Title - It's A Fine Life
Chapter Title - Bump In The Night
Author - OblivionsGarden
Genre - Romance/Crime/Friendship/Hurt/Comfort/Drama
Disclaimer - I do not own Oliver Twist or Oliver! in anyway, shape or form. I entirely own the plot for this fic and my original characters.

A/n - Please leave a review if you read, I'd greatly appreciate it. x
A very late Halloween chapter (: (Yes, I googled it. Halloween traditions started in England around the 18th and since Oliver is set in the early 19th century then, Halloween would've been celebrated.)

C.7

It had been three weeks since Lyra ran into her father, and since then she hadn't seen a glimpse of him. Fagin promised Nancy he'd keep her away from the area and ensure she was never completely alone when she went out. At first, Lyra had thought she'd hate been under constant supervision but she quite enjoyed having company on the streets. It made a nice change after three months alone.
She spent the most time with Charley and Dodger. If they weren't picking pockets or causing havoc, then they were dancing with Nancy around the bar or relaxing back at the hideout with a glass of watered down rum and a game of cards. Now on the 31st of October, Lyra seemed more exited than usual and Dodger was finding it highly amusing as he watched her steal from a local bookshop. He was more than curious as to why she felt the need to find a book, especially as it wouldn't fetch much money but she had insisted and so he let her get on with it. Eventually she appeared at his side, still smiling.
"What are you so 'appy about?" He couldn't help but ask his question with a smile of his own.
"Don't you know what day it is, Dodge?" Lyra asked as Charley joined the pair.
"31st of October." He said before Dodger could even open his mouth,
"So..."Frowned Dodger.
"So..." Lyra linked her left arm with Charley's right and her right arm with Dodger's left as they made their way home under the already darkening skies. "It's 'alloween. And I've promised some o'the young'uns I'd read 'em some scary stories before bed."
"Oh, so that's why you're all 'appy." Concluded Charley and Lyra nodded.
"An' the book?"
"Halloween story book."
As the trio rounded the last corner and started up the steps, Dodger lifted his top hat to scratch his head. "Us older ones allowed to 'ave a listen to these stories then?"
"Course y'can!" Lyra giggled. "C'mon, let's get some food before the others get back." She unlinked arms but took each boys hand and pulled them along at a run the rest of the way home.

