Chapter 5: The Box

Rosa left the train station in a furious rush. She handed the cabby every last bill she had and pleaded with him to spare no expense to get her to the Longham Hotel. Swerving at maddening speed through the streets of London, they arrived in minutes. A large crowd was formed around the hotel and Rosa glimpsed the smoke rising from the bottom floor of the hotel. Room 16 was ablaze. Rosa leapt from the cab and ran into the crowd. Police constables were keeping the people at a safe distance as they waited for the fire engine. No one but Rosa seemed to have noticed that they were in fact down the street, no doubt waiting for room 16 to be completely charred before making any attempt to save the rest of the building.

"Carrie! Henry!" she began to call out. The panic in her voice was evident as she continued to call out to them. She thought to herself, surely they would have remained to insure that all evidence of Thatcher's death would be destroyed? Henry would oversee the police as they performed this controlled act of arson. They would, unless…Rosa's heart skipped a beat. What if they were in the fire? There was no reason to believe it had happened, but Rosa's instincts could not help but think of the worse. Again and again she cried out, "Carrie!" Finally a firm hand grabbed hold of her shoulder. She turned fully hoping for a familiar face. To her consternation, it was, but not one she was hoping for. It was the pipe smoking Inspector Sadler.

"Good heavens woman, what are you doing?"

"I'm looking for Carrie and Henry. I sent them here to inspect the body. Where are they?"

"I don't know ma'am. My men saw your two friends go in, but didn't see them go out. They looked all over for them but they were gone. We just assumed they were done and left." Sensing her train of thought he quickly added reassuringly, "they were not in the room. My men were quite sure before they…"

Rosa raised a halting hand and without another word she left the inspector and dashed back to the cab.

Thanks once again to the cabby's versatile driving, Rosa reached home quickly. As she stepped down from the cab, the cabby smiled and called to her waving the bills she had paid him, "a pleasure ma'am. Always at your service!"

Rosa approached the front door with apprehension. Instantly apprehension gave way to terror as she saw a brilliant flash of light through the door pane. At first fumbling with the keys, she then quietly opened the door and entered stealthily. Immediately she noticed that the back door was broken into. To her left, the door to the library was open. She slipped in and found Ann lying face down on the floor. Rosa was about to kneel down to her when she felt the cold tip of a gun barrel press against the side of her head. Slowly she turned to face the gun's owner. Rosa did not expect to recognize whoever it was. So it came as a surprise to find that it was Ian Graves holding her at gun point. Noting the shock expression on her face, his finger went to his lips calling for silence. He then gestured her out of the room pushing her towards the steps. As they started up the stairs Rosa caught sight of Henry. She also glimpsed Carrie lying against the wall in front of him. Finally she saw his gun as he took aim at her.

"Henry!" she called out.

In rapid succession, Henry turned, took aim, and fired. Rosa was quick to react and moved to one side, dodging the bullet. Graves exclaimed loudly in pain as he caught the bullet in his shoulder and fell backwards. As the shot echoed Rosa stood still and held onto the stair railing. When she looked at Henry, his face was different. His expression was one she had never seen before on him. His eyes were what startled her the most. They were a greenish hue which she recognized, for she had seen something similar in the eyes of Harrison Thatcher's corpse.

"Listen to me Henry, its Rosa. Do you understand?"

His gun was still raised and now readjusted his aim towards her.

"You're stronger than this, Henry. You can fight it."

Henry's face suddenly broke into a grin. "No. He cannot. He is weak. He is broken." The voice that emanated from Henry's lips was not his own. The voice was distorted and the tone completely off. It sounded like he was trying to imitate someone else. "We will not kill you Rosa. We need you to take us to the box."

"Who are you?" she asked.

"We have many names. Some have called us Alura Une. You are Rosa, you carry the mark of Dracula."

"What mark?" she asked quizzically.

"Your blood was once his. It shall be his again when he returns."

