As the green light shooting up from the broken tank faded away,
Gottreich seized the opportunity to take another swing at Susan, the closest one to him, with the ice pick.
"Mary, find that bell fast!" Peter yelled as he hurried to the younger girl's aid, grabbing at Gottreich and trying to pull him back. For an older man, though, he was deceiptively strong, unnaturally strong.
Mary looked over at Mrs. Druse, standing there staring at the axe sticking out of the ruptured tank, her mind lost in memories from over sixty years ago. Mary reached out, taking Sally's hand and drawing her back to the current situation once more.
"I remember," she whispered, shaking her head slowly as she looked from Gottreich to Mary. Was this her fault? Was everything that had happened since the second fire her fault because she had been the one who had swung the axe, who had killed.... She shook her head frantically now as she remembered. She had just been a little girl. How could she have killed someone?
"It wasn't your fault." Mary said gently. "Dr. Gottreich hurt you, remember? He hurt lots and lots of people and he would have hurt even more if he could have. If it was anyone's fault, it was his. He could have been good and helped people but he just wanted to hurt them. Will you help us find the second bell now? Please?"
Sally slowly nodded, her mind still halfway lost in her returned memories as she let Mary lead her around the tank to join Mona. As she approached the tank, she felt something tugging at the edge of her senses,
drawing her away from the painful memories.
"It's here, Gottreich was using the bell somehow in his experiments," Sally said slowly as she reached out, hesitently touching the tank, repulsed at the evil feeling of it but at the same time now that the thing was broken able to sense something very different hidden underneath the layers of evil.
Mary touched the tank herself, surprised to feel something different now after over sixty years of feeling the same evil energy coming from the object. She could feel what Sally was detecting though, somewhere connected to the tank. But where could it be? Mary stood on her tiptoes,
reaching carefully through the shattered glass to try to feel around inside. Surely the bell couldn't have been actually inside the tank with Paul all of this time. If it was, though, he better not have scratched it or banged it. He thought it was funny to mess things up.
As Mary and Sally searched inside the tank, Mona stood still, her head slightly tilted as if she was listening to something. The little girl glanced around the room in puzzlement. There was something, like someone laughing, the sound somehow reminding Mona of springtime. Her eyes drifted downward as she tried to follow the sound, to find who would be laughing in such a horrible place. She knelt down, the liquid draining from the tank soaking the hem of her hospital gown as she stretched out her hand,
reaching for something that she really wasn't sure of yet.
Suddenly her fingers brushed against something, cool to the touch and at the same time warm, sending a tingle of electricity up her fingers as the soft laughter grew louder. Mona stretched her hand out a bit more,
wrapping her fingers around the object, the faint markings almost daring her to try to read as she touched them. Suddenly, she felt someone there with her, someone she couldn't really see physically but who was there all the same.
Tell Antubis it wasn't his fault," a soft voice whispered in her ear as Mona pulled he object free, looking down to see that it was the bell. Mona stood slowly with the bell in her hands, drying it as best she could before reaching out and grasping the silk cord and raising it,
starting to slide it around her neck. As the bell slipped into place, Mona thought she could feel small hands touching her, gently arranging the bell.
Mona touched the bell carefully, not sure exactly of what to do with it only to see it suddenly sway as if another hand was touching it as well, a soft ringing sound filling the air.
"Mona?" Mary said softly as she looked at her friend, her eyes widening at the sight of the bell gently swaying. A moment later, Mary slowly smiled, reaching out and pulling the material Mona had stuffed her bell with free and gently starting to ring it as well.
Mary reached out, taking Mona's hand as they crossed the room, the soft laughter following beside them as if an invisible figure was dancing next to them. As they approached Gottreich, who Susan and Peter were still fighting to restrain somehow, the two little girls glanced over at each other before reaching out as one, touching Gottreich with both bells at once.
Susan jumped back followed a moment later by Peter as Gottreich suddenly gave a shudder, as if something inside of him had broken. As they watched, cracks started to appear in his flesh, slowly at first and then faster as parts of his body started to fall away, crumbling into dust before they hit the floor.
"Mary?" Peter said slowly a minute later as he looked up from the large pile of dust that now stood where Gottreich had been.
"We found the bell," Mary said with a smile as she looked over at Mona, giving the bell a soft ring at the same time. There was something different now, her bell felt different. Before she had used it to call to the dying, to try to guide them to peace, something that was good and yet sad at the same time. Now all she could feel from the bell was happiness,
though. And there was that sound of laughter, like a very small child laughing.
"Let's go get the others," Mary said as she started for the door holding on to Mona's hand. "They should be finished by now so we can go home." She just hoped that Dr. Lona hadn't had her baby yet.
