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Nikolas wandered the dark streets
of San Antonio in a dazed stupor.
His mind replayed all of Stefan’s
excuses about his relationship with
Laura. “I thought he said
they were just friends. I thought it was
Stravros that loved her,”
He stumbled over the curb. Several people
stopped to stare at him as he staggered
by them. One man grabbed
Nikolas by the elbow, “Are you
okay son?” Nikolas shook his head and
pushed the man away. He turned
down an alley as the people continued on
their way. He sat on
the hard cement and leaned against a dumpster.
“I can’t believe this is happening
to me.” He leaned his head back and
greedily gulped large breaths of
air. He stood up, and shook his head.
“I have to get back to the hotel.”
He turned on his heel and headed
back towards the hotel.
Lucky and Emily looked up as the
door opened. Nikolas walked in,
slightly stunned. “Nikolas!!!”
Emily cried as she ran up to him and
hugged him. He patted her
on the back. “Thanks Em. Look guys, I’m
sorry I split. I just,
needed some air is all.” Lucky put his hand on
Nikolas’s shoulder. “We’re all
sorry man, we know about the diary.”
Nikolas looked Lucky in the face.
“Thanks, but it’s not everyday a guy
learns who his real father is.”
Lucky shuddered at the look on
Nikolas’s face. “I know.
I, I don’t know what to say man.” Nikolas
shrugged his shoulders. “There’s
not much to say in this type of
situation.” He looked at
his watch, “You know, I think I’m gonna go to
bed. I’m feeling kinda tired.”
The other teens nodded and separated to
their separate rooms. Emily
gave Lucky a quick kiss before they
parted. She walked into her
room, where Liz was sitting out on the
balcony. “Liz?” she asked
quietly, “Nikolas is back.” Liz hugged a
blanket around her shoulders, “I
know, I saw him in the lobby when I
was buying a magazine. He
looks really shocked.” Emily nodded and sat
down against the railings.
“He does. Can you imagine learning that
your uncle really isn’t your uncle,
but rather, your father?” Liz shook
her head, “I can’t imagine how
alone and awful he must feel. To have
both of your parents lie to you
for most of your life?” Emily snorted,
“It’s not so bad once you get used
to it.” Liz put her arm around
Emily, “So what do we do now?”
Emily leaned into Liz and rested her
head on her shoulder, “He thinks
we should skip the tour and head
straight to Vancouver on a charter
flight. Once we get there, we can
relax and just enjoy the freedom
and the peace.” Liz thought this plan
oer in her mind. “That sounds good
to me, I know that it’s only been
like three cities, but I’m sick
of the bus, I just wanna get some where
and stay there.” The two
girls sat in the darkness, each thinking her
own thoughts.
At around four in the morning, Nikolas
got up and went into the
bathroom. He stared at his
reflection in the mirror. His face looked
like a stranger’s, gray and foreign.
He slumped against the wall and
began to heave and cry. Suddenly
the door opened and Lucky walked into
the bathroom. He sat down
next to Nikolas and held him in his arms.
Nikolas relaxed as he clung to
his brother. The two sat together in
the tiny room until the sun came
up.
The four teens crowded around a
table at the motel restaurant. Emily
was pouring over the bus schedules,
while Liz counted the cash they had
on hand. Lucky had warned
them that making another withdrawal from
Nikolas’s account would make their
location traceable. Liz finished
counting the coins. “Well,
with all our money pooled together we have
about twenty five hundred.”
The other teens looked at each other.
“This is the classiest escape plan
I’ve ever carried off,” muttered
Lucky. Nikolas looked sheepish.
I guess I did bring a little much,
but how would I know. I didn’t
think we’d ever get this far.” Emily
nodded, “I don’t think I did either.
I expected my grandfather to have
the calvary out by now.”
She looked down at her hands, “Maybe no one
misses me at all anyway.”
