"Get back!" The screams were almost a wave of sheer terror as they
approached the door. Michael motioned for Aubrey to move away from the
doorway and for the others to stay well back as he waved his hand and the
door flew open, a burst of flames shooting out engulfing him.
Hook started forward involuntarily at the sight only to stop a moment later as Michael appeared once more, the flames slowly flickering into nothing around him.
"Shall we go?" Michael stepped through the doorway, his energy focused on forcing the flames down. As he appeared on the stairway leading into the mill basement, his concentration flickered for a moment at the sight. Children, hundreds of children, screaming, trying to futilely flee from the inferno. His eyes automatically scanned the children's faces,
looking for his sister, although he knew at the moment she, at least the Mary that existed in the present, was with Susan and the others trying to retrieve the second bell.
"Whoa!" Breanna gasped as she peered around Michael trying to see what was going on. Everyone had heard about the mill fire but to actually see it, to see the faces of the children who they knew were doomed to.
"No." She shook her head, as if that would force her to forget what she knew of the children's fates.
Hook shook his head as he joined the girl in looking down at the frantic children for a moment before starting down the steps, motioning for the others to follow quickly. He could see the fire starting to lick at the timbers supporting the stairs and knew they couldn't hold for long, not for long enough to get those kids out that way so how.... Rickman's drawings, those had to be some sort of clue but.... A trapdoor? Why would there be.... "Hey!" he called over his shoulder to Michael, "Peter drew something, your sister trying to open some sort of trapdoor. Do you have any idea what that could be?"
"They brought in material through the tunnels under the mill,"
Michael said slowly after a moment. The tunnels. Mary had been trying to get down into the tunnels? Things were starting to make a bit of sense for him now, why the hospital basement had been the site of so many problems for so long.
"There's a way out from there?" Hook started forward with Christine and Natalie right behind him. He waved frantically trying to attract the children's attention, reaching out and snagging a couple of kids as they ran past him. It seemed impossible but they had to do something. They couldn't just let these kids burn.
"If we can get into the tunnels, I can get us out." Michael said with a slight laugh. "The tunnels make up part of your basement now, you know." He stopped for a moment, his eyes once more surveying the scene,
trying to find the most likely spot for the trap door to the tunnels to be.
He had been too young at the time of the fire, had never even been inside the mill but.... His eyes settled on one place and he nodded, satisfied,
before turning back to the others. Hook had a couple of the children while Christine and Natalie were dragging several more to join them but....
"Children!!" he called, his voice automatically slipping into teacher mode, projecting throughout the mill basement. "This way! Single file line, no pushing or shoving, please!! Quickly now!!"
"Why is it always a single file line?" Breanna whispered to her sister as they moved through the basement, herding the children the right way.
"They might lose a double line," Abel said as he and Christa followed after the two girls, a group of children behind them. The children knew that they should be frightened with the flames leaping all around them but these strange people.... They didn't seem to be too alarmed and that served to ease some of the children's fears. Surely if the adults weren't frightened things couldn't be too bad.
"You know, you might want to move some time today," Antubis said as he looked around Elmer. "Everyone else seems to be trying to help. Did you want to go find a private place to do naughty things instead?"
Elmer glared at the anteater, not trusting himself to speak as he held Lona close to him, trying to keep her face against his shoulder so she wouldn't breathe in as much of the smoke or.... He shook his head. They dyed material down here, didn't they? And they certainly hadn't had any organizations to make sure the materials they were using weren't hazardous back in the 1860s. No, no way. There was no way that he was going to take Lona down in there with who knows what sort of chemical fumes in the air,
not with her so sick and about to give birth! He backed up a step, moving towards the door. Suddenly having his firstborn child born in the morgue didn't seem like such a bad idea. At least the morgue wasn't on fire!
"Don't think you have a choice about going back." Antubis nudged him forward with his snout and towards the steps. "Paul's back there,
remember? You didn't want to play with him, did you?"
Elmer hesitated before starting down the stairs with the anteater right behind him. He didn't want to do this, was sure this was too much risk for Lona and the baby but.... He glanced down as Lona moaned, lifting her head to look up at him.
"Just keep your eyes closed, okay?" Elmer whispered as he pressed her face back against his shoulder once more. "We'll be out of here in just a few minutes." He cringed as Lona started coughing as the got closer to the ground, struggling against the commonsense urge to turn back and get her out of there immediately. Suddenly he felt something smacking into his legs and he stumbled, barely able to keep his grip on Lona and he felt himself falling down the last few steps. He tried to turn, to keep her from hitting the ground, as the floor came rushing towards him but something was gripping him, keeping him vaguely upright while at the same time dragging them further from the stairs.
"Go on, move!" Antubis released his hold on Elmer's pant leg,
nudging him forward rapidly with his snout as the flames fully engulfed the stairway. The anteater moved away for a moment, stepping through the flames and appearing a moment later dragging a quivering little boy. He gave Elmer a pointed look as he poked him once more in the direction of Hook and the others.
Michael looked up as Elmer, Lona and Antubis joined them by the now opened doors to the tunnels. "Go first," He motioned for them to proceed the rest down the stairs after a glance at Lona's pale face. She definitely didn't need to be in this fire for any longer than necessary.
"Just stay straight and the tunnel should open up onto some railroad tracks."
"Railroad tracks? Please tell me we aren't going to get to prevent a train wreck next," Elmer muttered under his breath as he started down the steps, looking back a moment later to see a line of children starting to follow.
