No. 8 ; THE SIREN

The White Violin

Suddenly, the house started shaking, and a rustling wind sounded throughout the building. Diego gripped Serena tighter for security, as he and his siblings looked around in alarm.

"What is that?" Allison asked, but her question remained unanswered.

Diego gently helped Serena stand up, and the four of them ran out into the hallway, where they met up with Luther.

"Yo, what the hell is going on?" Diego called out to Number One, who was looking just as confused as they were. He took long strides, and Serena was trying to keep up with him.

"Are those explosions coming f-" Klaus started, but he was cut off.

"Vanya," Pogo muttered in conformation, his eyes worried. The ape had ran into the hall to see what the commotion was about, when he realised it.

Serena's eyes widened in shock. She knew that Vanya was powerful, but this was certainly not what she was expecting. The force with which the house shook resembled that of an earth-quake.

"You need to get to safety outside the Academy," Pogo stressed, making eye-contact with each of the siblings.

Diego instantly got ahold of Serena's arm and started dragging her with him, Klaus not far behind the two.

"Don't forget Mom!" Luther called after them, and despite the situation they were in, Serena couldn't help but appreciate his concern for their mother, who he had wanted to turn off a short while ago.

As soon as they approached their mother's favorite spot in front of the paintings, the siblings came to a stop. "Mom!" Diego called out. Serena would have called with him if she had been able to.

Another explosion sounded, and pieces started falling from the ceiling, narrowly missing the three.

Diego groaned. "Where is she?"

Serena tugged his arm and they took off again, running and screaming for their mother. Serena looked around frantically, a panicky feeling tugging at her chest. She urged herself to go faster.

Yet another explosion sounded, but this time, it was very close. More pieces started falling from the ceiling, and this time, the siblings were not so lucky. They were hit, and the three of them fell to the ground simultaneously. Diego passed out, having been hit in the head.

Serena tried standing up but whimpered in pain when she did. She glanced down at her leg and saw that it was bleeding. She grimaced and hoisted herself up on her feet, which took a lot of effort.

Her eyes flickered across the room, trying to find her brothers. She silently screamed when she saw a huge part of the ceiling fall down and nearly crushing them.

She rushed over to them, going as fast as she could with her injured leg, and looked at Klaus.

Number Four knew what she was trying to say, and nodded reassuringly. "We're fine, Cece, promise. Ben-" He was about to explain what happened, but was cut off by a loud boom sounding from above them.

Serena beckoned with her hands for Klaus to get up, and together they carried Diego out to safety. The adrenaline made the girl momentarily forget about her leg, but she was sure that it was going to hurt very badly when everything settled down again.

They made their exit through the fire-escape. Klaus covered his head from anything that was falling down, and when they got to safety, both him and Serena faced Diego.

"You okay? You okay?" Klaus asked both of them, breathing heavily.

Serena nodded, not feeling the pain from her leg at the moment, while Diego just stared at Klaus.