Chapter 5
"Owwwww! Will! Easy, easy!"
He securely tied the cloth bandage around my hand and patted it gently. "Will you quit moaning and groaning? I'm done."
"It hurt," I mumbled, flexing my fingers.
Shaking his head, he returned to the bellows, hammering out another blade. I went upstairs and returned with a book and sat down in the chair next to the window, reading to myself. I looked at the back of my hand from time to time; the blood was already seeping thru the bandages. I sighed and closed the book; I couldn't concentrate at all. "Will, could you-"
"Shhhhh," he hissed, suddenly tense and alert. He walked quickly and quietly to the shuttered window, and slowly opened it. There wasn't a sound; everyone was sleeping except us and maybe the soldiers. His expression was grim and undecided, and I gently put a hand on his elbow.
"Will, there's no one there," I said softly.
"Something's wrong," he said quietly. "It's too.quiet. Too peaceful. There aren't even any dogs barking or cat fights."
"Can't we just count ourselves grateful for some quiet without getting all paranoid?" I asked, trying not to lose my patience with his superstitions.
He frowned lightly, thinking. He turned away, but kept the shutters open, just in case he should hear something. Without warning, an explosion went off somewhere, and I gasped as though I had been dipped into melting ice.
"Meg, get down!" Will bellowed. Before I can react, he dives and knocks me over, his body huddled protectively over mine. Another explosion blows thru our window and into the bellows, and sparks fly. Will's body is tense and rigid, and I lift my head from the dirt, coughing.
"What was that?" I choked out. Will rolls off me and lifts me up by the neck of my dress.
"Meg, go hide," he ordered.
"What! Why-"
"Because I said so, Meg, now go!" he bellowed. I didn't move. He grabbed me by the arm and marched with me up the stairs, throwing me in our room and slamming it shut. I threw myself against it just as he locked it.
"Will!" I screamed. "Let me out!"
"I will when it's safe!" he yelled back. There was a clanging and clinking of metal, and then there was silence. Tears streaming down my face, I ran to the window, my skirt fluttering around my legs. My mouth dropped open at what I saw.
Buildings were aflame, their bright tongues licking away the wood and reaching for the sky. People ran in the streets, screaming. Dirty men, hollering foul words, threw bombs into the shops and waved their swords like flags. Men, women, and children went down without a fight, and I knew why Will kept me inside.
And there he was. My dear, brave brother. He had his ax and sword, and fought with all his strength. Screams rang in the air like the church bells. Frightened women held their children close and ran for the fort, which was being sieged by cannons. Black smoke curled in the sky. The prison was broken into, and thieves and murderers and god-knows- what ran in the streets, singing bawdy songs and cheering.
A group of the men ran past us across the street. They had a captive. I squinted, peering to see who it was. My heart froze.
Elizabeth.
Holy shit.
A woman in a cap ran underneath my window, shrieking. A dirty man who smelled like a pig ran after her, leering and sneering. I threw a book and it hit him in the head. He caught sight of me, and my blood froze. His face was scarred in an X shape, and his skin itself was red and scabby, like his insides had been turned outside. He threw what looked like a rock at me, and it landed on the sill.
A bomb. I ran to the door, pounding and screaming. I heard Will. "Meg!" I didn't think twice and dove to the floor.
The explosion was horrendous. Wood beams fell, and nails landed straight in the floor. Fire was everywhere. A beam had me trapped, and with no way to get down. I was going to die.
Oh Holy Father, I beg you, help me find a way out.
I tried to push up the heavy beam lying across my chest. It resisted and only lifted a little bit. I kept shoving as the flames grew closer and closer. With a final heave, I lifted it enough so I could slide out. I ran to where the door was. The explosion had blasted it backward off its hinges. God bless.
Downstairs was still in reasonably good shape. I was headed for the sword stand Will built, for my sword, when a sudden groaning rang in my ears. I turned around at the heavy moaning sound.
A burning beam was slowly making its way down, breaking the other beams on the way down. I screamed and tried to run, but a huge splinter pinned my skirt to the floor. I tugged and tugged, my eyes never leaving the beam and my mouth shrieking. Another beam suddenly and without warning swung around by the ropes, hitting me with the force of a hammer in the head. Without another sound, I fell.
