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 Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 9:41 am
Micajah winced as he watched Weiyuan grab the doorknob and turn it without any real hesitiation other than a small pause, and he was pretty sure he had a dorky look on his face that mirrored a kid in shocked mixed with someone who had a little bit of horror in regards to burns and the pains they left behind. He'd make sure to let someone know about his companion's hand, even if the kid would deny it or tell anyway, and he took a few steps towards Weiyuan when a new voice called out behind him.
"!!"
Micajah jumped a bit when they'd be addressed, as his adrenaline had been leading to him only hearing himself and Weiyuan, along with the crackle, pop, and roar of flames mixed with the screams of a burning building, so the voice of another boy almost made him wet himself out of tension. Almost.
"We're going down, so if you're following hurry up and move in front of me. I'll bring up the rear of the line just in case so go ahead and go in, both of you."
His words weren't really orders, but this wasn't the time for games. Just to make sure they would somewhat follow Micajah took a step back and waited for Nash to move in front, ready to get behind him and watch their backs for anything.
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Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 10:13 am
Alexander scrambled up the last few steps of the stairwell, using Zhi's hand as support to pull himself up. He looked up to the ceiling, watching faint tendrils of smoke roil across the walls. His throat was already itchy, his eyes watering and his arms and face boiling. He'd take freezing to death any day over this.
He nodded to RuiZhi. "I'm Alex..." He smiled faintly and continued to follow RuiZhi along the hallway to another flight of stairs, running up the steps two by two to find some fire extinguishers.
Sasha reached for the first classroom door and stopped. It was probably as hot as the handrail. He pulled his sleeves over his hands and pulled the door open, a little wary to walk in and have the door lock or get barred behind him. It took a good mental kick to finally get him moving. He scrambled through the room, running frantically to the walls, remembering he had seen one or two in the magic classrooms when he had visited. He unhooked the first from the wall franticly and after he left the room, let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. "Should I just... put them all out here?" He would only be able to carry two at a time, but they could always come back for more if they ran out.
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Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 11:41 am
"All right. Alex." Now wasn't that irony. They ran up the stairs, and suddenly the smoke was entirely too thick. There was something awful and oppressive about it that made his hair stand on end. "Alex!" he called to the boy, "Cover your mouth and nose! Don't inhale the smoke!" RuiZhi was studying to be a doctor, the least he could do in this situation was lend his expertise.
He leaned down, tearing off the bottom cuff of his pajama bottoms (while noting the pitiful state of his feet), putting the material over his mouth and nose while hooking the torn cloth over his ears. It wasn't the best, but it was better than inhaling the brakish smoke before they found their query. RuiZhi nodded to the other. "There's good. Good idea." They could search and anyone who joined them could also help.
The next door was mostly burned through; jumping through the ember-ridden frame, he continued the search.
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Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 1:44 pm
Sasha didn't bother wasting good air and only nodded to Zhi. He pulled Wei's shirt up over his mouth and continued into another room. It was hard to see anything at all as he squinted through the flames and smoke, but he took his time through the classroom, only running into a few tables before finding the far wall. He heard a loud snap behind him as a beam fell and cracked a row of monitors.
The crackling of the flames drowned out his sudden holler and Alexander hurried to unhook the the extinguisher and dragged it out of the room and into the hallways before the classroom fell on top of him. He set it besides the others and watched his hands shake from adrenaline and fear and strain. "How many more are there?" He looked up and found Zhi wasn't there. Had he continue don without him? No that was silly, he wouldn't do that. He took a deep breath and began to look through the classrooms for Zhi.
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Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 2:19 pm
Worry had fled and Jaden was afraid. He hesitated, watching them run into the burning building, and somehow, he wanted to go too, wanted to help, but he couldn't find the courage, feeling some failing within himself. It brought tears to his eyes, frustration with himself more than anything that this situation could conjure.
And then...he saw Nathaniel run in...glance back at him once, and then he left. Jaden had had very few friends in his life, and all of them had eventually moved on and left the shy little blond behind. He wouldn't let that happen again if he could help it, and he couldn't let anything happen to Nat. The tiny scholar's world revolved around his brunette companion, and as soon as he saw Nathaniel reached that building, the quiet American was running after him, as quickly as he could.
If Nathaniel could do it, so could he. This was no impossible feat, and he would do it for his friends...had to help. If they failed...they all failed, and that could not, would not be allowed to happen.
Taking a deep breath of fresh air before plunging into the smoky atmosphere of the burning Science building, he did his best to keep Nathaniel in sight, a firm resolution burning in his chest...even if the other had turned to dissuade him, he would come.
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Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 3:03 pm
Weiyuan turned, only then noticing that a red head had joined them. Another one he didn't knew. This was getting tricky. Fortunately the flames weren't down stairs but the smoke was quickly seeping in. "Cover you mouth and nose, don't inhale the smoke!" He only had his hand as a cover but that was probably the best thing they had right now.
