SHATTERING LIFE | Anthony Lockwood | Lockwood and Co

4. A Not So Fun Encounter with a Ghost

━━•✩.♡.✩•━━

Come on home and let yourself heal
You can sleep for a thousand years

– Heart Beat Here (Dashboard Confessional)

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The next thing on my program was paying a visit to the agencies on my list. But after hopelessly wandering around the city for hours I came to the conclusion that luck wasn't on my side because every time I knocked and someone opened for me, they declined me. They were either full or the problem was that I was a girl. A girl. As if females couldn't be just as good agents as boys. This way, I eventually crossed out most of the agencies from the list. There were times when they were eager to take me in but it took me one look into the messy and stinking room where they worked and I instantly had the urge to run. I wondered if they even had some cases to work with at all.

Eventually, the sun set down and darkness enveloped the world while I was still on the rainy London streets. In addition, I had nowhere to go. I was tired. Not to mention that the cold started bothering me too. My only luck was that it wasn't raining anymore.

I turned a corner which led to an empty street. I grew nervous. Only now I noticed that there was no ghost lamp here. My steps quickened in a hurry to get out of here as soon as possible. But suddenly I was stopped by a forming light in front of me and I had no doubt about what it was. It was a ghost.

I gulped. I had no rapier. No salt bombs. Nothing that would protect me. I turned around in an attempt to run away before it could spot me as well. When I checked if it was following me, I almost breathed out in relief because it wasn't there. But the moment I turned back, the ghost was in front of me. I screamed and stumbled back in shock, falling on my butt – right into a puddle of rainwater. Not caring about the pulsing pain, I brought my hands to my eyes to cover them. I couldn't allow myself to look into its eyes. I tried to tune down my fear because my emotions were making it only stronger but it was easier said than done. Meanwhile I was crawling away but I didn't dare to look at the ghost. Maybe its hand was already inches from skin but I wouldn't know that for sure. Probably its fingers were right above me, ready to strike the killing touch.

I dared to take a glimpse through a tiny gap between my fingers but I instantly realised that it was not a good idea. The ghost was right before me. It was so close...

Right before it could have touched me, the blade of a rapier cut through the luminous silhouette, making it disappear into thin air and not leaving any trace behind it that would prove its presence. With widened eyes I inspected my surroundings and I spotted Lockwood with Lucy, his friend, behind him. It wasn't hard to recognise him from the Archives but this time his face wasn't as blank as previously. His eyes held worry and his body language revealed that he was on alert, ready to fight if the ghost were to return.