PROBLEM - Anthony Lockwood

CHAPTER ELEVEN

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xi

oh my god, i'm so glad you're alive, what the actual fuuuUUUUU

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LUCY GASPED LOUDLY as she opened the door, quickly stepping aside and letting Alice and Onyx come in. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Alice coughed, wheezing as she staggered towards the kitchen, shaking her head. "Onyx," she begged, voice scratchy, "I need sage, please."

The familiar gave a mew of understanding and darted out of the room.

Alice grabbed a glass and filled it with water, forcing herself to drink it.

"What happened to your face?" Lucy questioned.

"Where's Lockwood?" Alice cried, "He wasn't there when I woke up."

Onyx came rushing back into the kitchen, a bundle of herbs in her mouth. Alice grabbed the bundle. And began to look through the drawers. "Do you guys have matches?"

"George!" Lucy yelled, "Where are the matches?!"

George came into the kitchen a moment later, eyes wide, "What happened, where's Lockwood?"

"I need matches, please," Alice begged, ash in her lungs.

George opened a cupboard, grabbing a box of matches and handing it to her.

Alice lit the sage on fire, waiting for the flames to eat away at the herb for a moment before blowing it out and beginning to inhale the smoke of the sage.

Hopefully, it would purify her lungs.

"What happened to Lockwood? Why are you injured? What happened, Alice?" George demanded.

"Give me a second, George!" Alice hissed.

"If you're talking metaphorically then please tell me what you actually mean by a second, because if it's longer than a minute then I'll go do something to go and occupy myself whilst you go and waste your tim-"

"George!" Lucy yelled, "Don't be so rude!"

Alice turned to George, eyes wide, "In the last 12 hours, I have nearly been murdered by a Type Two. Twice! I have almost broke my neck falling from a bannister and sprained my ankle. Burned half of my face off. Jumped 20 feet from a burning building into a thorn bush. Almost died by smoke inhalation, ran 30 minutes on a sprained ankle and I bloody lost Lockwood!"

Lucy grabbed Alice by the shoulders, wrapping her arms around her. "How did the house catch fire, Alice? What happened?"

"I swear I didn't mean to," Alice cried, "She was ghost locking him and I didn't know what to do."

"You burned it down?!" George exclaimed.

Lucy pulled away from Alice, meeting her eyes, "Did you secure the source? Do you know who the ghost was?"

Alice pursed her lips, "Annabel Ward. But Lock-"

Lucy turned and grabbed a newspaper clipping off the table, pointing to a woman, "This woman?"

"Yes, thats her!" Alice agreed.

"Do you not realise how serious this is?" George hissed.

"George-"