He had gone down numerous flights of stairs. It didn't make sense! They were technically going away from the fire but it didn't stop the heat. It wasn't getting any bit cooler at all. Finally the stairwell seemed to end. It was a long hallway and the brunette ran through, desperately searching for the control room door.
There!
The doorknob was searing hot but he attempted to open the door in vain. He hissed pulling back, cradling his injured hand. He had used the same one as before. "It's locked."
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Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 3:16 pm
RuiZhi reappeared through the burning door, putting down the extinguisher with the others. "Good, Alex," he smiled, although it'd be hard to see beneath his make-shift mask. "Can you use one? Let's see if we can't contain the fire that's come this far. We're not near the room yet, but we can't go any further until we stop the spreading."
He was not a leader. The Chinese youth would never be a leader, but he knew that as long as he kept thinking in terms of how to minimize any harm to others, he could keep a clear head. This was what he wanted to do - maybe not in this amount of dire circumstances, of course - and if he couldn't handle the pressure now, he'd be in trouble later. RuiZhi was afraid and starting to feel some pain, but he was regaining his hope. Alex's willingness to find the others gave him hope.
Wiping some sweat from his brow, he picked up one of the extinguishers. Chin up, she had said to him. Idiot. He sent the thought out to his sister: Chin up, we're coming.
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Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 3:39 pm
Nash stepped past Mic heading down the stairway without much fuss. There wasn't time and to be honest he didn't trust himself alone. Covering his mouth he could still feel the smoke fill his lungs making it harder to breath. With some of his shirt he ripped a piece of it off using it as a mask. The walk down did nothing in way of relief from the fire, if anything it felt hotter.
Still there was no time to panic: find the control room. Once they reached the bottom step he watched Wei take off but soon stopped in front of a door. Coming over he whinced at the student's display of bravery but his hand must be suffering by now. Again he tore a piece of his shirt tapping Wei on the shoulder gently. "It's dangerous to do that... here wrap your hand." His voice was soft and calm as he spoke reaching out kindly to take the other's hand and wrap the cloth around it. "Does the school supply fire axes? There should be some around here if they do. It might help." He suggested calmly letting Wei's hand go to look around.
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Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 4:30 pm
"Uhmm..." Sasha picked up one of the extinguishers and turned it over to the instructions. Well it couldn't be too hard right you just pull the pin and push the lever right? Well he'd figure it out. He fumbled over the pins to two extinguishers and finally picked them up, running down the hallway to douse the flames in a kindling classroom.
Alexander ran to the line of windows across the classroom and began unlocking them and pushing windowpanes open to let the smoke billow out as he began to put out the fire. He couldn't use the extinguisher with just one hand so he took off the shirt and wrapped it around his nose and mouth. He probably looked ridiculous, but it would be a small price to pay to stay alive. He hoped the other boy was fairing well.
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Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 6:09 pm
She felt like she was going mad, and just maybe, she was.
After getting over her pity party for one, Alex had quickly ripped the majority of her tank top to fashion a mask for Lina, not daring to let the pregnant woman inhale any smoke. She had checked the room for any exits, even the windows, but to break them open was to risk drawing the flame into the room faster than it was spreading. She had even gone so far as to move what animals she could, although many of them had already perished from the heat and smoke.
There had to be something! Anything that she could use to fight back--! Alex looked around the room, sweat trickling down her temple, spotting a fire extinguisher. It was mostly surrounded by flame, but she didn't hesitate; plunging her forearms into the fire, she grabbed the red tank and back away, forcing her blistering hands to work. She unleashed the extinguisher and set the retardant onto the fire...
...but nothing happened.
She had done all she could. There was nothing...nothing she could do to save her friend and unborn child. Alex could feel the resignation of defeat in her stomach, and it was an ugly, bitter feeling. Her head was spinning, her chest tight with the lack of ability to breathe; there might not be anything else she could do to get them out, but she could do one more thing...
To give her friend one last chance at survival, she covered the woman with one of the safety blankets she had found in the room, draping her own body over the unconscious woman as a last bit of fodder if the fire got that far.
I don't want to die here...but if I can spare you, and my godchild...
My brothers, please forgive me. My one...my love, I'm so sorry...
Her eyes were growing heavy as the oxygen to her brain became scarce. She was going to pass out, and there wasn't anything she could do. She could see her loved ones, as if they were standing with her. A bloody hand extended to them, watching as everything suddenly jerked and wavered in her gaze.
Alex's green eyes dimmed and closed as the world turned black.
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Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 6:43 pm
"Scyeth! Scyeth, sto--"
Dante had to cut himself off as his lungs began to protest the smoke furrowing through the halls. He cursed himself at once for his weak Elven constitution and the fact that he had no water spells in his repitoire--only light spells and, he suspected, perhaps a few black magic spells after the awakening of Luna. He still had to do more research on that, though.
More hacking ripped him from his thoughts, and he wasted no time in taking off his elaborate cape and wrapping it around his face like a scarf, covering his mouth and his nose. Immediately the air seemed to, if not freshen, at least seem more breathable.
