𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐄 143 ꨄ 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗱

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿

After they survived the train ride, with even more bickering from Lockwood and Sabrina following, they located Ellie, Mr Fairfax's assistant. She drove them to the house that they were investigating and thankfully Lockwood and Sabrina were split up for the short journey. Sitting in the back, she engaged in conversation with Lucy, George and Aaliyah, chiming in every now and then while Lockwood spoke to Ellie.

Once they arrived, Sabrina pushed past Lockwood to grab her things while said boy just rolled his eyes, forcing himself to remain quiet. With their belongings in hand, they followed Ellie as she lead them into the house. Sabrina got a bad feeling as she looked up at the house, it was a stereotypical house - one that would be labelled 'the haunted house' and all the kids would try their hardest to avoid it when possible.

As soon as they stepped closer, they saw a familiar figure walking towards them to welcome them into their new case. "Welcome to Combe Carey Hall." Mr Fairfax greeted the four teenagers as Sabrina winced at the sight of a spider crawling past her shoe. Raising her blue converse, she pressed the sole against its body, shifting it as she tried to ensure it would not run. "You're late. Now drop your bags and hurry up, please. The sun's going down."

Sabrina decided she did not like the bossy old man, almost as much as she did not like the unsettling feeling she got as she dragged her hand along the railing of the stairs. Dropping her hand, she placed her bags beside Aaliyah and followed the man through the open doors, into what appeared to be a dining room.

Despite its eerie vibe and dizzying atmosphere, she could not deny its beauty. If it was any other circumstance she would have marveled the architecture and the decorations but they were on a job and she could not waste time with such mundane and silly activities.

"I can't figure this place out." George declared from behind her, holding a piece of paper and squinting as he looked around. "Nothing's where it should be."

"This is the gallery." Fairfax called out, turning the attention back onto him. "The original priory was destroyed after the monks decided to commit mass suicide. You had to make your own fun in those days. The modern house was built on the ruins. So it's a bit of a Frankenstein."

Sabrina turned to face Aaliyah with an excited smile at the mention of her favourite book, unaware that another pair of eyes instinctively turned to locate her own.

A hurried voice called out, turning their attention away from the man offering them the tour of the house. "Mr Lockwood broke the deal." Ellie revealed, entering the open doors while holding something up for them to see. "He brought a bomb flare."

Sabrina wanted to roll her eyes at his idiocy, everyone knows you don't leave it to be found, you at least hide it on you at all times. Her and Aaliyah shared a look, knowing that they each had an array of flares on them, Aaliyah's was tucked in the lining of her jacket and Sabrina's was tucked into her jeans, her jacket tightly covering it through the pin attaching it to her shirt.

"Oh dear." Fairfax frowned as he looked at the five teenagers with a frown. "I asked Ellie to go through your bags."

"You did what?" George replied, annoyance evident in the harsh tone of his voice.

"Well, then you've broken the rules of the deal too, by searching our bags." Lockwood declared, raising a brow at the man.

Moving to his side, Sabrina leaned closer to the boy with a teasing grin. "You know, he creates the rules, so, technically, he didn't." She reminded him as he shot her a warning glare.

"Miss Sanderson is correct," Fairfax smirked at the group with a triumphant smile, "although, as far as I recall, there's nothing in our agreement that prevents me making sure you won't burn my house down."

"He does have a tendency to do that." Sabrina agreed with a slow nod as Lockwood directed his glare at her.

"Not helping." Lockwood snapped as she shrugged, backing away from his side, returning to her prior spot next to Aaliyah.

Moving the attention from the bickering teenagers, the man coughed. "Lets call it quits." Fairfax announced before looking down at his watch. "Well, time is ticking. The sun's nearly down." He begun to walk past the group of teenagers as he approached the exit. "We'll leave you to work. It's a little late for us to be in this house safely." He raised his hand and motioned to another door. "Through there, you'll find the Screaming Staircase. It'll take you round to the Red Room."

"Why do all these places sound kinky?" Aaliyah quizzed, her voice quiet as she whispered to her best friend, who failed to restrain a laugh.

"Which," Fairfax continued, sending the girl a warning glance, "is the most likely site of the primary source. We'll be back in the morning. I trust you have everything you need to take it from here?"

"I'm sure we will be fine." Lockwood concluded as Aaliyah and Sabrina shared a look, with their reputation, they would be anything but fine as long as they were with Lockwood and Co.

"Good luck." Fairfax gave them a smile before turning around to the exit, both him and Ellie leaving quickly.

Night was falling, meaning that the ghosts were growing stronger and restless. Which also meant they were in even more danger, a highly active haunting. Sabrina liked to consider herself brave, she did not have many fears, unless you counted drowning and spiders (and possibly a fear of abandonment) but being in such an infamous building, she felt nausea grow.

There was no point attempting to avoid it, they had an investigation to do and all she could do was pray they made it out alive.

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Words~1009.
{edited:no}