Act 1 Wings of Change
© 2003 by Chris Regan
The Escape
As I sit in my study staring out reliving the day when the WD was, bombed I'm on the other end I'm yelling "Hello, Hello!" Then I realize the phone is dead. I call back two more times, then called others I knew that live in the area the phone rang and rang. I called their cellular phones there was no answer, I feel frantic so I called Jana.
For some reason I keep thinking about Aiden's two cats Bast and Pasht as I dialed. I knew the cats from when we had found Crissy and Millie after a terrible storm. A group of us had went out and were walking along the cliffs It was low tide I heard a very weak sound coming from a pile of seaweed then there was some movement. At first, I thought maybe a sea lion or other creature washed up on the shore until I saw a leg move then this wet ball of fur growl at me. I could see the cat was exhausted but she wouldn't give up.
It took us and hour to trap her so we could see the person that appeared to be tangled in the seaweed, the cat was having fits until we put the cage in the same room as the girl from that moment on they were inseparable, until the cat had her kittens. Later we found out the girl's name was Crissy, she had a kinship to the cats, and spring came that was when little Bast and Pasht chose to stay around Aiden and Crissy at the Watchers London Office.
I wonder why I was thinking of them maybe they were as much apart of the family as any other member god knows how many times they just showed up on Jana's doorstep after a long absents with Crissy.
The phone was picked-up and I could tell by the voice, I said "Jana something has happened at the WD."
"Slow down Alden what is bothering you?"
"I called Aiden like usually when he has sent me books but this time I got this chill I was talking to him when the phone went dead."
"Did you call him back?"
"Yes of course! I called him and other that live and work in the area, I even tried there cellular phones and there was no answer!"
"I'll call Robert at New Scotland Yard and we will see what he can dig up."
"OK."
I paced and drank tea that was now cold it felt like it was three hours before Jana got back to me. The phone rang and scary the bloody hell out of me "Bloody Hell" as I picked it up.
"Alden the Watchers Directorate Office was blown-up; it took out three blocks in all directions around it. I will be over to pick you up."
"Jana slows down are you OK?"
"Yes, yes I am fine my emotions have shut down and I'm running on logic but I believe I will be OK."
An hour later Jana picked me up and we drove to the area where the Watchers office use to stand, what greeted us was red-hot flames, Smoldering wood, melted brick and firefighters with hoses trying to drown the flame.
A small huddle of people blackened by the soot in the air an a constable was questioning, the survivors that were alive and being taken to hospital, other not so lucky souls that were in the blast area were being dug out of the rubble on the streets then put in ambulances and taken to morgue as we watched.
Jana grabbed my coat; I could see tear stream down her face as a plan-clothed office came up; "Move back, move back he said to the group of folks around us. Alden, Jana is that you?"
"Yes Joe what happened?"
"Some one planted a bomb in the basement of the bloody place, Killed dam near ever body in the building and every one outside the blast zone for a four block around. Were n not sure it got all the under ground levels but won't know until the flames are out and the bodies have been removed. Hope Aidan wasn't there when the bomb when off."
"He was there I was on the phone with him."
"Too bad I liked the old man. Do you think he could have survived?"
"He was at his privet phone and it is deep in the catacombs so who knows. When do you think we will be able to get in there to look for him?"
"Not for at least six weeks maybe longer, hay do you think he could live down there for that long?"
"He is resourceful and knows thoughts tunnels better than I do, so I would say yes he has a good chance if he made it to the tunnels."
Constable Joseph J. Campbell (We call him Joe.) saw a disturbance across the way "excuse me folks"
"Sure Joe."
"Jana, there is nothing we can do here come back to my place I'll make tea you call Beth and tell her…"
With a deep shaky breath and a flood of tears, she said, "You drive"
"Sure"
The door is standing open in Aiden's underground office, chairs are scattered around the room, two cats are sitting on a massive desk they jump down and slip behind a tapestry, as an old man runs in with a dozen younger men behind him, the phone rings.
