Vengeance In His Veins

Chapter 7: Upcoming Vengeance

Lucas spent an unrecognizable amount of time passing in and out of consciousness, although he was recovering, the recovery was a bit slow.

At first he couldn't really tell reality from dreams and it felt to him like he was dying or going mad but now he could tell.

He heard the doctor talk about his injuries to Kenji once in a while, it seemed his face had suffered irrecoverable damage and so had his arms.

The doctor mentioned something about him also having a delirious mental state. He claimed he couldn't really run scans due to the lack of equipment but he can tell something is wrong with him mentally.

Lucas wondered what was wrong, he felt whole, except slipping in and out of consciousness which was proper due to the situation he was in.

He didn't pay the doctor's verdict any heed, not like he could if he tried anyways, his brain felt tired every single moment so he could hardly think.

After about three weeks he began to feel a bit better. He could now sit up on the bed and soon enough, he started to get a better and healthier perception of his environment.

He could see the amount of wires plugged to his own body, and that alone scared him. He hadn't realized his condition was that critical.

His entire body was covered with bandages and he’d started to feel pain again.

Most of the pain he felt came from his face but he couldn't focus on it, not with Kenji, reading him stories like he was a child and then proceeding to force feed him vegetables and different soups.

By the sixth week of his recovery he began to eat himself and was strong enough to push Kenji off anytime he tried forcing him. Soon enough the time came for them to talk.

"What happened?” Lucas asked, his voice a little clearer, carrying a bit more power than it used to. “Did anyone else survive?”

Kenji didn’t look up at first. He continued flipping the pages of a novel he’d started to read, his brow furrowed in concentration.

Then, with a heavy sigh, he closed the book and leaned forward.

“I killed most of the assassins,” he said quietly. “The explosion drew me to where you were. I found you barely alive and managed to drag you out of the wreckage.”

"And I assume you couldn't find anyone else in the family?” Lucas questioned.

“No. Not even the maids survived. Everyone died!” Kenji replied sharply.

Lucas nodded. The crux of the matter had already seeped into him while he was still weak and he’d accepted the terms for longer, so hearing it now didn't really weigh him down but it did make him depressed.

He didn't feel the usual vigor he felt the last few weeks.

The want to do anything was absent from his mind.

Kenji continued, his voice steady despite the gravity of his words. “I escaped with your dad’s car and ditched it a few miles away. It was the only way to make sure they wouldn’t track us.”

Lucas swallowed hard, his mind spinning. “So, what now?

The assassins... are they still looking for me?”

Kenji stood up, walking over to the bed, and tossed a newspaper onto Lucas’s lap. “Not anymore.”

Lucas picked it up and glanced at the words on it. They read.."Entire Family Dies in Mafia Attack."

The article went on to explain that Viktor Drago, the leader of a notorious Mafia gang, had been blamed for the attack and was now in custody.

It described the massacre in detail, how Lucas’ father, his sisters, and several others had been killed in the house. And then, his eyes caught the part about him.

“They think I’m dead,” Lucas muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.

Kenji nodded. “The explosion... they found your DNA in the wreckage. They think you were blown apart trying to escape.”

Lucas stared at the paper, the words blurring in front of him.

"Wayward son, Lucas Abnett, dead!” The article painted him as the black sheep of the family, the one who tried to run when everything went down.

He wasn't surprised and nor did he want the story to paint him in a better light. Weeks of semi consciousness had brought him to terms with his own failure.

He was the cause of it all, he let that woman into his father’s yard and his entire family suffered the consequences.

“Sophia,” he muttered under his breath.

“You’ve been out for four months?” Kenji said, breaking the silence. “I spent that time faking your death.

It wasn’t easy, but it was the only way to keep you safe. If they thought you were dead, they wouldn’t come after you anymore.”

Lucas glanced at him. “Was that really necessary,” he sighed, still wondering if he would prefer to be dead to the world.

Kenji’s face hardened. “With a mafia gang involved, it's the only decision I could think of,” he said with a sigh.

"And I believe someone betrayed us, apart from that girl who got close to you to get me out of the picture, it seemed someone else was running points.”

Lucas sighed. “Guess I was always going to be the one to doom my family, I just never thought I would be the one directly responsible for their massacre. Why am I even alive, what for? Is the universe trying to…”

"The universe has nothing to do with this,” Kenji said, his voice clear and succinct. “If you felt your choices played a part in your family's death, good. The question is simple, you are alive, what are you going to do with that?”

"You tell me. What am I supposed to do?!” He yelled.

Kenji met his gaze, his expression serious. “That’s up to you. I need an answer in two days, Lucas. Whatever you decide, it will be the core of what comes next.”

"I know what I want,” Lucas said with a smile. He already made up his mind, even before he was well enough. “What I want is vengeance!”