Maggie's POV
"Do you want to go back to Australia?" I asked her as soon as she said it.
"Yes." Riley answered me not even thinking about her answers like she had been. "I'd rather be anywhere else." She disclosed for the first time adding something to her answer. I was good at reading people so I saw she was looking at Henry when she told us that.
"I promise this place grows on you. Think about it like any other place in the world." Henry said looking at her sympathetically. She just stared at me blankly.
"What's your favorite color?" Maggie asked her. Riley took a second and thought about it.
"Blue." She said.
"Okay you're not getting this. You're supposed to share more about yourself." Jasper sighed.
"And what about you? I know nothing about you three and yet you want to know about me." Riley said looking at us. Then she looked at Henry disappointed. "I thought that you, at least, would know better." Henry frowned and rubbed the back of his head.
"My favorite color is orange." He said and looked at Jasper.
"I like blue too." Jasper said.
"Red." Maggie said. Riley nodded in appreciation. I watched Henry's face light up.
"What's your favorite place you've lived?" He asked her.
"I liked something about everywhere I've been." Riley said thinking. "And you?"
"Bhutan I think." Henry answered.
"I've only ever lived here in DC." I said shrugging. Riley nodded understanding.
"Same as her, though having Henry move in has been interesting." Jasper added. "How'd you end up here anyway?"
"I came by plane." Riley said completely serious.
"No, I mean like what do your parents do?" Jasper clarified. I saw the corners of her mouth turn up a bit as Jasper corrected himself with a rush of embarrassment. She knew exactly what she meant! Little sneak! So she did have a sense of humor!
"Mom is an archaeologist and dad is an anthropologist. Of course they've written books and stuff but they're in DC for the month because of an exhibit they needed to see and do some work with." Riley said with s shrug.
"So you usually travel with them?" I asked her.
"I used to. But then I decided to begin traveling on my own. So I travel with them but I don't go to the digs with them. anymore."
Henry's POV
"Why'd you come here?" Jasper asked her.
"Jasper!" I hissed to him. I didn't want her wandering off when she realized she didn't have to be here.
"My parents thought it would be a good idea if I at least tried the American education system while I was here." Riley said looking back at her files wistfully.
"I was shipped here when i got mauled by a yack." I said. Riley looked up at me for a second.
"Bhutan?" She asked. I nodded. "The yacks there are a bit more aggressive."
"Wait seriously?" Jasper asked. I nodded.
"Yes." Riley answered. She sounded serious but Maggie was smiling so I wasn't sure what Maggie was smiling about. Riley's expression didn't change but she turned to the door that lead to the warehouse where all the objects were kept in boxes. "Do you smell that?" She asked us.
"Henry?" Jasper asked me. I sniffed but I couldn't smell anything.
"Go! We need to go now!" Riley said suddenly moving towards the door that lead back to the museum.
"What's going on?" Jasper asked as Riley opened the door quickly and was trying to usher us out.
"Cyanide. I smell cyanide." Riley was motioning to the door and I was pushing Maggie and Jasper out as fast as the would go. Not that they weren't trying to move. Riley closed the door and entered a code on the entrance pad. Red flashing lights started and alarms started blaring.
"Why did you ask if we could smell anything?" Maggie asked Riley who was starting to cough.
"Because I wasn't sure what I was smelling." She coughed. Maggie was wheezing but Jasper and I weren't coughing as bad as Riley was. "Braxton!" She suddenly yelled. She typed in another code and shoved us away from the door, opening it and closing it behind her.
"She's going to die before the bio team gets here." Maggie said worried.
"What's the override code she used?" I asked them. Maggie and Jasper looked at me.
"I don't know. I don't even know them so I'm not sure how she knew them." Jasper said letting out a little cough.
"Cyanide isn't deadly in small amounts but if she breaths in too much of it then she's a goner." Maggie said looking to the door she had gone into. Seconds later the men in the big yellow suits were running towards us.
"Where's the bio hazard!" The one yelled.
"Riley and Braxton are in there! Riley smelled cyanide in there!" I told them. They rushed forward and punched in the access code but one of them was blocking my view of the panel.
"Get out of there m'am! Come on boys get her out and shut the door! We've got to contain this." The bio suited man said. Another yellow man came out supporting Riley who had an unconscious Braxton in a marine hold on her back. She was coughing heavily now but Braxton had a handkerchief tied around his mouth. Riley collapsed when one of the men rushed to her and relieved her of Braxton's weight.
"Riley!" I called and ran for her, Jasper and Maggie not far behind me.
"Kid you can't get near her. She's coughing up cyanide. She's dangerous and we're going to contain her. You can speak to her later but for now I have to ask you to leave. We're clearing this wing. If you could go to my colleague over there who will assess how much cyanide you inhaled." A man in yellow was telling us.
"Come on Henry." Jasper said dragging my arm towards where there were already plastic tents being set up. There was a separate more contained tent down the stairs where Riley was being dragged off to still coughing violently. The three of us sat there while they took our blood work and then told us we should be fine but if we felt anything to go see a doctor immediately.
"Uncle B, how's Riley?" I asked as soon as I saw him standing outside the tent.
"That's who rescued Braxton?" He asked me.
"Yeah, she opened the door and went back for him." Maggie said clearly impressed.
