[You reach out to the building, trying to feel for the spirit you know resides within. At first, it's like groping in the dark; you know roughly where it should be, but it isn't there. Finally, you make contact... and a wave of agony rushes over you, breaking contact.] [Ignoring the pain, you press on, making contact again. The agony washes over you again, but this time you're prepared for it, and though it still hurts just as badly, the shock isn't there.] * Abby , or rather, Cheryl, thinks at it, ~Let us help bear your pain, spirit... that you may bear up under this great suffering and save your people...~ [Another wave of pain washes over you, meshed with a feeling of hopelessnes and inevitability.] * Abby thinks up, forcefully, ~All death's inevitable, building. We're all here to delay it as long as possible. Protect people. Hold them to your heart. You best know that.~ * Abby 's host adds, ~It's why we're here. Enfold in your arms, cover with your hands, please...~ [The pain ebbs for a moment, then a series of images float across your conciousness. The building, in its youth at the turn of the century, sturdy and new and filled with families. Years and years of contentment. Darkness looms. The neighborhood gets rougher. The families move out.] [Some families remain. They have nowhere else to go. The building cannot protect them. It cannot keep them warm. It cannot keep out the vermin. It cannot keep out the drugs and the criminals.] [The building crumbles, body and spirit. Then, light. The vermin, human and otherwise, are driven out. It can protect its old residents again. New families move in. There is hope. What was old feels young again.] [And now...] * Abby replies, after a moment, ~See? There's hope and shit. You just gotta hold out. For the old people and the new people, right?~ Cheryl doesn't respond at all. [Another wave, this time of sadness. After so long, hopes raised for a new beginning, all for nothing. The end. Pointlessness. Can't protect anymore.] * Abby , or rather Cheryl, pleads through the obvious sound of crying, somehow, ~I know, I'm sorry... but please... you've suffered so to protect these people... all you need do now is just--just stay up a little longer for them.~ [The wave of sadness fades, and though there's been no noise, what can best be described as silence falls for a moment. Then a momentary spark of something... the waves of pain fade a bit as well. The people. Will they make it out?] ~We're tryin'. Give us your all, and we'll give it ours.~ [What can best be described as a spirtual nod. It's... an odd feeling. The pain fades more. The darkness fades some. Strength, determination, not a small bit of chutzpah well up around you.] * Abby replies, slowly, ~That's right... we're gonna manage this.~ [The pain is almost gone now. You can still feel it lurking around, but it's being drowned out. As more people escape from the building, you can feel a lightness all about you.] [In that lightness, though... something swells. Everyone will soon be gone. It will stand until then. But it will fall alone.] * Abby , Cheryl, speaks up first, quickly. ~I--I'll stay with you.~ [Gratitude. If someone could spiritually ruffle your hair, it would probably feel a lot like this.] (I'm pretty sure the answer is now 'no' to Christian! Unless she can get the building to help him.) [Alarm. A moment of panic. In the depths, something escapes. A hiss. A spark. A flame. Has it happened yet? Is it going to happen. It's hard to tell.] * Abby focuses, mentally, ~Kami, speak to me... give me what we need to earn the time...~ [Abby focuses harder. The building is bleeding... what? Bleeding from pipes... a strong oder... a warning... from below, from the ruined floors...] * Abby squints, a man speaks, and then she asks, ~The valve?~ [The basement. Rubble. Darkness. Pipes. A red wheel, next to what looks like a boiler.] [A sigh of relief. The gas dissipates. The spark doesn't come. The flame stays away.] [A deep breath. They are all safe. It is time.] * Abby , Cheryl side, says quietly, "I'm really... sorry, building. I don't know... do you... have a name?" [A faded plaque. The Sherwood.] * Abby chuckles and says, ~Forest in another life, maybe. Over a hundred years is good for any protector, I think.~ [Can't hold. End. Grateful. Not alone.] * Abby , Cheryl side, replies, ~You're welcome. Go with God.~