Liz looked at her forlorn friend, “Are you
kidding?” she tried to brighten
the mood, “We’re so devious, they’re
just running around in circles
trying to find out where we are. We
definitely didn’t leave them anything
to work with.” Emily thought that
over in her head, “I suppose that’s
true,” she said giggling. “They
don’t have any idea why we left
or where we might be heading.” Liz
grinned at her, “I can just
see your grandfather trumpeting at his
entire staff who can’t find you.
Makes you feel sorry for them!” Emily
grinned back. “Almost, but not
quite.” Lucky pulled the bus schedule
from Emily, “I think we should
forget the bus schedules, and just go to
the airport and take a flight to
Sly’s. The sooner we get there the
sooner we can relax.” The
rest of the group nodded. “Now, that’s gonna
put a dent in our money, but I’m
thinking we should fly stand-by,
that’ll be harder to trace.”
Emily ran her hands through her hair, “I
agree. I just want to sleep
in a quiet place, not a noisy hotel, and be
somewhere where I can settle in.”
Lucky stood up, “Alright let’s go
pack, we can get over to the airport.
If their are any flights going
North, we’ll take them, we’ll just
move closer and closer to Vancouver
each time.” The girls stood
up and walked out to the lobby. Lucky
looked down at Nikolas who had
not moved from his spot. He sat staring
blankly out the window. Lucky
put his hand on Nikolas’s shoulder,
“Come on Nik, we’d better
go before those girls beat us down here.”
Nikolas looked up at him, “I’m
coming, just give me a minute.” Lucky
gave him a small squeeze to the
shoulders, “Nikolas? I’m, I’m really
glad you and Liz decided to come
along.” Then he turned on his heel and
walked towards the elevator.
Nikolas stared after him, a smile
creeping to his face.
Lucky arrived at the elevator just
as the doors were closing. Gritting
his teeth, he decided to take the
stairs. He pushed through the door.
And started up the stairs.
About two flights up, he sat down suddenly
and held his head in his hands.
Lights were flashing in front of his
eyes, and he felt shaky.
He took several deep breaths and waited for
the room to stop spinning.
He sat on the stairs for a few minutes. “I
have to find a pharmacy once we
get to Vancouver.” he muttered to
himself. He was sure a little
Neo Citran would get rid of this flu.
Liz and Emily browsed through the
airport gift shop lazily. Liz ran her
fingers across a display of sweatshirts.
She turned to Em, “That was
pure luck huh? Getting a flight
to Vancouver on standby?” Emily
shrugged her shoulders, “Well,
the lady said the flight wasn’t even half
full, so I guess we were worrying
for nothing.” She picked up a coffee
mug and stared at it. “Come
on, let’s go to the cafeteria, I’ve been
through this store three times.”
Liz giggled, “I know, me too! Yeah
let’s get out of here.” The
two girls linked arms and walked towards
the cafeteria, where Nikolas and
Lucky were sitting. The two boys
looked up as the girls sat down,
“Hey guys.” Lucky muttered. Liz looked
at her watch, “How much longer
do we have to wait?” Nikolas looked up
at the clock, “We have about
an hour till we should go check our tickets
and baggage.”
Lucky stood up and stretched, “I’m
going to go for a bit of a walk.
I’ll be back in half an hour.”
He strode off before anyone could say
another word. Nikolas looked
after him curiously, “Wonder where he’s
going?”
Lucky walked up and down the terminal.
Not one store sold Neo Citran.
“Damn it!” He muttered to himself.
He leaned against the railing as he
thought about what to do.
About two blocks over was supermarket, he
remembered. “I’ll just dash
over there and pick up a box.” He took the
escalator and headed out the doors.
A little while later, Lucky left
the store, box in hand. He
looked at his watch. He had about fifteen
minutes to get back. He decided
to run, he was already late. He
started to jog down the street.
Nikolas, Emily, and Liz stood at
the counter waiting in line to check
their baggage. Emily was
shifting nervously from foot to foot. “Where
is he? He said he would be
back like twenty minutes ago?” She began to
chew her bottom lip. Liz
comforted her, “I’m sure he just got caught up
in a line or something. He’ll
be here, I’m sure of it.” Nikolas
looked around him, suddenly
he caught sight of Lucky walking briskly
down the corridor, with his luggage.
