Chapter 10

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Lockwood's pov

The train pulled slowly into the small station, wheels squealing, passengers lurching. George and I exited the train. The whole train was filled, but George and I were the only people who got off. I guess Lucy's hometown was just as small as she had said it was.

"Hey Lockwood, do you actually know where Lucy is staying at here?" George asked skeptically.

"Er, to be quite frank, no. I thought we would just try to figure it out," I said, ashamed.

"Ah, typical Lockwood. You always jump into situations before you've carefully considered every detail. I guess that's how houses burn down," George teased.

"Oh, be quiet! That whole fiasco wouldn't have happened if someone hadn't of taken out the chains for oiling," I sniped back.

"Only because Lucy suggested it! So I guess it's her fault," George retorted.

"Well, at least all of that led to us becoming a more prominent agency. We wouldn't have half of the fame we have now if it weren't for Luce," I quipped back.

"Yeah, and I wouldn't be freezing my bum off out here on Valentine's Day if it weren't for her. I would be at home eating all of those Valentine's Day candies instead," George huffed.

"Well, I told you that you didn't have to come if you didn't want to," I reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah. I only came to make sure you didn't back out, but still. Can a guy complain just to complain?" he asked.

"No, because there are better ways to use your words than complaining," I said, feeling like a motivational poster.

"Yeah, but I can still use words to say f-" his words were fortunately covered up by the sound of the train leaving the station.

"George! That's not very nice!" I gasped, but it was rather fake.

"What? Lucy says things like that all of the time to you, and you never say anything about it. Oh yeah, that's right, you don't say anything to her because you're in LOOOOVE with her," he teased.

"Oh, be quiet," I said, blushing.

"Oh? The great and mysterious Lockwood is blushing? And here I was, thinking that you didn't have feelings," he laughed.

"Well, I'd rather have some feelings than having none at all like you. Although, now that you mention it, I notice that some of our licorice has been disappearing," I retorted, already planning exactly how to embarrass him.

"What? I haven't been seeing Flo!" he lied, also blushing.

"I didn't say anything about Flo. Wait, are you seeing her?" I said. I also raised one eyebrow and winked if you have to know.

"Well, y-NO! I have just been taking some licorice, okay?" he said while looking down at his feet.

"I didn't say anything about YOU stealing the licorice, but I guess the best lies come from the truth, don't they?" I laughed.

"Okay, Okay! I have been meeting with Flo in the library! Happy now?" he gave in.

"Very. Have you been taking the licorice as well?" I asked.

"Yeah," he mumbled.

"I thought you didn't like licorice," I pointed out.

"Well, she likes it. You get used to eating it after a few times," he said.

"You've had it multiple times after the licorice-vomit incident?"

"Yeah, and I've managed to keep it all down as well," he said, actually looking somewhat smug.

"Wow, you must really like Flo," I said, amazed.

"What can I say? You do crazy things for love," he murmured.

"Oh, so you're in love now, eh? Where's the George that said that he would rather eat licorice than be in love?" I laughed.

"He's about to punch you!" George laughed as well.

We wondered around town for a little bit, but we didn't see any sign of Luce. There weren't that many people out and about. We asked a few people, but they all said that they didn't know who we were talking about. Finally, we sat down in a small, reverent square. No one was around. There was some sort of monument in the center, but we didn't take a closer look.

"It's a small town. Lucy's got to be around here somewhere," I said.

"Yeah, for some reason though, no one seems to know who we're talking about," George agreed.

Two people walked through the square, engrossed in conversation. They appeared to be news reporters, from what I could tell.

"...Really? Two people dead?" the woman said.

"Yeah, both were floating face-down in the water. The cause of death has yet to be determined. The eye-witness said that they also encountered a fleeing girl who had appeared to be ghost-touched on the arm. They said that she looked to be an agent, so maybe she was messing around after dark, trying to wrestle with a ghost or something. She got transferred to a hospital nearby in the next town, from what I've heard. I guess we should send Robert out there to chat with her later," the man said.

"Wait, I'm still not caught up. Where did all of this happen?" the woman asked.

"It happened last night, right next to the area where Wytheburn Mill used to be. You know, the place where the five children died and only one other agent survived. Yeah, she ratted out on their supervisor but in fact he was never fired or anything," he laughed bitterly. The pair exited the square.
"Were they talking about Lucy?" George asked.
I thought for a moment. "To be honest, I'm not sure. Maybe we should go check out the Wytheburn Mill thing. Maybe that's where everyone is at," I said. George agreed, and we followed the two reporters at a distance towards where a crowd was gathered.
We pushed our way towards the front. I turned towards a woman on my left and asked, "What's going on?"
"The Chief of Police is about to speak about the incident. See-Look! There she is!" A harassed-looking woman stepped up on a little makeshift podium.
"Ladies and gentleman, I'm here today to speak about the unfortunate incident that occurred last night. There are two people confirmed to be dead; their names were Edward Jacobs and Margaret Thompson. The cause of death appears to be drowning. However, there was another incident where a person was ghost-touched. She was sent to the hospital, and as of now we are unsure of her condition. We are also unsure if the two incidents are related in any way. Thank you," she started to get down off of the podium.
As she was leaving, reporters tried to ask questions. They shouted over top of one another, vying to have their questions answered. Over top of all the others, a man shouted, " Who was the young woman who got ghost-touched?"
The Chief of Police paused for a moment. "Reports indicate that it was Lucy Carlyle," she said.
George turned and looked at me, horrified. I whispered to myself, "Luce, what have you gotten yourself into this time?"

A/N: So, Lockwood has found out that Lucy has been ghost-touched! I wonder what sort of drama will happen next. And, for once, I updated again quickly! Yay me! I'm hoping to update again next Friday. As always, remember to tell me what you thought!
-Eepster

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