PROBLEM - Anthony Lockwood

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

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xvii

death is better, much better

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ALICE SWORE LOUDLY, slashing at the smoke jets in the training room with her rapier. "I hate him," she hissed.

Onyx meowed in agreement.

Everything had fallen apart, gone to shit. She would have to live in constant fear - no terror - petrified at every stranger on the street and knock on the door.

She should've changed her name.

The thought of a hunter finding her was more than she could bear. Of them grabbing her with their chains and their ash. Trapping her.

Iron chains.

Iron bars.

The pit.....

Alice screamed through her teeth, hot tears streaming down her face as she continued to fight, continued to train.

She'd rather die than be taken again.

Perhaps this time they'd do her a mercy and burn her at the stake. She turned, making her way over to the storeroom. With a flick of her wrist, the lock clicked open. She stared at the necklace in the silverglass. She hated silver. The necklace with Annabel's ring in it.

And then she stole it, hiding it beneath the neckline of her dress.

If she were to get hunted, so be it. If she were to run away again, so be it. But she'd help Annabel, this time not as an agent but as a witch.

"Alice!"

She quickly exited the storeroom, forcing her mask back onto her face. "What?"

It was Lucy. "We've been summoned to DEPRAC."

She threw her rapier to the ground. "Fuck."

30 minutes later, Alice, Lucy and Lockwood sat in the waiting area for DEPRAC. The building was shiny and modern but Alice hated it.

Hated Lockwood too.

He was saying something, but Alice wasn't listening. Perhaps they'd looked up her surname in their fancy database and decided to turn her away to the Orpheus Society.

Deane witches.

The coven who caused the Problem.

Barnes and Wade made their way down the stairs, and Lockwood stood up.

"You can wait here," Barnes declared, "It's the girls I need,"

"No," Lockwood disagreed, "There's nothing you can say to them that you can't say to me."

Lucy and Alice stood up.

"I said wait here, or you can wait in the cells," Barnes warned.

Cells. That was definitely where she was going.

"We're not kids," Alice hissed, "Sod off."

She lowered the hood of her cloak and began to follow them, Lucy behind her. She didn't spare Lockwood a look back. Partially because she was angry and betrayed, but also because the despair was too much to handle. She had liked him. He was kind, compassionate. He cared. But it seemed like she'd been duped, played for dumb.

"We're very excited to have celebrities like you helping us out at DEPRAC," Barnes began, "I hear you've-"

"Can you not," Alice scoffed, "No need to mock it, you can clearly see that neither of us were involved in that verbal disaster and we more pissed off about it than you are. Get to the point."

Wade and Barnes exchanged a look.

"We've brought Hugo Blake in but don't have enough to charge him," Barnes revealed, "Just give the evidence."

They made their way into a dark interrogation room with two solitary chairs in the centre.

"Sheen Road used to be a lodging house, Blake said he dropped her off but never went inside," Barnes explained, "He's always maintained they were just friends."

"Well that's not true," Lucy argued.

"Then get us the evidence," he guestured to the chairs. The girls sat down, facing a dark glass wall. "You're accusing him of murder. Use your connection to Annabel to prove it." He switched on a light and the glass was illuminated to reveal a posh looking, old, white man behind the glass.

"Wait, no... It doesn't work like this," Lucy protested, "We can't just switch it on. We connected with Annabel because we felt something for her - we were trying to do something good."

"Well, here's your chance to do more good," Barnes cut across, "Help us put him away."

"No," Alice shook her head, "We can't."

"He can't see you, he doesn't even know you're here. Just give it a try," Barnes assured.

"What do you expect us to do?" Lucy whispered.

"Channel her," Wade declared, "Give us something only she'd know."

"Identify him as her killer. Go on, if you're so sure he's guilty," Barnes pushed.

That was the thing. Alice didn't think he was guilty. And with her being called into DEPRAC HQ and Lockwood announcing her name on tv, she didn't want to give them any other chances to prove she was a witch. To lock her away.

Lucy and Alice exchanged a look and turned to Hugo.

There was a shift in the way Hugo sat, something dark about him.

The door of Sheen Road flashed in Alice's mind.

"Oh my god," Lucy gasped, hand going to her throat.

"You're getting something aren't you," Barnes watched them intently, eyeing Lucy's reaction and the bruises on Alice's throat. "What are you getting?"

"Nothing!" Lucy cried suddenly, "I can't sense anything, get us out of here!"

Alice cried out as Hugo stood up, choking and grabbing at her throat. She was there again, in Sheen Road, Annabel's memories flashing through her mind. Hugo was dropping her off, leaving her at the door - don't leave, he shouldn't have left, didn't he know who he was leaving her with.

Hugo slammed his fists against the glass.

Alice screamed, jumping up from her seat and backing away slightly. "There's nothing there!"

"Get us out!"

Barnes and Wade exchanged a look, before shutting off the light to see into Hugo's room. "Miss Carlyle," Barnes declared, "Come with me."

Lucy and Alice glanced at one another. "Go," Alice assured. Lucy sent her one last look before following Barnes and Wade outside.

Alice watched as they shut the door.

And then the lock clicked.

"NO!" Alice screamed, tearing over to the door, she grabbed its handle to try and open it, but hissed in pain, her skin burning.

Iron.

She was trapped. Locked away. Was this their plan all along? To imprison her.

Anything was better than imprisonment now. The walls were closing in on her. Everything was falling apart. She couldn't see. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think a coherant thought.

Alice grabbed her knife.

Death was better than iron.