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Time seemed to move in slow motion.
Luke felt himself turn to the source
of the gunshot...... the office.....
Lucky was in there. He snapped back
to reality. Laura was next to him
hunched over screaming hysterically.
Luke could barely remember what
he was so mad at, all he could think of
was what had just happened in that
room.
"Lucky?"
He started slowly towards the door.
"Lucky!"
The room was silent except for Laura's sobbing. Luke started running.
"LUCKY!!"
His fists rapidly hit the door.
"LUCKY! OPEN THE DOOR! LUCKY! ANSWER
ME!.. IF YOU DON'T OPEN THIS G*D
DAMN DOOR NOW I'M BREAKING IT DOWN!!!"
Luke paused...... nothing.
Laura ran to the door and frantically tried to get in.
"Laura! Get away from the door!"
Laura could barely hear Luke, he
sounded like he was miles away..... The
world was spinning and she felt
ill.
"LAURA!!" Luke wrapped his arms
around her body, restraining her, and
physically dragged her out of the
way.
"You stay here, don't move, okay?"
The urgency in Luke's voice surprised
even himself. Laura didn't have
the will to fight him. She nodded her
head as she rocked back and forth
on the floor.
Luke ran back to the door.
"Lucky?! Lucky, I'm gonna break
down the door, stand clear!!!" Luke
prayed he'd be standing.
Luke could feel the adrenalin pumping
through his veins as he charged at
the door. The side of his body
slammed against the heavy oak sending it
flying back into the wall behind
it and knocking over a chair in the
process.
"LUCKY!"
Luke stepped into the office. The
room was hazy and smelled of
gunpowder. A small stream of smoke
floated up from behind the desk. It
was slow motion again...... He
could feel his feet moving. Luke glanced
down at his shirt, surprised not
to see it moving from the rapid beating
of his heart. One by one objects
began to disappear from Luke's vision
until all he saw when he rounded
the end of the desk was his son......
maybe not his blood son, but his
son. He looked like he was merely
sleeping. Luke knelt next to him,
relieved. He looked fine. Luke felt
moisture seeping up his pant legs
from his knees. He looked down for the
first time noticing the pool of
blood that surrounded Lucky Luke
struggled to speak, or scream,
release his emotion somehow, but
couldn't. He finally managed to
choke out a few words in a whisper.
"Oh my god....... oh my god, Lucky....."
Luke lifted Lucky's upper body into
his lap. He ran his hand over his
now matted hair. Luke's breath
caught in his throat as his fingers found
the entry wound of the bullet.
Tears slowly slid down his face.
"You know I didn't mean it right?
I mean, I get pissed off and I say
things I don't mean, you know that.......
Please don't go......"
"Luke?" Laura's voice trembled with
fear. She braced herself in the
door-frame. Luke wiped the tears
away from his face with the back of his
hand leaving a small streak of
blood on his right cheek. He took a deep
breath and cleared his throat.
He poked his head up to look at Laura.
"Laura call 911." The calmness in his voice was unconvincing.
Laura noticed the blood on his cheek
and let out a horrified gasp.
"No.....no.....my baby....." She
ran around the desk and went into
hysterics when she saw the scene
before her.
"Laura, get outta here!...... go
call the ambulance!" Luke was desperate
just to get her out of the room.
He lifted a bloody hand and waved for
her to leave. Laura rushed to her
son. Luke used his free arm to try and
hold her back, but she frantically
grasped for Lucky. Luke knew they
needed help fast, but he wasn't
about to leave Lucky, and Laura had lost
control.... His cellphone! He had
it in his pocket . Luke slowly laid
Lucky on the floor. As soon as
Luke put him down Laura swooped his limp
body up into her arms. Luke shakily
dialed 911 and explained the
situation. He flipped his phone
shut and watched Laura rocking Lucky.
There was so much blood........blood.
That was the reason for this whole
thing. What was the use in fighting
over whose Lucky is if he isn't
here?
"Hang in there......." Luke wasn't
sure if he was talking to Lucky or
himself.
************************************************************************
"Stefan, I don't believe this is
the most proper course of action......"
Alexis stared at the documents
in front of her disapprovingly.