With shortness of breath, he said to the person at the other end "Good, I'm glad to hear it got there safely keep it safe it tells whom…
They heard the blast at the same time they felt themselves hit the walls, not knowing how long they were out, the first to come around was a young man close to the door feels something hot and wakes with a female on top of him he slowly rolls her off as she is waking. She sits up holding her head were it is bleeding.
"God what was that?" the young woman said.
"Don't know but it felt like a bomb" he gets off the floor and looks down the corridor from which they came into the office saying "Alden, Alden look"
The old man gets up and goes to the door as the others are slowly getting up, the two peek around the door jam and see smoke and dust flying in the air as it starts creeping around the farther door, and down the hall they saw the first licks of flame come around the corner.
"What happened?"
"I'm not sure."
"Come on we have to leave!"
Aiden ran to the tapestry pull it a side, up the tunnel the cats sat with there eye a glow "Bast, Pasht lead them out of here" said the old man. The old man waits until the last person was out of the room then closed a heavy steel door as the cats turned and started to run with all of them fallowing them. They ran until they got deep underground where an underground lake flowed they stopped to rest and drink of the water and fill any bottles they may have.
One of the people while filling his bottle saw white under the waters surface. "Aiden there is something in this water."
"Those are Cave Fish they…"
Behind them, the cats meowed; the old man and a young woman looked around them both saw the cats were at the other opening. They heard the passage start collapsing behind them.
As Aiden yelled "Run, Run you fools."
Every one got up and ran out of the chamber as a cloud of dirt blasted into the chamber.
Aiden said as he ran "We are almost out" then as they got close to the split for the two underground tunnels that ran toward the cemetery there was another cave in the shorter tunnel was blocked as if something didn't want them to escape.
"Dam" said Crissy out of breath.
"What do we do now?" said Brendon one of the watchers.
With sadness in his voice, "We will have to take the long way to get out of here."
Aiden took them deep underground through the longer tunnel that lead to the WD crypts there was a very small trickle of a stream; this is where they rested for the next day.
"If you have water bottles with you re-fill them for we have a long walk ahead of us."
As Crissy filled her bottle "Aiden, where are the cats?"
His dirty face smiled at Crissy he knew she and the cats had a special bond. " They were here a few moments ago" He stopped for a moment and listened then said, "I hear them up the path they are resting about ten feet up in a small alcove
After filling her bottle she went up the passage and found the two cats. One looked Abyssinian the other looked like a regular gray tabby. Both look dingy from the dust. "Shall we contact Alden to let him know you are a live?"
The cats "Meowed" as she sat down they curled up as she closed her eyes and went into a trance.
When they were rested six hours later, Alden and the other found the three of them up the tunnel.
"You get thought?"
Getting up She said, "Not sure, I think I touched Alden's mind."
"Let's hope you did." said one of the guys standing behind Alden.
"Yea I'll try again later when we stop for a rest."
"Yes of course my dear."
We walked for hours and by the time we got to the next underground stream all the humans were tired I and the cats laid down to meditate hoping that I could get thought to Alden.
We had no idea if we where going to see the light of day. I knew Aiden felt responsibility to do everything in his power save us.
I could hear him tell the others "We will rest here for the next four hours."
When I woke from my trance it was quiet then I felt some thing coming
"Alden"
"I know"
"Every one run"
We grabbed our bottles of water and ran for our lives the sound of that tunnel behind us was deafening. As we though we were safe and could slow so the five guys in the back could catch up the tunnel clasped between us then the ceiling in front of us came down with a sheet of dirt that wouldn't stop. When it finally did stop we couldn't see for all the dust floating around. After the dust settled I could hear some one say.
"Couldn't we just dig our way out?"
"Yes, but we're to far down in the earth and most of you are hurt."
"We will rest then we will try to dig though the dirt to get out then to the others behind us."
Aiden asked "Crissy where are the cats?"
"They where farther a head of us I think they escaped the cave in."
"I hope they did if they get to safely to Jana she will come for us."
I said, "She may already know that something is wrong she will surely know when the cats show up without me."
"Rest my dear."
I lay back against a mound of dirt; I don't know how long we laid there I felt my wrist hurt then something being poured into my mouth. I had this dream I got to the entrance the air was sweeter it smelled so close then I felt a shaking, burning and darkness.
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