Very early Tuesday morning, outside the Principal's Tower

[sneerkite]

A figure dressed entirely in black, head to toe, made its way to the Principal's tower in the pre-dawn hour, carrying a can and a length of twisted cloth. It emptied the contents of the can along the length of cloth and around the base of the tower, then laid the cloth in a fuse some distance away.

And then it struck a match.

It looked up briefly, and one might get the feeling it was smiling, before it dropped the match onto the cloth and, as the fire grew, darted back into the darkness from whence it came.

[ooc: done entirely with permission, for those in the know, and posted a bit early to make sure we can get it all in, yeah? Identity of the arsonist is NFB]

Comments

[bigdamnprincipal]

Zoe could swear that the baby was starting to move earlier and earlier every morning in an effort to get her used to what it would feel like to not sleep. She was resisting the momentum to get out of bed for the moment, when the smell of smoke got her attention. "John?" she said, nudging him to see if he was awake.

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

John had been asleep, the smell of smoke invading his dreams, turning them to a disturbing mixture of the end of hunts and the end of his normal life. But being both a father and a hunter, he'd long since learned how to go from sleep to wakefulness in an instant so Zoe's nudge was enough to have him open his eyes.

Still it took him a couple of seconds to realise that the smoke scent wasn't just a dream that had followed him into consciousness. He sat up with a frown and looked around, seeking its source.

[bigdamnprincipal]

"You smell it too?" she asked, pushing herself up to start heading out of the bedroom.

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

"Yeah." John was up in an instant, moving past her to the door before she got there. He put a hand on the wood, feeling for heat.

[bigdamnprincipal]

Zoe did the same, and was grateful that the wood didn't feel too warm. "I think we're all right. But we'd better get out of here fast."

[sneerkite]

Steerpike had waited some distance away, letting the flames grow and getting rid of his all black attire. Once he felt that the fire had had enough time, he took a deep breath, murmured "Hero Steerpike" to himself, and ran toward the flames and smoke to bang on the door. "Hello? Is anyone in there?"

[bigdamnprincipal]

Although the bedroom door hadn't been hot, there were more flames in the rest of the living area than Zoe had expected, and she grabbed John's hand tightly to try to keep herself level-headed. "Yes, there's two of us," she called back. When she started for the door, more flames shot up, and she had to back up. "We can't get to you!"

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

John tightened his grip on Zoe's hand as he looked for a way through the flames. "It's no good," he said after a moment, the heat and smoke getting worse. "Back to the bedroom."

[bigdamnprincipal]

Zoe coughed, trying not to breathe too deeply. "You want to go back?"

[sneerkite]

This was going quite well, Steerpike thought. "Hang on!" he shouted. "I'll try to get the door down!" He backed up a few steps, then ran, shoulder first, at the door.

It shuddered, but held.

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

"Fire hasn't got there yet," John said, tugging her in that direction. "Plus there's that nice big window we can use to get out."

[bigdamnprincipal]

"If you think I can climb out that window..." Zoe started to say, but she knew she'd try if it meant they could get out. When she heard the bang on the door and saw that it didn't open, she nodded to John. "Okay, let's try."

[sneerkite]

Steerpike didn't hear this conversation at all. He was too busy running at the door.

This plan totally wouldn't work if he couldn't actually rescue the principal.

Finally it gave way, collapsing inward onto the flames and, one hoped, providing a brief break in the fire around the door way. Of course, Steerpike himself managed to fall through as well. Quite close to the fire.

Oh, that was going to hurt.

[bigdamnprincipal]

Zoe was surprised to see that it was a student who came through the door, and she winced when she saw him fall. She turned back towards John just in time to see a beam fall in front of the bedroom door, effectively cutting them off in that direction.

"Do we have a fire extinguisher?" she asked quickly. "We have no other way out but the front."

[sneerkite]

Stupid, stupid, stupid . . . but not unsalvagable. Steerpike rolled himself back onto the door, putting flames out on his left side as he did so, and with some effort pushed himself back out the door. "Hurry,"

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

"Yeah," John said, coughing against the smoke. He let go of her hand and pulled off his shirt and handed it to Zoe. "Here, use this as a mask, try to cut down on the amount of smoke you breathe in."

John ran for the kitchen, dodging around the flames as best he could, managing a tight grin of triumph when his hand closed over the small extinguisher kept by the stove.

He used it sparingly to get back to Zoe, then started towards the door. "Stay behind me," he told her.

[bigdamnprincipal]

If Zoe wasn't quite as frantic, she would have made a comment about John forcing her behind him, but she decided that that could be saved for later. As soon as they were at the door, she went to Steerpike, checking him with concern. "Are you all right? We've got to get...thank you," she said.

[sneerkite]

Steerpike had some serious burns across the left side of his face and down onto his left shoulder. As the adrenalin left his system, he ended up just kind of blinking vaguely at Zoe.

"Was out for a walk," he said. "Saw the flames. Came to help."

[bigdamnprincipal]

"And you did help," she said gratefully. "Come on, let's get out of here before anyone gets hurt worse," she added, ready to let him lean on her or John if necessary.

[sneerkite]

Despite the pain, which was really quite extraordinarily horrible, something in the back of Steerpike's mind was gleeful.

Hero Steerpike. It had totally worked.

He stumbled to his feet.

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

"Clinic," John again, keeping his words short as his lungs worked to get non-smoke filled air into them. He reached out a hand to steady Steerpike on his feet. "Come on son. It's not too far."

[sneerkite]

Steerpike nodded, letting out a low hiss of pain with the movement. His sense of dignity didn't let him lean on anyone unless it was absolutely necessary, and so it was for the most part under his own power that he made his way to the clinic.