To Lyger 0: Well, where there's a will, there's a way.


Ring! Ring!

Bri rolled over in the bed, grabbing Felix's unused pillow and clamping it down over her ears to drown out the irritating sound. Her body sank into the soft mattress, the warm, so-smooth sheets covering her like a cocoon. She had only felt this kind of comfort once before moving in here: the first time she had slept at the Manor, after… Her breathing hitched. That moment – waking up in a bed like this one, with Barkk hovering right above her – had been running through her mind for the last couple nights, whenever she lay down for bed. Pushing it aside she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to push aside whatever had woken her. It couldn't be time to get up yet – she'd only just laid down five minutes ago! Her alarm shouldn't go off for at least another six hours… right? Shifting her grip on the pillow over her head, she held her eyes shut, willing herself back to sleep, ignoring the ringing until it ended. Finally, she let out a relieved breath and allowed her body to relax.

Ring! Ring!

"God damn it," Bri grumbled, finally sitting up in bed and fumbling around for the lamp, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and trying to force them to stay open. She rolled once across the bed, nearly falling out of it in the process when she reached the edge on Felix's side unexpectedly. Grabbing onto the covers to hold herself steady, she found Felix's nightstand with her other hand, moving her hand carefully until she found the lamp. The light came on instantly, nearly blinding her with its brightness, and she shaded her eyes with her hands, squeezing her eyes open and shut. Finally, she looked around the room, resting her hands on either side of her on the bedspread – almost three times the size of her old bed. Would she ever fully get used to sleeping in this enormous thing? Growing up she had fantasized about having a bed large enough for all her friends, if she ever had a sleepover. Then when she moved into her flat, she had been content with a regular twin-size. Now… the large bed was far too much for just her. It was one thing when Felix was here, too – that at least balanced out the size. But with him away…

How had he managed it before, when he didn't have her sharing the bed with him?

She sighed, glancing down at her cellphone on the opposite nightstand, quiet and dark, and frowned. Had she imagined it going off? The phone remained silent for a long moment, and Bri put her hand on the lamp switch, ready to turn it off.

Ring! Ring!

Groaning, Bri rolled over to the other side of the bed, picked up her cellphone, and glanced at the caller ID on the glowing screen. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Mmm–hello?" she mumbled, trying and failing to stifle a yawn.

"Bri? Oh, thank God! We were so worried! Ugh! Why didn't you answer?"

"Huh?"

"I've been calling and calling – I almost didn't call back, but–"

Bri cocked her head at hearing the anxiety and relief in Julie's voice. Vainly she tried to blink the sleep out of her eyes, covering her mouth and turning away from the phone to yawn. "What–what's going on? Why are you calling so–"

"Where are you?"

"What do you mean? I'm in my–"

"Bri, your flat is gone!"

"Wait, what!?" Bri sat straight up in the bed, all the exhaustion vanishing in a moment. Her eyes widened in shock, looking around Felix's large bedroom in shock. "What the hell?" she yelped. "What do you mean, gone?"

"It's gone – completely blown up! Something happened – I–I don't know what!" Julie explained, her words speeding up as she went. "One minute everything was normal – I was standing next to the door and Rob was just getting ready to leave. Then suddenly… boom! There was this huge noise and the floor shook. Rob said he thought it must've been an earthquake, but I knew it couldn't be that. The door felt a little warm to the touch, and I opened it up and…" Bri's breathing hitched. "Fire. Everywhere. I looked out in the hallway, and the walls of your flat had completely collapsed! Taking with them part of the wall for Eliza and Monica's flat, and most of Jen's! There was practically nothing left of your flat!"

Bri's eyes shot wide open in shock, and she blinked, several times. "What!? What about–"

"Eliza's okay, I think – she stumbled out of her flat right after it happened. Monica was out, of course. But Jen… I don't know – I haven't seen her. Rob went to try to find her – he couldn't get into your flat with the fire inside. It wasn't as bad in the hallway. But Rob is still in there! It–it looks like there's nothing left in your apartment – we all thought you and Anne must have been gone in the… whatever this was."

Bri could feel her throat threatening to close up, even just hearing the description of what had happened. Her flat had been blown up! She could have been killed; she would have been, if she had been there! Nausea began to bubble up in her stomach. She clenched her eyes shut and forced herself to breathe slowly and deeply: in through her mouth, and out through her nose. Once, twice, until finally the nausea subsided. She had even thought about staying at the flat that night – without Felix here it seemed silly to sleep in his gigantic bed, far too large for just one of her. But it had been late by the time she was ready for bed. First it had been their Downton Abbey marathon, after which she and Amelie had stayed up talking. And even though it was only a few extra steps to go through the portal and sleep in the smaller bed in her flat, Amelie had insisted that she stay the night. Bri cleared her throat awkwardly. "Sorry – I was actually at a… um… friend's house," she explained to Julie. "I'm fine."

