Mr. Blik and Waffle finally left the hospital after Gordon went to help at the World Trade Center. Waffle's eyes were red and puffy. He missed his brother more than ever. Blik said nothing, only staring straight ahead as they marched down the hospital steps. Loud cracks kept echoing through the city; the sounds of those who had no where else to go but down. Suddenly, a loud rumble shook the ground and civilians began to run away from the Towers. Waffle shrieked and pointed down the street. A huge cloud of smoke was rolling toward them, very, very fast. "Waffle, run!" shouted Blik, and the two brothers took off running with the rest of the crowd.
Blik turned back and noticed that the South Tower was gone. If Gordon was in that tower, he didn't know what he would do. He began running again, only to figure out that he had lost track of Waffle and the cloud had moved closer. Blik ran faster than he ever had in his life. "Waffle? Waffle, where are you?" he cried out, glancing franticly back and forth, searching for Waffle. He found him. There on the street was Waffle, trampled by the huge crowd of people who had past by.
"No… NO! Hang on, Waffle!" Blik ran for his brother, right in the path of the giant moving cloud. Waffle lifted his head weakly, trying to see who was coming. "Mr. Blik?" he choked. Blik nodded and tried to drag him out of the way, but it was too late. The cloud was right in front of him. He opened his mouth to scream, but instead caught a mouthful of dust. He coughed and choked, his eyes burning with dust and bits of metal. He heard Waffle choking, too. If they didn't get out, they were going to suffocate and die.
He searched for Waffle with his paws and finally got hold of his tail. "C'mon, Waffle, we've… got… to…get out!" Blik choked frantically, trying to look through the smoke for a place to hide. He spotted an SUV through the dust and dove for it, remembering to bring Waffle with him. The brothers coughed and sputtered dust until their throats were clear. Then, Waffle said, "What if Gordon was in there? What if he…" He rubbed his eyes, trying not to cry and at the same time remove the smoke and metal bits.
"I don't know. All we can do… is pray." Blik heard the rumbling stop and crawled out from under the car. It looked like it had snowed. Dozens of people walked about the streets of New York, coughing up dust. Others who weren't so fortunate to escape lay still in the smoke and grime, never to move again. Blik silently mourned as Waffle gazed upon the last standing tower. Thoughts of the good times he and Blik and Gordon spent together filled his mind. He walked to his remaining brother and put a hand on his shoulder. He could hear Blik whisper to himself, "Damn the evil people who did this. Damn them all!" He tugged away from Waffle's grasp and trotted away. "Where are you going, Blik?" inquired Waffle. Blik turned and answered, "Home. We can't stay here. That other tower is gonna fall at any minute… any second."
"We can't leave, Blik! Gordon might be still alive." Waffle turned toward the North Tower again. "Oh yeah?" said Blik, "Well then why isn't he here? Why hasn't come back yet, huh? HUH!" Waffle trembled at Blik's screaming. "Maybe he… got trapped. Maybe he's taking his time and trying to help!" Blik rushed to Waffle and stood face-to-face with him. "Don't you get it! Don't you see! Gordon is NEVER coming back! He's GONE, ok? GONE! Deal with it!" Tears of complete sorrow swelled in his eyes. Waffle began to cry, too. "I… I… I don't believe you, Blik!"
"Then you're as big a fool as Gordon was…" Blik put his head in his hands and sat on the dusty ground. His throat burned. His vision was blurry. He knew that he had lost his brother. There was no way he could have survived. What if he was wrong? What if he was in the other tower? It didn't matter. He was doomed anyway. Waffle sat beside him and put his arm around his neck. Blik buried his face in his brother's chest. They sat there for what seemed an eternity.
Hovis was in shock. It had all happened so fast in front of his eyes. The sight of the Twin Towers burning, the sudden attack on the Pentagon, and now, the South Tower was gone. Not to mention that Gordon or any of the cats had called him back to ensure their safety. For one of the first times in his life, he was very, truly frightened. It was happening so fast, so close by. He had tried repeated times to call Gordon, but only his voice message answered on the other side. He would have trekked to New York to find the cats, but they had already taken Gear with them.