"My blood will never again be stained by his curse. Reinhardt sent him back to hell. He won't be back in this lifetime."

Henry began to screech. "The Belmont's will never defeat Dracula totally. He will return!"

"Enough!" Rosa yelled as the screech pierced her ears. "You said you want a box. I have none."

"Yes you do, give it to us."

"I don't have it!"

Henry descended halfway down the steps to press the gun against her. "You will give it to us or die."

Rosa remained silent. The angry expression on Henry's face remained still. Suddenly he switched aim from Rosa to Carrie. "We will kill the child. We will kill this body." At the last statement Henry's gun finally came to rest at his own forehead.

This was no bluff. Rosa knew that this creature did not care. It had nothing to lose by killing either Henry or Carrie. There was no dealing with it. "It's not here." She finally spoke. But I can take you there," she said conceding.

At this point Graves stirred from where he fell and stood up. The possessed Henry pointed the gun at him as well. "You will follow," he commanded in his distorted voice leading them outside the rear of the house.

"I must admit, I underestimated you. I took you for nothing more than a common womanizer," Rosa said addressing Graves.

"I am. This is just my hobby" he answered with the trademark grin that so repulsed her.

"Silence!" Henry called out. His exclaim was accompanied by an unexpected and violent tremor that began beneath them. Rosa and Graves looked to one another and then to their surroundings. Rosa watched as her many flower pots began to crash to the ground and the glass of her greenhouse shattered. Suddenly the ground before them cracked open. A tunnel had been burrowed underneath allowing for a large object to pass through. Emerging from the deep cavity was a pod made of large overlapping leaves. It was attached to an enormous stem which moved the pod towards them in a serpent-like motion. The large leafs dropped down and the pod opened into two halves. Stepping out of it was a single figure, a woman. Her long red hair nearly touched the ground and she was completely in the nude. Her eyes radiated green just the same as Henry's eyes.

"Alura Une?" Rosa said.

"Where is the box?" was the only answer as it spoke in a clearer version of the voice that had possessed Henry.

Rosa remained silent for a moment. She recognized that the creature was of a species she had heard Reinhardt refer to as Venus Weed. For the moment it did not make any other movements. The two of them only exchanged glares seemingly fighting a silent battle of wills. Rosa inwardly pondered on the fact that such a creature existed. She had dedicated much of her spare time to caring and growing plant life. Here was presumably the pinnacle of what plant life could become and all it wanted to do was kill and be done with her. Her only upper hand was that she suspected where Thatcher had hidden the box.

"No harm must come to Carrie and you must release Henry," Rosa said, speaking succinctly. "I'll take you once I see they are safe."

The Venus Weed did not speak but instead walked towards Henry who still held his gun trained on Rosa and Graves. She took Henry into her arms in a parody of a lover's embrace and kissed him. One could easily imagine that she was kissing him passionately, but passion was not a factor. As Henry was released from the embrace Rosa caught sight of a dozen thin tendrils receding back into Alura's mouth. No doubt they were used to clean Henry's respiratory system of whatever medium they had used to take control of him. Once finished, Alura Une violently pushed Henry to the ground. Rosa rushed to his side. She detected a faint but steady pulse. Most importantly the green aura had vanished from his eyes.

"Now," the creature said as it stood behind her. "The box."

"Very well, we go to the Botanical Society building. I'll show you where it's being kept."

"Thatcher didn't give to the society," Graves interrupted.

"I didn't say he gave it to them. He hid it, and I know where," Rosa retorted.

The creature turned and raised its arm in a threatening gesture towards Graves.

"Wait. Let him live!" Rosa found herself calling out in spite her low opinion of the man.

"This one has interfered with us. He is a parasite, the worst of your kind." Alura spoke in a wretched tone snarling at Graves in a way one would not suspect a plant would be capable of.

"Perhaps, but I won't let you kill him. At least not in my sight."

