She sighed, closing this crate as well. If both of these had molds, it was a good guess the rest of them did too. She looked around, there was nowhere else for her to look in this room. The girl walked through the doorway, trying to find a new place to look, "Maybe a secret closet!", she thought, grinning.

There was a dim hallway, the stairs and two doors to her right. After trying them both, Aye found that they were both locked.

She frowned and bit her lip, then her face lit up as she remembered that key. The girl reached into her bag, closed her hand around the metal, and pulled it out. She looked at it for a moment, before trying it in the first door.

After jiggling the key around for a few moments, she could open the door. It slid open. The room was eery, and had an odd, chemical smell to it. Aye had never smelled anything like it. It felt as if the insides of her nostrils were being burned. It only added to the sense of incredible wrongness that was in the room.

Stacked on top of each other were dozens of jars. They were filled with green liquid and familiar shapes. After Aye's eyes adjusted to the dark, she realized what they were.

Body parts.

There was an arm in the jar directly in front of her, and what looked like a pair of eyes to the left of that one. To her right, a head was pressed against the glass. A flash of lightning lit the room up for a moment. It went dark again. A gust of wind flew in through one of the windows.

The door slammed shut behind her. There was something horrible about the way it sounded. As if it were stuck.

She froze, The smell did hurt her nose, she noticed that first. She pulled her hand up and clamped it over her nose, trying to make herself breath in the awful air through her mouth. Then she looked up and saw the jars, the awful jars, full of things she couldn't even really believe she was seeing.

The girl held back a screech, but couldn't stop it when the lightning hit. She screamed and backed up, trying to leave the room, But then jumped and yelped again when the door slammed. She lost her balance and fell back against the door, Spun around and tried to open it with both hands, and then started crying when it was stuck.

"Marigold!" She yelled as loud as she could, as she pounded on the door. "Marigold, help!"

Chimes and Bells! Marigold thought to herself when she heard the kid screaming. What does she want now?! We've not been in here for ten minutes. She had half a mind to leave her wherever she was stuck and then sighed.

Kathis couldn't be back... right? If he was Marigold was high tailing it out of here and leaving the kid to die.

No... it had only been a few minutes and she hadn't heard the door open. Marigold rolled her eyes and sighed. She went downstairs and looked around, "Girl?! Witch?"

She found the source of the sobbing. "Ey what's got yer panties in a knot? We're doin' good work 'ere." Marigold tried to wrench the door open and couldn't.

"You stuck? Just hang in there a few minutes or sommat. I gotter keep lookin'. We're workin' under a time limit, yeh?"

"Ne! Ne don' leave!" She cried, trying to keep the girl there. "I, a key! I found a key an', an'...!" She pulled on the door, panicked and worried Marigold was going to leave her in this horrible, horrible room. "Its so bad!" The girl sobbed. "There's... There's dead people, body parts, its so dark, the smell! I don' like it! Help me!" She yelled, trying to speak quickly, trying to break the door. Oh why did she have to be so small?!

"Orriiiight orright back off from th'door." Marigold said with a sigh, rolling her eyes. Bodies. Yeah right. She walked back a few paces and rammed her weight into the door. It budged just a little. Marigold walked back and tried again, this time at a run. It slammed forward and hit Aye in the face.

Marigold swore as she tripped over Aye's form and a few bottles. They broke as they fell on the ground. The chemical smell got stronger. The door slammed shut again.

"Auugh what th'fockin' 'ell." Marigold muttered, getting up. She had cuts on her hands now, and they were stinging like crazy. She rubbed her hands on her pants, and it helped a little.

She was stepping on something squishy. Marigold glanced down and felt her heart jump into her throat. The kid hadn't been lying. She backed up a few paces, trying to calm down. No use losing face in front of the rat.

"A-- A-- Arm. Right. Right."

Another flash of lightning and Marigold yelped. She turned and grabbed the door handle. It was stuck again.

Uh oh.

"Ow. ow ow ow."

That was all that went through her head as the door hit her face, and her nose had just been starting to heal, too! She felt Marigold trip over her, and then the worst thing that could happen, happened. That smell, that awful smell, got worse. It just wasn't possible, how? How could that get worse?!

She rolled over, feeling the disgusting chemical liquid soaking into her hair, and soaking through her clothes. "Don' think about it." She told herself. Just don't think about what was in those broken jars, just don't think about it, and you will be fine. Broken? The jars were broken? She felt nauseous, She felt awful, so awful.

She pulled her hand up to her mouth, and then realized what was on it. She threw her hand back down, and turned her head, she felt like she was going to puke, but she didn't want to, she didn't want to.

At least she wasn't alone anymore, Marigold was here. She watched the girl try to open the door, it was stuck. Looked like there were worse things that could happen. Not good, not good! She started crying again, they were going to die in here, die in this dark room, with the jars of body parts, and the window way across the room. She didn't want to go to the window, there were jars in the way, she wanted to open the door and run, run and never come back.

Only way out. A voice in her head said. That's it, over there, across the sea of jars and bad smells and body parts. That's your ticket.

