Waking Nightmares(Lined Bullets)- A GMD Fiction

Chapter 12: Caught!

       It was ten o'clock at night, with a continuous mist coming down on us as we made our way to the outskirts of London. I was dressed in ragged clothes that had been covered in ash and soot with a paper boy cap pulled down passed my eyes as to not let anyone see my face. My brother was dressed similarly, but his eyes were not covered as much.
       I walked to the outskirts without much trouble as long as I had my cane. Once we were several meters away from the factory, Byron had his arms under me and I dropped the cane by a tree.
       "Are you sure you're ready for this," he asked in a hushed tone. "You do have your brace on, correct?"
       "Yes to both of those questions," I replied.
       "Good, good. Let's carry on then."
       And so, Byron carried me indirectly towards two guards in a drunken manner. They soon took notice, so I went completely limp and groaned quietly as to make them think I was unconscious.
"What's goin' on over there," asked a somewhat burly mouse. "And what's wrong with 'im?"
       "Me and me mate 'ere got in a little brawl with some folks in the bar," Byron said in a gruff, more countryside tone. "... me pal got knocked in the 'ead an' I had to carry him 'ere. Now if you'd kindly let us pass..."
       The two looked at each other, but shrugged and let us pass without question. The doors closed behind us and when we took a few steps inside, Byron dropped me.
       "What was that for," I whispered harshly.
       "Sorry, but I wasn't expecting you to put all your weight on me!"
       "My apologies, for trying to look unconscious enough so that we wouldn't get caught. Anyways, will you help me up, now since my cane is absent?"
       He nodded and helped me up. When I tried to put weight on my right leg, it collapsed and and I started falling forward until Byron caught me. I shook my head as he placed upright and pushed his arms away.
       "No, no," I said. "I can do this."
       "Are you sure?"
       "Yes, now let's move on before someone realizes we're not drunken gang members."
       And so we were walking down the hallways in their many twists and turns, but we couldn't find any type of holding cell anywhere. That is, until we heard the crying of a young child.
       We heard the child, but we could not see him or her. It was as if it was coming from inside the wall... and in fact, it was. I pressed my ear against the wall and the noise instantly grew louder.
       "Is somebody in there," I asked to the wall.
       There was a small gasped and the sobbing slowed to a stop.
       "Y- yes," the voice of a young girl whispered. "Who are you?"
       "I'm Basil of Baker Street. I'm here with my brother and we've come to take you and the other children home... hold on for a second and we'll get you out, okay?"
       "Okay."
       I took a few steps back and looked at the wall. There had to be some opening, or else the children would suffocate.
      Suddenly, Byron produced a low whistle and waved me over. I limped over to him as he pointed towards a small indent in the wall, big enough for one of Rattigan's hands. I took hold of it along with Byron and pulled. It was a slow process, but soon enough, it was open revealing little Lillian Briars, who I distinctly remembered from the files I had made for each child. She was dressed in a white dress with pastel flowers, a few appearing around the top and growing more numerous all the way to the bottom, but it was in tatters. I also noted bandages covering her hands, most likely from burns from the machinery in that factory.
I carefully kneeled in front of her, wincing as I reached the ground.
       "Are you alright, Mr. Basil," she asked me. I gave her a reassuring smile, then put a finger to my mouth.
       "I will be fine, rest assured. Now, may I ask who bandaged your hands... Lillian? Am I correct?"
       "They call her Miss Kitty. She's the nicest adult here, and yes my name is Lillian."
       "Miss Kitty? Hmm..."
       I looked towards Byron, then back towards Lillian. I had find to Able, but I also needed to find the other children... the only question was how...
       "Lillian, do you know how to get to Miss Kitty from here?"
       She gave a nod.
       "Clever girl. Now, what I need you to do is take my brother to her. Ask her if she can assist in finding the other children. I promise, no harm will come to any of you."
       Byron stepped towards me in shock and shook his head.
       "No, Basil," he whispered harshly. "What about you? Gonna sit on your tail and see if you can get caught in a matter of minutes?"
       "On the contrary, I will attempt to find Able," I said as I shakily stood on my feet.
       "Wouldn't he be near the other cells?"
       "No, even now that I think Rattigan believes me dead, he's paranoid, therefore..."
       "He would keep Able in an entirely different area to assure that he'll stay under his imprisonment."
       "Rightly so. Now, Lillian, take Byron to Miss Kitty. And hurry! The game is afoot!"
       Lillian then dashed out of the prison cell with Byron's hand in hers and they were quickly out of sight.
       Then, I left in the other direction. I had not quite figured out how I was going to find Able yet, but I continued to look.
       Suddenly, I remembered a song that Colette would sing or hum while we walked in the park or went to the academy. As I remembered the tune more, I began to hum it softly. I had no doubt in my mind that Colette sang this song to Able. I opened my ears to see if Able would start humming back.
Chills ran up my spine as I got closer to a certain door. Then, I heard Rattigan himself snoring in his quarters.
       Definitely not behind that door, I thought to myself.
       I continued my path and my humming until I heard the same tune several meters away. I quickened my pace slightly and followed the humming until I reached the point at which the humming was loudest.
       "Able," I asked the wall.
       "Papa," questioned Able's voice, which came from the inside of the wall.
       "Able, is there anything you can see that may give me a way in?"
       "There's a vent in the far corner, but it looks like it's locked up tight."
       "That's okay... erm, is there anything else? Anything can be used for something, Able. Always remember that."
       I heard shuffling from the inside... then I heard a clang of metal.
       What is he doing?
       Suddenly, there was a rumbling that could be heard all around and then grew louder and louder until a puff of soot came out of a nearby vent and a series of small coughs soon followed.
       Then, the vent opened to reveal Able covered in soot. With a victorious grin on his face he looked at me and showed me a small safety pin which he quickly fastened back onto a cast on his wrist. He ran towards me and looked at me in excitement.
       "I knew you would come, Papa," he said. Then he looked at me curiously. "It is okay if I call you my Papa, right?"
       I smiled.
       "As long as I can call you my son," I said.
       Unfortunately, our reunion would have to commence elsewhere.
       I took his hand quickly and began to move. Able ran ahead until he realized that I wasn't along side him. He ran back towards me, grabbed my hand, and tried to pull me along. That is... until my leg gave out and I fell.
       "Papa? What's wrong, Basil?"
       I cringed at the pain that emitted from my right leg, and I could no longer try and hide my injury. Able, taking notice of my pained expression and the holding of my leg, tried to help me up the best he could and soon I was back to my feet.
       "I'm sorry, Basil," he said in quiet shock. "If had known..."
       "It's fine, Able just keep moving."
       We continued onward until we reached a large opening filled with manufacturing equipment and weapons. There were no guards to be seen, but we walked across the area with caution nonetheless.
       Suddenly, there was a set of footsteps coming towards from the opposite way. A guard!
       I quickly turned us around, but it was too late!
       "Who's there? What're ye doin' with that child?"
       "Able, run," I whispered as I pushed him the other way.
       He did as he was told and rounded a corner. I limped after him as fast I could. As I made my way down the hallway the guard was catching up, and then I heard Able scream.
"Oh no," I mumbled under my breath. "ABLE!!!"
       Before I could even reach the corner I was tackled to the floor by the guard. I tried to fight him off, but to no avail. I was then pinned to the floor and a blunt object was hit against my head.
       The last thing I remember was the immense pain in my leg and then complete darkness.
Able and I were caught!