Louis looked up at the hospital in dispair, shaking his head as he
saw bright orange flames bursting out of the roof. This, how could this
have happened so quickly? "Dr. James, please!" Louis knew that it would
do no good, that the hospital administrator was in total denial about what was going on, but he had to try. He couldn't just give up on his son without trying to save him. "My son...." He shook his head, looking up at the building once more. Had he told Elmer how much he loved him that day, how proud he was of him or had he just.... He felt tears starting to sting at his eyes as he thought of it, of how he was making the same mistakes with Elmer that he had made with Edgar and now it would end the same way, with a deep, dark hole in the ground. "Please, my son! You can't just leave him in there to...."
"I will certainly be having a word with Elmer when I see him for skipping the fire safety drill!" Jesse said with a firm shake of his head. "Why, how will he know what to do should there ever be a real fire if he doesn't attend the drill? Not that there's any danger of that, of course. Kingdom Hospital is perfectly sound!"
"There are flames shooting out of the roof. Sound isn't the word I would use," Louis murmured, his heart feeling as if it might explode at any moment as he watched the flames. He pushed the pain down, willing himself to ignore it. What would it matter if he had a heart attack now anyway with both of his sons, with Emma, gone?
"Try not to worry too much," Otto said quietly as he came over to Louis, looking up with a slightly nervous expression at the building as he spoke. Everyone except possibly Dr. James the Clueless knew how losing his older son had almost killed Louis. If something happened to Elmer would he even survive? As he thought this, he looked over at Louis, sadly shaking his head.
"Otto, are you absolutely sure that Elmer was in the basement?"
Louis said, hoping against hope that by some miracle Otto might have realized he had made a mistake.
"Yes, in the sleep lab. He wanted me to page Dr. Hook down there."
Otto said slowly as he tried to recall something. There was something about that situation that he really should remember.
"The sleep lab. When I see Lona, putting my son in danger to...."
Louis muttered under his breath.
"Lona! That's it!" Otto exclaimed. "When Elmer was talking to me I heard someone screaming in the background! It was Dr. Massingale!"
"What?" Louis felt his anger at Lona fade a tiny bit at this news.
"Wait, what sort of screaming, like she was mad at Elmer or..."
"Like she was hurt." Otto said slowly, "Hurt badly."
Louis shook his head, the anger fading more rapidly now. If Lona had been hurt in one of the earthquakes, of course Elmer would still be in there trying to take care of her. How could he be mad at Lona for being injured? All the same though, he just wanted his son back, wanted him returned to him safe and sound.
"Dr. James," Louis started over towards the hospital head again.
If his son was still in there doing his job as a doctor, trying to help Lona, then how could he do less and let himself give in to despair without trying everything humanly possible to save them? Well, okay, everything humanly and inhumanly possible, he thought with a glance at the ghost now sitting on the hood of Stegman's car trying to pull her vanished body parts back together. "There has got to be a way into that basement! My son is in there and Otto just told me that it sounded like Lona might be hurt somehow!"
"I'm willing to give it another go," Lucretzia said as she slid off the hood of the car. She was still missing a few fingers and that lower leg didn't feel altogether intact but she was sure she could manage. "Eleanor?"
Eleanor looked from the building to the people in the parking lot.
Obviously going in wasn't the best idea but at the same time if something didn't happen fast to stop this, then who knows how many could die? If only there were some way to contact Michael or the girls, to find out exactly what the situation was inside.
"What about the tunnels? Maybe there's one of them that isn't blocked?" A dark-haired woman in violet robes with light blue flowers trimming the edges moved over to join them, the wolf at her heels and Blondi not far behind. "I've got a call in for assistance but who knows when that will get here. Bad potion at a big party down in Salem. You don't want to know what they're hallucinating there." she said with a shake of her head.
"Lucy, do you know if there might be another way in?" Eleanor said as she looked back at the hospital momentarily.
"Maybe," the ghost said slowly as she considered the situation.
Her memories of the tunnels beneath the hospital, the parts of the Old Kingdom, were ancient yet at the same time almost felt like they had been made the day before. "If I could get down there I would probably be able to tell more." Suddenly she stopped speaking, tilting her head to one side as if listening for something. "Do you hear a bell?"
"That's just the elevator...." Jesse started to issue the standard hospital bell cover-up story but was stopped cold by a glance from his aunt.