"A young couple out alone together for the evening, the boy having loaned his fathers carriage, sat looking at the stars on a deserted country lane. The girl who had been scared early that evening upon hearing a story of an escaped criminal with a metal hook for a hand, stayed close to the boy, occasionally glancing around at the sound of leaves rustling in the wind. After a short time out, the girl finally gave in to her fear and requested to be taken home. The boy tried to convince her that they were in no danger but she refused to listen. He thought maybe she'd decided she didn't like him anymore and was using fear as an excuse to leave. Angrily, he helped the girl back inside the carriage. As he ensured she was comfortable, there was a thud on the back of the carriage. Now a little scared himself the boy quickly shut the carriage door and climbed up onto the seat, whipping the horses to leave as fast as possible." Lyra shifted in her seat, sneaking a glance at the curious faces of the group of boys around her. Fagin was sat in his usual seat in the corner of the room with his quill, but she could tell he was listening to the story too. "As they arrived in a street that they recognized the girl called out to the boy to ask if he was OK and tell him that she was sorry for ruining there evening and would he like to go somewhere else tomorrow night. As he pulled the horses to a stop outside the girls house, happy that she did indeed like him, he helped her from the carriage like an everyday hero. As they walked around the back of the carriage, towards the house, the girl stopped walking. For a while she just stood there, looking down at the back of the vehicle. At first the boy wondered whether she was having second thought about going home so early until, puzzled, he followed her gaze. Stuck into the wood of the carriage was a bloody metal hook!" There was a sharp intake of breath from the group and one of the smaller boys edged his way a little closer to Lyra. With a smile she patted the boys shoulder reassuringly as Dodger stood up and stretched. Having been sat on the floor for so long, he now moved onto the pile of blankets on which Lyra was sat, leaning close to her to look into the book she held.
"Any more in there?" He asked.
"Course. How about the one about Ruth and the spider bite?"
"Spiders?" Murmured Charley. "I 'ate spiders." He shuddered as Lyra begun.
"While Ruth was tucked up in bed, sleeping, a large black spider crawled up the leg of her bed, across her blankets, up her neck and across her face. For several minutes it sat on her cheek before scuttling away. The next morning when Ruth woke up, she saw in the mirror a small red spot on her cheek. She asked he mother what it was. 'It looks like a spider bite. Don't scratch it, it'll go away.' Her mother in a few days, the small red spot was now a small red boil. 'Look at it now, it's getting bigger.' Ruth moaned to her mother. Her mother told her not to worry as it would sometimes happen when it's coming to a head. In a few days, the boil was even bigger. 'Look at it now, it hurts and it's ugly!' Her mother promised to call the doctor the next day. Unfortunately, later that night as Ruth lay in the bath and soaked her self, the boil burst. But instead of puss seeping out, a swarm of tiny spiders crawled out, down her body from the eggs their mother had laid in her cheek. All they was found was Ruth's half eaten body, submerged in the bathtub."
"That's disgustin'." Grimaced Charley. "No more wi' spiders please."
Dodger stretched out across the blankets, now choosing to rest his head against Lyra's thigh. She blushed a little as he relaxed but soon flipped to another page in the book and started to read.
"A little girl, named Lucy, was given a small doll by her parents. The doll was a gift from an ancient great aunt who had now passed away. Lucy was secretly unnerved by the doll which had nasty little black eyes that seemed to follow her around the room and a cross expression on it's face. Nevertheless, Lucy had to accept the doll, as she was well brought up and didn't want to upset her parents by informing them of how uneasy she felt around the doll. Her parents told her the doll was called Arabella. Lucy was even more afraid now that the doll had a name. It seemed to make it more human." Even Fagin had stopped what he was doing and joined the group. "Even so, Lucy never really believed on a conscious level that the doll could do anything to her. It was just a doll, after all, and only reached up to just above her knee. So, to put her mind at rest, she stuffed Arabella into the little cupboard under the stairs, behind a pile of shoes where her parents wouldn't see her. It was not until a few nights later, when Lucy was lying in bed that she heard a noise...a shuffling sound, which went on for about five minutes. Then, a brief dragging noise and finally, a scuttling like light footsteps walking very fast. Lucy was pinned to the bed with fear, unable to move. Then, she heard a voice - like a very deep, almost masculine tone - but quiet enough not to wake her parents. Lucy always slept with the door open and a lit candle just outside the door, as she was a little scared of the dark. Therefore she could hear more through her open door. Lucy heard the voice say "Lucy, I'm on the first step"...And then loud scrabbling again as whatever was speaking apparently turned tail and returned to it's place of hiding." A few of the boys glanced at each other, uncertain looks on their faces. "Lucy didn't sleep a wink that night but laid in fear until the break of dawn when her mother got her up for school. Lucy tried to explain to her mother what had happened the night before, but was so tired that, when her mother passed it off as "just a dream" she didn't have the strength to argue. Lucy begged her parents to get rid of the doll, but they insisted that it had been the great aunts wish that Lucy would have her doll. She checked the cupboard under the stairs, but Arabella was exactly where Lucy had left her. She reluctantly went back to bed. That night, Lucy fought against sleeping but she eventually drifted off. Presently, the deep disembodied voice woke Lucy again. She wondered if she could only hear it in her head. "Luuuuucccccccyyyyy...I'm on the fifth step.." it said. Then came the scuffling noise and the voice didn't reoccur that night. Lucy was crying by now, and again she didn't sleep that night. At school, Lucy told her friends about the doll, and of course they laughed at her. Lucy could only think that if Arabella was climbing four steps at a time then there was only one more night to go." The wind whistling through cracks in the wooded flooring startled some of the boys, making them sit even closer together. "That night Lucy decided to shut her bedroom door. When her mother blew her candle out she asked why Lucy was no longer scared of the dark. Lucy replied that she was and could she leave a candle lit in her room instead of in the hall? But her mother pointed out various fire hazards, and said no. Lucy reluctantly agreed to sleep without her candle. She opened the bedroom curtains instead to light the room a little anyway. Just as she began to doze, she heard the noise. And then the voice "Luuucccyyyy... I'm on the top step..." Lucy knew her door was closed but was still terribly afraid. Her heart pounding, she knew if she stayed in bed she wouldn't be safe. So she got up to investigate. She screamed! Lucy's parents found her body at the bottom of the stairs. They guessed she was on her way to the bathroom without light and had fallen down the stairs breaking her neck. Arabella, the favorite family doll, was found beside her body. She was...smiling." Lyra snapped the book shut with a smirk as the boys sat silently, listening out for any noise.
"AAARRRGGGHHH!" The boys scrambled at Fagin's loud yell as the old man sat chuckling to himself. "Oh, time for bed I think, my dears." he wiped the joyful tears from his eyes and disappeared into his own room, leaving only Dodger, Charley and Lyra in the middle room.
"Don't think I'll sleep tonight." Mumbled Charley rubbing his cheek. "Bloody 'ate spiders."
Lyra chuckled and nodded as Dodger sat up, allowing her to climb to her feet. "Yeah, me neither. Plus that story about Lucy and the doll always did scare me." She followed Charley through into their room, Dodger close behind her. "What about you Dodge, any of 'em scare you?"
"Me? The Artful Dodger?" He shrugged his shoulders. "Naah. I'm alright. You get scared in the night, y'know where I am." He bid her goodnight with a wink and walked to his own bunk.