She knew it was right. Aye looked up at Marigold "Window." She said, Her face blank, in shock. She raised a shaking hand to point past the jars, to the window. Lightning flashed and lit up their faces.

Marigold's body was pressed up the door. Aye's sobbing was only scaring her more.

"Sh-- Shut yer hole! Jest shut it! Stop bawlin'! " She snapped, trying to keep her stomach from heaving. The longer she stayed in the room the more horrifying it became. Marigold had seen a lot in Old Rose... but this-- this was--

Don't think it. This is Old Rose, not Old fockin' Pansy Harbor.

She swallowed and licked her lips.

"Right. Good. Window. Right. That's what I were-- What I were gonna suggest." She told her legs to move towards the window but they wouldn't.

"F-fockin' ay Arright. Arright. All we gotter do is move the jars."

She looked down at the ten year old and steeled herself. No way was she going to let a ten year old show her up for bravery.

"It en't naught! Jest arms. You've seen those afore, yeh?" She laughed. Her laugh was too loud.

Outside, it started to rain.

"Let's get out o' here quicklike." Jersy could go kill himself, as far as Marigold was concerned. She walked towards the jars hesitantly and grabbed one with a pair of eyes floating in it. She put it behind her.

"Help me clear th'path, eh witchy?"

The girl telling her to shut up made her bite her lip to keep silent, she was scared, it wasn't fun to be in this room.

"M-move the jars?" she asked herself, "I don' wanta touch 'em!" She looked at the jars, and then back at Marigold.

Getting out sounded good, very good. But... She eyed the jars, they were not fun to look at.

She gulped, she did have to help. She walked up to a jar, stepping carefully over the arm. She tried to grab the jar, she really did, it just didn't work. she didn't want to see it, didn't want to see the dead body parts, and the grossness of it all. but she had to help.

The girl gulped, and shut her eyes, there, better already. She grabbed the jar, set it behind her, opened her eyes to grab another, and then another. She hoped they would be through soon, very very soon.

As they worked towards the window, one of the jars caught Aye's eye. There was a key at the bottom of it. It was surrounded by the most disgusting body parts Aye had ever seen.

"Hurry up. This en't no picnic." Marigold spat, and then swore as she broke yet another jar.

She jumped away from the sound of a jar breaking, dropping the one she was holding. She whimpered and wanted to cry again, but she just stepped over the mess, grabbing another jar. It looked disgusting, not even human. She shuddered, and then noticed the key. "Marigold," she gasped in a whisper, "another key!" She held up the jar so the other girl could see.

"FOCK THE KEY!" Marigold screamed over the rain and the thunder, "WE NEED TO GET THE FOCK OUTTER 'ERE!" She was no longer trying to avoid the jars, she was barreling through them. Foul smelling liquid was burning its way int Aye's and Marigold's nose.

One of the shards from the broken glass jars embedded itself into Aye's leg. She could feel it stinging painfully. Marigold was almost to the window. The older girl looked crazed with fear. It looked as if she might not even help Aye reach the height of the window if she wasn't there in time.

Another flash of lightning lit the entire room. Outside, an orange glow started to flow in through the window, lighting everything a sick, orange color.

She gaped at Marigold, then realized the girl was leaving her behind. "No!" She started running to catch up to her, not wanting to be alone, and no longer caring if she broke any jars. She ground her teeth as she stepped on glass, tears falling when she felt a shard in her leg. All of the wounds stung, they all hurt badly, and all of them were filling with whatever liquid those body parts had been held in.

She slipped once, and forced herself to slow down, she did not want to fall and land on those gross body parts, or that glass. Aye wanted the key, she didn't know what it was for, but she wanted it. She had the jar clutched in her arms, and was trying not to let herself throw it to get rid of it. The girl didn't want it anywhere near her, but she also didn't want to drop it and walk through the disgusting stuff that it contained.

By the time she had caught up with the other girl, she was tired and numb, and in pain, and scared out of her mind. She barely even noticed the orange light, and wasn't afraid. As long as it wasn't a glowing orange jar of dead things, or a room full of said jars, she would run to it as fast as she could.

When Aye arrived next to her with the key, she had the smallest amount of decency to feel momentarily ashamed. The kid had stayed for the key while she'd gone running off like a coward. Just what kind of leader was she, anyway?

A smart one.

Marigold could feel her cuts as if they were fire. She glanced uneasily at the kid and shoved the window open, adrenaline and fear making it an easy task.

The heat hit both of their faces immediately. Marigold didn't even think to look, she put her hands down for Aye to climb out.

"You wait for me outside, ye chen?"

Aye whimpered as she felt the heat, she looked carefully as Marigold helped her out of the window, hoping not to step on any of the horrible heat. She couldn't see it well yet, but she suspected it was flames. "I- I chen I chen!" she said worriedly.

She tried to balance the jar and herself as she let Marigold help her. When she was safely, or not, down from the window, she looked around with scared wide eyes.

Aye fell with a thump and as she stood she saw what the orange was. She had been right. It was fire. Or rather-- it was smoke. The rain seemed to be doing its best to put out the fire, and the fact that it had been mostly damp wasn't helping create a lot of fast burning that might have happened during another time. The smoke surrounded Aye and it hurt to breathe. The orange light that had been coming into the window came directly from the largest flames to her right.

