| Chapter 74 Kevin sat in Brian's room, giving A.J. a much needed break. Brian had been asleep for hours, and Kevin had convinced A.J. that he could handle him for a while. Reluctantly the younger man had agreed, warning Kevin of Brian's behavior before he went to his room. Kevin didn't want to believe that Brian could act that way ... not his cousin. Brian was the nicest guy around, always putting others before himself, and even though he was fighting the withdrawal of the drug, he still couldn't believe Brian could do the things A.J. had said. He shook his head, no A.J. had to be mistaken. Kevin looked up as Marie and Howie came into the room. "Hey," he whispered, "What's up?" They both sat down. "We wanted to see how he was doing," Marie answered, staring at her husband. "Still resting .. he needs it though," Kevin smiled. Marie nodded her head, her eyes never leaving Brian's face. Howie nudged Kevin, "I think something's happened. There's a lot of activity in the control room, and Nick's been in there all morning." Kevin furrowed his eyebrows, "What do you think it is?" Howie shrugged, "I don't know. I was in the kitchen earlier, there's rumors of some kind of attack, but no one knows for sure." "That doesn't sound good," the older man said. Howie shook his head, "No it doesn't." Brian groaned, drawing their attention. Marie got up and moved to the edge of the bed, taking his hand, as he opened his eyes. She smiled at him, and Brian did his best to smile back at her, even though he didn't feel like it. He licked his lips, and took a deep breath, already the craving consuming him. "Where's A.J.?" he asked, his voice strained. "He's resting for a little while," Kevin answered. Brian looked at the three, disappointment filling his face. He needed A.J. there, he was the only one that really understood what he was going through. "He'll be back soon, honey," Marie soothed, seeing his disappointment. Brian nodded, doing his best to cover his shaking hands, as he sat up in the bed. Marie watched him with concern, seeing the beads of sweat appearing on his forehead, and his desperate attempt to act like nothing was wrong. Brian closed his eyes, biting his lip. The pain was excruciating, the craving so strong. Kevin came over and put his hand on Brian's shoulder, "Can we get you anything?" Brian looked up at him, like he'd lost his mind. "Yeah Kev, there is," he said flatly. "What?" his cousin asked, not catching the looks Brian was sending him. Brian rolled his eyes, his patience gone, "How bout some Krystal Kev? All of it you can find, that'd help a lot!" he screamed. "Brian," Kevin said sternly. "Don't Brian me!" he spat, "Just get out! You don't understand .... just leave!" Howie glanced at Kevin as Marie got up and backed away from the bed. "Brian, you're right, I don't know what you're going through, but that doesn't give you the right to act like an ass," Kevin said as calmly as he could. Brian gripped the sheets tightly, it seemed as if the walls were closing in on him. He had to get out of there. He frantically looked around the room, his breathing becoming erratic. "Brian, you need to calm down," Maire said gently. He gave her a hard glare, but held his tongue. She was the only thing between him and the door .... and he needed out, now! He pulled the blanket off him and quickly got to his feet, with one yank he pulled the IV out. "Brian, stop!" Kevin said, coming around the bed. Brian started to run for the door, but Marie refused to get out of the way. She grabbed him, trying her best to slow him down. "Let go!" he screamed, prying her hands off him and pushing her back. Marie stumbled and started to fall. Thankfully Howie got there and caught her before she hit the floor. Brian sprinted from the room and down the hall. "You OK?" Kevin asked. "Yes, go get him," she replied. Kevin gave her a nod and out the door he went in pursuit of his cousin. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick rubbed his temples. He didn't know how much more of this he could take. After the attack calls started coming in immediately. Rulers, Presidents, ruling councils of planets he'd never even heard of, all with dead and injured on Kholath, and all wanting to know what he was going to do about it. Nick looked up at the hologram before him. The man was yelling at him, threatening to pull his support from Celeste, and all but telling Nick he was inept. Nick sighed, "Mr. President, I understand your anger. I assure you I am doing everything in my power to catch those responsible. I have sent more aid to Kholath, and several of my warships are there providing protection." "Where was your protection this morning!?!" the man seethed, "You