Now what comes before two? One (correct me if I'm wrong.) Make sure you read the first chapter before you bother reading this one don't know why you would bother reading the second before the first, but...
Okay most of my comments are after this chapter since I think I will be more likely to have everyone's attention then. Sorry for the delay. Oh and if you're reading this the beginning jumps around a lot. I thought if it was made into an actual show it would jump around even more... BTW- Thanks for all those great reviews they really helped me in writing the next part.
Disclaimer: Now tell me the truth: What would you do if I did say I owned HA!? Would you really get lawyers and attorneys to file a bunch of lawsuits against me and sue me for all I'm worth? Would you? Oh and just for the record I do not own HA!. (Heh, like anyone is going to say they do...exceptions go to a certain man with the initials CB)
Now without any further delay, here it is... the second chapter of 'The Fire'
Chapter 2: As the Smoke Rises
Gerald watched his friend's body disappear into the burning building. What was Arnold doing? How crazy was he to put his life at risk for Helga Pataki?
The other kids were staring, stunned by the circumstances as reality began to sink in of what was really going on. Unsure of what to say, or even what to think the group was silent except for a few murmurs, forgetting about their teacher until he returned to them.
Mr. Simmons, after finishing the phone call, turned back to his students to do a head count. "We're two short," cried the teacher, looking up and down the street for any faces that might have wondered off. The students immediately realized that their teacher had not been informed of neither Helga's nor Arnold's absence.
"Helga's inside the school!" stated Stinky, motioning towards the burning structure.
"And Arnold went after her!" cried Sid, trying to explain what was going on, while he attempted to keep his cool, although he was very unsuccessful for his voice was high resembling that of a little girl's.
"Oh my word!" Mr. Simmons let out a gasp. He gripped Stinky's shoulder to try to steady his body. He could not let himself faint.
The children heard a loud crash from the building. A column of wood lit up bright with flames had come crashing down and now laid diagonally, blocking the main entrance to the school.
Mr. Simmons looked on. He had never felt more helpless in a situation before, but he knew he could not leave the rest of his students unattended. "Please let them be okay," begged the teacher under his breath.
"Please..."
Phoebe stood trembling violently. The flames reflected in the lens of her glasses. Without warning a familiar voice rang through her mind. The voice she had heard so often speaking to her, barking out orders, snapping at people, or even swooning over Arnold. At that moment she was willing to do anything to hear that voice again.
*"Whatever happened to the old Phoebe who used to be my best friend?"*
*"You're not dumb, Phoebe. Anyone could be fooled by a pretty face, even someone as smart as you."*
*"I'm sorry. I took your glory moment away. I made you take that fall, you should have won that contest hands down..."*
*"How could I think that I could ever replace dear, sweet Phoebe? She's irreplaceable..."*
She tore her eyes away from the fire, preferring to watch the hard concrete instead. "Helga, don't leave me," she whispered. The Asian girl felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She lifted her small, shy eyes away from the pavement to meet dark, brown ones.
Gerald gave her a weak smile. "I hope they're alright."
"Me too, Gerald. Me too."
About a block away, Principal Wartz parked his car. He could see it. His beautiful school, his beloved PS 118 lit up in phosphorescent flames. He took his eyes away from the structure and forced himself to focus on the task at hand.
He took out his cell phone and began dialing the two numbers that had been scribbled down on a scrap piece of paper. At the same time he moved as fast as his short, chubby legs could take him towards the students, the teacher, and the growing number of spectators watching the school being demolished by the flames.
The fire department was on its way, the sirens could be heard in the distance. There had been a delay at the station: one of the engines had broken down.
The principal gulped as he pressed the send button on the cell phone. He knew this was the most difficult thing he would ever have to do. He took a deep breath while the phone rung once and then twice. He heard a clicking sound as someone picked up on the other line.
"Big Bob Pataki, the beeper king speaking."
"Mr. Pataki, this is Principal Wartz. I have to inform you that your daughter..."
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A few blocks away inside a red boardinghouse the boarders were starting to get a little worried.
"Where's Kimba?" asked Gertie. "We need him to go round up the cattle!" She leaped up on the kitchen table lasso in hand, swinging wildly while her other hand gripped a cowboy hat to keep it from toppling off her head.
"I'm not sure, Pookie. He should have been home from star gazing a while ago," said the elderly man, fiddling with the straps of his suspenders, attempting to hide the small uneasiness that lurked in his voice.
"Star gazing? In this weather? You can't see a singe star with all the clouds!" said Mr. Hyunh with his thick Vietnamese accent. He shook his head, gazing out the window at the still star-less sky.
