『 T W E N T Y - F O U R 』

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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

||i need a hero||

" i'm holding out for a hero till the end of the night "

***

It was around 2 o'clock in the morning when Olivia was awoken by an odd sound. She was already in a dream at that time, one about being the in some sort of garden with lots of flowers and trees around and in it. She wasn't alone in the garden though, she was with Anne and Diana Barry and all three of the girls were wearing these beautiful white dresses with big bows tied at the back.

They were the kind of dresses you only see in the magazines with high-end designers so that was part of the reason why she didn't want to wake up when she heard the ringing. She tried to ignore them as best as she could since all she wanted to do was sleep, but they just kept ringing. Bells. That's what the noise was. It was loud bells.

Shifting around in her bed, she places a pillow on her head in an attempt to drown out the sound but then she realizes something.

'What would bells be doing, ringing in the middle of the night?'.

Nothing good, that's for sure.

Getting up, she shuffles to the window that faces the town and she's met with a small red glow coming from a house. Furrowing her eyebrows, she squints her eyes only to realize that it's a fire.

"Papa!" She yells, running for the door.

"Ça va Olivia." (It's okay) he says, already out of bed. "I am heading into town with Isaac, help your mother fetch as many buckets as you can find."

"But papa, I want to go as well." She insists.

"No, you need to help your mother." Charles shakes his head and quickly leaves. Frowning, Olivia runs for the cellar where she knows they keep extra buckets that aren't being used to slop the pigs.

Hurrying back up to the kitchen, she spots her mother. "Okay, you're awake. I thought I was going to have to leave without you." Grace smiles and opens the door. "Let's go, the boys are going to need as many buckets as they can get."

Running out of the door in front of her mother, she sets down the pails and brings KJ out of his stall. Putting on his halter, she attaches the wagon to him as well. Grace soon comes out of the house and throws her buckets in the back of the wagon, taking Olivia's as well. When they're packed securely in there, she puts a tarp over the top of them so that they don't fall out.

Ollie moves over in her seat so that her mother can control the horse and Olivia can jump out and start helping as soon as they get there. The Gillis' lived about 20 minutes away if you walked but if you're using a horse, maybe 10.

They get there in 11.

Grace hadn't even stopped the buggy by the time Ollie hops out and grabs as many pails as she could carry. She sees her father and brother near a ladder that leads to the second floor where the blaze is.

Looking around she notices Matthew Cuthbert standing by a water pump so she sets her buckets down there.

"Olivia," she looks up and there Jerry stands. He quickly gives her a hug which Olivia happily returns.

"What happened here?" She asks him.

He shrugs. "I do not know, I came just a few minutes before you."

"Is Anne here?" She questions and he nods.

"Follow me." Jerry leads her to where Diana and Anne stand, wrapped in each other's arms.

"Ollie!" Diana exclaims when she sees her and gives her a bear hug, Anne joining in. "Oh, Olivia it's so bad! The fire won't stop and Gilbert can't get enough buckets of water up to the windows in time to actually do something." She sighs.

"Gilbert's up there?" Ollie furrows her eyebrows and looks to where Gilbert is sat on a small roof just outside of the second window, throwing buckets of water into the fire. "Why is he the only one doing it?"

"The more important question is why are the doors and windows open?" Anne says quietly.

"What are you talking about, Anne?" Diana inquires.

"Why are the doors windows open? A fire needs oxygen to grow." She states. "I'm going to close the doors so that the fire can't grow."

"That's very smart Anne," Olivia smiles widely at her friend. "Diana, while Anne closes the doors pass me buckets filled with water. Those boys have extra ones that they're not using." Running over to the house, she spots and extra ladder. Picking it up, she almost drops it due to its weight until someone grabs it from the other side.

The two of them prop it up against the house where the first window is and Ollie looks back to see Jerry ready with a few buckets. "You're not going to be able to get buckets if you're at the top and Diana is at the bottom. I'm helping" he grins, following her up the ladder. He stops halfway through and Olivia grabs the first bucket.