“Lucky!” he shouted. Lucky
spotted them and came over.
“Sorry I was late guys, I got talking to a
friend of my father’s whose down
by the international departures.” Liz
and Nikolas smiled at him and turned
towards the counter, but Emily
raised her eyebrow, “Lucky are
you sure you feel okay? You look kinda
pale?” Lucky gave her a hug,
“It’s okay, I was just nervous that I had
missed you guys.” Emily gave
him a light kiss, “We wouldn’t have gone
without you.” Lucky pulled
her back into the hug. Emily’s smile faded
as she could feel Lucky trembling
slightly. She pulled back, and looked
at him in the face, “Nikolas
come here quick!” Nikolas ran over,
just in time to catch Lucky as
he collapsed.
Lucky opened his eyelids.
Fuzzy images slowly came into focus. Faces
looked down at him concerned and
anxious. He blinked and looked for a
familiar face. Nikolas sat
with Lucky in his arms, looking very
concerned. “Lucky? Can you
hear me?” Lucky struggled a little in Nik’s
arms. Emily held his hand
and looked at Nikolas worriedly. “Is he
alright?” Lucky sat up a
little, “I’m fine.” “What happened?” asked a
security guard. Lucky noticed
the small crowd gathering around them,
“Nothing, I guess I should
have grabbed something to eat this morning.
I’m just tired. Don’t sweat
it.” Nikolas helped him up, and steadied
him as Lucky stumbled a little.
Emily grabbed his hand, “Are you sure
you’re alright?” Lucky smiled
at her, “I’m sorry I scared you guys.
I’m fine really.” Liz gave
him a tight smile, “Just don’t do that
again!” Lucky smiled at her,
“Well, no promises. Come on, let’s get
on the plane.”
A few hours later, Emily settled
down in her seat next to Lucky. The
plane ride had been quiet so far,
the plane being only half filled with
people. Lucky sat in the
seat next to her, curled up in an airline
blanket. Even though it was
midmorning, he’d complained of being cold,
an immediately went to sleep.
She watched him breathe deeply, and was
slightly worried at how pale he
looked, despite constant hours under the
sun. She tucked the blanket
around his shoulders and walked over to
where Nikolas and Liz sat, talking
together. “Hey there.” Nikolas
smiled warmly at Emily as she sat
next to him, “How is he?” Emily
frowned at her hands, “He’s sleeping.
I dunno. Do you buy this “I
didn’t eat enough” story?”
Nikolas looked over at Liz, “Well, we were
just talking about that. I don’t
buy it myself. I know that he had some
coffee and a bagel this morning
before you guys joined us at the airport
cafe.” Liz studied him, “Yeah,
but have you noticed? He’s not eating
very much in general, he’s lost
a lot of weight.” Emily felt tears
coming to her eyes, “What
if he left the hospital to soon? What if,
what if he’d really sick.”
Nikolas frowned, “But why wouldn’t he tell
us?” Liz shook her head,
“Maybe he doesn’t trust us. Maybe he thinks
we’ll make him go home if he tells
us the truth.” She looked at the
window at the passing clouds, “Or
maybe he was telling the truth, maybe
we’re just reading into things
too much.” Emily shook her head, “I say,
when we get to Sly’s, we take him
to a walk in clinic. Just to be on
the safe side.” Nikolas nodded,
“That sounds like a wise idea.”
Satisfied, Emily leaned back in
the seat, and concentrated on the
movie. Nikolas too, leaned
back in his chair. He closed his eyes, but
all he could see was that journal.
He felt the rage burning inside him,
as he screamed in his mind for
the truth. He decided that Stefan could
no longer be trusted, and neither
could Laura. The farther away we
stay from Port Charles and those
monsters, the better, he thought to
himself.