"Alexis, you wanted to earn back
my trust, I'm giving you that
chance....... be grateful."
Alexis lowered her head and stared
at the floor. "I'm eternally
grateful....... It's just that
Lucky Spencer is but a boy...... isn't it
exceptionally cruel setting him
out as bait?"
"Cruel? To a Spencer?! They're vile
creatures like rats, and therefore
expendable."
Alexis stood and walked out of the
room. Stefan turned back to the
fireplace and sipped his port,
as a small smile played across his lips.
Luke watched the ambulance turn
the corner. The paramedics only allowed
one person in the ambulance with
Lucky, and Laura was in no condition to
drive.
"Besides, maybe they can give her
a sedative or something...." The more
he thought about it, the more the
hostility grew. If Laura hadn't been
keeping her damn secrets..... hell,
if she hadn't been boppin' good ole
Steffie in the first place, this
whole thing wouldn't have happened, and
he wouldn't be in his car following
his dying son.
The ambulance came to an abrupt
stop in front of the ER entrance. Luke
slammed on his brakes to keep from
rear-ending it. He hadn't realized in
all his anxiety that he had been
following the ambulance so close they
practically shared a bumper. Luke
threw the car into reverse, and
straddling two parking spaces,
put it in park. The doors to the
ambulance flew open and the paramedics
pulled Lucky's gurney out. Blood
soaked through the padding under
his head and onto the end of the
gurney. Luke swallowed the lump
that was rising in his throat.
"Come on hold it together......." He whispered to himself.
Laura stumbled out of the ambulance.
Anyone passing by might have
thought that the ambulance was
for her......... All the color in her
face had drained, and her eyes
were red and bloodshot. She shook with
each step. She looked like she
needed support to walk, but Luke was
damned if he was going to do it.
Laura lifted her hand to her mouth,
but stopped when she noticed the
thick red blood that covered it.
It was all she could do from throwing
up. There was so much blood........
Lucky had been through so much
already, but this was by far the
worst and Laura knew it. She thought
back to when the paramedics came
in. They were so amazed to find a
pulse....... They immediately gave
him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and
hooked him up to several machines.
Even though it was only minutes ago,
it felt like hours. Laura reached
out to Luke as he walked by. He
brushed right by her into the ER.
She bowed her head as sobs overcame
her body.
Luke watched through the doors of
the trauma room as the doctors and
nurses scurried around him.
"Luke?"
He turned and came face to face
with his sister. The confusion on
Bobbie's face soon turned to horror
as she noticed the blood on Luke.
"Oh my god! Luke what happened?! Are you hurt?"
Bobbie frantically searched him
for the source of the blood. Luke
watched sadly, and then reached
down and grabbed her wrists. She
stopped, looking up into his eyes.
He put his arm around her shoulder
and led her to the window. Tears
streamed down Bobbie's face as she
watched the doctors work on her
nephew.
"You take care of him Barbara Jean."
Luke turned and started to leave.
"Luke wait! Where are you going?!"
"I have someone I have to go.......visit."
************************************************************************
"Stefan I just got confirmation, Helena has received the information."
Stefan smirked evilly, as smile Alexis did not share.
"Very good, it won't be long now......"
"What makes us so sure Helena will
find it necessary to kill Lucky
Spencer?"
Stefan walked over to the beverage
cart and poured himself a glass of
water.
"Mother will not allow her family
name to be shamed by a bastard
child........ you should know that
better than
anyone................she'll come."
Alexis broke eye contact and stared
at the floor. She opened her mouth
to say something but was interrupted
by the ringing of a cellphone.
Stefan reached inside his coat
pocket and pulled out his phone.
"Yes.........and?........ Well,
that certainly is a turn of events. What
about Luke Spencer?..... I see........
Thank you."
Alexis stared at Stefan questioningly.
"It would appear that young Spencer has attempted suicide......."
Alexis' jaw nearly dropped to the
floor. She struggled for something to
say as Stefan continued.
"This may put a kink into our plans...
nothing serious, in the end it
should still have the same desired
effect....... in the meantime we
should be expecting Luke Spencer
anytime now."