"Not a bell," Eleanor said slowly as she listened, a smile starting to take shape on her face. "Two bells. Mary." One of the bells had to be Mary's bell. Did that mean that after so long Michael had finally been able to find his lost sister. She felt tears of happiness starting to pool in her eyes at that thought. Suddenly she felt a peal of laughter slipping out as the sound of the bells ringing grew, washing over the parking lot, carrying with it the faint sound of childish laughter and the wonderful happiness of springtime.
"I will certainly be having a word with Elmer when I see him for skipping the fire safety drill!" Jesse said with a firm shake of his head. "Why, how will he know what to do should there ever be a real fire if he doesn't attend the drill? Not that there's any danger of that, of course. Kingdom Hospital is perfectly sound!"
"There are flames shooting out of the roof. Sound isn't the word I would use," Louis murmured, his heart feeling as if it might explode at any moment as he watched the flames. He pushed the pain down, willing himself to ignore it. What would it matter if he had a heart attack now anyway with both of his sons, with Emma, gone?
"Try not to worry too much," Otto said quietly as he came over to Louis, looking up with a slightly nervous expression at the building as he spoke. Everyone except possibly Dr. James the Clueless knew how losing his older son had almost killed Louis. If something happened to Elmer would he even survive? As he thought this, he looked over at Louis, sadly shaking his head.
"Otto, are you absolutely sure that Elmer was in the basement?"
Louis said, hoping against hope that by some miracle Otto might have realized he had made a mistake.
"Yes, in the sleep lab. He wanted me to page Dr. Hook down there."
Otto said slowly as he tried to recall something. There was something about that situation that he really should remember.
"The sleep lab. When I see Lona, putting my son in danger to...."
Louis muttered under his breath.
"Lona! That's it!" Otto exclaimed. "When Elmer was talking to me I heard someone screaming in the background! It was Dr. Massingale!"
"What?" Louis felt his anger at Lona fade a tiny bit at this news.
"Wait, what sort of screaming, like she was mad at Elmer or..."
"Like she was hurt." Otto said slowly, "Hurt badly."
Louis shook his head, the anger fading more rapidly now. If Lona had been hurt in one of the earthquakes, of course Elmer would still be in there trying to take care of her. How could he be mad at Lona for being injured? All the same though, he just wanted his son back, wanted him returned to him safe and sound.
"Dr. James," Louis started over towards the hospital head again.
If his son was still in there doing his job as a doctor, trying to help Lona, then how could he do less and let himself give in to despair without trying everything humanly possible to save them? Well, okay, everything humanly and inhumanly possible, he thought with a glance at the ghost now sitting on the hood of Stegman's car trying to pull her vanished body parts back together. "There has got to be a way into that basement! My son is in there and Otto just told me that it sounded like Lona might be hurt somehow!"
"I'm willing to give it another go," Lucretzia said as she slid off the hood of the car. She was still missing a few fingers and that lower leg didn't feel altogether intact but she was sure she could manage. "Eleanor?"
Eleanor looked from the building to the people in the parking lot.
Obviously going in wasn't the best idea but at the same time if something didn't happen fast to stop this, then who knows how many could die? If only there were some way to contact Michael or the girls, to find out exactly what the situation was inside.
"What about the tunnels? Maybe there's one of them that isn't blocked?" A dark-haired woman in violet robes with light blue flowers trimming the edges moved over to join them, the wolf at her heels and Blondi not far behind. "I've got a call in for assistance but who knows when that will get here. Bad potion at a big party down in Salem. You don't want to know what they're hallucinating there." she said with a shake of her head.
"Lucy, do you know if there might be another way in?" Eleanor said as she looked back at the hospital momentarily.
"Maybe," the ghost said slowly as she considered the situation.
Her memories of the tunnels beneath the hospital, the parts of the Old Kingdom, were ancient yet at the same time almost felt like they had been made the day before. "If I could get down there I would probably be able to tell more." Suddenly she stopped speaking, tilting her head to one side as if listening for something. "Do you hear a bell?"
"That's just the elevator...." Jesse started to issue the standard hospital bell cover-up story but was stopped cold by a glance from his aunt.
"Not a bell," Eleanor said slowly as she listened, a smile starting to take shape on her face. "Two bells. Mary." One of the bells had to be Mary's bell. Did that mean that after so long Michael had finally been able to find his lost sister. She felt tears of happiness starting to pool in her eyes at that thought. Suddenly she felt a peal of laughter slipping out as the sound of the bells ringing grew, washing over the parking lot, carrying with it the faint sound of childish laughter and the wonderful happiness of springtime.