"Ardanay!" Dante called over his shoulder. "Keep searching! Do you know which rooms are this way?"
They had to find him, and preferably quick.
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Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 7:09 pm
Dante even knew his name? This was worse than he thought! Scyeth flew down his hallway, thinking of very little, only finding Alex and getting away with this nonsense. The smoke was getting thicker, but Scyeth didn't notice until he found himself coughing. Great. Just great! He pulled the shirt up over his nose and snorted, eyes watering.
...he was lost.
He was lost in a burning building! Oh good gods and goddesses, what the hell was he thinking? The blond looked around, but nothing seemed familiar in the smoky haze. "Hello?" he called. Needed to find Alex. Yeah. Something crackled nearby. Damnit. He needed to keep moving or he was going to get roasted!
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Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 7:12 pm
Wei looked down at the impromptu bandage. "Ah...Thank you..." He didn't know what else to say, he wasn't really used to random acts of kindness. He too began searching the hallway, checking in some of the other rooms, this time opening the doors with a sandaled foot. With some luck he seemed to have found a storage closet.
No axe but he supposed what was in there was slightly better. A sludge hammer. It had a worthy weight to it and he dragged it back to the door before calling out to the other two. "I got something!" He faced the door giving it one final goodbye before hefting his weapon in hand.
It was too heavy for him to wield one handed, with a wince he applied his injured hand and pulled back. "Keep back." With a grunt and took a large swing at the door. He better not get charged for damaging school property.
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Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 8:45 pm
Nathaniel eye's were burning. Surely he would be blind after this little expedition. Surely all this smoke he was inhaling would kill him before he did anything useful. Surely these flames that lapped at his feet would ensnare him in their own right. He knew that these things would happen, and yet they weren't. Not yet. His eyes were watering, but not sightless. His breath was short, but not gone. And his pants... well... they weren't on fire yet. He took this as a good sign.
For a quick gauge at how far he'd come and where he needed to go, he looked around him, looking back for a moment. And then, quickly darted his eyes the other way. Wait. His eyes roamed back to behind him, pausing, disbelieving. There, past the smoke, was a figure. It was small there... but it was definitely following him. And even from here, Nat knew immediately who it was: Jaden.
He was about to call out when a cough caught his throat and he had to release it for a few moments, but then he consented with going forward and grabbing the boy by the shoulders through the flames, "Ja-jaden!" The Brit's exclamations were accompanied by wide teary eyed glances, mostly from smoke.
"What the .... you'd be safer outside Jade..." Nat said worried, trying to hide how furious he was with the blonde and himself for letting this happen.
Meanwhile, Ardanay Veilwood was tagging along with the elf Dante Araquenosse, and having no such luck in the finding of said missing boy, who'd run it quite haphazardly, and made the whole thing like a very dangerous Field Day. The Science Head frowned, glancing from side to side. He rubbed his eyes a little, worry filling his heart. The students. He hoped they were okay. The woman, he hoped she was okay. He wanted this damn nightmare to be over. He wanted it to end. In vain hopes, he had tied his hair back tighter, trying to keep it from frying. In vain hopes he was tagging along in his own building, now aflame, and trying to make sense of it all.
He glanced to the side and assessed it quickly, addressing the other professor, "Labs. File rooms. Mostly information. Dead ends?" He could only talk in fragments, because he was using a sleeve to try and keep the smoke out. It couldn't keep out of his eyes, so they were blinking furiously. As a Science teacher, he wished he could combat these things. Hadn't he just given RuiZhi a lesson on Lab Safety? If only the kid had rolled a number one.... but this was no ordinary fire. No ordinary explosion.
He'd have to redo the assignment. He sighed, and pressed forward, calling out the other boy's name, "Scyeth! Scyeth Akazar!" But he knew this probably wouldn't do much good.
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Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 8:53 pm
Micajah had been rather silent the whole time they'd moved down the stairs, his mouth covered with his hands in an effort to alleviate the smoke damage that probably was coming his way. He was sure they would all get checked out by the doctors when this was all over, and most of them (read: all) would probably need to stay overnight at the hospital on ventilators to get good air in and take out the sooty stuff.
He'd been moving around checking for an axe when the sound of something contacting with the door brought his back towards the source and the flames with double speed, his feet carrying his quickly across the floor. It relieved him enough to see that it was Weiyuan with a sledgehammer against the frame, but he frowned as he noticed the way the hammer contacted like it was barely glancing off. There wasn't enough time for something like to continue, they had to get it. The hinges needed to be busted, and...
"Hey, hand that over here. You can't swing it well enough if you're cradling your hand like you are."
His voice was soft yet firm as he held his hands out towards Weiyuan, his eyes serious enough to let the other know that he would simply take over, not try to stop this way of hopefully saving a life. He wasn't sure if he was any stronger then Weiyuan in terms of being able to swing the hammer against the door frame, but it was worth a shot. He at least had full use of both of his hands.
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