PROBLEM - Anthony Lockwood

CHAPTER TEN

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arson is a very normal tuesday night hobby

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"THE CHIMNEY BREAST," Alice sighed, "Certainly where her body is."

"Let's make a circle," Lockwood declared, "Filings and ash."

Iron and mountain ash.

This was not her lucky day.

Lockwood made the circle and then stepped inside, grabbing a crowbar and reaching over the circle to give one to Alice too.

"Thanks," she stated.

And when he turned his back, she used the edge of the bar to discreetly break the circle.

Alice stepped next to Lockwood, beginning to hack away at the wall.

"It's been replastered," Lockwood mused.

Alice stopped. "She's back."

And then all of the doors slammed shut.

"Boring!" Lockwood jeered, "You've done that before! Try something new!"

"Don't taunt her," Alice hissed, "She's angry." She turned to see the ghost forming again.

"Nearly there," Lockwood grunted, as he continued hacking away the bricks. "Here it comes." He swung his crowbar as bard as he could, smashing a very poorly done brick job causing both of them to fall back towards the ground in a topple of bricks and plaster.

Alice shrieked in pain as she landed on the iron filings and mountain ash. The side of her face burning as she came into contact with it.

Lockwood gasped.

She forced herself into a sitting position to find him lying on the ground, the ghost hovering ontop of him.

"Lockwood!" Alice yelled, as the ghost stared into his soul, "Lockwood!"

Getting the memo, Lockwood covered his eyes.

Alice surged forwards and grabbed the ghost's ankle, pulling her back and away from Lockwood. The ghost shrieked and tore away from her grasp, grabbing at Lockwood.

Alice grabbed a flare from her belt and threw it at the ghost.

The ghost retreated as the sparks from the flare began to cause a fire.

Lockwood and Alice scrambled up to see a decomposing body in the chimney. A woman.

"That's her."

"Her body's the source," Lockwood declared, "I'll hold her back whilst you secure it with a silver net. In other words, Plan F."

"That's not Plan F," Alice protested.

"I-I uh, mean Plan B."

"Plan B's salt-bombs, she's too strong for that."

"For God's sake, I'll draw her off, you contain the source," Lockwood hissed.

"That's Plan E!" Alice exclaimed.

"When this is over, we need to totally rework the lettering system!" Lockwood snapped as he unsheathed his rapier.

Alice turned to the body, trying to connect with the source again.