Leading up to now

Chapter Forty-Five- Lucas

So there I was. In a cave. Waiting for Savvanah to call back saying Cassandra was ok and fine and was willing to cooperate. Waiting. Still waiting. I killed 5 minutes by drinking a cup of blood on the beanbag- which Barty had effectively warmed up. It still tasted metallic and unappetizing. You can only really enjoy it when it's fresh- and when your fangs are extended. Like when I heard that rat of a man Gerald Jervis discussing Cassandra with his posse. Even thinking about it made the tips of my canines sharpen slightly. 

In other words- the day and a half I'd already had in the cave had made me miserable. 

On the other hand, Barty is loving it. He has said at least twice how his kittens will be in their 20's and wanting to move in to my house with us. Then he rattled on about how he's planning on making it as a musician. Cat rock. Crock. He laughed for about an hour when the amount of beanbag moisture made him say 'Crotch' and then he strutted off to 'mark his scent' somewhere. 

The silence was driving me crazy. I saw Cassandra's face in the metal walls. In the shadows by the bookcase. In the words I spoke. In the jokes Barty cracked. But not happy, smiling, kind, amazing Cassandra. Cassandra as I saw her once in the orb. Altered. In a way I couldn't quite put my finger on before, but now I knew exactly who she was when I saw her like that. 

I was in the middle of wallowing in pity and annoyance, when my cat yelled from the bookcase,

"Hey loverboy, come see this!" 

I wandered over to where he sat, staring intently at a bump in the metal sides of the case. It glowed in a way that seemend unusual. Eerie even. 

"I don't know about you..." said Barty, "But I reckon we should see what happens if we do this!" And he jumped to hit the bump with his paw. I opened my mouth to yell, but before I could get more than a 'N' from my lips, the bookcase began to shift to the left with an earsplitting screech. I covered my ears for all of two seconds- but then it was over. the case had slid over to reveal...

"It's like a basement." I whispered making my way forward. Dust glimmered in the air, and cobwebs hung from the ceiling. It was light now, what with the light from the main room, but I guessed that it had not seen sunlight for many years. As I walked in further, more things came apparent to me. This room could be nothing but a living room. Damp, dark sofas stood by the far wall, an a coffee table in the centre was caked in dirt. A greying chandelier hung from the ceiling, the candles that it held dripping with wax that had long frozen. The wallpaper could have been any colour. Years of darkness had taken away any life from this room. But why was it there? Who was it meant for? Surely not...

"I know what this is. It's the house next door. The house that was knocked down 10 years ago." I whispered.

The last family who lived in our house had anouther house built, right next door. Identical in every way, just for guests. A woman named Mirabel rented living space there, but one morning was reported dead and gone. Disappeared from the face of the earth. All that was left was a drop of her own blood on the lawn outside. They knocked it down. But here it was, perfectly preserved... 1600 meters underground. 

But then the phone rang. I ran to it and picked it up.

"Hello?" 

"Hey. Lucas, is that you?" Savvy. Phew.

"Yes, why?"

"Cassandra has gone funny. Can you talk to her?"

"Is she there?"

"No. I was hoping she'd be with you. She's not coming to school or answering the phone."

I hung up before she could say more.

Typical. All the weirdest things happen when you're in a cave.