Lockwood And Co. The Queen's Spirit

Chapter 15

"See that glint of metal on the other side there? That, my friends, is a projector. And I believe it's also our third ghost." he replied, ominously.

"Wha--What?!" we all gasped at him in surprise.

"Hold on...you mean to say that the ghost was a projection?" George asked, scratching his head.

"Precisely. The angle is much too similar to that where Holly saw her ghost and that can't be a coincidence. Also, the fact that the ghost just...disappeared, is also strange right? Besides, Holly, did you feel any creeping cold or malaise when the ghost manifested?" Lockwood turned to Holly.

"Uh...now that you mention it...no. I didn't. It was completely unexpected. In a very bad way." Holly frowned at the projector and glanced down at the ghost jar. "Do you really think that someone living is hindering us?" she wondered.

"I really don't know but how about we worry about that later? Look over there!" Kipps muttered frantically. I glanced at the the direction he was pointing and saw a whole cluster of potted plants now gently hovering in the air.

"Ok, now that doesn't seem very good." George stated.

"R- Run!" Holly squeaked.

"No! Wait! We can't keep running from it forever. Now, everyone, calm down and rid yourself of any fear you have." Lockwood said. It was easier said than done when your heart is beating at the speed of light. The plants were sluggishly making their way towards us. The poltergeist's power was reasonably less than what it was in the attic which means...

"Hey, Lockwood! The source must be somewhere near the attic!" I whispered to him.

"You're quite right, Lucy. But where exactly?" he wondered.

I quickly brought the skull out and shook the jar.

"Hey! Skull! We could really use some help here." The green plasm started making a shape in the silver glass.

"Yes, Lucy. It's always help with you. You always call me whenever you need my help. What happened to nice conversations when you're not about to be killed, huh? Do I look like I'm someone who likes being used?" it complained.

"Save it. You don't really have a choice. Now, where do you think this poltergiest's source could be?" I asked.

"Gee, Lucy, I don't know. I just ship you and Lockwood so bad, it's killing me to see you two flustered around each other like little children." it said with an emphasis on ship.

"Wh- What are you talking about?" I asked, my face turning beat red. "What do you mean you ship u--oh! The ship!" I yelled in excitement.

"Erm...Lucy? What...?" Lockwood murmured.

"Oh right!" I told everyone about what the ghost and I had just talked about. Of course, I left out the part where it said it shipped Lockwood and I. Why couldn't it just be a normal skull for once and not taunt me?

"What are we waiting for, then? Let's go." Kipps announced.

We raced up the flights of stairs that took us to the foot of the staircase while the potted plants followed. They were slow at first but were slowly catching up to us.

"Ahhhh..." Holly yelped as one of the plants headed right towards her face. Kipps stepped in the way and smashed it with his rapier. Right behind it, came another one that was rapidly gaining speed.

"Lockwood, George and Lucy. You guys go ahead. Holly and I will handle this." Kipps said, steadying his grip around his rapier. Holly help up her own and smashed the pot that came right after.

"No, guys--" I started to say when Lockwood interrupted me.

"Yes, thank you." he turned and started running upwards again. I hesitated for a bit but then George and I followed suite. My heart beat really fast all the way. I couldn't believe I hadn't figured it out before. It had been right before my eyes. And finally, I could end this nightmare. Maybe I had messed up before, but just this one time, I wanted things to turn out okay. Maybe, I could finally have hope.

"Ah! Here it is!" George pointed out. We had arrived at the painting of the ship. It stood there serenely in the midst of the grey storm clouds and raging sea. I suddenly sensed a feeling of malice and ill boding I hadn't sensed before. It came and hit me suddenly and I couldn't breath. A sudden chill enveloped all around me and my legs felt like they'd been glued to the ground by permanent glue. I could hear snatches of the past--a sudden shrill laugh, a name repeated in my ear, Amberly. Amberly.

"Lucy. Lucy! Snap out of it!" George yelled in my ear. I quickly cleared my head and the state of paralysis left me.

"-- got to be some sort of mechanical way to open this." Lockwood was saying. His hands fumbled around everywhere. I looked at the ship and its ginormous masts. I started feeling the painting and felt its weight shift when I pressed down on the masts.

"Look! Its moving!" I yelled. The masts were pushed to the side and a tiny door knob appeared. I gave it a squeeze but it didn't budge. I tried harder a second time and this time, I felt the door give way and it opened slowly with a sinister squeak.     

**Author's Note**

Thank you for reading! Plz leave a vote, comment and share!

Sorry I didn't update for three weeks. School started and it has been rly busy but I'll try and update more frequently. 

--Blue