"My Lady Rose…" Graves began to speak with his sly tone.

"Shut up." Rosa snapped.

"Follow us," the creature said at last as it started for the pod. Rosa and Graves followed suit and soon all three stood in the center of the pod. The two halves came together seamlessly beyond the eye's ability to perceive. Outside the leaves encased the pod and the large stem began to retract back into the tunnel pulling pod with it.

In the darkness of the pod, Rosa could not see the faces of either Graves or the nameless Venus Weed. She could hear as outside the pod broke through miles worth of undergrowth tunneling a path underground to their destination. Unable to see her surroundings she was reluctant to move an inch. Rosa felt trapped. The feeling was not unknown to her. Trapped in darkness is what being a vampire was like for her. She had not wished for it and she saw no way out. Her current feelings recalled those of the past. They were feelings from another life. Her thoughts strayed to Reinhardt. How she wished he were here. But he wasn't. She was on her own. In the darkness her hand went to her neck and she felt his red scarf wrapped around it. Although it was just a piece of cloth, she felt reassured. Though he was far away, completely unaware of her situation, she could still feel his love for her. The strength of the love he offered her was not something tangible, however it was there. It was rather a lot like one's faith in God. And like that faith, their love was unwavering.

The pod shook violently and she briefly felt the bodies of the other two passengers bump into her. A great crash was heard as stone, earth, and concrete was pushed aside like paper. At last, the pod broke open and revealed that it had entered the Society building via the large green house it had in the back. Debris from the pod's violent entrance littered the greenhouse. Ordinarily Rosa would be desperately trying to take in every detail of the fantastic exhibit of the Society, however now all she could do was stride by it quickly as Alura Une motioned her and Graves forward and together they walked into the main building.

"You were in the hotel room when Thatcher died," Rosa said rather than asked as she briefly shot a gaze at Graves.

"Yes." He said simply, not offering anything further. A moment of silence was all Graves needed to sense that Rosa meant for him to go into greater detail.

"I know you were funding his expedition. He sensed that you had an ulterior motive." She began.

Graves smiled. "So he suspected me? Here I thought he was paranoid. Driven off the edge…" He looked to Rosa who did not return his smile. "I had from my own sources that there might be a rare species of plant in the general vicinity of where I sent Thatcher. He had instructions to bring back whatever he found. I was to have first choice of the specimens he found. Whatever I did not want he could flaunt before the society for their precious fundraiser."

"Why did you want it? You did not even know what he would find. Did you?"

Graves glanced at the Alura Une who had remained silent all this time. The three had reached the end of the long hall which connected the greenhouse to the rest of the building. Graves stepped ahead of them and opened the door for them to pass. Rosa walked through however Graves saw that his captor remained still. He walked through and caught up to Rosa.

"I knew something was wrong when on his return trip Thatcher did not communicate anything to me." Graves continued,"I also noticed the trail that he was leaving behind." During the last remark he looked at the Venus weed.

Rosa stopped walking and faced her. "Meaning?"

"Thatcher was on the run. He was running from her," he said pointing his finger. "At every stop and port of call, Thatcher's presence was met with bizarre deaths. She chased Thatcher half way around the world and killed most everyone in her way."

"You don't seem to be afraid," Rosa interjected.

"An object that this creature has traveled so far to take back is surely worth a little risk, don't you think? Now where exactly is the box?"

"How did you find out about the box?" she countered.

"I met him at the station. He became wild when he saw me, like an animal in a trapped cage. Berserk, he went running screaming 'it's mine!' In a rather dumb move for a scientist he checked into the hotel I knew the Society had paid for him. I had him followed and eventually I confronted him and then…" again his hand pointed to the Alura Une.

Curiously it seemed to know that this gesture was its cue to impart her section of the tale. "Within hours of our coming here, we finally caught him. He had hidden the box. He refused to tell us where it was, so we planted a seed within him."

"A seed?" Rosa questioned.

