AU: Ok first things first; I apologize for the ending of chapter 9, it seems rushed and a poor attempt to portray the story in my head. This chapter will be better I promise, plus there will be a touching Helen/ John scene as well.
Anyway, again please R&R, I do love your comments!! Enjoy!!!!!
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John had been in and out of consciousness since Helen first woke up. As he slept, she would treat his wounds as best she could, but the more she worked, the more wounds became visible. Resting back on her ankles, she heaved a big sigh; every minute she felt more defeated. In her many, many years in the business, she had only felt this degree of defeat once before, and that was the night in the alley where John slit the prostitutes throat right in front of her. That night was burned in her memory; that was the night she vowed to never let a man affect her the same way John Druitt had; walls were put up so that she would never have to life with the pain of her heart breaking, ever again. And she never did. Sure she loved a man here and there, but in none of those relationships had she ever shown any weaknesses, or tried not to show any. She knew that no relationship would last as long as she would.
"Helen." John's weak call for her pulled her back to the present. He was so pale; more so than usual. He had lost a lot of blood.
"Don't talk. Ashley will figure out a way to get us out of here, and then get you to a hospital." As gently as she could, Helen made her way to the more severe of wounds to check for infections.
"We both know I won't make it." He swallowed, trying to get moisture back down his throat. He looked at Helen when she didn't reply. Instead of an angry, ready-to-kill-you look, he saw her just looking at him, and it reinforced what he already knew: he still loved her. He loved the way her eyes sparkled as she genuinely smiled, or how her hair would softly frame her face when she was concentrating on god knows what, or how just a look, one momentary eye contact, he would give up everything and anything just to love her forever. But he knew he was dying, and that he wouldn't get an other chance to tell her that, so he just said it, in a blunt, straight-to-the-point way. "You know I still love you. I've never stopped."
"John please, this isn't the time."
"No Helen I can't think of a better time; you can't run away or shoot me." The soft attempt of humour caused a wave of pain to shoot threw his chest. After it calmed, Helen swallowed her nerve and said what had been burdening her for some time.
"You ruined me, John Druitt. After you tore my heart apart, I promised myself that I would never let anyone hurt me like that ever again." His features displayed regret and sorrow. She stopped to try and regain some composure. "I never loved anyone like I loved you. It felt like my heart was soaring, and when you proposed, everything felt perfect. But when you changed, my world felt insecure and shaken. That night, you killed that prostitute, Molly; I could feel my heart breaking!"
"There is nothing I can say that can make up for what I had done. I had hoped my assistance tonight would have proved my intentions." He coughed back the moisture building in his eyes. "Now I will never get the chance to try again." Rubbing the stray tears from her cheeks, Helen turned and rested her head against the fireplace, sending a quick prayer that they are soon rescued.
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"I got it!" Ashley yelled for Will and Bigfoot. "It's scanning the Sanctuary now. We should get a read of the life signs in a minute." She stood, unable to sit any longer. In the silence, she could hear the voices in her head so much clearer; voices that spoke of negative outcomes, to prepare her for finding her mother dead, or Henry. Desperate to think of something else, she mindlessly tapped on the keyboard, trying to speed the reading.
"There." Will pointed to the large screen positioned above their heads. On it showed a rough outline of what the Sanctuary looked like before the explosion. "Alright there are three groups." He pointed to them; one was a pair of life signs, an other was a group of three, and the last was also a pair of- one life sign. One of the dots flashed and then disappeared, leaving the one all alone. "What happened to the other life sign?" Ashley shook her head.
"It's dead."
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"Alright that didn't work!" Henry rubbed his shoulder. The two of them had been trying to free themselves for the past two hours. They had moved enough of the debris so that Caroline could get out from under Henry. He was convinced she wiggled out from underneath him like that on purpose.
"Well, why don't you come up with an idea? I've run out." Caroline leaned back on her elbows. "We aren't under that much; I can feel a draft." Moving what little she could she let Henry position himself in front of the source of the in coming air. He tried to move it; grunted, groaned and yelled with the best of them.
"I have an idea. Watch out." He got in position again, but this time he summoned his alter ego. His one great burst, he slammed through the debris.