"Eheheheh then can I have his dessert?" asked Oskar eyeing the last piece of pie.
"No, you thieving weasel!" snapped Phil, snatching the plate with the appetizing slice of apple pie away from the clutches of Oskar.
The boarders were interrupted by sound of the phone ringing. Phil reached over to answer the call.
"Sunset boarding house." He paused to listen. "Yes, this is Arnold's Grandpa." The boarders could hear a faint voice talking very quickly. "Is he okay?" The elderly man grew angry. "What do you mean you don't know? We'll be right there!"
The phone was slammed down. Grabbing his coat while he rushed out the door, Phil spoke. No one had ever head more worry and fear in his voice, which was usually full of humor and sarcasm. "There's a fire...shortman's in trouble..." The rest of the boarders followed the man out the door, that is all except for one.
"Does that mean I can have his dessert?" asked Oskar, still watching that last piece of pie that was supposed to be for the small boy, but there was no one left to answer the Czechoslovakian man's inquiry.
He picked up a fork and was about to take a bite when he heard the sound of sirens. He glanced at the pie one final time before dropping the fork with a clatter onto the plate and rushing out the door, chasing after the other boarders.
"Hey, wait for me!"
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The woman sighed as she got into her small car. It had been a long day at the office and she was exhausted. She turned the key and began to drive, taking a few sips of coffee along the way.
The radio buzzed with jazz music until an announcement came from Nocturnal Ned. "Hey, all you cat and chicks out there. I'm interrupting your regular programming to inform you of a fire that has broken out in an elementary school, PS 118. Two students are reported to be trapped inside and-"
The woman dropped her coffee mug, letting it shatter into pieces on the car's carpeted floor. She did not care. Pressing hard on the acceleration she ran the light, then made a sharp left hand turn, cutting off cars, leaving angry, honking drivers in her wake.
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A man sat in a cushioned green chair, munching on some dinner a servant had brought to him while he watched television.
Fed up with the mushy soap opera, he began surfing the channels. He paused in his quest for entertainment for a brief moment when his eyes caught the screen of a live report of the latest news in the city.
"The cause of the fire is still unknown. But it was reported to have broken out late this evening at PS 118, an elementary school."
"Hmmm, PS 118...why does that name ring a bell?" pondered the man. He scratched his black toupee. Then realization hit him, forcing him to spit out his shrimp cocktail. "PS 118?!"
"Yes, PS 118. Two 4th grade students are alleged to be inside this building. But firefighters have been unable to reach them due to the high winds and the recent dry weather, which has caused the flames to spread dangerously and uncontrollably. Sources say that the names of the two students are Helga G. Pataki and Arnold...um... and Arnold. With the intoxicating smoke and the dangerous fire, there is hardly any hope that these two 9 year olds might still be alive. This is a sad and unfortunate tragedy..."
The chair in front of the television set had long since been abandoned. The TV was left on still informing of the situation, although no one in the mansion remained to listen.
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A tall, sturdy boy walked out the front door, pausing when he reached the sidewalk. He noticed hordes of people darting down the street. He looked in that direction, trying to discover what could be drawing so many people. He saw the source.
A thick, dark cloud of smoke was rising up into the air only a few blocks away. Sirens and flashing lights disturbed the dark peacefulness of the evening.
"Hey Wolfgang!" The boy turned his attention away from watching the ascent of smoke to see a freckled, blonde boy.
"What, Edmund?"
"Did you hear? The school's on fire!" exclaimed his purple-gum-chewing friend. Wolfgang's eyes brightened at the news
"Oh man, this is so sweet! I had this major math test tomorrow."
"But..." Edmund looked at the ground, growing uncomfortable.
"But what? What would be wrong with the school being burned to the ground? It's every kid's dream!" Wolfgang rubbed his hands together with delight at this new knowledge.
"There are two people inside," answered Edmund solemnly. "Two 4th graders. One's that kid with the weird shaped head and the other is that loud mouth blonde girl with the pigtails."
"Football face and that unibrow girl are inside?" Wolfgang did not wait for a response. Impassively, he started sprinting towards the school with Edmund following close behind.
A large crowd had gathered around the ignited school. Families rushed over to their children: relieved that their babies were safe and sound, out of harm's way. Closer to the structure still ablaze stood two families. The fire Marshall, the principal, and Mr. Simmons stood along side them, trying to provide any sort of support.
"The girl's in there with that orphan boy?" cried Bob, when he recognized the couple standing fearfully beside him. "It's all his fault she's in there!"
