What if We Rewrite the Stars?

Act 26: The Fire!

Phillip escorted, what he thought, was the last of the crowd. "Hey, thank you very much for coming. Tell your friends and neighbors! Who enjoyed themselves? You? You? Tell everyone how much fun you had at the circus!" He smiled, talking to the crowd that was leaving for the night. "New acts every night!" He exclaimed when he watched them leave.

"Hey! Ringmaster."

He turned to see some of the rioters still in their seats. "Gentlemen, gonna have to ask you to leave." He said, walking over to them. 

"This is our town, son..." The rioter said, when Amelia stopped, nudging W.D. when she saw Phillip talking to the rioter. "We think you should leave. You and your freaks." The rioter continued to say when W.D. walked over to Phillip's side. "And your spooks." The rioter continued to say.

"Sir... I will only ask once more--" Phillip said, trying to stay calm. 

"Then what, boy?" The rioter asked when W.D. took the opportunity to punch the man in the jaw. 

This began a fight when the rioters started to fight Phillip and W.D. 

"Charge!" Lettie yelled, when the other acts ran out, except for Anne and Amelia.

One of the rioters purposely broke a lamp causing the building to catch on fire. They set the animals free as Phillip and W.D. tried to get everyone out, while the rioters fled. Many of the crowd haven't caught their carriage yet, so they stayed to try and help.

"Everyone! Stay close!" Phillip yelled, helping Lettie back to the crowd.

"Phillip! Is everyone out?" Phineas asked as he ran over to Phillip. "Is everyone okay?" Phineas asked while everyone was crying, freaking out, or coughing. 

"Yeah..." Phillip nodded, looking at Phineas, who turned to O'Malley. 

"The animals? The animals?" Phineas asked O'Malley. 

"Yeah, we set them free. What else could we do?" O'Malley asked him when Phillip started to look for Amelia, who got separated from Anne. 

"W.D., Anne, where's Amelia?" Phillip asked when he saw the sibling duo, but not Amelia. 

"Where's Amelia? Where's my daughter?" Phineas asked when Anne and W.D. shrugged, but they looked worried. 

"I don't know. I didn't see her when the fire started." Anne said, worried as W.D. held onto her.

Phillip took off towards the burning building when Phineas went to follow him, but W.D. and Lettie stopped him. "No, Phillip! No!" Phineas yelled out after him. 

"You can't go in there!" Lettie said to Phineas when a fireman turned to hold back Phineas.

The other fireman kept pumping water, trying to stop the fire, when Amelia started running from the side of the building. "Dad!" She yelled running over to them. 

"Here she is! Here she is!" Anne exclaimed when Amelia ran into her dad's arms.

"Where's Phillip?" Amelia asked, pulling out of the hug when Phineas looked at the fire. 

"Phillip!" He started to yell as Amelia's heart dropped to her stomach. 

"Daddy!" Caroline and Helen yelled when they rushed over with Charity. Helen jumped into Amelia's arms, when Phineas looked at Charity, then at Amelia. 

He did not say anything as he ran inside. He threw his jacket off, while Charity, Amelia, Caroline, and Helen screamed after him. As soon as he ran inside, the building started to collapse. Amelia moved to shield her sisters from looking as she held them, crying as tears ran down her cheeks. Charity held her daughters when Lettie moved to comfort them as everyone started to cry. Helen peaked over Amelia's shoulder when she saw Phineas carrying Phillip.

"Daddy!" 

The crowd gasped in relief, when Amelia stood up, seeing Phillip in her father's arms. Phineas laid him on the ground, while W.D. bent down to help him. Amelia bent down, when she laid her head on his chest, trying to listen for a heartbeat. 

"He's taken in a lot of smoke," Phineas said, looking up at the firemen and the others. 

"He's still breathing... Come on, Phillip." Amelia said, raising up as she moved her hand to his burned cheek, tears still running down her cheek. 

A few firemen walked over, when they put Phillip on a stretcher, while Phineas stood up, pulling Amelia to stand. He pulled Amelia in a hug as she watched them walk off with Phillip.

~704 words~