gave your word. You said Kholath was under your protection! Where was it?!" Nick flinched, knowing the man was right. He should have already had ships there. He'd been having those nightmare's for weeks, he should have done something sooner. Slowly a tear trailed down Nick's cheek, blending into the grief mark he had already adorned. "You're right, I should have already had ships there," he admitted, taking the man by surprise. "This attack could have been prevented, and it wasn't. I bare the responsibility for that. But I assure you, I will find who did this, and I will make them pay," he said. The older man studied Nick for a moment, his anger subsiding a little. "You do that your highness, because I'd hate to see what happens if you don't," he said, then disconnected. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian ran down the hall as fast as his legs would carry him. He wasn't sure just how he was outrunning Kevin, but he was thankful for it. He pushed a nurse out of his way and rounded a corner. Frantically he searched for the room he knew was on this hall. After spending so much time with Marie down here, he knew where the medicines where kept. He just had to find the right room. Ahhh, there it is! Brian skidded to a halt and ducked inside the room, quickly locking the door. He scanned the glass cabinets looking for what would ease his craving. A smile creased his lips as he found it. Now he just had to figure out how to get the cabinet open. Banging on the door caught his attention. He could hear Kevin, yelling on the other side for him to open the door. "Fat chance cuz," he muttered, trying to pry the doors open with his fingers. He whimpered as a wave of pain coursed through him. He had to get that drug now! Glancing around the room, he found nothing he could break the glass with. It was a room full of locked cabinets, nothing else. He looked back at the door as the banging grew louder. He knew the lock wouldn't hold much longer, as whoever was outside with Kevin was now trying to force their way in. Taking a deep breath, Brian clinched his fist and drew back. He hit the glass with every ounce of strength he had left. It shattered, sending shards of glass into his hand and arm, but he didn't care. Quickly he reached in and grabbed a vile of the precious blue liquid. He stared at it, his hands shaking. Suddenly nothing else existed but him and that vile. The pounding on the door faded, as he sank to the floor, suddenly feeling very weak. He winced as he pulled the cap from the vile with his bloody hand, then brought the container to his lips ............. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kevin looked at Cameron in horror as he heard the glass breaking inside the room. "We have to hurry," Cameron said, as he, Kevin and a few guards got ready to rush the door. "One, two, three..." Kevin said. The men rushed the door, the lock finally breaking. Kevin quickly scanned the room, finding Brian sitting in the floor lifting a vile to his lips. He ran over and swatted it out his hand, "No Brian!" Brian watched helplessly as the vile sailed across the room and shattered against the wall. He looked down, for the first time seeing his bloody hand. He was sitting in shards of glass, wanting nothing more than to end the pain he was in. Before anyone could help him up, Brian grabbed a large piece of glass, and thrust it out, "Get away from me!" Kevin stepped back, lifting his hands, "It's OK Brian, please put that down." Brian shook his head as he struggled to get up, glass crunching under his bare feet, "NO IT'S NOT OK!! I CAN'T TAKE THIS!!" he screamed, backing away from the men that were surrounding him. One of the guards drew his gun, aiming it at Brian. Brian saw this and held the broken glass to his own neck, "Don't! I swear if I see your finger move I'll cut myself!" The guard glanced at Cameron. The doctor motioned for him to put the weapon away, which he did. Brian had backed himself into a corner, no where to go. He frantically looked back and forth at each person, keeping them at bay, thrusting the sharp glass at them. "Brian, please put it down," Kevin said, "You don't have anywhere to go." Tears stung his eyes as he shook his head, "NO! Stay away from me Kev, I swear I'll hurt you!" "Brian?" a voice from across the room said. He looked over, seeing Marie and Howie come in, followed by Rowland and Ana. They joined the group surrounding him. "Honey, please, we're trying to help you," Marie said calmly. Brian stared at her, every muscle in his body was shaking with fatigue. He was getting light headed, and knew it was from the massive amount of blood dripping to the floor. Marie took a step