"Owwwww! Will! Easy, easy!"
He securely tied the cloth bandage around my hand and patted it gently. "Will you quit moaning and groaning? I'm done."
"It hurt," I mumbled, flexing my fingers.
Shaking his head, he returned to the bellows, hammering out another blade. I went upstairs and returned with a book and sat down in the chair next to the window, reading to myself. I looked at the back of my hand from time to time; the blood was already seeping thru the bandages. I sighed and closed the book; I couldn't concentrate at all. "Will, could you-"
"Shhhhh," he hissed, suddenly tense and alert. He walked quickly and quietly to the shuttered window, and slowly opened it. There wasn't a sound; everyone was sleeping except us and maybe the soldiers. His expression was grim and undecided, and I gently put a hand on his elbow.
"Will, there's no one there," I said softly.
"Something's wrong," he said quietly. "It's too.quiet. Too peaceful. There aren't even any dogs barking or cat fights."
"Can't we just count ourselves grateful for some quiet without getting all paranoid?" I asked, trying not to lose my patience with his superstitions.
He frowned lightly, thinking. He turned away, but kept the shutters open, just in case he should hear something. Without warning, an explosion went off somewhere, and I gasped as though I had been dipped into melting ice.
"Meg, get down!" Will bellowed. Before I can react, he dives and knocks me over, his body huddled protectively over mine. Another explosion blows thru our window and into the bellows, and sparks fly. Will's body is tense and rigid, and I lift my head from the dirt, coughing.
"What was that?" I choked out. Will rolls off me and lifts me up by the neck of my dress.
"Meg, go hide," he ordered.
"What! Why-"
"Because I said so, Meg, now go!" he bellowed. I didn't move. He grabbed me by the arm and marched with me up the stairs, throwing me in our room and slamming it shut. I threw myself against it just as he locked it.
"Will!" I screamed. "Let me out!"
"I will when it's safe!" he yelled back. There was a clanging and clinking of metal, and then there was silence. Tears streaming down my face, I ran to the window, my skirt fluttering around my legs. My mouth dropped open at what I saw.
Buildings were aflame, their bright tongues licking away the wood and reaching for the sky. People ran in the streets, screaming. Dirty men, hollering foul words, threw bombs into the shops and waved their swords like flags. Men, women, and children went down without a fight, and I knew why Will kept me inside.
And there he was. My dear, brave brother. He had his ax and sword, and fought with all his strength. Screams rang in the air like the church bells. Frightened women held their children close and ran for the fort, which was being sieged by cannons. Black smoke curled in the sky. The prison was broken into, and thieves and murderers and god-knows- what ran in the streets, singing bawdy songs and cheering.
A group of the men ran past us across the street. They had a captive. I squinted, peering to see who it was. My heart froze.
Elizabeth.
Holy shit.
A woman in a cap ran underneath my window, shrieking. A dirty man who smelled like a pig ran after her, leering and sneering. I threw a book and it hit him in the head. He caught sight of me, and my blood froze. His face was scarred in an X shape, and his skin itself was red and scabby, like his insides had been turned outside. He threw what looked like a rock at me, and it landed on the sill.
A bomb. I ran to the door, pounding and screaming. I heard Will. "Meg!" I didn't think twice and dove to the floor.
The explosion was horrendous. Wood beams fell, and nails landed straight in the floor. Fire was everywhere. A beam had me trapped, and with no way to get down. I was going to die.
Oh Holy Father, I beg you, help me find a way out.
I tried to push up the heavy beam lying across my chest. It resisted and only lifted a little bit. I kept shoving as the flames grew closer and closer. With a final heave, I lifted it enough so I could slide out. I ran to where the door was. The explosion had blasted it backward off its hinges. God bless.
Downstairs was still in reasonably good shape. I was headed for the sword stand Will built, for my sword, when a sudden groaning rang in my ears. I turned around at the heavy moaning sound.
A burning beam was slowly making its way down, breaking the other beams on the way down. I screamed and tried to run, but a huge splinter pinned my skirt to the floor. I tugged and tugged, my eyes never leaving the beam and my mouth shrieking. Another beam suddenly and without warning swung around by the ropes, hitting me with the force of a hammer in the head. Without another sound, I fell.