Phil glared at the man. "It's not my grandson's fault, Pataki, you big-"
"If it wasn't for your grandson she'd be here at our side..." The two men were at each other's throats, ready to start ruthlessly wrestling on the ground.
The sound of glass shattering hindered them in doing so. Roaring flames came out of the window that had just broken. Bob slipped his arm around Miriam as did Phil with Gertie. Neither couple spoke because neither wanted to say the inevitable.
A dark limousine screeched to a halt. A man got out, rushing towards the elderly couple watching the flames with eyes full of fear. They spotted him.
"Dino? Dino Spumoni?"
"I came as soon as I heard," said the once famous singer, straightening his tie. "Do we know...?"
Phil shook his head sadly. "No one can reach them. The fire is blocking all the entrances." He paused to give Gertie's hand a reassuring squeeze as yet another window shattered from a column lit up with flames collapsing. "It's not looking good for Shortman."
Dino watched the structure. The beams were collapsing despite the numerous firemen trying to extinguish the flames. Hoses sprayed out at full force striving to keep the fire from spreading, to keep the school standing, but all attempts were being made in vain.
Nothing could stop it, the fire had become too great, too uncontrollable, leaving everyone knowledgeable of the insurmountable outcome: the building was going to collapse with the two children inside it be they dead or alive.
Another car pulled to an impetuous halt. A brown haired woman got out, rushing to where Mr. Simmons stood. Before she called out to him she glanced up to see the roaring flames swallowing the school up whole. Putting her hand up to seal her mouth that had dropped, she halted. It was worse than she had imagined.
Pieces of glass laid scattered on the pavement, sparks and ashes were flying everywhere while dark smoke rose, mixing with the evening's previously chilled air.
"Mr. Simmons, what happened?" she spoke finally. The teacher looked over his shoulder. His usually bright and overly cheerful eyes were brimming with tears.
"Oh, Dr. Bliss, it's so special of you to come." He paused to take a deep breath, trying to calm his riveted nerves. "I don't know what happened exactly..." A few tears began to fall. "Helga was inside...Arnold
went after here...It's all my fault...I should have noticed Helga's absence sooner!" cried the teacher, choking back sobs.
The physciatrist placed a comforting hand on Mr. Simmons's shoulder. "It's no one's fault..." The woman looked past the still sobbing teacher only to see a couple. She had never seen them before, but she recognized them instantly from the descriptions Helga had given.
The proud, intimidating man looked straight into the flames. Dr. Bliss could see his eyes sparkling with a tear or two that he refused to let fall. Along side him was a blonde woman with one hand still covering her mouth from fear and shock. Her eyes were magnified, and she showed her emotions more openly than her husband as she let tears fall freely.
An impulsive cry from a man distracted everyone's attention from the burning school. "It's gone!" cried the fire marshal. He spun around, his misty, brown eyes darting everywhere while he began to push people away. "Everyone move back!" he called to spectators, families, and firemen alike.
"Please for your own safety everyone must get away!" Somehow his voice was able to carry over the sirens. Volunteers from the fire department pushed the crowd away, forming barriers with yellow tape.
"It's going to collapse any moment now..."
Phoebe buried her face onto Gerald's shoulder, refusing to watch the scene any more. All the kids stood silently: friends, enemies and children who hardly even knew the two ill-fated nine year olds, wondered what was going on behind those brick walls.
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*Their fingertips brushed. Arnold leaned down a little closer to her...SNAP!*
*Helga let out a high scream as she heard the last of the seams break. She closed her eyes, ready for the flames below her to swallow her whole as she felt herself begin to plummet down.*
Instead she felt two hands grab her own. Slowly she lifted her head and opened her eyes to find Arnold on his knees still holding onto her, refusing to let go.
He bit his lip causing a few drops of blood to trickle down. Using everyone ounce of strength he had, he tried to pull the girl up.
"Try to swing your leg up on the ledge. I don't know how much longer I can hold you." His voice was strained, and Helga knew how much he was struggling just to keep her from falling.
Swinging her left leg continuously she was able to grip the edge of the ledge with her foot. With Arnold's help, she pulled her body up on to the safety of the ledge.
The two collapsed, trying to catch their breath, but as they inhaled deeply they could feel the thick smoke filling up their lungs. As Arnold gasped for air, he looked at the girl before him. She had a hand placed over her chest as if to keep it from exploding. She was still trembling from the near death encounter. Her blue eyes gleamed with not a trace of anger, but fear.
She looked up at him. He had never seen her like this. Her pink dress was torn and filthy. A part of her lower left leg already had a burn from the flames. She looked like anything, but the toughest girl in school.