forward, and Brian lashed out with the glass, barely missing her. "No! Get away from me!" he screamed, backing further into the corner. Ana glanced at Rowland and nodded, as Marie once again stepped closer, drawing Brian's attention. Rowland drew his weapon, watching to see if Brian noticed. He didn't. His attention was on his wife, and keeping her away from him. Again he slashed through the air with the glass, causing Marie to jump back or else get cut. Rowland took the opportunity and fired. Golden light filled the room and consumed Brian. His body stiffened for a moment, before he collapsed to the floor unconscious. Marie was the first one to him, gently rolling him over and inspecting his wounds. The glass shard he was holding was imbedded in his hand, a result of the involuntary muscle contraction. Cameron inspected his other arm. Several large pieces of glass protruded from it. His hand was the worse, open cuts and a deep cut along his wrist. The source of most of the blood. His feet were cut too, where he had walked across the glass strewn on the floor. "Lets get him into an exam room," Cameron ordered, as several of the guards picked Brian up and hurried out of the room. Ana pulled Marie into a hug, "Are you alright?" Marie shook her head, tears streaming down her face, "He ....he tried to hurt me," she cried. Ana rubbed her back, trying to sooth her, "I know honey, but you have to remember .... that wasn't Brian doing that. It was the drug. You know he would never hurt you, he loves you." Marie nodded against her friends shoulder, she knew that ...but still, the image of Brian coming at her with the broken glass gave her chills. "Come on, let's go see how he's doing," Ana urged. Marie stepped back and wiped the tears from her face. Ana gave her an encouraging smile, and wrapped her arm around her shoulders. Howie had stayed behind and took Marie's hand as they left the room. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Nickolas, come. There's nothing more you can do today," LaDonna urged, pulling at his hand. Nick sighed, letting her lead him from the control room. It was late evening, but it felt like years since that morning. He hadn't eaten all day, and was stressed beyond the max. Footage of the attack had reached the vid hours ago, and Nick had watched it over and over. His heart breaking each time. It was his fault those people were dead and injured. The foreign leaders he'd been talking to all day, made sure to let him know that. LaDonna squeezed his hand, "I know you are upset, my son. But what happened is not your fault." Nick shook his head as they walked down the hall, "How can it not be? I announced that Kholath was under my protection. I didn't have any ships there to back up my word. I should have acted on the dreams sooner instead of ignoring them. This IS my fault!" His mother shook her head, "This is Interstellar's fault, not yours. Whatever they are planning, or thought they could accomplish by this ..I don't know." "I think I'm getting an idea," Nick said, his voice tired, "Our entire side of the galaxy is blaming us for this. Every planet that once looked to us for stability, is now threatening us. They knew exactly what they were doing when they hit Nactibque. Every major planet had a population there. I think they're trying to turn the galaxy against us." "But what would they gain by doing so?" she asked. Nick thought, biting his lip. Suddenly he stopped, fear consuming his eyes. The painting in the cave flashing in his mind. "Oh God," he muttered. "What is it?" the queen asked, concerned. Nick looked at her, "I think they want to start a war." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cameron checked Brian's bandages and his restraints. He had managed to remove all the glass and close all the open wounds. He had sedated Brian after they got him into the exam room, not wanting him to wake up for a while. Now he was back in his bed, restraints on his arms and legs. Brian wasn't leaving his bed anytime soon. A.J. had come back down, and was quickly filled in on what happened. To say he was disappointed in his older brother, would be an understatement. And to say he was angry at Brian for trying to hurt Marie, well ........... you get the drift. Cameron cleared his throat, "I'm going to go check on some other patients. He'll be waking up soon, but do not under any circumstances undo his restraints, no matter how much he begs. We can't have another incident like we did today." Everyone nodded and he left the room, promising to come back in a little bit to check on him. A.J. brushed a stray hair from Marie's face, "Are you sure you're alright? He didn't cut you?" She smiled at his