The Evil Within

Things go sideways

"Are you sure?" Lockwood looked worried.

"I-I don't know. I could have imagined it, but I heard it twice, so..."

He ran his long fingers through his dark hair, "Okay, then keep listening. The first floor is definitely where the Source is, so maybe you'll hear it again here. George, you get Kipps, I don't want him alone when this thing turns up."

Holly, Lockwood and I got back into the iron chain circle while George went downstairs for Kipps. Lockwood silently squinted into the darkness while I tried to hear anything although George stomping down the stairs didn't necessarily make it easier.

"It's weird, it's almost like the ghost is here, but it just doesn't show. The cold, the malaise, even ghost fog is building up. It's ten to midnight." Lockwood shook his head in confusion.

His face looked even paler in the dim light of the lantern. His cheekbones caused a shadow on his face, making him look older than he was. Also the light made the contrast between his light skin and his dark eyes and brows even more dramatic.

"Have I got something on my face?" he lifted his eyebrows in question.

"Er, no, I just thought I saw something behind you, but...there's nothing so...yeah."

Holly chuckled, "Hmm..." I shot her an angry look, she just grinned and shrugged.

Lockwood was just about to ask further when I lifted my hand, silencing him, "Shh."

"Lucy..."

"Skull?"

"Lucy..."

"The skull is upstairs, it's not him."

"Lucy..."

"Luce, talk to me, what is going on?" Lockwood was tugging on my coat.

I shrugged, "I don't know, it's calling my name."

"Lucy, please..."

"What, how can I help you? What do you need?" I stepped closer to the chains.

"Lucy, stay in the circle!" Holly wanted to pull me back, but I kept pushing forward, "No, I can't understand it when I stay in here."

They knew better to hold me back, so I stepped out of the circle and asked again, "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Here...here..."

"Where? Show me where!"

"Here...Lucy..."

Suddenly in the corner of the library that was full of old encyclopaedias a glowing spot appeared. It was pulsating slightly, slowly growing bigger.

"Lucy, get back into the circle. Now." Lockwood's tone was sharp.

"Give me a moment. Maybe I can find out what it's deal is."

"Lucy, now!"

"Please...help...help..."

It was just a whisper as always, but I could make out a man's voice. It felt desperate, not angry or aggressive at all.

"How can I help? Tell me!"

"Lucy, don't get closer!"

"You need to see...here...help...need to see..."

Against better judgement I inched closer, trying to make out what the ghost was trying to show me.

"What do I need to see?"

"Here...need to see..."

I was just about five feet from the pulsating bubble of ectoplasm, squinting in the darkness behind it to make out some sort of Source, as all at once it started lashing out towards me. I jumped back and could hear Lockwood's steps directly behind me. He wasn't yet quite next to me as the ectoplasm suddenly turned into a gas like state. It looked like steam from an old train and billowed towards me.

Lockwood was now in front of me, slashing through the air as the steam surrounded him. I cried out and wanted to come after but Holly had gripped by my collar and pulled me back. Lockwood was now completely sucked in by the substance; it was like a cloud around him.

"No, Lockwood, we need to help him!"

I was just about to rip myself free from Holly's grip, when the cloud disappeared and Lockwood stood there without a burn on him. His back was turned to us, his rapier lying on the ground next to him.

"Lockwood?" I shook Holly's hand off me and ran to him.

"Lockwood, are you okay? How did it not kill you?"

He had been staring at the floor, now he looked up and turned to me, "Lucy? Ah yes, you're Lucy!"

I frowned, "What the hell are you talking about, of course I'm Lucy."

He seemed to examine me thoroughly, then himself. He held up his hands in front of his eyes, slightly tilting his head, "Hm...I can deal with this."

"What..." I took a step back, "Lockwood?"

He grinned at me, but it wasn't the Lockwood grin, it looked dangerous. Not like him. Nothing looked like him.

"Lockwood..." I said again, this time less confident.

He came the step closer that I had taken away from him so that he was just a feet from me. Again he tilted his head, lifted his hand, took a strand of my hair and started playing with it, "Lucy, my dear, it was nice making your acquaintance, thanks for waking me up. You can feel honoured, you will be the only one I will feel sorry for killing."

I froze, "You're not Lockwood."

He shrugged, "Depends. This is his body with all his memories, so technically this is Lockwood." He kept grinning, "Let's say...I'm the advanced version. Without all the morals and emotions."

I backed off, shaking my head, "You took over his body? That's not possible! It would have killed him!"

"Oh Luce, never encountered a Type Three before? Yeah, everything is possible. And yeah, this body might be pretty useless after I'm done with it, but until then I'll have my fun with it!"

Actually I had encountered a Type Three before, but he was safely locked in a jar upstairs.

"Lockwood, I know you're in there, please don't let him win, throw him out!" I was nearly back in the iron circle.

Lockwood or whatever it was chuckled, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I don't think that's gonna happen. But I have a deal for you: I'll kill you both so you don't have to watch him get ripped to pieces? How does that sound? Lucy, darling, do you really think those chains will stop me? I have an armour of Lockwood around me, look, I can just step over them! Ha!"

I scowled, "And with what are you going to kill us? You might be able to walk over the chains, but I'm pretty sure you can't touch them. Or your rapier."

He hesitated for a second, "Hmm, you have a point there." He smirked, "Maybe I'll just choke you. But that would be boring. I could get creative with my finger nails, I'll just go with the flow."

There was the fact that Holly and I were the majority, but I seriously wasn't sure what this Lockwood was able to do since the one with morals and emotions was already pretty savage.

"You can never overpower both of us." Holly's face was stone cold and angry.

Lockwood smiled at her, "Oh Sweetie, do you really want to find out? I really want to snap Lucy's neck just to prove you wrong, I am that petty."

Suddenly his face went expressionless and without another word he sank to floor like a sack of potatoes and didn't move anymore.

Holly and I had both jumped and now looked up.

George stood there with his heavy flashlight in his hand, frowning at Lockwood, then at us, "Okay, so ghost possession is a thing now? That's the last thing we needed."