Disclaimer: I do not own Lockwood & Co.
"Lucy!"
My head was pounding.
"Lucy!"
My whole body hurt.
"Luce, please!"
I stirred, and opened my eyes. I was laying in the center of the iron chains I had set up, in Lockwood's arms. His brow was furrowed with worry. George stood next to the skull jar. It was still dark, and Lockwood's torch was laying on the ground, it's beam shining towards the wall. Lockwood sighed with relief when he saw my eyes were open. I squirmed slightly, and he let me go, helping me sit upright.
"What... happened?" I asked, placing a hand on my pounding head.
"We heard you shriek..." Lockwood said. "Are you ok?"
I nodded, but I didn't remember shrieking. I brushed it off, and took a deep breath.
"What did you see?" George asked.
I explained. I explained everything from the crying, to the blood trail, to the appearance of the ghost girl. I was out of breath when I was done.
Lockwood pulled his canteen of tea from his belt, and unscrewed the lid. He put it to my lips. "Here. Drink this. It will help you feel better."
And I did. The warm tea felt good, warming my body.
"I have my own, you know." I said, cheeks flushed.
"I know..."
I decided pressing was bad, and stood up.
"I'll stay with Lucy, just in case anything happens." Lockwood stated, and stood up beside me. George nodded, and began to descend down the staircase.
"Right, but don't snog or anything." George said, a great huff of laughter following.
I flushed pink, and Lockwood rolled his eyes and smiled. He knelt down, and switched off his torch, replacing it in his belt. I grabbed my rapier where it had fallen, and righted myself.
"I saw a vanishing point."
Lockwood turned to me, dark eyes glittering. "Where?"
I pointed to the door the screaming had ceased in. Just then, I thought to look for the blood trail. It was still there, alright. Gleaming red in the light of the moon coming in through a nearby window.
"Lockwood." I nudged him, and gestured with my rapier towards the trail. He knelt down, and poked it with the tip of his rapier. It sizzled and spat. Lockwood stood, pulling his rapier away.
"It's plasm, Luce. Just like the Red Room."
"Oh. Alright. Shall we go to the room?"
Lockwood nodded, and began to walk towards the door. It was closed. That was odd. Last time I saw it, it was open.
"Ladies first." Lockwood shot me a glimmering smile.
"No way. I opened the door in that old castle." I retorted.
"Ah, but after that, I opened the door in that prison case."
He was right. I sighed, and opened the door. As soon as I did, the two of us were his with a sudden chill. The room inside was empty. If you count the pool of blood in the floor as empty.
Behind the sofa that sat in the middle of the room, something glowed. It was faint, but still there, blinking like a firefly. Lockwood and I crept around the sofa, tip-toeing our way there. I could hear the weeping again. Sitting against the back of the couch was the woman. She was curled into a tight ball, and when we walked the entire way around, she looked up so suddenly that it made me flinch. She stood up, and gazed at us with shiny black eyes. The ever-present tears that ran down her cheeks were still there. Lockwood looked past her, and squinted.
"The death glow in here is really bright."
She lunged, arms outstretched like she wanted to embrace me.
Except, it wasn't an embrace I wanted to happen. Lockwood and I dove down out of her way, and scrambled out the door- or tried to. She was behind us before we could take many steps.
"Get to the chains!" Lockwood roared. I nodded, then turned, and threw a canister of iron filings at the woman's form. The iron met the plasm with a hiss and she retreated back, ghostly arms guarding her face.
I took this as a chance to run after Lockwood. We ran to the door, and through it as fast as we could. The ghost had regained her strength, and was racing after us again. I dove into the circle of iron chains, and Lockwood as well. The ghost slammed up against the barrier of the chains, plasm spurting, and retreated back with a wail.
Lockwood had landed on top of me. His hands were on either side of my head, mine beside my ears. My cheeks flushed as Lockwood climbed off of me, and I could have sworn I saw his cheeks flush as well.
"Sorry." He panted. I stood up, and looked at the room we had just run from. The door was closed again.
"It's alright." I breathed, "It was an accident."
I glanced at my watch. It was almost 6 a.m. I sighed, and sat back down.
"Lockwood..."
"Yeah?"
"I think we're dealing with a murder victim."
He guffawed. "Yeah. We should have gone to the archives before doing this. I was so stupid."
"Lockwood, nobody was stupid. We had suspicions it was a type two, but it was more likely to be a type one. According to George, at least. He thought it would be just a Grey Maiden. We had no idea it would be a Spector."
"I guess you're right, Luce, but still, we could have been better prepared."
I looked down at the hem of my skirt.
The creeping fear was back. I looked up, and sure enough, the woman was back. She stood just beyond the iron chain, just a few feet back.
"What is it that you want?" I said sternly.
"Lucy, I don't think..."
I held up a hand to silence him. The woman looked down at me, and once again, the tears began to flow down her porcelain face.
"How could you..."
I stood to face her fully. The woman reached forward to touch me, but hissed when her slim, transparent fingers made contact with the barrier set by the circle of chains.
Her tears turned to blood again, the unseen breeze that affected only her increased.
"HOW COULD YOU!"
"It will all be ok." I said, firm and clear.
"BETRAYAL!"
The ghostly form attempted to attack me, but instead slammed several times against the barrier.
"I LOVED YOU!"
"Lucy! get down!"
But I didn't listen. Tendrils of Other-light coiled from her form, and the ghost sunk to the floor, and began to sob.
"Lucy, back away from the chains."
"Lockwood, she's not going to-"
The woman stood up abruptly, and rushed forward. She was inches away from me, her eyes level with mine.
"Liar."
She was about to try to attack me again, but her figure began to fade. I looked to the window.
Light was streaming in through the crack of the blinds.
She was gone.
Ok, wow! That was hard to write! I tried to make it scary, and I'm not sure if it was, but if you guys liked it, make sure to let me know! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this so far! Stay tuned!
~Starry