Gottreich seized the opportunity to take another swing at Susan, the closest one to him, with the ice pick.
"Mary, find that bell fast!" Peter yelled as he hurried to the younger girl's aid, grabbing at Gottreich and trying to pull him back. For an older man, though, he was deceiptively strong, unnaturally strong.
Mary looked over at Mrs. Druse, standing there staring at the axe sticking out of the ruptured tank, her mind lost in memories from over sixty years ago. Mary reached out, taking Sally's hand and drawing her back to the current situation once more.
"I remember," she whispered, shaking her head slowly as she looked from Gottreich to Mary. Was this her fault? Was everything that had happened since the second fire her fault because she had been the one who had swung the axe, who had killed.... She shook her head frantically now as she remembered. She had just been a little girl. How could she have killed someone?
"It wasn't your fault." Mary said gently. "Dr. Gottreich hurt you, remember? He hurt lots and lots of people and he would have hurt even more if he could have. If it was anyone's fault, it was his. He could have been good and helped people but he just wanted to hurt them. Will you help us find the second bell now? Please?"
Sally slowly nodded, her mind still halfway lost in her returned memories as she let Mary lead her around the tank to join Mona. As she approached the tank, she felt something tugging at the edge of her senses,
drawing her away from the painful memories.
"It's here, Gottreich was using the bell somehow in his experiments," Sally said slowly as she reached out, hesitently touching the tank, repulsed at the evil feeling of it but at the same time now that the thing was broken able to sense something very different hidden underneath the layers of evil.
Mary touched the tank herself, surprised to feel something different now after over sixty years of feeling the same evil energy coming from the object. She could feel what Sally was detecting though, somewhere connected to the tank. But where could it be? Mary stood on her tiptoes,
reaching carefully through the shattered glass to try to feel around inside. Surely the bell couldn't have been actually inside the tank with Paul all of this time. If it was, though, he better not have scratched it or banged it. He thought it was funny to mess things up.
As Mary and Sally searched inside the tank, Mona stood still, her head slightly tilted as if she was listening to something. The little girl glanced around the room in puzzlement. There was something, like someone laughing, the sound somehow reminding Mona of springtime. Her eyes drifted downward as she tried to follow the sound, to find who would be laughing in such a horrible place. She knelt down, the liquid draining from the tank soaking the hem of her hospital gown as she stretched out her hand,
reaching for something that she really wasn't sure of yet.
Suddenly her fingers brushed against something, cool to the touch and at the same time warm, sending a tingle of electricity up her fingers as the soft laughter grew louder. Mona stretched her hand out a bit more,
wrapping her fingers around the object, the faint markings almost daring her to try to read as she touched them. Suddenly, she felt someone there with her, someone she couldn't really see physically but who was there all the same.
Tell Antubis it wasn't his fault," a soft voice whispered in her ear as Mona pulled he object free, looking down to see that it was the bell. Mona stood slowly with the bell in her hands, drying it as best she could before reaching out and grasping the silk cord and raising it,
starting to slide it around her neck. As the bell slipped into place, Mona thought she could feel small hands touching her, gently arranging the bell.
Mona touched the bell carefully, not sure exactly of what to do with it only to see it suddenly sway as if another hand was touching it as well, a soft ringing sound filling the air.
"Mona?" Mary said softly as she looked at her friend, her eyes widening at the sight of the bell gently swaying. A moment later, Mary slowly smiled, reaching out and pulling the material Mona had stuffed her bell with free and gently starting to ring it as well.
Mary reached out, taking Mona's hand as they crossed the room, the soft laughter following beside them as if an invisible figure was dancing next to them. As they approached Gottreich, who Susan and Peter were still fighting to restrain somehow, the two little girls glanced over at each other before reaching out as one, touching Gottreich with both bells at once.
Susan jumped back followed a moment later by Peter as Gottreich suddenly gave a shudder, as if something inside of him had broken. As they watched, cracks started to appear in his flesh, slowly at first and then faster as parts of his body started to fall away, crumbling into dust before they hit the floor.
"Mary?" Peter said slowly a minute later as he looked up from the large pile of dust that now stood where Gottreich had been.
"We found the bell," Mary said with a smile as she looked over at Mona, giving the bell a soft ring at the same time. There was something different now, her bell felt different. Before she had used it to call to the dying, to try to guide them to peace, something that was good and yet sad at the same time. Now all she could feel from the bell was happiness,
though. And there was that sound of laughter, like a very small child laughing.
"Let's go get the others," Mary said as she started for the door holding on to Mona's hand. "They should be finished by now so we can go home." She just hoped that Dr. Lona hadn't had her baby yet.