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Thomas knocked on the door and, after a few moments of silence, he opened it. The study\'s center bore a gaping hole in the foundation where Thomas had been dragged down. He inhaled sharply at the thought of the family\'s fate. Even if it was just a single story fall, he doubted they would survive. Luckily, the fireplace and the desk had made it out relatively stable. "Hello, are you guys still here?" he whispered.

"Thomas?" Mr. Fisher\'s hushed voice was music to Thomas\'s ears. The man heaved the reading chair out of his way and gawked at the young noble. "You\'re...skinnier?"

"Don\'t worry, I\'m fine," Thomas lied through his teeth.

Mr. Fisher shrugged: "I saw the creature pull you down and I assumed the worst. Are you even human?" He said it in a joking fashion. If it were any other day Thomas would have chuckled. Maybe Mr. Fisher knew exactly what he was saying. Had he overheard Thomas\'s conversation with Shay?

"All that matters is that I\'ve taken care of it for now," Thomas insisted, crossing his arms. "How come you didn\'t run? You could have died if just one more wall collapsed."

Mr. Fisher furrowed his brow: "You told us to hide here."

  \'And if I told you to jump off a cliff would you do it?\' Thomas thought to himself. \'You could have at least made yourself hard to find and give me some time to think.\'

"Can we come out too?" Junior asked.

Thomas eyed the gap in the floor. He could jump down and say he tripped, then never emerge. He sighed: "Yeah, you guys can come out."

With a few grunts, the couch screeched across the floorboards. Junior and Penelope stepped into the open with bright smiles on their faces. "I knew you could do it," Penelope said.

A floorboard snapped under the couch\'s weight. The furniture fell, breaking two. It was as if the estate itself was a pit meant to break things, Thomas included.

"That looks painful," Junior gasped as he hurried over to Thomas.

"You have no idea," Thomas muttered.

Mr. Fisher peered down the hole. "Is the creature dead?"

Thomas shook his head. "I could only drive it off but it might come back. I\'ll lead the way out." With each lie it got a little easier, and harder.

"I thought that might be the case," Mr. Fisher murmured.

"What does that mean, father?" Junior asked. His head drooped. "It\'s still not over yet?"

Thomas silently watched from across the hole as Mr. Fisher hugged his children tight. "It\'ll be ok," he reassured them. "We have Thomas to look out for us."

Another floorboard gave way, sending a reading chair tumbling down to its painful demise.

\'Shut up,\' Thomas thought.

The Fisher family all exchanged glances. "We should probably get away from this room," Mr. Fisher suggested, earning nods from the rest of the group. There was only one problem, the gap.

Mr. Fisher remained behind while his children jumped across the gap and into Thomas\'s arms, one at a time.

The first to jump was Junior.

The boy stepped back three steps, dashed, and leapt clear across the gap. Thomas stepped aside as he would have only gotten in his way as he landed in the hallway.

Next was Penelope.

The girl followed her brother\'s example and leapt shy, but Thomas was quick to catch her and pull her up.

"Nice catch," Penelope exclaimed.

"It was nothing," Thomas said as he glanced down the hallway, still holding her arm.

"Bring them both to the library," the memory of Shay\'s words echoed in Thomas\'s mind. The lycanthrope easily could have stayed below the hole, which meant that he was testing Thomas.

Junior pointed at the straggler. "Father might need a little more help. You\'ll probably need both your arms."

"Oh," Thomas said, realizing he hadn\'t let go of Penelope\'s arm. "Sorry about that. I was lost in thought."

"It\'s nothing," Penelope said. She hid her arm behind her back but Thomas saw a section of red skin where he had held her.

\'It\'s like they\'re made of paper,\' Thomas thought.

Mr. Fisher was last. As he prepared for his runup, the wood creaked under his feet. He made a quick prayer and dashed, each step louder and faster than the last. Putting all of his weight on one last floorboard to spring into the air, it couldn\'t take it. He kept his forward momentum but only managed to get a few inches into the air. He would die.

The kids would be alone.

It would be all Thomas\'s fault.

The young noble latched one hand onto the doorway and reached out with his other, grabbing tight onto Mr. Fisher\'s wrist. He yanked the man up with surprising ease. "Thank you," Mr. Fisher said.

"We\'re not out of the woods yet," Thomas said. "After I get you guys out, I\'m sending for help."

Mr. Fisher nodded: "To be honest, I thought the goal of saving everyone by your lonesome was a bit much but I didn\'t want to throw doubt at you in return for what you have done for us."

"You didn\'t think I could beat the wolf?" Thomas asked.

Mr. Fisher hesitated. "It doesn\'t matter. You can be proud of this. After all this is over, we\'ll think of some other method to repay you."

Thomas scratched the back of his head. "I require no thanks. Let\'s just go."

Mr. Fisher cocked his head to the side. "Don\'t tell me you truly expect nothing in return. Don\'t be modest. You\'re putting your life at risk for all of us. Of course we\'re going to reward you. Whether it\'s housing, clothing, food, and or gold, you name it and we\'ll do our best to provide it."

"I don\'t need any of that," Thomas said. As if to attest to his point, his stomach rumbled.

Mr. Fisher patted Thomas on the back. "I think food will be first on the list. You\'re nearly as bad as us to be honest."

The pain in Thomas\'s empty stomach had always been intense but brief. Now it lingered for several seconds of loud, audible grumbling. Thomas fell to his knees and cried out in pain. He blinked and everything flashed white.

"Here," Mr. Fisher offered a hand but Thomas refused it. "You shouldn\'t try to do everything on your own."

"You\'re one to talk, father," Junior said with a hint of worry in his voice. Penelope nodded.

"I\'m fine," Mr. Fisher said. He grabbed Thomas by the shoulders and lifted him up to his feet. "You really need to be more concerned about yourself, Thomas."

Thomas averted his gaze, unable to look the man in the eyes. "About leaving...Some parts of the ruin collapsed so we\'re going to have to take an alternate path. Is that alright?"

Mr. Fisher\'s lip quivered. Penelope and Junior looked at each other. The children\'s feet might have been wrapped in cloth but that couldn\'t solve days of maltreatment. In fact, it would be a miracle if they kept their feet at all.

Mr. Fisher kneeled with his back turned away from them. "Both of you, onto my back. I\'ll carry you both."

Penelope leaned into Junior\'s ear and whispered something that only Thomas with his keen hearing could pick up: "He can barely stand, he just won\'t admit it."

"That\'s because he refuses to eat, and gives all his food to us," Junior whispered back. "I\'m worried about him but I think he\'d rather die than let us walk."

Penelope frowned and said, "Let\'s wait till he passes out and then we\'ll both carry him as far as we can."

Mr. Fisher glanced over his shoulder. "What\'s the matter," he asked. "You both used to love piggy back rides."

"I-I guess I\'ll go first," Junior said. He was the smallest...easier to carry. He clambered onto his father\'s back. Mr. Fisher gritted his teeth, the strain causing his frail body to quiver. Penelope hesitated.

"Come on Penelope," Mr. Fisher forced a smile. "It\'ll be fun, like we\'re back in town."

"I\'ll carry her," Thomas said as he knelt down. Penelope didn\'t argue, hopping straight onto his back. She was light as a feather. Thomas feared he might accidentally break her scrawny legs as he slowly stood up.

Mr. Fisher opened his mouth but didn\'t say anything.

"Please watch him," Penelope whispered into Thomas\'s ear.

"You won\'t have to worry about him," Thomas whispered back. "Now let\'s go to the libr....back to town."