Six Feet Under • Anthony Lockwood

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"Solve this." Lucy declared firmly, her eyes moving towards Amelia's own and raising an eyebrow in challenge. It was something that had become a common occurrence in the house since Lucy had joined them, a power struggle between the two that would more than likely end with Lucy flat on her arse. "Get justice."

Amelia snorted as if her words were the funniest thing that she had heard all night, her eyebrows raising at the furious look that was tossed her way by Lucy at the sound. The girl was a year younger than her, but she had obviously not grasped the concept of the world that they lived in, not truly. It was a cruel world, one where the big corporations and even the small ones, tossed away associates and hid behind lies to protect themselves. The ghosts were dead and gone and needed to be destroyed before they could drag others down with them.

"She's dead, Lucy. We can't help a ghost. We need to destroy her source and move on." Lockwood declared firmly, his hand squeezing Amelia's waist again but this time in comfort, knowing that destroying ghosts sometimes weighed her down from the way that she had destroyed her family's ghosts. It weighed her down and that was why they had brought Lucy in the fold in the first place, especially in cases that concerned children. "Let her go."

"You're acting like you can reason with this ghost to find out what happened to her and we will magically solve the case to save the day." Amelia interjected and Lucy looked slightly scolded at her words. Amelia's decaying heart bled for the girl in front of her because she had felt the same way once upon a time when her brother was concerned. However, ghosts were not the people that they had once been and it was their job to help the living move on. "All of our problems won't magically turn to pixie dust and float away by helping one ghost who you believe you've connected with. In fact, this ghost has only added to our growing list of problems by trying to murder us in the middle of the bloody night. I feel for you Lucy, I truly believe you mean well, but ghosts are no longer the people that they once were and they need to be put to rest by destroying the source that they cling to. The ring is getting tossed in a furnace and we're cleaning our hands of this whole nasty business."

"Just because you have such a jaded view of the world, doesn't mean the rest of us have to fall into line and be cold and uncaring. Have you not ever wanted to help one of the spirits find justice in the end?" The words were out of Lucy's mouth before she could take them back and she could see the moment that Amelia's face had fallen before the mask had quickly gone back up. The words were obviously the wrong thing to be spat at the other girl and Lucy could see that as she turned to George to plead her case when she saw the fury in his own eyes directed towards her. The words of warning that Lockwood had given her about the pair were ringing in her ears as she looked at him. "Come on, George. Back me up. You love a new experiment. Why throw away the chance
to investigate a new phenomenon?"

"Nice try, but psychic connections
are weak science." George declared coldly, his own hand reaching over to rest on Amelia's shoulders, and Lucy could see the wall of solidarity between the three older teens with Amelia Evans standing right in the middle of it all. Lockwood might have been their boss, but Amelia's opinion was obviously respected in their small group and she was their glue holding them all together. "You felt sorry for her. You heard her death loop. End of story."

"So prove it. Before you destroy the ring, let me try to connect with her one last time." Lucy pleaded with them softly, her eyes locking on Amelia's own because to sway the others she needed to sway her first. The whole thing was down to Amelia Evans being convinced that Lucy wouldn't get them all killed. "See what else I can feel. Let me prove to you that it is real. Let me help her like you wanted to help your one person."

"No way." Lockwood spoke quickly, eyeing the contemplative look that crossed Amelia's face and knew that she was close to being swayed even in her anger towards Lucy. If Amelia fell, the others would surely fall close behind. "Too dangerous."