Chapter 9 – Visitors

As Mitchell walked back into the house past Nina and George, George placed a hand on his chest and forced Mitchell to look at him, "Who was that? Was it Seth?"

Mitchell frowned and looked at the floor, "No. It was nobody", he made his way up the stairs, passing Annie without a glance as they crossed paths. She opened her mouth to speak but snapped it shut when she saw the dark look on his face. George stepped closer to Nina and she whispered something unintelligible in his ear, causing the werewolf to smirk like a school boy.

He turned to face Annie with the grin firmly in place, "We're going back to Nina's for a while". Before Annie could respond the lovebirds were out the door and walking down the street, leaving Annie to stand in the hallway alone.

She began by removing the blood stained sheet from the sofa. It smelt metallic and musty and for a second she wondered what the attraction of blood was to Mitchell; it was so gross. She shrugged and bundled the sheet into a ball before stuffing it in a bin bag and throwing it in the wheelie bin outside. She blinked back into the lounge and stood for a while, wondering what to do next. She decided to watch a film, maybe Casablanca – she never had seen the chair Mitchell supposedly knocked over in that film. She turned over the middle cushion on the couch and plonked herself down, curling her feet up and putting her hood up as she pressed PLAY on the remote.

The film had been playing for almost half an hour when Annie heard a thudding sound upstairs. She paused the film and cocked her ear to the ceiling as the thudding continued. She started to get to her feet when Mitchell trampled down the stairs; he was dressed in his black leather jacket and dark jeans. He grabbed his chequered hat from the coat hanger and opened the front door. Annie dashed after him before he could leave,

"Where are you going?"

He turned and placed his sunglasses on his face smoothly, "Out".

Annie smiled and nodded, "Anywhere nice? If you're going for a new sofa I could come-"

"I'm not going for a new sofa"

"Okay", Annie rocked back on her heels, "So where are you going?"

"Just out"

"What time will you be back? Because George is over Nina's and God knows what time he'll be back"

"I don't know", he stepped onto the street.

"It's just 'cause I'll make supper and I need to know what ti-"

"Jesus Annie. I don't know when I'll be back", with that he marched off down the street. Annie stood in the doorway with her mouth open and eyes wide,

"Right. Fine. Bye then", she slammed the door shut and stood in the empty hallway alone, again.

*****

When Casablanca had finished, it seemed like the longest film she had ever watched, Annie sat on the sofa and stared at the black, lifeless screen of the TV. "So… What should I do now?" She fluffed the cushions on the sofa and swept the kitchen floor before making a cup of tea and then washing up the cup. When she had finished she wished she had taken longer washing up now that there was nothing else to do. It was one of those times she wished she could sleep; the pleasure of lying down and letting her thoughts drift sounded like the sweetest thing in the world at that moment in time.

Annie decided to try and sleep, well not sleep exactly but just try and let herself stop thinking, if only for a few minutes. She closed her eyes and stood in the middle of the kitchen with her hands by her sides. Behind her eyelids she saw Owen's face, then George's, followed by Nina's and finally Mitchell's. His face rested there for a second and she began to wonder where he had been off to in such a hurry, and why had he been so sharp? She opened her eyes and shook her arms; she wasn't going to think about anything like that, she was going to think about nice things. She closed her eyes again only to find a long, white corridor behind her lids. A corridor with doors at either side and men with ropes and chains beckoning her towards them. Her eyes shot open and she stood shivering for a moment before realising it was just her imagination. That's when someone knocked on the door.

Annie physically jumped and then laughed at herself for being so silly. She went to the door, thinking it was George without his key again, the knocking continued, "Okay George I'm coming". She opened the door to find not George but a tall, olive skinned man with dark eyes and dark hair. He was extremely handsome. "Oh, hello", Annie smiled and her eyebrows twitched slightly as she took in the man's handsome yet sinister face. As she continued to look at him he moved aside, letting Seth take centre stage, Annie stepped backwards.

"Hi, don't worry, we're not Jehovah's Witnesses", Seth's eyes seemed to bleed into a blackness and Annie let out a small gasp.

"Get away! You're not welcome!" As Annie spoke Seth hissed and looked at his olive-skinned friend. He cocked his head in Annie's direction and the handsome man stepped over the threshold. "I said you're not welcome! Get out!"

Seth smiled outside, "He's not a vampire Annie, he's just my little helper".

Annie turned around and began to clamber up the stairs but the man grabbed her hair, pulling her towards him. She screamed and tried to vanish upstairs, only to find her ability to teleport wasn't working. The man gripped her wrists and started to pull her towards the front door; she struggled and attempted to use her new found poltergeist abilities to throw the man against the wall. Nothing happed. She pulled against the man's strong grip but he just dragged her across the tiled floor.

"No! Please!" Tears streamed down Annie's face and she kicked and flailed at the man, "Where are you taking me?!" The man eventually got her outside and Seth gripped her wrists and pulled her towards him. Annie lurched forward, in kissing distance of Seth's face.

"Your friend Mitchell's been a bad boy. He's in our way and well, he's not much fun really". Annie pulled one of her arms free and slapped Seth across the jaw,

"If you touch him-"

"What? You'll haunt me?" Seth turned to the man with the olive skin and two other men that had been waiting outside with him and laughed, showing his long yellow fangs. His face straightened and he gripped Annie's throat, "I'd like that". He sniffed her hair like an animal and shoved her towards the three men that stood on the street. They grabbed Annie's grey cardigan and scooped up her legs and flung her into a large black car before slamming the door in her face.

Annie banged on the window and screamed at the top of her lungs. The three men got into the car, the handsome man sitting beside her in the back seat, and Seth slammed the front door to the pink house. He got in the passenger seat of the car and turned to look at Annie, "How are you planning on getting out of this one Casper?" She spat in his face and struggled against the man's restraining hands next to her. Seth turned to face forward and spoke to the driver, "Let's go".

Annie turned to look out of the rear window of the car, watching as the pink house and Windsor Terrace drifted into the distance.

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