"That's it. Single file, no pushing or shoving." Michael said as the others started to herd the children down the tunnel after Elmer. If nothing interfered, surely they would be able to get them all out safely.
Hook started forward involuntarily at the sight only to stop a moment later as Michael appeared once more, the flames slowly flickering into nothing around him.
"Shall we go?" Michael stepped through the doorway, his energy focused on forcing the flames down. As he appeared on the stairway leading into the mill basement, his concentration flickered for a moment at the sight. Children, hundreds of children, screaming, trying to futilely flee from the inferno. His eyes automatically scanned the children's faces,
looking for his sister, although he knew at the moment she, at least the Mary that existed in the present, was with Susan and the others trying to retrieve the second bell.
"Whoa!" Breanna gasped as she peered around Michael trying to see what was going on. Everyone had heard about the mill fire but to actually see it, to see the faces of the children who they knew were doomed to.
"No." She shook her head, as if that would force her to forget what she knew of the children's fates.
Hook shook his head as he joined the girl in looking down at the frantic children for a moment before starting down the steps, motioning for the others to follow quickly. He could see the fire starting to lick at the timbers supporting the stairs and knew they couldn't hold for long, not for long enough to get those kids out that way so how.... Rickman's drawings, those had to be some sort of clue but.... A trapdoor? Why would there be.... "Hey!" he called over his shoulder to Michael, "Peter drew something, your sister trying to open some sort of trapdoor. Do you have any idea what that could be?"
"They brought in material through the tunnels under the mill,"
Michael said slowly after a moment. The tunnels. Mary had been trying to get down into the tunnels? Things were starting to make a bit of sense for him now, why the hospital basement had been the site of so many problems for so long.
"There's a way out from there?" Hook started forward with Christine and Natalie right behind him. He waved frantically trying to attract the children's attention, reaching out and snagging a couple of kids as they ran past him. It seemed impossible but they had to do something. They couldn't just let these kids burn.
"If we can get into the tunnels, I can get us out." Michael said with a slight laugh. "The tunnels make up part of your basement now, you know." He stopped for a moment, his eyes once more surveying the scene,
trying to find the most likely spot for the trap door to the tunnels to be.
He had been too young at the time of the fire, had never even been inside the mill but.... His eyes settled on one place and he nodded, satisfied,
before turning back to the others. Hook had a couple of the children while Christine and Natalie were dragging several more to join them but....
"Children!!" he called, his voice automatically slipping into teacher mode, projecting throughout the mill basement. "This way! Single file line, no pushing or shoving, please!! Quickly now!!"
"Why is it always a single file line?" Breanna whispered to her sister as they moved through the basement, herding the children the right way.
"They might lose a double line," Abel said as he and Christa followed after the two girls, a group of children behind them. The children knew that they should be frightened with the flames leaping all around them but these strange people.... They didn't seem to be too alarmed and that served to ease some of the children's fears. Surely if the adults weren't frightened things couldn't be too bad.
"You know, you might want to move some time today," Antubis said as he looked around Elmer. "Everyone else seems to be trying to help. Did you want to go find a private place to do naughty things instead?"
Elmer glared at the anteater, not trusting himself to speak as he held Lona close to him, trying to keep her face against his shoulder so she wouldn't breathe in as much of the smoke or.... He shook his head. They dyed material down here, didn't they? And they certainly hadn't had any organizations to make sure the materials they were using weren't hazardous back in the 1860s. No, no way. There was no way that he was going to take Lona down in there with who knows what sort of chemical fumes in the air,
not with her so sick and about to give birth! He backed up a step, moving towards the door. Suddenly having his firstborn child born in the morgue didn't seem like such a bad idea. At least the morgue wasn't on fire!
"Don't think you have a choice about going back." Antubis nudged him forward with his snout and towards the steps. "Paul's back there,
remember? You didn't want to play with him, did you?"
Elmer hesitated before starting down the stairs with the anteater right behind him. He didn't want to do this, was sure this was too much risk for Lona and the baby but.... He glanced down as Lona moaned, lifting her head to look up at him.
"Just keep your eyes closed, okay?" Elmer whispered as he pressed her face back against his shoulder once more. "We'll be out of here in just a few minutes." He cringed as Lona started coughing as the got closer to the ground, struggling against the commonsense urge to turn back and get her out of there immediately. Suddenly he felt something smacking into his legs and he stumbled, barely able to keep his grip on Lona and he felt himself falling down the last few steps. He tried to turn, to keep her from hitting the ground, as the floor came rushing towards him but something was gripping him, keeping him vaguely upright while at the same time dragging them further from the stairs.
"Go on, move!" Antubis released his hold on Elmer's pant leg,
nudging him forward rapidly with his snout as the flames fully engulfed the stairway. The anteater moved away for a moment, stepping through the flames and appearing a moment later dragging a quivering little boy. He gave Elmer a pointed look as he poked him once more in the direction of Hook and the others.
Michael looked up as Elmer, Lona and Antubis joined them by the now opened doors to the tunnels. "Go first," He motioned for them to proceed the rest down the stairs after a glance at Lona's pale face. She definitely didn't need to be in this fire for any longer than necessary.
"Just stay straight and the tunnel should open up onto some railroad tracks."
"Railroad tracks? Please tell me we aren't going to get to prevent a train wreck next," Elmer muttered under his breath as he started down the steps, looking back a moment later to see a line of children starting to follow.
"That's it. Single file, no pushing or shoving." Michael said as the others started to herd the children down the tunnel after Elmer. If nothing interfered, surely they would be able to get them all out safely.