"Came out holding him over her shoulder like a marine." Jasper added.
"They won't give me any information except that Braxton is fine. He could use a few days off but he was knocked unconscious so between that and the handkerchief she put around his mouth he wasn't exposed long." Uncle Bryan said.
"But what about her parents?" Jasper asked.
"I didn't even know who to contact because I had no idea who it was. Why don't you three come with me and we can try to reach her parents." Uncle Bryan said dragging us along with him to his office. He pulled up the files on students and searched her name before dialing her parent's number. It rang and rang but nobody picked up.
"You have reached the Winchesters. Please leave your name and number and we will call you back as soon as we can!" The dial tone said and then it beeped signaling the time to leave a message.
"I'm Bryan Bartlett from Riley's school and I'm sorry to tell you that your daughter is in the hospital with cyanide poisoning. She's not in trouble, in fact she was quite brave but I'm sure she'd like you to come visit her." Uncle Bryan gave them the number they could reach him at and then hung up. He called the people she was staying with and also reached their answering machine. Uncle Bryan pulled at his face with his hand in a gesture I understood as frustration.
"I'm sure whoever is next on her list will answer Uncle B." I told him with a smile.
"There is nobody else. Those were the only two emergency numbers we were given." Uncle Bryan sighed.
"What are we going to do?" Maggie asked quietly.
"I guess we'll keep her company until we can get someone from her family over here." Uncle Bryan said sadly.
"Then let's go find her." I said opening the door of the office and walking back towards the DOUM room to find any one of the men in yellow and hope they could point me in the direction Riley was being kept. Uncle Bryan, Jasper and Maggie all followed me out and to the tent that they had set up for the exposed people as they contained the dangerous gas.
"I'm going to go check on Braxton." Uncle Bryan said.
"We'll make sure Riley's ok." Jasper assured his dad as I walked towards the tent that didn't have Braxton standing at the window.
"Do you think she's okay?" Maggie asked me as we walked closer.
"I don't know." I told her honestly.
"I'm sure they're treating her. She'll be fine." Jasper assured us. We walked closer but she wasn't at the window. "Can we talk to Riley?" Jasper asked one of the men who was standing there.
"You mean the girl in there?" He asked us.
"Riley Winchester. Yes. The girl who risked her life to save the guy over in that other tent." I said pointing to where Braxton stood.
"Alright. Look, she took in a lot of cyanide. She's not doing so well." He explained.
"What about Braxton?" Maggie asked shutting me up with a hand on my shoulder.
"He didn't take in any dangerous amount. There's nothing to worry about with him." He said with a smile.
"Can we talk to her?" Jasper asked again.
"Well it's possible but I'm not sure she'll be responsive. She hasn't answered any of our questions so far. We're not sure she understands what's going on." He answered us sadly.
"Just let us see her." I said. He nodded and lead us into the tent.
"Here, put these on." The man gave us surgical masks. I put it on and adjusted it as Maggie and Jasper did and we walked past the flaps and into a room with several medical people buzzing around. Riley sat in the middle of all the buzz. She had a clear covering over her mouth that had a tube that lead to a green tank.
"She's on oxygen Henry. It's okay." Maggie said to me.
"We're doing all we can but she might be more responsive if there's someone she knows. Is her family coming?" The man in yellow asked.
"We couldn't reach them." Jasper told him.
"Is anyone she is more familiar with coming?" He asked sounding desperate.
"No. We couldn't reach any of her contacts." Maggie said sadly.
"Alright. Does anyone here have a close relationship with her?" The man asked us sounding desperate. I looked at Maggie and Jasper who were looking at each other doubtfully.
"Henry." Maggie said looking at me.
"Alright kid, we need you. She needs you. Just talk to her. Tell her who you are and just tell her about what's happening." The man in yellow said eagerly, like I had a choice. I doubted at all that she was going to even talk to me or listen but I had hopes that she would respond because she knew me. I walked over and she way lying there covered in tubes and wires. It wasn't natural and it made me sick looking at her but I moved forward anyway. All the other me and women in white were backing away and getting really quiet.
"Speak to her kid." One of the men in white whispered. So I did.
"Riley, it's me, Henry. You got Braxton out and he's ok. In fact he's in much better shape than you are right now. We couldn't reach your parents, but Uncle Bryan is still trying. Yeah, th principle is my uncle. He and Jasper took me in after I was hurt pretty bad in Bhutan and my parents sent me home. But you're not doing well so you need to wake up. Please! Can she hear me?" I asked the man behind me.
"We don't know for sure but it never hurt to have someone she knows and trusts talking to her. Keep going Henry, you're doing fine." The man encouraged me.
"So I know you barely know me but we checked around the school and you don't talk to people much. In fact, you've told me more than anyone else. Most people only know your name. And you're cool for telling off Pennyworth to save me from a detention but you barely even talk to the cool kids." I paused and looked at her. she was still but the doctors were watching her expectantly. Like something was about to happen.
"Keep talking Henry." The man in white said excitedly.
"So I guess you're wondering what's going on. I'm not entirely sure what's happening to you but the doctors are taking good care of you and-" I was cut off and shoved aside as the people in white were at her again and they were loud. In the midst of all that I heard her say one word.
"Henry..." And then her quiet voice was once again cut off by the panic and chaos surrounding her.