The room, now closed in pitch black, was starting to make Lyra uneasy. She lay awake, looking out of the small, grime covered window by her bed, listening to Dave, Eddie, Dodger and Charley's snores. Every little noise she heard made her jump and hold her breath. Eventually, having sat awake and alone all night, Lyra climbed out of bed, the wooden floor cold on her bare feet, and tiptoed to Dodger's side. His eyes were closed and his mouth slightly open. What Lyra didn't know is that Dodger had only actually been asleep for 10 minutes as every time he closed his eyes previous, a large Bill Sykes with two bloodied hook hands loomed over him. Lyra poked his arm only to receive a grunt and Dodger rolled onto his side, his back to her. Once again, she poked him, only harder this time.
"Eh? What?" He mumbled sleepily, squinting through the darkness. "Ly?"
"Dodge, I'm scared." Even with just the dim moonlight she could see him smirking. He shuffled across in his bed and held up the think sheet that covered him. Lyra climbed in without a seconds hesitation, lying right on the edge of the bed. Dodger snorted.
"I ain't gonna bite you, y'know." When Lyra didn't move Dodger roughly pulled her closer to his side and settle back down beside her. As he lay on his side, and she on her back, the moonlight shone dimly through the dirty window onto her face. Her red hair seemed brighter than usual and her deep blue eyes glittered. Dodger smiled, thinking that Lyra was actually a very pretty young girl just as something creaked in the middle room. Lyra jumped and rolled onto her side she she was snugly tucked against Dodger's chest, hiding her face in the collar of his shirt. Smiling, he wrapped his arms around her thin frame. In all his life, Dodger had never been more thankful for the things that went bump in the night.

A/n - The Halloween stories were just some I found on the Internet that I altered slightly to add to the horror and to suit the time period. (The spiders only came out of Ruth's face and then the story ended, I added her eaten corpse in. The hook one was set in a car not a carriage and Lucy had electric lights not candles.)