Intro
This story is a direct follow on from 'The Hidden Room.' I know it's been awhile since I wrote that but here's a kind of sequel anyway. (You may want to read that story first). Anyway, Max is our lead character, he is a high achiever having finished a double major at university by age twenty one. He's reasonably good looking and not your typical nerd. Toni his girlfriend is nineteen and a budding musician. The couple have just returned to their cottage after the summer holidays. Max had retained his job as head of the IT dept at Deanwell School for Girls, while Toni had decided to take a gap year and practise her song writing and musical skills before furthering her education. Both were looking forward to spending time in their hidden room (the den) voyeuring via the spy camera network Max had found the previous year. Six concealed cameras showed bedrooms and bathrooms thru one way mirrors into a senior girls dorm, a matrons room and the principals apartment. All this had been setup by a previous IT teacher at the school who had died leaving not only the camera network but also a large sum of hidden money from a lotto win.
Chapter one -- An ending
It was our first night back and we had celebrated with sex!
I propped myself up on one elbow and looked across the bed at the naked body sprawled beside me. Toni was lying, eyes shut, as she basked in the afterglow of a huge orgasm. Her left hand was gently teasing a nipple while her right hand was positioned between her open legs, a finger lightly caressing the nub of flesh that was protruding out of her wet labia. To my delight she shuddered occasionally as the still sensitive area sent little electric shocks through her body. A bead of sweat rolled down her breast and dripped onto the damp sheet beneath ... a small thing but it looked so sexy!
"Life can't get better than this!" I mused sliding off the bed and heading for the bathroom to fill the old rolltop bath. Toni always enjoyed a good soak after a torrid time between the sheets.
As the bath filled I lit some candles and positioned them around the cottage causing a romantic glow to fill the rooms. The candles were more than just a romantic gesture on this occasion though, as the power had been cut to the cottage the previous day. In fact the whole campus was without electricity due to a major fault in the old wiring system. Not an ideal situation just a week before 180 girls arrived back to further their education at the prestigious Deanwell School for Girls.
The unavoidable power outage had meant all the staff had evacuated the premises for three days while the problem was fixed. A faculty retreat had been hastily arranged for the teachers and the rest of the staff had extended their holiday time.
Our small cottage on the outside of the school campus had gas hot water, we could also drive into town and use the cafes internet each day so Toni and I had decided to stay.
It was on the way back from town on the second day of the power crisis that we encountered a new problem. A road contractor had mistakenly dug up a supply pipe resulting in a small part of the area being without water, Deanwell School being one of those affected. The council workmen had informed us that the water would be off for the rest of the day and that night. It hadn't seemed like much of a problem at the time, as we used bottled water to drink at the cottage anyway.
But as the saying goes 'bad things come in threes' ... and that night bought credence to those words. First it was the power, second was the water and then came the third.
It was just after midnight when Toni nudged me awake.
"Do you hear that sound?"
"What?" I mumbled still half asleep.
"Listen! It sounds like cracking or fireworks."
Sitting up I heard the same sounds that Toni had described. I concentrated on the sounds trying to identify them. Suddenly understanding what they were.
'That's a fire. Something is on fire!"
I jumped out of bed and fumbled in the dark for a torch to light the room. We both dressed quickly and headed outside.
"Fuck!" I exclaimed as we stood out on the road. I pointed to the outer wall of the school campus. Above the twelve foot stone wall there appeared a yellow glow in the sky.
"The school is on fire!"
We both ran along the outer wall to the corner and then headed to the main gate. The cracking and popping noises grew louder as we approached the entrance.
I already had my phone out when we got to the locked steel gates. My worst fears were confirmed, the ground floor of the three story Edwardian mansion was engulfed in flames.
I was about to dial 999 when I heard a voice behind me.
"I've already called Max."
Jim Young a local farmer appeared out of the dark and into the glow of the fire.
"Thanks Jim."
'You got a gate key." Jim asked staring at the padlocked gate.
"Fuck! It's on my key-ring at the cottage." I took off running at full pace back the way I'd come.
By the time I returned the fire had taken greater hold of the old building, with the second story now glowing from inside as windows exploded outward.
With the gate open we waited just inside for the fire brigade to arrive.
"Doesn't the old girl have a sprinkler system?" Jim asked as the fire raged on.
"Waters off." I explained. "We're in the area of the broken water main down the road."
"Well I guess that's that then." Jim stated resolutely. He glanced around for a place to sit.
Toni and I joined him and we sat in silence watching part of local history burn. Toni had tears in her eyes as she rested her head on my shoulder.
Finally after what seemed a lifetime we heard the sirens of the approaching fire trucks. By the time they sped in though the gate it was far too late to save the main building as all three floors were ablaze. The brigade of local volunteer fire fighters set about trying to stop the flames jumping to the various nearby out buildings using what little water they had on board the two engines.
Over the next hour the 120 year old building started to collapse in on its-self. The crowd watching had grown to around fifty as the locals came to see the last rites of a well-known icon.
By sunrise it was all over. Four more fire trucks arrived during the night including a water tanker and they were now solely focused on stopping the huge smoking pile of rubble from flaring up again. The only good thing was the nearby dormitories and apartments had been saved, although the stonework on the closest ones were stained black from soot.
I made my first phone call to my dad, the chairman of the board for the school. It wasn't till I started speaking that I realised how emotional I'd become. Between deep breaths and a few tears I explained the situation. My Dad was in the car on the way before we hung up. My second call was to Gloria Steadman the school principal, she calmly replied she too was on her way.
The rest of the day was a bit of a blur. Gloria arrived first and stood staring at the smoking ruins for five minutes in silence before I approached and took her hand in mine. There was a bit of history between the two of us over the last year and we had formed a friendship, all be it a strange sexual one at times. Gloria turned and embraced me as she cried on my shoulder, I held her until she had no more tears left.
My dad was next to arrive and other board members had followed during the day as did the rest of the staff. More tears flowed and words of disbelief were spoken by the stunned gathering.
It was mid-afternoon before staff were allowed to rescue their possessions from their apartments. Suitcases and boxes were packed and loaded into cars and vans.
My father and Gloria addressed the staff and answered questions as best they could. The fire chief had told them no one could stay on site. It was still classed as an active fire zone, plus everything smelt of smoke anyway. Dad promised the staff they would all be contacted over the next week. It was clear that some were openly struggling to comprehend the situation but I suppose we all were really.