"Son of a bitch!" Caroline clamped her hand against her forehead. "Give me some more warning next time!" Throwing the rock that struck her head, she wiped the blood. She stood up, dusted herself off the best she could and then walked over to where Henry was standing. Once she saw what he was looking so intently at, she was struck by the magnitude of the explosion. "My god." The East wing was gone, completely obliterated. The front of the West wing was blown off, but it was still standing.
"Come on. Will and Ashley are in the shoot. If we can get to them, we might be able to help find Dr. Magnus." Grasping her hand, Henry led them to the front of the sanctuary.
As they walked through the busted door way, the smell of burnt...everything hit them like a punch to the face. Walking further inside, the devastation was unreal; everything was pitch black from smoke and soot. The broken glass on the floor shimmered in the moonlight, further illuminating the hollowed out entry. They continued to walk toward the elevator, but soon noticed that their way was partially blocked.
"If we can move some of the debris we should be able to get through." Nodding, Caroline started on the left of the pile, as Henry started on the right. Just as Caroline moved a large rock, underneath was a body. She jumped back, falling over a broken chair.
"I'm fine!" she held her hand up as Henry started over. "I'm fine." Cooling herself she went back to where the body was. All that was visible was the chest; well tailored suit with a pocket watch. "Oh my god Henry, it's Nikola." Henry held a hand to his mouth.
"What? I was just going to say the same thing." Caroline got up and walked to Henry, but immediately she took steps back rubbing her hands over her face. Henry slowly bent down. He knew he had to clear the way so that they could get to the shoot; which meant moving it. He grasped the head and pulled it out; it was obviously removed by a powerful set of claws, but he didn't recognize what creature could have done this. Realising he still held the decapitated head, he quickly threw it aside and continued the digging.
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"So there's six, was seven, left alive. There's still a chance that mom and Henry are still alive."
"Yeah, I wish we could get the computer up again. Stupid thing crashed again a few minutes ago." Will half heartedly gave the hard drive a soft kick. He looked around and noticed Bigfoot standing in front of the creatures cage again. "What do you think he's thinking?"
"Do you ever know what's he's thinking?" Will walked over to the big guy and stood by him.
"Big guy, would you shut off the lights please." Taken aback, Bigfoot looked at him and scoffed.
"Why?"
"This creature is sensitive to light. There is no day light in here, perhaps we can get a good look at it and maybe figure out why it is of such value to Nikola." Nodding, Will turned and hit the switch. It wasn't completely dark, the computer screens were still lit up, but it was dark enough for the creature to come closer to the glass barrier. Helen had told him the description when she first brought it here, but the creature Will was now looking at had gone through a few changes. Its sunken eyes, now a piercing black and full of life, its dark fur had surprisingly lightened to a silver/ black stripped pattern. It came right against the glass, and then sat on its hind legs and starred at the two on the other side.
"Guys, come here a second." Ashley's call pulled the two from their staring contest. She was standing with her back to them, and a couple feet from the elevator. "You hear that?" As they got closer, and quieter, they could hear mumbling and soft thuds. Will walked up to the elevator doors and listened, but he couldn't make out what was being said.
"Hello?"
"Will!! Will is that you?" Henry was screaming but, was only coming out as a whisper.
"Ashley it's Henry! Are you alone?"
"No! Caroline's here!" Bigfoot walked up to Will with a pry-bar in his hands.
"Stand back!" With one plunge, the bar was in between the doors, and he pushed them open for Henry and Caroline to crawl through.
"Thanks. You guys alright?" Will nodded.
"Ya we're fine, how are you guys?"
"Oh fine. We just climbed down about 10 flights to get down here because, surprise surprise, the elevator wasn't working."
"Great. Henry, do you know what happened to mom." Henry nodded. He was running up the stairs, when he heard John yell her name and then tackle her to the ground, just as one of the explosions took out the hall.
"I'm sure she's fine. Didn't you scan for life signs?"
"Ya. There were seven, but last we checked there were six. Obviously two of those signs were you, leaving four people still out there. I'm banking on Magnus being one of them."
"Wait guys, here's a daunting thought." Caroline stood from the chair and stepped towards them. "What if the other three life signs are not people? What if they're Nikolas creatures? They can sense life. It they get out, they won't stop till they find Dr. Magnus. We need to get to her before they do."
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AU: Alright people! This will be the last chapter till the end of the holidays! I hope you're enjoying the story so far, please PLEASE review!!!
Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas/ Hanukkah/ Kwanza/ whatever you celebrate this time of year!!