Looking to her right, she tries to get Gilbert's attention. "Gilbert!" She tells for the 3rd time and he finally hears her over the roar of the fire and the crowd that continues to grow outside of the Gilles home.

"Ollie?" He says in confusion.

"Stop throwing in the buckets of water! They're not doing anything. Wait until Anne closes your door and then use them." She yells.

"What? I don't understand—"

"You don't have to understand, just wait until you see Anne." She says and a bang brings her attention back to her window where the door is closed. Taking the opportunity, she tosses the water from the bucket onto the bright orange fire. She throws it to the ground as Jerry hands her another pail. Doing the same, she drops the bucket again.

It's only until the pails come faster does she look back to see that Charlie and Moody have also joined their efforts, even along with Mrs. Barry and Marilla Cuthbert.

Finally, the fire in Olivia's window was out and she could finally take a breather on the cold grass. Standing in front of a fire for long makes it easy for the smoke to enter one's lungs so there Ollie sat, coughing up a storm with Jerry rubbing one of her shoulders to warm her up and she found herself leaning into him for warmth.

"However did you think of that, my dear?" Mrs. Barry asked Olivia but she just shook her head.

"It was Anne who thought of it. All I did was help her. Anne went in and closed the doors to slow down the fire. She's the one who deserves your praise." Mrs. Barry and Mrs. Gillis look surprised at her words and they quickly turn towards the red-head to pester her with questions.

"How come you didn't take the credit? I mean, you did a lot to help." Jerry says quietly so only they could hear.

"Anne risked her life to save a house. That deserves so much more appreciation then throwing a few buckets of water." She laughs and Jerry nods, pulling her into a standing position.

"Anne did it!" He yells to the crowd. "She stopped the fire!" Everyone immediately erupts in whispers and looks to the freckles faced girl who already looked like she was overwhelmed.

Jerry and Olivia chuckle to themselves at the look on her face.

At around 5 am everyone was still at the Gillis household, talking with the family or the priest that had just arrived. Olivia didn't fall short on the number of jokes she made about Anne's ash-covered skin and clothes and Anne couldn't stop laughing.

Anne had never felt wanted or loved at all in her life but as she stood there with her friends outside of a house she just saved, she couldn't help but feel that she truly belonged.

It just so happened to be that Olivia was feeling the exact same way as she smacked Jerry upside the head for laughing at her when she almost fell down the ladder since she climbed up too quickly.

Clearing his throat, the minister steps forward and the town gathers around. "We thank thee, O Lord, for your mercy. And of some have compassion making a difference, other save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hastening even the garments, spotted by the flesh, now unto him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy." He says as everyone has their hands folded in front of them.

"Maybe you could be a firefighter." Olivia hears Jerry say to Anne with a smile on his face and she just rolls her eyes at him.

"We thank thee for watching over us and keeping all in our community safe from harm. Praise be to God almighty." The pastor continues.

"And now I would like to present those who were there to stop the fire and save the Gillis house." The minister looks at Anne. "Anne Shirley-Cuthbert used her quick thinking to slow down the blaze while Olivia Fontaine took action and put it out." He brings the two of them to stand next to him and the crowd claps but Ollie notices Gilbert, face full of soot just like hers and Annes.

"You can't forget Gilbert Blythe." She quickly says, looking into his eyes. "He did the most work out of us. He deserves the recognition as well." She looks away from his intense stare as the priest pulls him next to Olivia and the crowd claps again.

_

wowza I have no idea how to end chapters lol.

So tomorrow is my first shift at the movie theater and I have my uniform all ready and I think I look pre cute in it so yeah.

the new, new cover was made by the amazing @iqlxsmxden so a HUGE thank you to them!

i couldn't resist putting i need a hero as the song so you're welcome

This chapter was almost 2,000 words long which is a big chapter compared to my normal ones so I hope you all enjoyed!

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net