𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐄 143 ꨄ 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗱

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗶𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻

Quickly getting dressed, Sabrina headed downstairs into the kitchen, attempting to avoid both Anthony's eyes or her smug best friend's. She engaged in a quiet conversation with George, an attempt to distract herself from the awkward moment replaying in her mind. While she did so, the other three headed into the basement to get their supplies ready for their day plans, which involved the skull.

It was still bizarre to Sabrina that Lucy could speak to Type Threes, it was an ability unseen in any other person than Marissa Fittes.

With their supplies ready, they called a taxi and found themselves wandering towards an abandoned building, their only source of light coming from the flashlights that they each held. Aaliyah had not let the earlier encounter go and had begun whispering teasing remarks to Sabrina as they walked. Having enough, she pushed her friend in the direction of Lucy, huffing out a sigh as she moved to walk beside George.

"You know Fittes was insane letting you go." Sabrina commented as Lockwood pulled open the gate, allowing them to walk onto the grounds. "Although you have got to tell me how you managed to steal that skull without anyone realising."

George laughed at her comment with a shake of his head. "They notice nothing, they're too focused on themselves." He shrugged and the girl pursed her lips, wanting to deny it but there was not much to deny.

"Fair point." Sabrina mused, spinning her flashlight as she looked around. She always hated walking around in the dark, but then again, this was the perfect time for their line of work so she could not avoid it. That did not mean she had to enjoy walking around such creepy locations.

"How did the skull know Bickerstaff?" Lockwood questioned, his question directed at the group as a whole.

Lucy looked up from her conversation with Aaliyah, attempting to hide the smile that clung to her face. "He said he was his acolyte. Calls him 'master'." She answered, all humour drained from her voice, it was odd how quickly she had changed conversations. A few seconds prior she had been been teasing Aaliyah and now they were discussing the possibility of danger.

"Accomplice to an occultist doctor." George remarked, watching curiously as Sabrina dug through her jacket pocket. "Bodes well." The girl finally revealed what she was looking for, a small packet of biscuits, the kind you would get with a coffee at a cafe. She snapped the packet open and offered him one, which he accepted gratefully.

As she took a bite of her own biscuit, she paused mid-bite when she saw Lockwood pick up a brick and throw it into the glass window of the abandoned building. Her jaw dropped as she looked from the shattered glass and then to the boy. Stepping towards the door, she pushed her foot against the wood, chewing her bite of biscuit and watching amusedly as the door just slid open.

"The door was unlocked." Sabrina mused, turning to look at Lockwood who rolled his eyes at the girl.

"My way worked." Lockwood commented, moving past her as she shared a look with George, finishing the rest of her biscuit quickly.

Following him into the building, she looked around with her flashlight, grimacing at the overgrown plants around her. Mold ran along the walls and she wondered how long it had been left in such a state. Embedded into the window panes was moss, a sign that the door had not been opened in a lot of years.

"Wait, hang on." Lucy suddenly called out to the others, who immediately stopped their movements to look at the girl. "What is it?"

Aaliyah looked at Sabrina as Lucy begun to converse with the skull, the other four just stood by watching her curiously. The blonde girl merely shrugged, still unsure what to feel about the one sided conversations that Lucy had with the skull. She spun around to look at them, her eyes darting to Aaliyah's, almost fearfully. It was like she was having a silent battle with herself about what to do.

"Lucy." Lockwood began carefully but the girl shook her head, continuing to listen to whatever was being told to her by the skull. "Lucy, you have to tell us what it's saying. You can't just blank us."

Lucy finally snapped out of whatever spell she was under, looking up at the four eager teenagers, awaiting any explanation. "You guys need to wait here. I'm going in." She decided and Aaliyah let out a scoff.

"As if we are letting you go in there alone, who do you think we are?" Aaliyah denied as the others murmured their own disagreements about how dangerous this was.

"I'm not alone, am I?" Lucy raised a brow at their comments. "You have to trust me."

Aaliyah groaned, moving towards the stubborn girl. "We do trust you, we don't trust it," the girl explained, motioning to the skull in the bag on Lucy's back, "which is why I am not letting you go in there alone, end of." Sabrina let her lips curl up slightly at her best friend's adamant tone. "If we're not back in fifteen minutes, then you guys follow."

Lucy went to disagree but Aaliyah shot her a look and the girl quietened immediately. With that, the two girls went inside, leaving George, Sabrina and Lockwood to share uncertain looks, wondering what was going to happen to the two.

Silence surrounded them for a couple minutes as they moved to sit down on the steps, not wanting to just awkwardly stand around waiting for the return of their friends. Although that was broken when George begun pacing and was pretty much in his own world, rambling nervously. Sabrina was watching him with a bored expression, tapping against the stone with her chipped painted nails.

"Let me put it this way." George continued his rant. "We have just sent those two alone into a severely haunted house."

Lockwood, who had been too focused on the butterfly clips in Sabrina's hair, quickly redirected his gaze from the blonde haired girl and onto his friend. "You're right, this is insane." He realised what George had been rambling about, they had put two people in danger.

"Majority of your plans are insane, why are you now surprised that a girl working for you also has insane ideas?" Sabrina commented with a tone of boredom, she knew Aaliyah was not in danger, she could protect herself, she was a top Fittes agent, she did not doubt her capabilities.

Lockwood shot the girl an unimpressed look. "Just shut up." He spoke in a tone that was unintentionally teasing, his flashlight moving to shine in her eyes. When he moved it, he was met with an unimpressed look as she pulled herself off the step. The sight brought a grin to his face while George rolled his eyes

Pushing past both of his idiotic friends, he made his way into the house, thankful they had decided to momentarily stop arguing and follow him inside.

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Words~1188.
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