Nomad {Editing}

::Chapter 34:: When all else Fails

In that split moment when he realised what the smell was, Charlie lunged for where Arthur sat in his chair. Bringing him to the ground with a heavy thud, as he did so he yelled at the top of his voice, "Get down."

He threw himself behind a great stone desk to the corner of the room and bringing both his elder brother and the chair he had been attached to with him. He ducked his head and pushed them as close to the desk as he could. Praying its stone would be enough to protect the both of them.

Covering Arthur's frame with his own, in that moment Charlie barely dared to breathe.

No one knew why, as they had either not noticed the smell or hadn't recognised its meaning.

They too hurled themselves to the ground and behind the nearest object which could have reasonably been regarded as a form of protection. For most it was the pillars which held up the walls, for this was one of few things that the fire had left standing in its wake.

Only the enemy was left standing, Charlie didn't have a clue as to why but even they didn't seem aware of why they had moved and by the time they had reacted to Charlie's words, it was too late.

With a sound which knocked Charlie sideways despite being hidden behind the stone desk and deafened him to the point where he wasn't sure his hearing would ever recover. He held onto his brother as tight as he could in that moment refusing to let go for a moment. Terrified that there may be a second explosion.

After a few minutes of silence passed by, with his grip not relenting he had last called out.

"Is there anyone out there?" He yelled, panic setting in that he would hear no response.

For a split second terror gripped him as no response sounded, but a short second later it at last responded. "We're here Charlie," it was Briar and the young wolf had never been more thankful to hear her voice.

Dragging himself to his feet, pulling Arthur with him by the scruff of his shirt. He pushed the crippled older man in a sitting position as he stood up on his hind paws and lifted himself above the height of the desk.

All he saw to the outside world was chaos.

Smoke still sat heavily on the room, and the fire was still burning intensely but right now that was the least of their worries. For now the great level of smoke was making it incredibly difficult to breathe, which in turn made it hard to think.

Looking left and right, having to squint in order to see through the thick smog which blurred his vision and made his eyes sting. He let out a growl of pure frustration as he struggled on. Unused to his senses being so dulled.

What little had remained of the room from the blast of the witch's fire had been obliterated by the dynamite. Leaving the room almost perfectly bare except for a couple of places where the toughest materials stood.

Nothing moved in the room for a moment, and Charlie again began to worry that he had only imagined a voice in a desperate attempt to believe that someone else might have survived the blast.

Then all at once action seemed to take place as people pulled themselves from the rubble and showed themselves in his line of view. Gentle groans sounded from across the room, pained sounds but at the very least they were alive.

Robert's familiar tumble of dark brown hair showed even through the smoke, as he stood up and began helping others to pull themselves from the rubble. Briar was among them, and he let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding when he saw the witch alive.

But the sound of crying made Charlie jump into action almost immediately when he spotted what had happened.

One unfortunate soul had been crushed beneath a pillar which had been knocked out by the explosion. Charlie dove down, grateful that it wasn't someone he recognised. Even if the fact that this thought had crossed his mind made him hate himself a little.