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(Recovery and loss)
''WE NEED TO THINK CAREFULLY ABOUT THIS''
''I agree.''
''We have go to through the front gate, it's probably still surrounded with the broken remains of Mortmain's mechanical creatures, yet it's the only solid way into the Institute. If I am right- and by the angel I hope I am- Sophie and Thomas will have sought refuge with Tessa and Nathaniel in the Sanctuary. All we have to do if get inside the building unscathed.''
''So we go through the front door.''
The voices became clearer as I regained consciousness, my ears no longer feeling as if they were stuffed with cotton wool.
I soon realised I was leaning against Will's shoulder, strips of gear wrapped tightly around my abdomen to prevent the wound from reopening again. The odd thing was, the carriage wasn't moving, and that could only mean one thing. I sat up with dread. We were back at the Institute.
Jem sat opposite and Will sat beside me. ''What the plan.'' I said blearily. My bones coursed with a dull ache- painful yet somewhat bearable. Will looked at me.
''Your awake.''
''I'm awake.''
Thousands of unspoken words filled the silence between us, some more explosive than others. Jem swiftly cut in. ''How are you feeling,'' he spoke carefully.
''Like I've just been stabbed.'' I spoke simply.
Will snorted beside me and even Jem cracked a grin.
''You didn't answer me, what's the plan boys?''
As Jem recounted what the two had discussed my frown fell farther and farther. It was a terrible plan, yet the only one we had.
As the three of us stepped out of the carriage I instantly spotted the Institute's doors slightly ajar. My heart sank. Doors of an any Institute should never stand ajar.
Our boots clattered loudly as we stepped through the open doors of the Institute. I inhaled sharply, Agatha's body lay sprawled across the marbled floor, drowning in a pool of her own blood. Her eyes were wide open, glued to the high ceiling of the Institute. I looked down at her mangled form in grief. She had always made the best pork pies.
Jem knelt down and closed her eyes in silence. Signs of battle were evident everywhere. Torn mechanical parts and broken gears were coated in thick layers of blood and oil. Will was the first of us to walk towards the foot of the staircases. There slumped across the lowest steps, with a shard of metal in his chest, lay Thomas. His sword lay discarded beside him. Agatha and Thomas's bodies were a gory and gut wrenching sight yet I remained steadfast, coming to crouch beside Thomas's body.
