In the end, Thomas, Silence, Cut and Father Pierce were able to get Ape down the stairs. Lucy had tried to help, but her heart had started pounding again. She'd tried to pretend it was just adrenaline from all that had happened, but Cut could tell. In the end she sat on the stairs and rested, slowly making her way back down. By the time she was down, Father Pierce and Cut had gathered the bodies, while Silence helped Thomas to save Ape.
They'd stopped the bleeding and cleaned the wound, but Thomas was still worried. Ape had lost a lot of blood. Lucy had made it into the room as he had finished explaining this to the frightened Silence.
"Is there nothing that can be done?" asked Lucy.
Thomas looked up at her. "I've heard of experiments with animals, where blood was transferred from one to the other. But, it can go terribly wrong, causing a painful death even."
Cut and Father Pierce had returned to the room. "You mean taking one thing's blood and giving it to another?" asked Cut.
Thomas looked up at him in surprise. "Yes?"
"Ape can survive it."
"Cut, we all want to save your friend, but, how can you be sure?" asked Father Pierce gently, but Thomas had already started looking around, finding his brother's transfusion tools in a cupboard to the side.
"How many different people did my brother try this with?" he asked in a whisper.
"It wasn't just people, and I don't remember how many. I didn't know most of them. Only Ape survived," replied Cut.
Thomas nodded, his jaw set and his eyes hard. Quickly, he began to set up the equipment. Silence started to roll up her sleeve, but Thomas put out his hand to stop her.
"No. No, none of you can spare the blood." Silence looked confused and started gesturing to the wounds and blood on everyone in the room, and then at herself, dirty but unharmed. "No," said Thomas. "I don't doubt you would give every drop of your blood for him, to take away his suffering...I don't doubt you would give your blood to take a lot of things...but I'm still a doctor and I can tell when a patient is malnourished. We use your blood my dear and we'll have another patient." At this Thomas, picked up the last needles and slid it into his own veins.
Silence gave Thomas a strange, small smile, and then hurried to Ape's side, brushing her hands along his temples, as though expecting him to wake at any moment. Cut stood next to Thomas as his blood flowed into Ape. Lowering his voice so that Silence wouldn't hear he whispered, "Is she really so bad off?"
"Probably," replied Thomas. "But just because Ape has survived this before doesn't mean he will today. She doesn't need that burden. Doesn't need an excuse to blame herself..." Thomas fell quickly silent. Oblivious, Cut continued to stare at him. "Perhaps," ventured Thomas, "there has already been too much of that." Father Pierce came up and placed a chair by Thomas for him to sit down. He'd already pulled up another one nearby for Lucy.
Lucy sat, holding Cut's arm, staring over at Silence and Ape, and trying to not think of Claw, Bite and Lord Bryan's bodies in the hall. "What happens now?" she whispered. Cut looked down at her, but then at Father Pierce. Father Pierce looked from Cut and Lucy, to Ape and Silence and then finally to Thomas. "Indeed, what will happen now?"
Thomas stepped up and removed the needles from his and Ape's arms. "Right now, we finish taking care of our patient."
Epilogue
Lucy walked through the sun lit meadow. It had been a wet and cold spring, but it promised to be a warm summer. Moving steadily, she caught up to Silence and Ape. Silence smiled at Lucy and pressed her hand as she walked past before taking Ape's again, and turning back towards the castle. Lucy continued on until she came upon Cut, kneeling in the dirt looking at the small sprouts starting to grow.
"Do you think it's the flowers?" he asked. "Do you think they're coming back?"
Lucy knelt in the dirt next to him. "They'll be here come summer, just you wait and see."
Cut turned to Lucy, raising his hand to brush hold her face. "I'd like for you to see them. I think it would make the others glad too, even the Doctor, should he ever come back."
"Father Pierce said he probably would, some day. He forgave Silence, but I don't think he's forgiven this place. It's all just a part of nightmare for him."
Cut nodded. "I can barely stand those stone walls myself. Listen, Lucy, I was thinking. We were happy in our cabin, weren't we?"
"Yes Cut, but you remember the arrangement, for the time being we're not to leave here. We're lucky Thomas trusts Father Pierce enough to check up on us and didn't insist we all go back to a...to a..."
"No, no, I know Lucy. I don't want to leave. You're the only thing I found out there that I want, at least for now, and, I couldn't bear to leave Bite and Claw all alone in that cemetery, surrounded by the strangers. No, I meant, what if I built us another cabin. Right here. Here in the meadow."
Lucy smiled quietly at the little sprouts, and looked up at the hill Cut was pointing to. "It would be a beautiful home," she agreed. Cut kept his eyes on Lucy's smiling face. "It will be a beautiful life," he replied, before leaning down to kiss her as softly and as long as he could, for as long as they both should live.
The Beginning