Julie sighed heavily in relief. "Oh, thank God. The others will be so glad to hear that – but I don't get it. I could have sworn I saw you and Anne both when you got in earlier, after classes finished up. But I never saw you leave; I thought you must've still been here."

Bri grimaced, looking around the room for inspiration. "I… um… I don't know what to say," she began nervously. "I guess you must've just missed it when I left."

"And Anne? Kate's been calling and calling…"

"Oh, she's here, too…" Bri began, nodding confidently. "Absolutely…" Her voice trailed off, and she frowned, looking down at her comforter. What about Anne? She hadn't been back from the pub yet when Bri went to sleep… She'd in fact been working the closing shift, which always kept her late. And when that happened… She gasped.

"Bri?" A note of panic entered Julie's voice.

"Hang on." Quickly, Bri jumped out of the bed and grabbed her new robe off the desk chair, throwing it around herself without tying it before rushing out into the hallway. Anne's room was only a couple doors down from hers and Felix's… but she didn't always sleep at the Manor, especially when she had worked late. Bri's breath caught in her throat, and she swallowed anxiously, nearly tripping over an end table in the hallway as she reached Anne's room. Without pausing, Bri threw the door open, sending it slamming into the wall. The light from the hallway spilled into Anne's room and across the bed. Her legs nearly sagging with relief, Bri let out a breath. "Yeah, we're both fine here," she assured Julie. "Anne's with me at my friend's house."

"Well, okay…" Julie sighed heavily. "But I could have sworn… oh, never mind."

"How is everyone there?" asked Bri, as Anne stirred on the bed and sat up, rubbing her eyes blearily and staring up at Bri in confusion. "What–what's happening? Is everyone safe?" Anne stifled a yawn, shaking her head.

"There's still a ringing in my ears," Julie answered hesitantly. "The fire hasn't spread – not yet, anyways. I've seen almost everyone else on the floor, but–" There was a shout on the other end of the line, and Julie gasped. "Jen's hurt! It's–it looks pretty bad…"

Bri's eyes widened. "Are you still in the building?" she demanded.

"Y–yes…"

"You have to get out of there! Now!" Bri half-shouted. "It's not safe in there! Is–is someone there yet? Police? Fire?" Anne cocked her head to one side, eyebrows furrowed, and stared up at Bri. Bri held a finger up to her lips and mouthed Bomb. Anne's eyes bugged out, and her jaw dropped.

"I–I don't–" Julie stuttered, her breathing turning ragged.

"You all stay safe!" Bri interrupted. "We're okay here. Make sure you call 999! And get out of the building as fast as you can! I've got to go, but please: call me if anything changes!" Without waiting for a response, she ended the call.

"'999'?" Anne repeated, blinking. "'Bomb'? What–?"

"Someone blew up our flat," Bri interjected curtly, dropping her phone in her pocket, pulling her robe tight, and half-running out of the room. Behind her, Anne stumbled out of her bed and nearly fell on the floor in her surprise.

"What?"

"We need to get there now!" Bri called over her shoulder as she barged into Felix's room and started grabbing random clothing off the floor, throwing on a pair of jeans and t-shirt before remembering her bra. Down the hall, she could hear Anne rummaging around in her own room, albeit slower. "People are hurt! We've got to do something!"

Anne cleared her throat. "Right. I'll get my things."

It was only two minutes later that Bri raced down the hallway to the Hero Study, her shoes still untied and one sock missing. Running her fingers through her hair – a little longer than usual, with the natural brown showing at the roots – she pushed it back out of her eyes. The door to the Hero Study was already ajar, and light shone out from inside through the crack. Stepping inside, she found Amelie sitting in front of the computer in a nightgown, her hair mussed and tangled, a pot of tea on the desk beside her.

Without looking in her direction, Amelie held out a steaming commuter mug to Bri as she approached. "Here; you'll need this," she told her briskly, staring intently at something on the computer. She pursed her lips, leaning in a little closer.

"What is it?" asked Bri, leaning over her shoulder to watch the video feed, sipping the hot tea as quickly as she could and burning her tongue with the first taste. Almost at once she could feel the sleepiness vanishing, thanks to the combination of heat, caffeine, and sugar. The video feed began dark, only to turn white and flare out within a second. "What am I looking at."

"I checked the camera on your flat portal," Amelie explained, her mouth set in a grimace and eyebrows knit together in concentration. "It was almost entirely destroyed, but it caught these two images, right before it cut out. I'm trying to isolate them and see if I can clear it up, but I am not confident. Fortunately, Police and fire are already on the way."

"Let them know there's at least one injury," Bri instructed her, pressing a couple of buttons on the second portal against the opposite wall, which immediately whirred to life and resolved into the image of a small garage. "Our neighbor is hurt – don't know how bad."

Amelie finally looked up, worry creasing the corners of her mouth and eyes, and reached out to give Bri a quick hug. "Do be careful, dear."

Bri's mouth set in a thin line, and she nodded. "We will."