouting. They all raced to the front door and then gazed
down the corridor to see smoke billowing out from underneath the door. Kristen raced back into the room
and started dialling for the fire brigade.
Bridger, Miguel, Ben and Kristen then ran down the corridor towards the burning room to try and get the hallway
fire extinguisher working. The fire hadn't spread too quickly yet and maybe they could douse the fire and prevent
it spreading any further in the building and contain the fire to one room only.
Tim O'Neill was left in charge of looking after Lucas in case he woke to the noise. Tim had checked on the
teenager at first and found him undisturbed, but his curiosity got the better of him and he now stood at the doorway
to the suite watching the commotion down the corridor.
Murphy could see O'Neill standing in the doorway and noted his attention was currently distracted. There probably
wasn't going to be another opportunity to get to the kid with them all out of the room. He was hoping that they would
all just race out and leave the kid on his own. Slowly he cut a small hole beside the lock on the glass sliding door
and silently slid the door open. He left the door open as this would be his way of escape once he had his hostage.
From where he stood in the room, Murphy made sure that he kept in the shadows and the darkness of the room
and crept up to the already opened doorway to the kid's room. He quickly went inside and closed the door about
halfway, just enough to mask his actions should anyway glance back towards the room.
Upon entering the room he could see that the teenager seemed deeply asleep. He had even tapped the boy's
uncovered toe and only gotten a muffled response. It didn't look like the kid was going to wake up in a hurry,
but he wanted to make sure everything ran smoothly and according to plan. He had underestimated things with
this kid before and wasn't prepared to take that risk again.
The man pulled a small white cloth out of his pocket and now walked towards the head of the bed. He held the
cloth away from his own face but started to descend the drug soaked rag towards the boy's sleeping face. The
fumes must have been a little more pungent than he first expected. Just as he held the rag just above his face,
the boy's eyes opened to something that had disturbed him. His foggy brain told him that somebody was standing
over him. His vision was somewhat hazy but something told him that it wasn't Bridger or any of other others.
Murphy could see the boy was bout to let go a scream for help when he clamped the cloth hard over the boy's
mouth and nose. The boy's arms came up from the bed and were trying desperately to get the cloth away from
his face to yell for help. With his free hand, Murphy tried to restrain the kid as best he could whilst waiting for
the chloroform to do it's job. With his chest being so sore, Lucas was trying to draw in enough breath through
his starved lungs. They only thing he could smell at the moment was the pungent odour of the fumes invading his
senses and beginning to made his mind swim in the fog that was descending upon him.
He tried desperately to get free but he didn't have the strength or the energy to put up much of a fight. Within a
few more seconds, the boy's limp hands fell back onto the bed. Murphy kept the cloth in face for as long as
he dared just to make sure the kid was out. He lifted the cloth of the boy's face and the boy's head lolled
to one side, signalling that he was unconscious.
The only problem facing Murphy now was getting the kid out without being detected…………………………
ALMOST FINISHED - PROBABLY ONLY ONE MORE POST AND IT'S ALL OVER FOR THIS STORY.
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