𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞┃ Anthony Lockwood┃2┃

Chapter Twenty Four - Cat Fight

Nola shook her head to clear the icy dullness from her brain. "Holly!"

Give the girl her due – she was at Nola's side at once, posh trainers soundless on the polished floor. Her voice seemed oddly loud. "What?"

"Did you see that?"

"What are you talking about? I didn't see anything."

Nola felt her eyebrows lower, and her bleeding lips part. "You didn't see it? Or even feel it? It was down beyond the arch there. Something moved across it"

"I didn't sense anything... Are you all right, James? You're shaking." Holly seemed genuinely concerned. "There's a chair here. Why don't you sit down?"

Nola's head shook frantically. "No, no. I don't want to sit down. not here. Let's go and find the others."

Lockwood and Kipps were already waiting near the first floor stairs. The girls stumbled down the steps towards them.

"Poor James has seen something." Holly said as they drew close. "She's terrified."

"I'm fine, thank you. It was something very strong, that's all."  The spectral chill had been lingering in her veins. She struggled to keep her voice steady.

"Tell us, James." Lockwood said.

She told them as best she could, through chattering teeth. She wouldn't admit that this was an after-effect of her anxiety, but instead said that she was simply cold. Which, she was, but it wasn't the main cause of her trembling.

"Did it look at you?" He asked. "Were you attacked in any way?"

"It didn't stop or look at me. It just went past, but I've never experienced such ghost lock... And such chill too. I'm still so cold now..." She shivered, and sat down on a step. "The spiders, Lockwood, have you ever seen that before?"

"I've not. There've been cases, though, haven't there, Kipps?"

"Red Lodge, famously." Kipps said. "And at Chislehurst Caverns back in 'eighty-eight. Others, maybe. One or two. Not many."

Nola was breathing heavily. "What the hell was it doing? The way it was crawling along the floor... God..."

"I think she should leave." Holly Munro said abruptly. "She's in no state to go on."

Nola stared at her, bewildered and offended. 'Great.' She thought to herself. 'She's been poking at me all night, and now she wants rid of me. What the hell is her problem today?'

"Holly-" Nola started.

"What was that?" It was Lockwood who'd spoken, but they'd all spun round. One of the clothes racks on the far side of the room had tumbled over with a crash. A shadow came lurching towards them: Kat Godwin, rapier out, dark hair disarranged. Her usual cool self-possession was gone.

She halted by them, pale-faced, breathing hard. "Have you seen Bobby?"

The group stared at her.

"How can you have lost him?" Kipps said. "I only looked in on you five minutes ago."

"Five minutes? More like hours. I've been searching all over... I can't find him."

Nola panicked. "What time is it?" She said. "I can't tell how long we've been here." She looked at her watch, and felt a new stab of fear. "Oh, shit. The hands have stopped!"

Kipps cursed. "Mine have gone backwards."

"Everyone calm down." Lockwood said. "Forget the time. The entities here are playing tricks on us. Kat, tell us what happened."