DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT ANTHONY HOROWITZ

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Matt / Scarlett

Matt's POV

She looked different from the picture in the article. Her hair was shorter. She looked slimmer and sallow. She was exhausted. Should I wake her up? Lohan and the rest should be here soon, with reinforcements. The prison cell was small and smelled of damp and the air was heavy and humid. There were no windows and we were far underground. I think I should wake her.

I shook her lightly. She whimpered. Try again. This time she stirred and opened her eyes.

'Matt?' she asked softly. She knew my name?

'Scarlett,' my voice was barely a whisper. She sat up against the wall and rubbed her eyes.

'Are you OK?' I asked.

'No,' she sounded miserable. 'How long have I been asleep?'

'I don't know. They only brought me here an hour ago.'

'When was that?'

'About eight o'clock.'

'Day or night?'

'Day?'

She sighed silently. 'Why are you here?' she couldn't keep the disappointment out of her voice.

'I came for you,' I daren't tell her more. There was always the chance they could be listening.

'You shouldn't have.' We were silent for a moment. 'I screwed everything up,' she continued, 'I was so close to leaving but...' she trailed off. She stared blankly at the wall across. I moved next to her to we were sat shoulder to shoulder against the wall. I winced and my body moved against its will. I still hadn't fully recovered from everything.

'Its OK', I tried comforting her. 'Hopefully we won't be in here for much longer,' I tried not to give too much away, but she understood and a tiny seedling of hope flickered in her eyes.

'You know,' I moved off the subject, 'I went to your home in Dulwich.'

'Was that you? In the car? There was an accident.'

I nodded gently, 'It was no accident.'

'I knew it had to be you. They've planned this all so carefully haven't they? Using me to get you here. Are any of the others with you?'

I simply nodded. I wish I could've said something else but I had to be careful. She understood though. She was facing me now, looking at me as if for the very first and very last time, 'I can't believe you're here, and that I'm talking to you,' she reached out as if to touch my face, to check if I were real, but she retracted it as the last moment. 'Do you know I've even dreamed about you?' she admitted, her cheeks tinting pink.

'Don't worry. Its just how it works. I've dreamt about you too,' we paused for a second. It was as if we were connected but not by The Old Ones or by our abilities but by something else.

'There's so much I don't understand,' she breathed deeply.

'Join the club. What's your story? How did you get here?'

As she told her experiences of St. Meredith's and the monks in Ukraine and so on, I couldn't help but be mesmerised. Her experiences reminded me so much of mine at Lesser Malling. She retold it all briefly and without a fuss. She was straight to the point, strong-willed and determined even though right now she had lost nearly all hope. She was ready to fight back. At that moment, the building trembled, a shockwave ran through the walls like a violent albeit small electricity charge. Scarlett gasped and grasped my hand. She didn't seem to notice, that or she didn't seem to mind. She looked up. She knew was happening, a part of her was expecting it.

A minute later, Scarlett had calmed down; her hand still intertwined with mine. 'What's your story then?'

My story. I began with Lesser Malling, Yorkshire, meeting Richard and Raven's gate, then I told her about Peru and Pedro and the desert lines. I told her about discovering Nightrise, Scott, Jamie, Professor Chambers etc. I told her about Wisdom Court. This was the difficult part. I saw her father die and even though I didn't shoot him it was my fault too. How could I tell her? I didn't want her to hate me, though I knew she would. She has to know though. But she was smart, she already knew where the conversation was going.

'That jersey you're wearing? Its his.' She suddenly realised. I could only nod.

'Yes,' I managed to choke out.

'Where is he now?'

How did I answer that? I couldn't answer. There were no words. I'm sorry Scarlett.

'They've killed him, haven't they?' she looked at me, as if for hope that he might still be out there. I'm so sorry Scarlett. I nodded. Suddenly, her eyes welled up and tears rolled down her face. She covered her mouth in disbelief. She looked back at the wall across. I'm so so sorry Scarlett. I wanted to say that. I wanted to say something that would make it okay. I wanted to comfort her, but I didn't know how. Then she started to speak again. 'It was all his fault. He thought they could make a deal but they would've never gotten me if it wasn't for him.' Another tear rolled down her cheek, I wanted to wipe them away. Make her smile.

She look back at me. Her eyes were slightly red. Fresh tears sat on her eyelashes. 'I don't know, Matt. I suppose that's the way they work. They used him. He really thought he was helping me. Now he's betrayed you too.' The building shook again. Scarlett grabbed my hand again.

'Its going to be OK,' I tried to reassure her, 'Just breathe.'

'Hong Kong's dying. They're doing it. They want to turn it into what they call Necropolis. A city of the dead.'

'I saw some of it last night. It was awful.'

'Yeah, I lived in it. I can't believe I didn't notice what was going on. What do you think will happen to us? Are they going to kill us?'

'They don't want to kill us,' just torture us for the rest of our lives until they take over the world. I couldn't say that. 'Its complicated, but killing us doesn't really help.'

'Then what?'

'They think they've beaten us. But they haven't. The others are still out there. And you and me...'

'What about us?'

'They put us together because they want to crow over us. But that's their mistake. Because...'

Suddenly there was an explosion. The prison shook yet again. Distant gunfire ensued. The sound tore through the building, echoing at every point. I had been expecting it.

The light went out. Scarlett's eyes widened, alarmed. She tightened her grip on my hand. I squeezed her back gently. She looked at me. 'Its OK,' I gave her a look to indicate what was happening. She understood, I think. But she was still unsure.

'Scarlett, look at me, you'll be okay. Trust me. Take you mind off it. Lets just talk. You know, I used to live in Dulwich. Just around the corner from you.'

'Really? When? I wish we could've met.' She breathed deeply.

'Until I was eight.'

'How come you moved away?'

My turn to breathe deeply. 'My parents died.'

'On, I'm sorry,' she seemed genuinely apologetic.

'Why? It wasn't your fault,' I smiled at the thought, 'I don't mind talking about it as much as I used to before, anyway. But that's how my powers work. I can only use my telekinesis when I smell burnt toast. Because that morning...' I faltered, she wouldn't want to hear all this. It wasn't relevant.

'Its OK,' she gave me a reassuring smile and I felt her sincerity. I felt her warm breath on me. I wanted to move in closer. Then, bombs started going off, 10 in a row. They were here. They were blowing the doors off. The air filled with the smell of cordite. Jamie, we're in the last cell to the left.

'Scarlett, they're here. Lets move.' I helped her get up and we moved to the back wall of the cell ready to get out. Scarlett was shaking. She wasn't used to bombs or guns.

'Trust me. You'll be okay,' I took both her hands and shield her, 'Take a deep breath.'

She nodded and the door was blown in a final blast. I covered her from the debris. Smoke and dust filled the air and our lungs like a thick blanket. I coughed a little and led Scarlett out of the cell.

As soon as the air cleared a bit, Richard embraced me tightly as if thought he'd never see me again. 'Are you OK?'

I nodded. 'This is Scarlett.'

Richard examined her, 'I'm delighted to meet you.'

We had to move quickly. 'We have to get to the Tai Shan Temple.'

Lohan dialled a number and spoke a couple words. 'Its safe now, but the storm is getting worse.'

We were all aware of it. The wind was screaming and howling. It was ripping mercilessly through the city. The dragon was here.