"The seed would grow inside him and give us a view to his thoughts and memories. However his mind was broken, muddled, and confusing. The seed could not stand being trapped inside of him and sprouted."

"Sprouted? That's putting it mildly my dear, I saw it," Graves added most matter of factly. "Before he…died, he said one word 'Rosa.'"

At this point Rosa interjected. "You saw him pay me a visit so naturally you broke into my home hoping to find it there and take it. And you," she said gesturing to the Alura Une, "loitered around hoping to find some clue. Am I more or less right?"

"Top of the class," Graves said not trying to hide his sarcasm.

"Where is the box?" the Alura Une began to insist once more.

"You were both wrong. In the end Thatcher finally acquiesced. He told you where to find the box. Graves misunderstood his final words to mean that he had left the box with me. Thatcher was a very vain man. What he really wanted to was to increase his notoriety and be the presenter of something that no one else had ever seen. He desperately wanted to share with the world what he had discovered. Thinking ahead, he hid the box in the one place where he would need it most." Rosa then turned and gestured upwards to the large sign hanging over the archway leading into an exhibit.

THE ROSE GARDEN

At this, Alura Une hurriedly brushed past them both and entered the garden. Stopping in the center of the room she raised her arms which began to take on a dark green complexion. Rosa and Graves then watched in awe as her arms began to stretch outwards. Her fingers grew longer and thinner transforming into thin tendril like those Rosa had seen earlier. The tendrils were like roots breaching the dirt of the rose plots penetrating in, searching for the box. The cry of success that Alura Une made when it finally lifted the box from underneath the dirt was unlike anything Rosa had heard before.

At this point Alura Une no longer had two arms, in its place she had hundreds of thin tentacles gesticulating in rapid succession. It held the dirt covered box between a number tentacles and laid it on the floor before it.

"At last," the creature spoke as its tentacles reached down and forced open the lock which kept the box sealed.

"Indeed," Graves echoed as he took several steps closer to it. Rosa attempted to pull him back but to no avail. Finally the lock gave way and the box's lid was raised. At this point Rosa's curiosity got the better of her and she also stepped forward. Peering into the box the two of them were surprised to find a simple rosebud and some Earth. Rosa and Graves exchanged puzzled looks before looking again into the box. The small rose began to stir and ever so slowly the bud opened. Inside, instead of a bushel of pistils they saw a round object. The object itself began to move and Rosa clapped her hand to her mouth as she saw it turn completely revealing a human head. The head was nestled in the center of the rosebud and was like that of a newborn baby. Its eyes opened lazily as if it were just waking up. The expression on Alura Une changed from cold and emotionless to warm and maternal.

"Amazing," was Graves's reaction.

The baby began to cough harshly and one of Alura Une's thin tendrils reached in to coax it. After one cough, the baby released a number of small objects the size of a pea. Most of them landed on the dirt plots of the rose garden; however Graves noted that one fell at his feet. Subtly he looked down to it and smiled. With the utmost caution he stepped forward towards the two creatures. "I must see it closer."

The Venus Weed sensed Graves' approach and looked away from the youngling. Its expression became fierce as it saw Graves. One of its tentacles then aggressively pushed him back sending him to the floor. Graves loosened his muscles before she struck and was able to take control of his flight, landing exactly where he wanted. Slyly, his hand reached out and grabbed the pea-sized object and pocketed it. He was feeling positive about his acquisition when suddenly he felt a tentacle wrap itself around his leg. The appendage pulled at him before lifting him off the floor. Graves gasped.

