City On Fire

9

By eight am the next day the occupants of the institute were gathered in the recreation room and waiting to be debriefed for the trip. These little outings were supposed to be a reward for good progress. Why she was ever allowed on them was anyone’s guess. Especially considering how they thought she needed clinical torture to improve. Surprisingly enough Ella felt better today than she had in a very long time. There were still nightmares and she spent most of the night awake but she felt quite rested when she got up, more than that she felt a kind of drive in her chest that urged her forward. As she waited for Benny she leaned against one of the tables clutching her sketch book against her chest and her pencils in her pocket.

She had thought she would be more nervous or even scared but she was perfectly calm and as she had sat drawing earlier that morning her hands were steady. It might have been her immanent freedom or even the knowing that this God forsaken place would crumble soon enough but she rather thought it might have something to do with the woman. Ella had dreamt of her all night. The woman seemed strikingly familiar although she couldn’t possibly have even seen or have met her before. The woman’s dress and the house were right out of an old photograph and by old she meant early Victorian era perhaps even earlier. Her hair was done up and she wore a long emerald green dress with beautiful black lacework. The house was massive and had the most beautiful dark wood furniture and large widows that had light streaming in. There was this feeling of calm in the home as she stood and watched its two occupants.

There was a man as well, tall and handsome with dark hair and a large scar on his upper right arm. The house had a butler, maid and a stable hand who was little more than a boy but who was like a child in their home. There was so much peace misfortune was almost expected and the woman could feel it as well. While a spectator to their peaceful lives there was suddenly chaos. Somewhere in the distance there was a massive fire slowly consuming everything in its path. Ella rushed to look out one of the large windows and saw the sky was a bright red and what wasn’t ablaze was consumed by smoke. Even for her, though she was only a shadow, the smell was horrendous and getting worse. It looked like the whole city was burning and she could hear the people screaming and calling for help, something that made her more than a little frightened and even more frustrated. Turning from the window to find the home’s occupants she found everything in shambles. Furniture turned over and destroyed, holes in the walls and small drops of blood. Her heart sank and before she could help herself she called out.

“Lucas!”

She might have known that she would get no reply but still she called again as she ran down the stairs.

“Lucas!”

As she came around the corner the blood drops got larger and larger and finally she found the woman held in the air by her throat. A man the size of a building held her in the air as she bled form her stomach. He whispered something to her but Ella couldn’t make out what it was. What she did hear was the woman’s last words.

“Traitor, you’re plan is doomed to fail. There will be others like us who will stop you for as long as your sect may persist.”

The man was not happy about the reply he got and dug his knife into her chest. She gasped for air as the man watched the life drain from her eyes. Out of nowhere a massive black dog charged at him and bit down on his arm making him drop the poor woman’s lifeless body. The dog tore away at his arms and the side of his face relentlessly as the man screamed. Ella couldn’t help but feel it nothing short of karma for what he did to her. Behind the two of them came a man through the door brandishing a sword and cut down the murderer’s two cohorts.

He walked over but didn’t stop the dog from tearing the murderer to shreds. Instead he went straight to the woman who he held in his arms and furiously called. She was dead. Still holding her in his arms he started crying. The dog had made short work of his pray before he joined his master in grief. The anguish seemed almost unbearable for them and almost for her as well. The scene broke her heart and she woke up crying.

She spent much of the morning sketching. She wanted to get as much detail of them as possible and she wanted to show Benny.

“Alright everyone.”

The good doctor called for attention. Benny walked up behind her and poked her in the ribs. The two shared a laugh completely ignoring the traitorous physician. “Everyone knows our field trip rules. Don’t doddle on locations and don’t wander off. Your orderlies will be there to keep everyone together. Now, today is more than just an outing, we will be saying fare well to five of you who have been cleared for release.”

There were loud cheers for the small crowd. That would be six counting Ella and though she was perfectly calm Benny was sick with worry. Yes he wanted her out of here but she was just as vulnerable out there, if not more so. She would be hunted, she couldn’t go home. She would be on the run. He was being released to his parents and they could never know that she was there. So her hiding with him was out of the question. The plan had seemed genius to him at the time and their timing was perfect but now he wasn’t so sure. When the doctor finished his speech which neither Benny nor Ella heard a word off he looked at her. Determined not to show him an ounce of weakness she stared right back without flinching, although she did grip her sketch book so tight her fingers ached. She came out victorious as the doctor broke the stare first. Between the doctor and the orderlies everyone was loaded onto a twelve seater bus and after role call they hit the road.

They were headed to the National Trust Art Gallery in Good Hope City and the trip would be about an hour. It will probably end up being more seeing as how Mrs. Delanie was driving. She looked like a crow, was as old as the Roman Empire and even though Ella now had a very different opinion of her she was by all accounts not so bad. She was known for letting patients get away with sneaking out to the kitchen at night and arriving late for breakfast, sometimes she would even keep their breakfast aside for them. It was heart breaking in a way that she turned out to be like this. Being the responsible adult she should have spoken up, she should have looked after them and at least tried to stop them. Hell, not just her but Charley and Duncan and the doctor should never even have considered it.

“Hey, have you ever been to this museum?”

Ella elbowed Benny’s arm slightly and brought him back out of thought.

“W...what?”

He hadn’t been paying attention but when he looked over at her she was tapping the edge of her sketchbook.

“Have you ever been to this gallery?”

He looked past her and out the window before pulling up his shoulders.

“Never even heard of it.”

Benny looked out in front of him again but something about her question bother him. “Why d...d...do you a...a...a...ask?”

He was annoyed but Ella found his stutter absolutely adorable.

“Just curious.”

Benny narrowed his eyes when he saw her smirking.