Chapter 10
Lockwood did let me go. He was uneasy about it, but he agreed. Lucy and I walked up to my apartment block. We asked my neighbors for any hints or clues about the ghost.
"My children have told me they felt a chill down on the fifth floor, but nothing else." Mrs. Herrick responded. She was my neighbor that lived across from my apartment, a couple doors over. We thanked her for the information and left for my apartment.
"Well now we know where to look. But why is it happening?" She thought aloud. I shrugged, unlocking my door. I pushed it open, gasping at the sight of my room. It was a mess. My table was flipped over and my stuff was thrown about.
"Was anything stolen?" Lucy asked, walking into my kitchen. My dishes were all over the counter and the floor. I looked around the room. Nothing seemed to be missing. I look at Lucy. She was busy cleaning up the floor. I pulled out my notebook. Lucy glanced at me.
"Nothing is missing," I wrote, "and you don't have to clean up." She read the message over then smiled.
"I want to." She grinned. She went back to cleaning. I smiled and started to as well. I wasn't a slob.
Soon we had finished cleaning up. I had pulled out a cot for Lucy to sleep on. Lucy set her stuff on the cot. I left to find a blanket and a pillow. I found some in the closet and walked back to my room. Lucy was unpacking. The last thing she pulled out was the skull. I stopped, half-way through my doorway. She spotted me.
"I.. I figured I would bring the skull."
I just stared at her.
"He's good company actually." Her face was somber. I came over to her, putting the bedding on the cot, then sat beside her. She looked up at me.
"I'm sorry, I know I should have asked, but I didn't kno-"
I gave her a hug. She was taken back. But then slowly returned the hug.
"Thanks Dottie." She mumbled. I pulled away and looked at her. She had tears streaming down her cheeks. She wiped them away.
"I guess I just miss him." She snorted. I smiled. I got up and pointed toward the beds. She stared at me. I rolled my eyes and grabbed my notebook.
"We should get some sleep." I wrote.
"Oh, right." She said. She grabbed the bedding, setting up her bed. I went over to mine, climbing in. We didn't bother getting dressed. If there was a ghost haunting the place, we might as well be prepared. I stole a glance at the skull. It sat on the bedside table at the end of Lucy's cot. It gave an uneasy feeling, knowing there was a Type Three attached to it. I rolled over, facing the other side of the room. My rapier glistened in the moonlight. I had left it beside my bed for defensive reasonings. My eyes fluttered. Soon I drifted off to sleep.
"Watch out..."
I opened my eyes in alarm, sitting up. I looked around the room. Lucy was sitting up as well. She looked at me, slowly getting off the cot. She went back to glancing around the room. I turn, reaching for my rapier. When I turned back, Lucy was already holding her rapier. I slowly got out of bed. Lucy fell back. I stared at her in alarm. She was staring at the foot of my bed. I looked in that direction. I didn't see anything. I looked back at her, wide eyed, then ducked. Her sword flew past my head, ectoplasm sizzling against the blade. I rolled away from the falling ectoplasm. "Not this time." I thought, bitterly. Lucy must have saw the ghost next to me and threw her rapier to protect me. I stood up. Lucy was rushing toward me. She pushed me out of the way and grabbed her sword, waving it in front of her. I silently scolded myself. I hated not being able to see ghosts.
Then I caught something out of the corner of my eye. I turned and looked in that direction. Nothing. Strange. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the ghost. It was blurry, I could make out some details that it was a lady. She wasn't attacking anymore. She just wavered there. I looked around my room, avoiding the ghost lady. Her feet were in the floor. Bingo. I tapped Lucy's shoulder. She looked at me. I pointed toward the floor. She looked in that direction. Her eyes lit up. She looked at me confused, but nodded at me. I pulled out a salt bomb from my belt. I had hung it on a chair by my closet door. Lucy stared at the bomb then nodded. I threw it in the direction of the ghost. I could sense some screeching. Lucy was grabbing her ears. I grabbed Lucy by the arm and pulled her out of the room. We ran out of my apartment and ran down the steps down to the fifth floor. We knew the ghost lady's Source had to be in the apartment under mine. We ran toward the apartment door. Lucy banged on the door. She turned around and looked back at the stairs. I started to bang as well.