concern, "I'm fine, just got a little scratch that's all." A.J. looked at her arm, seeing the small scratch. "I know it's the addiction that made him do this, but I still wanna knock his brains out for doing that to you," A.J. said. Marie smiled, nodding, "I might let you this time," she said quietly. A.J. hugged her, "I know this has to be hard, but you know under normal circumstances he would never have done it. He'll hate himself when he wakes up and realizes just what he's done." "I know," she whispered. "Guys, he's waking up," Howie said. Everyone's attention went to the bed as Brian moaned. They all got up and stood around the bed, waiting for him to open his eyes. It took him a moment, but finally he was awake, staring at them. He looked confused, and as he tried to lift his arm, he realized he was tied to the bed. "Wh-what happened?" he asked, his voice cracking. "What do you remember?" Kevin asked. Brian glanced around the room, confused by some of the stares he was getting. It was a mixture of anger and disappointment. And then there was Marie. She was standing back from the others, hurt in her eyes. He looked back at Kevin, "I don't remember anything." His cousin sighed, looking away from him. Like he was ashamed of him or something. "Kevin, what did I do?" Brian asked, knowing it had to be bad. Kevin started to say something, when Marie interrupted him. "You forced your way out of the room and ran down to the supply room. You locked yourself in and busted into the cabinets. Kevin stopped you before you could drink any of the Krystal, but you grabbed some broken glass and tried to fight your way out again. I tried....um I tried to stop you and you turned on me," she choked out. Brian stared at her in horror, bits and pieces of what happened flashing in his mind. Tears rolled down his cheeks to the pillow below, "I'm so sorry ...Oh God, I didn't mean it ...I'm so sorry!" he sobbed. Marie looked away, letting her own tears fall. A.J. caught Kevin's attention and gestured for him to take Marie and the others and leave. Without a word, he did just that. Leading them all out into the hall and shutting the door behind him. "J, I didn't mean it," Brian cried, "I didn't mean it!" "I know Brian, and deep down so do they, but ...." he paused, "It's gonna take some time to get past it." "You're angry with me too," Brian sniffed. A.J. nodded. He couldn't lie now could he? "Yeah Rok I am. You could have really hurt her," he said. Brian closed his eyes and shook his head, "I didn't even know what I was doing. All I could see was that drug, and then all I wanted was to end the pain. God, J, what if I'd cut her?" A.J. clinched his jaw, trying to keep his calm, "You did Brian. It's just a scratch, but it could've been worse." Brian felt his heart sink into the pit of his stomach. He'd hurt his wife ...the one woman he vowed he would never hurt. He loved her more than life itself, and now he'd done the worst thing he could've done. He'd attacked the one person that trusted him completely. He'd broken that trust ... all for a drug. Brian looked away from the younger man, the weight of what he'd done hitting him hard. "Listen Rok, it was a mistake. Eventually everyone will move past it .. but we need to concentrate on getting you off this drug first," A.J. said. Brian shook his head, "I can't do it J. What if I get like that again and do something worse?" "That won't happen, because you aren't coming out of the restraints until you're over this," he answered. Brian looked over at him. "That's right bro," A.J. grinned, "You're stuck there until you're better." "But what if I gotta ..." Brian started. A.J. laughed, "That's what catheters are made for. Keeps things nice and neat," he chuckled. Now that A.J. mentioned it, Brian could feel the tube, and grimaced. A.J. patted him on the shoulder, "I know it ain't pretty, and it's not how you wanted to do this, but you're sticking to this. Ain't no backing out now, you've already come to far." Brian nodded, settling back in the bed as best he could. Moments passed in silence before he spoke, "J, do you think she will forgive me?" "I'm sure she will man, she loves you," he said, flipping on the vid, "Let's watch some TV, see if there's a game or ........" His words caught in his throat as the images of the attack filled the screen. Both men sat there stunned as the events played out. The news anchors read a statement from Nick, asking that the planet wear their grief marks in remembrance of those who lost their lives, and assured the planet that they would catch who was responsible. Both men looked at each other in shock. "I gotta get better J," Brian said, "Nick's gonna need us." Chapter 75 |