"Put him down," Rosa called out. The Venus Weed hissed and slammed Graves against the wall before releasing him. Rosa waited until the Venus Weed's attention turned elsewhere before walking over to check on Graves. He was alive, only unconscious. Noting that the Venus Weed's attention was still focused on the infant, Rosa began to search Graves' pockets for something, anything that she could use as a weapon. Finally, as she searched his breast pocket, she grabbed hold of a small carton box. Removing it, she found it to be a box of matches. Rosa smiled. The Venus Weed was still distracted and gave no sign that it had noticed her exiting the room. Rushing back the way they had come in, Rosa charged into a nearby supply room. The room was filled with various types of gardening tools of which Rosa grabbed a handful of. Fitting them all onto a gardener's belt, Rosa armed herself with a pruning hand saw, a fork, trowel, and hand plow. Finally she pulled a hoe from rack and spun it around as if it were a quarter staff.

While she had been arming herself, Rosa had heard the sound of concrete breaking and felt the earth shaking. By the time she returned to the rose garden she saw what had happened. The floor of the building had begun to split apart revealing the earth beneath it. Plants had begun to spring all around turning the Botanical Society's building into a real forest. Inside the rose garden, Alura Une with its infant was the center of it all. The roots sprouting from her body now gave her an arachnid-like figure rather than humanoid one. The infant had 'planted' itself in the Alura Une's shoulder and presently the two seemed in a trance. Rosa noted that Graves was still lying where she had left him.

"You have what you want, why do you remain?" Rosa said addressing the creature.

The sound of her voice was enough to break Alura Une's concentration. The small infant head produced an expression disturbingly similar to that of its larger counterpart. The infant however did not speak.

"Your kind stole from us. You must pay."

"The man who stole from you is dead." Rosa countered. "What was taken is yours again. There is no need for this to go any further."

Alura Une smiled wickedly.

"All right. If it is a fight you want. I am happy to oblige." Rosa said confidently.

"Your kind and your insufferable hubris... Dracula is right to want to see you all destroyed. He will be pleased when next he awakens, for we will have laid you to waste."

One of Alura Une's many tentacles then launched towards Rosa and wrapped itself around her waist. The root-like appendage demonstrated its strength by lifting Rosa up effortlessly off the ground. Without hesitation Rosa swung the sharp end of her hoe into the tentacle. As the point pierced the 'skin,' Alura Une gave out an incredible cry. With another swing of the tool Rosa severed the tentacle and began to fall to the ground. Instantly another tentacle reached out and grabbed her, halting her descent. This time however the tentacle held her upside down and by her leg. Once more using the hoe, she swung it upwards and embedded it in the tentacle. Her leg was released and after a short swing, now hovered a dozen feet above the ground. Her hands gripped the hoe which in turn was impaled into the creature's tentacle. Rosa saw a swarm of tentacles reaching for her and she released her grip plunging herself downward to the floor.

She landed feet first and the high heels of her shoes broke. The bottom of her feet bore the full force of the fall sending a shock up her legs to her knees. The pain forced her to the floor. Quickly she removed her shoes and out of spite threw them at Alura Une.

The ground continued to shake tremendously making it very difficult for Rosa to keep her balance. Once on her feet, she peered outside to determine the cause of thunderous noises which seemed to be consecutively getting closer. She found in horror that huge tree trunks were sprouting from below the ground. The enormous trunks were rising upwards and breaking the building's high ceiling. One such trunk pierced the ground below her and Rosa found herself being lifted upwards. The trunk grew at an alarming speed and stopped short of crushing Rosa between itself and the ceiling. Rosa watched in awe as branches complete with leaves began to grow out of the trunk. She looked down at the rose garden exhibit and could not recognize a thing. The entire building was being transformed into a forest.

Rosa cautiously leapt from the top of the tree she was on and aimed for one of the lower branches but missed it. Dozens of other branches passed her by as she plummeted downwards. As she fell, her dress was torn by thorns and the pointy tips of the branches. Finally she was able to grab hold of a branch to halt her descent. There she rested for a moment. Her joints ached. Blood poured from the patchwork of cuts that now covered her arms and legs. She pulled herself up to sit on the branch. Rosa took out the box of matches she had procured from Grave's. The box had five matches.

