The Meaning Of Eternity (TMOE #1)

Chapter 4: Luck of a Scourge

He could hear the bell tower ringing far away, but he had no idea how many times. No idea what time it was, or how long he'd been there, or whether he was dead or not. The only thing Lucius could discern in front of him was a familiar face.

"Lucius? Lucius!" Seth gently shook his shoulder. "What are you doing here? What is—"

His brother stopped talking, touching Lucius' blood covered leg and drew a trembling breath.

"Fuck," he whispered. "All—All right, look... We, uh... We're going to fix this, all right? Just hold on."

Holding on was hard. Just staying conscious was hard, and the next time Lucius opened his eyes he was already in a bed he couldn't recognize. The room was quiet, and Lucius squinted at his surroundings. His mind was a scary kind of numb and all the thoughts he felt like he should address were forced to the back of his head. What mattered to him most at the moment was the pain.

His face scrunched up as he sat up on his elbows and gazed down at his recent misfortune currently covered by a blanket. A scream entered his mind but he couldn't acknowledge it, instead he sat up on the edge of the bed and placed a foot on the cold floor. A trembling, almost tickling feeling ran through his body as he did, and he wanted to throw up again.

"Lucius!" Seth's voice broke through the numb barricade in Lucius' head, and he seemed to lose his ability to breathe as his brother rushed into the room.

"Uh..."

"Lucius, you should lie down," Seth said in what he probably thought was a calming voice but it came out in a way suggesting he would smack Lucius down on the pillow if he'd have to. Lucius didn't move though. He only stared at his brother, searching for a sign that he knew about what just happened.

"I'm sorry, I should have known this was what they were planning," Seth continued. "But I didn't—I couldn't believe they'd actually go through with something like that, and I'm... I'm sorry. They forced me out of the house by talking like... Ugh, just... I can't believe this."

In the midst of all the emotions or lack of thereof Lucius was relieved. So he hadn't gone home yet. Not that it would matter in a while when he did. There was no way Lucius could stay there. He had to go, regardless of pain or the weight of what happened in his chest. He just had no idea where.

A middle aged man Lucius didn't recognize suddenly entered the room, and Lucius flinched. He hoped dearly it was a man who worked there and not someone who was there to announce any bad news.

"Oh, good. You're awake." The man placed a candelabra on the table. Lucius hadn't quite grasped the sun was already on its way down. "Now, your brother could only fill me in on the probable cause of this... Incident. But I'd like to hear exactly what happened from you."

Seth made room as the man sat down on the edge of the bed, and Lucius' gaze darted between the two of them.

"Wha—Uh, what... Happened...?"

The man frowned.

"Yes, when you were... Cut. I'd like to know in case there's something else worth noting. Your life isn't in danger anymore, but we need to be careful."

Lucius nodded at a faster pace than he'd intended. It seemed as though this man was someone who worked there after all, which was fortunate. He also had to swallow the uncomfortable lump in his throat at the mention of the cut.

"It was... I dunno, they... Forced me down and I had to drink something..." He averted his gaze, and the doctor nodded.

"Yes, I assumed as much when I checked you." His nod turned into a shake of the head. "At least they had the decency to give you some kind of pain reliever. Anything else?"