The Life and Times of Bonnie Chance

The Towering Inferno

"Stop," Ganzu said, coming out from behind a corner, cutting Carol off. "Where do you think you are going?"

"Ganzu!" Carol said, taken aback. "Fortunately, I needed to find you... to tell you an important matter."

"Just then, you said the time for the signal has come," Ganzu said.

"Eh," Carol said.

"What is that about?" Ganzu asked.

'This is bad. He overheard it!' Carol thought.

"I gonna get you and report this to the king," Ganzu said, lunging at her.

"Kya!" Carol cried. "Ruka— Unas— Ahhhh..." she screamed. "Save me!" Ruka and Unas heard her and ran to help her.

"Ah, this is bad," they said when they saw that Ganzu had grabbed Carol and was shaking her violently.

"I will kill you and take revenge for Isis," Ganzu said with a deranged expression on his face.

"My queen!" Unas and Ruka yelled.

"Stop there, bastard," Unas said, grabbing Ganzu and securing him, while Ruka comforted Carol.

"Ah... You are..." Ganzu said, alarmed.

"Lucky... escape..." Carol said, holding her herself.

"What?" Unas said.

"You two, take him outside now," Carol said.

"Eh?" Ruka and Unas said.

"Listen to me, Ganzu. Ragash wants to kill you, so he forced you to be here... to take his death place," Carol said, hoping to talk sense into him.

"What are you talking about? I am trusted by the king and I'm also the son of the great high priest," Ganzu said.

"Whether you believe me or not... please leave and return to your home," Carol said.

There was shouting outside.

"The full moon is about to come back!"

"The moon!"

"Look at the moon!"

Carol gasped when she heard the echoes of those cries inside the tower.

"You two, take him outside," Carol ordered Unas and Ruka. "It is about time. Do you have what I asked for?"

"Yes, I have prepared an oiled rope for you," Unas said.

"You three get out quickly!" Carol said.

"We can't," Unas said.

"I'll stay here to protect you, my queen," Ruka said.

"No! I will do this alone," Carol said.

"But my queen!" Unas and Ruka said.

"This is my command! No one can refuse it! I have no need for protection," Carol said firmly. "Take Ganzu outside, give him his freedom, and wait for me at the mountain foot."

"Yes, my queen. Please, my queen, take care of yourself and don't be too reckless," Unas said.

"We'll wait outside. Good luck, my queen," Ruka said. He and Unas took Ganzu and fled as ordered.

'They better... be quick...' Carol thought. 'I'm about to do a very dangerous task... so I don't want you to be here. By all means, I should be the one to take this poor fate. You're the successors of Egypt, you need to live to guide Egypt.' She went to the room where the oiled rope and everything else was waiting for her. 'I'm going to light this fire for my life. The explosion isn't predictable.' She shut the door behind her. 'Brother Ryan, and expert in oil, once told me about some gas related incidents. I should have listened more carefully. Bless me! I wish he was here so I could be more stable. Now I have to take a chance with my life.' She saw a decorative opening in the wall. "This is the air vent. It connects to three rooms in the basement." She took the oiled rope and fed it into the air vent. "Luckily, the rope is long enough." She uncoiled the rope as she walked away from the air vent, creating a long fuse.