Lockwood and Co. The see-through girl.

Chapter 31

It was exactly 10:36 when the temperature dropped below freezing. We already had had three cups of tea and I had my coat, hat, scarf an three pairs of gloves on. George had done the same.
Lockwood kept pacing the length of the iron chains and jumping on the spot. I guessed he was trying to stop his feet going numb.
Jessica drifted around the edges of the room. When she walked past the small window, the moonlight gave her a transparent appearance, and I wondered why. She always seemed solid to me. Maybe she was nervous. The idea definitely didn't fill me with joy.
A screeching noise sounded from behind us, followed by the synchronised sounds of Rapiers being drawn. My heart went cold as I saw what had been painted on the wall.
HELP was written there. I bet you could guess what it was written in. The blood looked fresh.
"It's just ectoplasm." George breathed.
"Yeah," Lockwood replied. "Just really freaky, bloody ectoplasm."
I said nothing. I looked at the plea on the wall. My heart was still cold. But now it felt like a stone in my chest. I felt a strong sympathy for the person who had written that.
Driven to madness by something or other, then ending up here for eternity.

Yes, Lucy Carlyle. That is exactly what will happen to you. And I will be the one to drive you mad!

The voice was so strong I dropped my rapier and grabbed my ears. He sounded as if he were next to me.
"Luce?" Lockwood looked at me, worried. "What is it?"
Well, I guessed that was what he said. I couldn't hear him over the laughing in my brain.
My mind flashed to Combe Carey Hall, and the infamous Screaming Staircase. The laughing was ten times worse. It filled my head. It split my scull. It was killing me from the inside.
Because the Screaming Staircase was pure fear. And the was only one thing worse than pure fear:

Pure madness.

The laughing was hysterical. It took up every part of my body. My mind wasn't my own. I felt my mouth twist and I realised I was smiling. Grinning foolishly.
Lockwood grabbed my arms. His face was white. He screamed something. I wasn't looking at him. I was looking at nothing.
I didn't know how to look. All I knew was the laughter. And it spread on forever. I felt myself loosen my grip on sanity. And I knew. Even if I escaped. Even if I managed to win.

The laughter would always stay.