Marigold fell on top of the other girl.

"Oy! Why dincha move, ya looby?" She spat and then cursed. "A fire. A gods blest fire." The rain was getting them both wet and it was hard to hear what Marigold was complaining about. Her lungs were also beginning to feel with smoke, and she breathed shallowly.

Aye couldn't see much.They had to get out of there before the smoke caused one of them to faint.

The girl tried to breathe as little as she could, her eyes were watering and her throat was burning. The rain was washing down into her eyes, pushing the chemicals and smoke further into them, it felt like her eyes were being stabbed by a needle. Or a few hundred needles. The fire scared her, but the danger of being burned, and the amount of cold rain, made her numb, she ignored the fire and focused on trying to escape the smoke.

Aye was no stranger to fire, she had been taught how to start fires, how put out fires, how to cook with fires, how to not breathe smoke because it hurts your eyes and throat, and luckily, how to escape fire. Of course the methods for escaping fires were different in prairies and forests then they were here in Old Rose, surrounded by buildings, but she was sure she could escape.

She squeezed her eyes shut a few times, tried to see Marigold, even though she didn't need to, the girl was right on top of her. Aye wrapped her fingers around the girls wrist, and pulled her once in the direction she hoped was leading out of the smoke.

"Come on," her voice was strained and it cracked. She swallowed and tried again, "please, the fire, get out..." she didn't do much better. Aye started crawling, still pulling Marigold by the wrist, and struggling to push the jar in front of her.

The air was cleaner lower to the ground, and both of them found it much easier to breath. Aye could see an opening where the rain had quenched the fire in a wide enough radius that they wouldn't get singed.

Marigold was shaking. She didn't know how this girl could be so brave, after living through the room with the jars. She just wanted to throw up everywhere.

Aye looked around, trying to keep her head low at the same time. A way out, a way out... She needed to find a way out, why wasn't Marigold looking too? Why was the other girl just blindly following Aye? Didn't she know her life was in danger?

Aye was just glad to have the girls wrist, if she had gotten left behind in the fire, would she have even tried to get out? Aye coughed and swallowed again, her throat was still burning and her eyes were constantly watering.

The jar was slowing her down... Did she really need the key? She was about to leave it behind when she saw the opening, she didn't know if it was a way out of the fire, or if it was just a clear space. She didn't know, but it was free of fire for now, she could crawl into that area, and then check Marigold for burns, she didn't know if the girl had even cared about the fire.

As soon as they got into the clear space Marigold turned around and threw up. She seemed to look a lot better after that.

"Orright. Let's get outter here." Neither of the girls could feel any burns. The rain was doing a pretty good job of keeping them cool. They'd have a cold if they stayed out too long, though.

Marigold pointed towards a path towards the road and grabbed Aye's arm. "Let's go. Let's go let's go let's go."

Aye cringed away from the puking girl, and slipped, falling onto her knee. She stood back up and tried to stop breathing altogether, her eyes and throat were still burning. The girl clutched the jar in one arm, and wiped viciously at her eyes, they wouldn't stop watering!



Aye looked at Marigold, and nodded. She definitely wanted out. "Oe--" She stopped short as the girl yanked on her arm, "Wait wait!" She pointed at the jar. "The key?"

She only wanted the key, who knew what it could go to? She wanted to get rid of the jar, it was heavy and she didn't like holding it, and she couldn't hold it much longer. The rain was making it slippery, heavy and slippery never went well together.

It took her a few seconds to even realize she was losing her grip on it, the whole jar, and all its contents were slipping right out of her arms.

It landed with a heavy thunk against the soft grass, but didn't break open.

"Shit. Fine. 'ave it yer way, ye little runt." Marigold spat, and began to try to pry the lid open. Eventually it gave. The key sat at the bottom of the jar, looking harmless.

Marigold put her left hand into the jar and shrieked, throwing herself backwards. She was clutching her arm and rubbing it against the ground furiously.

"It burns. It burns it burns it burns it burns!" She was saying as she tried to rub whatever liquid had gotten on her arm. She didn't seem aware of the fire creeping in on her right. She was breathing very shallowly, and whimpering.

The key lay in the pool of liquid. It almost looked as if it were smiling.

Aye stared at Marigold, and then looked down and gaped at the jar. Had the liquid burned the other girl? It hadn’t been so bad before, why did it hurt so badly now? The key layed in the jar, in that... stuff... It seemed to be almost smiling. Laughing at them. The bastard.

She set her jaw and turned the jar over. Ha! Can’t hurt her now, all the liquid spilled all over the ground. She scooped up the key, and the chemicals on it burned a cut on her hand. She shrieked and threw the key down. Why did it hurt so much now?! She picked up the key with the tips of her fingers, and dropped it into her bag as quickly as she could.

The girl turned to Marigold, only just then noticing the fire. Her eyes went wide and she ran to the other girl, "We, The fire, chip!" she yelled as she ran.

She wrapped her hands around the girls burning arm, "We gotta dust!" she pulled her up and started running, holding onto her, the way Marigold had been trying to run earlier.