"Thanks, Arnold, for coming back." The boy gave her a weak smile. Suddenly the sound of wood cracking and metal breaking ruined the moment.
"We have to get out of here!" cried the blonde boy, snatching Helga's hand as he began to drag her off the ledge to the second floor of the building. Helga stared after him, lovingly. He was so brave even during the most terrifying of times.
The hallways of the 2nd floor luckily had not been fully lit with flames yet. Arnold led the blonde girl down the hall, searching for a stairway that could lead them to the 1st floor, or even a window that could provide any type of escape route. Their feet pounding on the tiled floor was drowned out by the crackling and the near deafening roar of the flames.
Arnold turned a corner and immediately slid to a halt. Helga surprised that he had stopped so suddenly, did not look up to see his reason for not continuing. She was awfully lucky that a hand caught her wrist before it was too late.
She tried to regain her balance from the abrupt halt by flapping her arms in front of her wildly to keep herself from tumbling forward into what lay before her. She raised her blue eyes slowly, and could not help, but let out another high-pitched scream.
The fire had to be only a few inches away from her face. It had been spreading up from its origin on the first floor and a huge hole at least 10 feet wide had been made on the ceiling of the 1st level and the floor of the 2nd. Beyond the gaping hole a window gleamed with the flashing red lights of the fire engines reflecting on its panes. It was so close yet so far away.
The two children immediately jumped back from the flames. Helga could feel a strange, painful tingling on her face and she knew the heat of the flames would leave a scar.
"There has to be another exit!" cried Arnold, turning around in pursuit of trying to discover any other means of escaping death. Helga had to roll her eyes as she continued to follow Arnold. Even when he was face to face with death he was still Mr. Optimistic.
Sprinting down what was left of the hallways, they could not find any sort of other escape route to take. The fire had spread into all the stairwells while the few windows in the halls were either blocked, or out of reach.
"We're all going to die!" shrieked the girl, collapsing down on the tiled floor, letting fresh tears spring to her eyes. They streamed down her face, but they hardly even cooled her red face still covered with sweat and now full of burns.
"Helga, we can't give up," began Arnold, attempting to console the girl before her hysterics became too uncontrollable, but he was unsuccessful.
"This is all my fault," sobbed the girl, placing her face into her hands as if endeavoring to hide her agony. "If only I hadn't been so starving, so mean, or so proud, neither of us would be here." The girl abruptly ceased in her mourning to raise her eyes to meet her companion's. Her eyes shone: now full of fire and an indescribable viciousness while she glared at him.
Her mood suddenly changed. She wished she could have died back in the kitchen. She would have gladly let the flames burn through her skin, tortuously killing her. "Why did you have to be such a goody-goody and come back for me? You know shouldn't have." Helga stood up to grab the top of his white shirt and yank his body closer to her.
"Now we're both going to those pearly gates in the sky and I'm going to be guilty of bringing about the death of an innocent boy who had no reason to die, who should be standing outside in the cold air huddled with his friends, watching the school being burned to ashes." She stepped closer to him so their noses were barely inches apart. "Why couldn't you for once in your life stop caring so much for everyone else and think about yourself for your own idiotic sake?"
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~Gah, I can't get the italics to work in the txt format. Just pretend where the little stars are that there are italics.
~I don't know the exact words for those quotes, but I do know that Helga says some lines similar to that in various eps.
~I was going to write more, but it was getting awfully long and I didn't want to cause anymore of a delay. The reason if you don't already know why it took me so long to post this is that I changed the story around from what I originally written a lot. You'll understand at the end. I apologize for how long this took. Yes I know I hate it when people write these types of fics when you have to know what happens next and they abandon them. I won't do that unless for some reason you want me too...
~Shall I continue? The next part is in the *writing process*, which means it could be posted tomorrow, the day after, or in a week. It depends on well...its demand, school, and junk.
Okay now this is completely random, but I was just curious. A while back (but not that long ago) I read this HA! fic here about Helga returning after spending four years in the white house cuz Olga was president. (My memory recalls it being titled 'Running Home') I've been looking to try and find it again.
But I can't seem to see it anywhere. Does anyone know the title or the author? (Or if you're the author can you tell me where it's located?) I know this is really out of the blue, but I wanted to read it again and show it someone, but I can't seem to find it anywhere. It's a really awesome fic...
There I'm done with my little spiel. Sorry about that. So like the story? Hate it? A little too violent? Too serious? (er, there's not much I can do about that, the whole plot is kinda serious). Constructive criticism appreciated. Thanks Offcentre (that's your name right?) your comments were very helpful in writing this.
Now, that was long...oh well. Now I'm officially done with my little spiel.