The building had become pitch dark so the sudden light from the match Rosa struck glared her eyes. She pressed the lit match against the tree. The small fire grew instantly. Rosa heard the cry of the Venus Weed who could no doubt feel the fire as if it were burning her very skin. In a way it was. Tentacles like those she had battled before began to appear on all sides surrounding her. The hissing noise they made as they brushed past leaves and made them seem like snakes. With fork and trowel in hand, Rosa was ready to defend herself. A tentacle grabbed her foot once more and she was pulled clear off of the branch. Desperately she waved the fork above her head in hopes of it latching onto some branch. She felt her bones crack as she succeeded on doing just that. The tentacle continued to pull and the fork gave way. Rosa felt as though she were flying in the air as the tentacle drew her toward Alura Une swiftly through the newly grown forest. Her flight ended as the tentacle dropped her down and began to drag her along the floor. Rosa thrust her fork into the floor and managed a slim hold giving the tentacle pause. Having lost the trowel on the way down, her other hand was now free to reach into her belt for the box of matches. Rosa lit her second match using the floor to strike it and brought the small flame to the tentacle. It immediately released her from its grasp and disappeared into the forest with Alura Une's screech echoing in the background.

Rosa looked upwards and saw that her flame had grown, but not enough. She needed to spread the fire faster. From a nearby tree, she broke off a thick branch from its trunk. Then, ripping a piece from her dress, she wrapped the cloth around the branch and using another match, she turned the branch into a torch. Rosa wasted no time and began to run through the forested building torching every tree and even every blade of grass that she passed.

The tentacles did not leave her alone for very long. Although her flames had created a veritable forest fire, Alura Une was still a threat. Pulling her last weapon from her belt, a handsaw, Rosa began to swing the bladed weapon madly. No longer a handful, it was now hundreds of tentacles which swarmed around her. Thrusting her torch at them, she hoped to lessen their number by setting them ablaze. This tactic backfired as the affected tentacles continued to attack and were now armed with deadly flames. The swarm continued to gain ground and reducing the room Rosa had to move in. Finally the swarm was so close that Rosa was stood immobilized.

For a moment, the horde of limbs ceased their advance. Rosa's eyes scanned them all. Her mind raced as she strained to find a way out. No idea was forthcoming. Ultimately her next course of action was taken out of her hands. The tentacles gently pushed her in a definite direction leading her through the forest. She was led face to face once more with Alura Une. Like before, she was still a nexus for the hundred root-like tentacles which she had been outrunning. Now however Rosa noted that she had rooted herself into the ground beneath the building. Her legs had merged completely with roots that continued underground. It occurred to Rosa that this may have been the way in which the Venus Weed was able to force the growth of the surrounding plant life.

"You burned us," Alura Une said. "Do you know we can feel the fall of every leaf and the disintegration of every bush as your fire rages within us? This is why in our kingdom there is peace. You do not see plant kind fighting amongst itself. You and your animal kind kill one another and feel nothing. No pain, no sorrow, nothing."

"You and yours are not any better. You will kill me now with a smile on your face. What does that say about you?" Rosa retorted.

"You know your fate. Good. Now embrace it."

The torch and handsaw were ripped from her hands by two nearby tentacles. A dozen others began to wrap themselves around Rosa's waist and chest. Slow at first, Rosa began to feel as the tentacles began to squeeze her tightly. First she felt shortness of breath as the pressure the tentacles exerted did not allow her chest to expand. This was followed by a stinging pain in her sides as the pressure reached her ribs. Her hands gripped the tentacles in a futile attempt to rip them off. The pain became so great Rosa fell to her knees.

The chamber was suddenly filled with a soft gentle, childlike voice. She looked up and saw that the infant Venus Weed was still attached to Alura Une's shoulder and had now begun to sing. The lyrics to the song were in a language that Rosa did not recognize. Alura Une smiled gleefully and did not even pay attention to Rosa as she entered into her death throes; instead she was lost in a trance.