"Is anyone there?" Lucy exclaimed. We both were out of breath and shaken Ed. I glanced around. There was a rug under our boots. I kneeled down and felt around till I felt a bump under the rug. I pulled up the rug, finding a key under it. I breath out a sigh of relief. I picked it up and tried it on the door. It unlocked. I pulled Lucy's arm and we ran into the room, shutting the door behind us. The apartment was dark and gloomy. There was a sweet but sour smell coming from one of the rooms in the hallway. I looked at Lucy. By the scrunched up face, I could tell she could smell it as well. We walked slowly and quietly into the hallway. The temperature dropped. We got to the second door in the hallway. It was opened by a crack. I pushed on it. It wouldn't budge. I look at Lucy. She came over and we both pushed on the door. Finally it budged. A thud came from the other side of it. I walked closer toward the opening when Lucy stopped me.
"There's a buzzing sound coming from inside there." There was fear in her voice. I looked at her. She held her rapier steady as she slowly walked past me though the door. I heard her gasp. I follow quickly after her. Her eyes moved from one part of the room to the next. One part was behind the door. There, behind the door, was the thing that had held the door stuck in place. I was going to be sick. It was a lifeless Drake. He was holding something in his hand. It looked like some sort of handkerchief. He was swollen and blue. Ghost-touched. I looked in the other direction Lucy was staring at.
"I thought we were done with this stuff." She breathed. In the middle of the room was some sort of circle, full of bones and items. And iron chain wrapped around the stuff. I glanced at Lucy. She had a look of fear on her face.
"We have to destroy it." She said, turning toward the chain circle. A chill ran up my spin, hair standing on my neck. I glance out the corner of my eye. The ghost lady was standing behind me. I swung my rapier in her direction. Ectoplasm sizzled and popped. I flung my rapier around, attacking the ghost. With my arm better, I felt stronger and quicker. The sense of a screech came back after each hit. I glance at Lucy. She was dealing with the circle. I turn back at the ghost, glancing through the side of my eye. The ghost was still screeching. I took my chance to hurry and grab a silver net out of my belt. I ran over to drake. He had a death grip on the handkerchief. I broke a couple of his fingers before I got to the handkerchief. As soon as I grabbed it, my senses perked up. There was sorrow all around me. I closed my eyes. She had clutched her handkerchief as she bawled her eyes. A memory of happiness came and gone. In the memory was a young man. Suddenly a sharp pain filled my side. I dropped the handkerchief, the pain leaving my side. That lady had committed suicide after her husband had died. I hurried and dropped the net over it. The screeching died down. I turn around. Lucy was standing over me, holding her rapier.
"You had to go and risk yourself like that?" She asked, out of breath. I gave her a shy smile. She grabbed my arm, dragging me out.
"Well we don't have time before-"
Then there was an explosion behind us. We were far away for it not to be fatal, but out backs got singe by the flames. I cried out in pain. Lucy gritted her teeth as she pulled me out of the apartment. We coughed up the smoke that filled our lungs. A lady was walking out of her apartment for work. It must be morning. She ran back into her apartment and called the fire department.
"Lucy! Dottie!"
Lockwood, George, and Holly ran up to us. We were standing outside, wrapped in blankets.
"What did you guys do?" Lockwood asked, concerned. Lucy told him everything while Holly and George came up to the paramedic, asking to take Lucy and me. The paramedic hesitated but then agreed. George thanked her while Holly came up to me and had my come with her. She pushed my back.. I cried out. She stopped and turned me toward her and no one else.
"Take of the blanket." She asked, sternly but worried. I hesitated but then took it off. Cold air pressed against my bare back. That blast had burned the back of my turtleneck. I had no idea about Lucy's back. Holly gasped at the sight of my back.
"We need to get you both home." She said as Lucy and Lockwood came over. I pulled my blanket back over my back. George came running over to us. I don't think I had ever seen him run.
"We have permission to take Lucy and Dottie home." He glanced at me. "The fire department said your apartment had been burned as well. Nobody was hurt though." I sighed but I was relieved that nobody had gotten hurt.
"Well we better head back to the car. Zachary and Kipps might be wondering what happened to us." Lockwood said. He glanced at me. Why was everyone looking at me. "Zachary offered us a ride. By the way, could you tell him his hand writing needs improvement?" He grinned at me. I chuckled, but my mind was else where. I thought of the voice that woke Lucy and me. Who had warned us?