He didn't know what to think. Knowing Gordon, he would have probably gone to the World Trade Center to help people escape. Now that the South Tower was gone, his fears were only raised higher. He looked out the living room window, thinking… praying. Out of nowhere, a sound that resembled a missile falling echoed through the house. He stared closer at a fast moving object headed for a field nearby. It was a plane, but something was terribly wrong. It was headed straight down, very fast. Hovis sprinted out into the front yard in time to hear a massive explosion. A mushroom cloud of smoke rose into the sky. Not again, he thought.
"So," asked Gordon, moving quickly to keep up with Jeffery as they climbed the stairs to the upper floors, "Why did you bring me into the North Tower if it's gonna COLLAPSE!" Jeffery turned back and stared Gordon in the eye. "You said you were gonna help out, didn't you?" He was right. They had to find as many people as possible and ensure they got out alive. He suddenly remembered that Hovis wanted him to call him. "Oh, crap…" he silently cursed, "Just a second, Jeff." He stuffed his hand into his fanny pack to find… nothing. His cell phone was gone. He figured he must have dropped it when Jeffery saved him. After his show of affection at the beginning of the attack, he knew Hovis was probably extremely worried.
"Agh! I lost me phone!" he shouted as they past by a flaming doorway. "Wait," whispered Jeffery. "Did you hear that?" Gordon listened intently over the crackling flames. The muffled sounds of crying and screaming could be heard from behind the door. Jeffery ripped a piece of railing from the stairway with amazingly little effort. Gordon gasped. Jeffery jammed the bar into the door and prized it open with ease. At least twenty people spilled out from the burning room, coughing and wheezing. One last person, however, could be heard crying wildly for help. "Stay here! I'll be back!" said Gordon, and jumped over the fire. Jeffery reached out his hands and tried to stop him. He was already gone.
Gordon searched around for the person, but the cries had receded. "Where did you go?" A soft cry that said, "Over here!" came from under a large filing cabinet. Gordon lifted the object with all his might, straining his back. He finally was able to lift the thing away. Underneath was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. Her business attired was charred and torn, but her face was untouched and delicate. She reached over and kissed Gordon on the forehead. He chuckled softly. She slowly rose to her feet and said, "Thank you so much! You're so wonder…" the woman looked over at the doorway, spotting Jeffery. "Jeff?" she asked.
"L-Lisa? Lisa, is that you?" Jeff slowly approached the woman. She walked toward him, too. After one good look into each other's eyes, the two got closer and held each other tightly. "Oh my god! I thought I lost you, love!" sobbed, Jeffery. Each of them had tears of happiness in their eyes. Gordon watched silently, grinned from ear to ear. Sweet reunion, he thought. He wished that was him and his brothers. He longed to see them again, hoping they were ok. Tears ran down his cheeks. This mess would never have happened if they had never came to New York. He somehow knew, however, that they were ok. "Gordon," said Jeffery. "Take my phone. Call that family of yours you were talking about." He handed the phone to Gordon, who took it with gleaming eyes. They smiled at each other.
Suddenly, this moment of rejoice was ended as a chunk of flaming material fell from above, landing between Gordon and the group of people they had found. "GORDON!" cried Jeffery. "GO, JEFF! There is nowhere for me to go…" answered Gordon. A minute past, and footsteps began to pound away. He heard Jeffery call him again. "Gordon," he said sadly, "Goodbye, buddy." His footsteps faded away. Gordon knew he had accomplished his goal. He had helped to save many lives. And now, his own was in danger. A breeze lightly fluttered from a nearby window. It made him think of home. His brothers. Slowly dialing Kimberly's number, he made his way to the window.
His time had come.
Author's Note: Well, there are only two chapters left! I am glad that many of you have enjoyed my story so far, and I hope I haven't made it too sad. Until the next update, stay in your seats! Xegrot