"Listen. It is our song. You are fortunate that you have been touched by darkness. You may listen and your mind will not break. Thatcher fought until the end. But you have given up. You know that is it your time to die. Let our song be your calling towards oblivion."

Rosa screamed in agony. Staring at the floor she saw her own blood splatter onto it as she coughed. The tentacles that were crushing her did not hold Rosa back as she crawled forward towards Alura Une's rooted legs. While the tentacles were an extension of Alura Une's consciousness, they did not seem to have their own intelligence.

Her hand touched the "skin" of Aura Une's leg. Instead of flesh, it was thin and leaf-like. An idea sprang into Rosa's mind, but she was rapidly running out of time and breath. The tentacles were focused on crushing her torso and had left her neck unperturbed. She reached for Reinhardt's scarf which was still wrapped around her neck and hastily made a small noose at one end. She then tossed the scarf in order to reach for the hand-saw which was just outside her reach. Rosa was already getting light headed when she managed to lasso the blade and pulled it towards her. With blade in hand she used her last ounce of strength to jam the blade of the saw into one of Alura Une's root "legs." The blade cut clean through the leafy skin and severed several dozen string-like cords hidden within. They were 'the root of her problem,' Rosa thought.

The Venus Weed bled green. The green liquid oozed over Rosa's hand and she felt it burn. The lyrical and joyous music of the infant turned into cries of pain with Alura Une providing a chorus. Alura Une looked down at Rosa with mix of horror and mad rage. Breathless, Rosa swung her blade and severed the other leg. The two Venus Weeds tumbled to the ground. Rosa felt the pressure around her chest subside. The once leafy skin turned brown. Their eyes no longer glowed emerald, but had turned black. The Alura Une and its infant were dead.

Rosa pulled herself out of the limp tentacle's grip and took careful breaths as she felt that her chest was still hurting. Smoke was filling the chamber and causing her to cough uncontrollably. Behind her she saw that the fire had grown beyond the rose garden exhibit and was now enveloping the whole building. Out of precaution, Rosa pulled another match from her belt and dropped the flame atop of the now motionless Alura Une. Just like normal plants, the Venus Weed died as soon as it was torn from its roots. Its green skin turned to a dry gray which in turn became black as the fire consumed it. Rosa watched for a brief moment as the corpse was enveloped before turning towards the forest.

Still short of breath, Rosa walked as quickly she could through the vast forest that the building had become. As she reached the exit of the rose garden exhibit she saw that Graves still lay unconscious on the ground. As much as she loathed the man, she could not justify leaving him. Rosa bent down and grabbed one of his arms intent upon dragging him out. She managed to drag him only several feet beyond the exhibit before she fell to the ground exhausted. The fire and smoke had filtered into the building's main hall so she continued to cough. Rosa came to rest upon on the bark of a tree. Her hand clutched Reinhardt's scarf which she had held onto. Her gaze became distant until at last her lids closed.

"Reinhardt…" she whispered as the image of her husband appeared to her in the darkness. The image suddenly became brilliant and shrouded in a green aura.

"Unfortunately not," said a voice which Rosa found familiar. The smoke which was filling her lungs was slowly pumped out of her and surprisingly not refilled with more. Her eyes opened sluggishly and she found herself staring up at Henry's face. No longer was it carved in anger as before. His face was restored to its normally beaming features. He gave her a quick smile before looking ahead. Rosa joined his gaze and saw that Carrie walked ahead of them. Surrounding them was a sphere made of a green translucent aura. The aura formed a barrier which protected them from the fire and kept the smoke out.

"Where is Graves?" Rosa managed to ask.

"Carrie is carrying him right behind us. Try not to talk, you need rest and Carrie needs to concentrate."

Exhausted, Rosa needed no further instruction. Allowing her head to fall back she drifted into a quiet sleep.