Hermes Hall; The Grim's Lair

'So,' I shrugged the rope off my shoulders and began untying my feet. 'Shall we?' I said, tucking father's penknife back under my sleeve.

'Of course. I was beginning to think she would never leave,' he followed me towards the pipes. 'Cunningham, I'm sorry about—'

'There's nothing to be sorry about.' I said firmly, my mind racing through Mary-Lou's speech. She knows that I've been here. 'She knew about my penknife.' I muttered. 'Why didn't she take it?'

'A stroke of luck?'

'This is Mary-Lou, William. She evidently has the mind of a cunning murderer. Even the stupidest convicts wouldn't leave us alone with a weapon.' My eyes darted around. From the lanterns, the bodies, the steam-driven contraptions— and Nick. Instead of the wave of unbearable emotion, something else washed over me. A steely determination and— his chest! It was rising and falling slowly, but distinct enough for me to notice.

'Nick!' I ran to him, hiking my skirts up above my ankles. 'Nick, wake up. You're not dead.' I looked at where he lay and the gas tank in front of us. Gasoline. I tightened the spigot just as the sharp scent reached my nostrils. He was close to death if he wasn't already there. 'Nick.' He didn't stir. Too late then.

But a cough came and relief flooded me. 'Nick,' He started coughing and struggling to sit up after a few moments. 'I thought you were dead.'

'Dead?' He chuckled weakly as he opened his eyes. 'You can't get rid of me that easily sister.' He started coughing more violently, holding me for support. 'Why are you here? I thought the Grim had me.'

'You and me both.' I led him towards William, who offered his jacket for warmth. It didn't make sense how this room was freezing and the other, a steam room. 'We need to find a way out.'

'I've tried everything.' William declared, ruffling his hair. 'Did you notice the gasoline?' I nodded. 'If Lou planned this, she certainly didn't prepare for any mistakes.'

'Hold on, Lou?' Nick looked at us. 'Mary-Lou? Mary-Lou is the Grim? Our Mary-Lou? But she's—'

'Mary-Lou. We know.' William replied, handing him my cane. 'I can't turn off the poisonous gas, but I think I can get the passage open.'

'What are you waiting for then?' Nick tried to move out of my grasp.

'Are you sure about this?' William asked. 'This is Lou.'

'I know.' Part of me didn't trust opening the wall, given her history of potentially deadly surprises. But I didn't want to die either. 'I'm sure.'

'Leave as quickly as you can. We have no use to linger around.' He told us, fiddling with a dial next to the pipes. 'Run if you can. Now.' There was a click as the wall before us slid upwards and the lanterns started shattering on the ground. Mary-Lou had planned on our escape, and she didn't plan on us surviving.

◊◊◊

Hermes Hall, The Grim's Lair

'It's a fire.' I said softly as my mind drew a blank. 'She's setting it on fire.' All of the evidence, gone.

'Cunningham, let's go!' William dragged me out into the corridor by my elbow as the flames grew consuming everything in the room. 'Elizabeth, now.'

The fire remained confined to the room but the smoke threatened to choke us as we ran and Nick hobbled to a sealed exit. My eyes stung and we were all filtering the air with the collar of our clothes. Lou was merciless. She wanted us to die.

We were nearly at the stairs when I felt my feet fly out behind me and my body headed towards the floor. 'Elizabeth!' I vaguely heard William's muffled cry as my arms saved me from impact. Protocol does work. There were pebbles and splinters digging into my skin as I struggled to stand up. The smoke wasn't as dense as it was before, but I could hear my breathing growing shallow by the minute. Stupid corset.

'Are you alright?' William asked.

'I'm fine.' I said hastily, trying to move out of his hold. 'Look after Nick. He might not make it.' That was a lie. My brother was already halfway up the stairs. What wasn't a lie was William's weak lungs, and he knew it. I could feel pain seeping into my leg as I started to run. 'Go! I'm fine!' I repeated, watching him quicken his pace.

My running steps turned to strides and resorted to limps as time wore on. By some miracle, I reached them without any of us collapsing.

'Come on,' Nick helped me up what felt like a hundred steps to where William was wrenching the door open. 'There!' another click sounded and light blinded us as the wall went up.

'Elizabeth!' Avarice ran to us with tears streaking her cheeks. 'Oh I thought you were gone. I thought you were dead.' There were detectives, officers, teachers, firemen and an entire crowd of people I couldn't recognize. But my eyes searched for Mary-Lou.

'I didn't do it!' Her screams were drowned out by the firemen rushing past us and the teachers trying to bring us to safety. 'I didn't light the fire Elizabeth! I didn't, I swear!' She looked at us as we passed her and the officer holding her captive. 'I didn't know about the fire. She said you'd live. She said you'd live.'

'I'm alive Lou.'

'No.' She sobbed, the Grim entirely gone from her features, from her speech. This was the Mary-Lou I knew. 'No, Liz. You're a dead man walking.'

As the dust settled and the adults bustled around us, reality started sinking in. The Grim was gone. He was gone. It was over. The nightmare had stopped. But Mary-Lou's words echoed in the night when I couldn't sleep.

No Liz. You're a dead man walking.