(Part TWO of the Be tired with me story)
I woke up with my head on Lockwoods shoulder. "Did you sleep well?" He asked me.
"Better than I have in a while," I smiled at him.
"We've got another five minutes before we pull into the station and then another ten minute drive until we get to the hall. Then we have fifteen minutes til sundown once we're there," George spoke up.
"Good that, George. We need every minute possible to locate the source. Once we finish this case, everyone will practically be begging at our doors for London's finest agents," Lockwood grinned.
"I can't wait to see the look on Kipps' face when he reads the papers," George got excited.
"Yes, well, let's be coordinated. We all know our jobs and I'm pretty sure Fairfax has been underestimating us. We can probably be in and out before the sun comes up," I told them, ignoring the comment about Kipps. I didn't fancy seeing him as I haven't seen him for a few months and I'd like to keep it that way.
The train bell started to ding, indicating that we were approaching the station.
"Come on then. We can't leave Sir John Fairfax waiting," Lockwood told us. I swear he was in love with Fairfax with how often he was mentioned.
We walked out of the station to Ellie, Fairfax's assistant. I didn't pay much attention to her but I did notice that the car she was driving meant I had to squeeze between Lucy and George in the back seat.
And George was right. The ride took exactly ten minutes to get to the hall, I had checked on my watch.
Fairbax was standing outside, waving at us and looking as proper as ever.
"Good day Lockwood and Co," He greeted.
He led us inside and instructed us to put our bags down. I didn't pay much attention to him but the place felt off, like I could feel the massive amounts of unrest.
"Mr. Lockwood broke the rules," Ellie walked in with a fire bomb in hand. "He brought something you specifically told him not to bring."
"Lockwood, I specifically mentioned it this morning," I looked at him strangely. What was up with him today?
I walked around the area we were standing in, trying to touch anything that looked like it could have psychic charge. Only a few whispers and some laughing but yet again, this was only the entry.
"Well, the sun is going down. Better get going. Good luck," Fairfax waved at us as he walked toward the door. He closed it behind him.
"Lockwood, what's going on?" I pulled him aside by his sleeve.
"I told you I'd deal with it," He looked at me with a mischievous glimmer in his eyes. "One moment."
Lockwood disappeared behind a pillar and into another room. I rolled my eyes and walked towards the front door where our bags were.
Ellie sure made a mess out of my time consuming organization of each bag. The chains had gotten tangled and some of the filing containers were open and some spilled to the bottom of the bag. I grabbed two bags and left the other two because I didn't think we needed four sets of chains for all of us. You could fit four people easily in two sets of chains.
Apparently, being useful isn't helpful because Lockwood reappeared with yet another firebomb in hand.
"What've I told you about breaking client agreements?" I looked at him sternly.
"You said that it's unlawful and DEPRAC will take away our insurance coverage, I know Charlie," Lockwood looked like an annoyed puppy.
"Sun's nearly down, let's just get going," George sighed, taking one of the bags from my hands.
"What were you thinking?" Lucy asked Lockwood, eying the firebomb he tucked into his jacket.
"I'm thinking about how Fairfax lied to us and I needed to make sure we were all protected. Agency first, client second," Lockwood looked proud to say that but I just cringed.
We headed up the staircase the Fairfax warned would scream at us.
"If this is a screaming staircase, it sure is being awfully quiet," Lucy whispered as she tried to listen.
I touched the railing on the side and got nothing, not even a low hum. There was no psychic charge anywhere on or near the staircase.
"Fairfax said there was a Red Room where most of the hauntings have supposedly occurred," George said, as he grabbed a temperature monitor from the inside of the bag he was carrying. "Up we go then."
"You are so well mapped out that it scares me sometimes," I told George. The four of us climbed the stairs to where George said the Red Room was. Nothing was where it was supposed to be so we were piecing together where the old house was and the new one began.
The room we finally stopped at was a putrid green and empty old canvas frames lining the walls.
"The only red in this room is my shoelaces," George looked around.
We set up the chain circle and the door holder and made sure everything was secure just in case we needed to escape. There were no signs of any sources. Nothing on the floor or walls.
"No death glows," Lockwood examined the room.
"I'm just getting real bad negative energy from these walls," George said, touching the doorframe.
I yawned a bit. I didn't know why I was still tired. Lockwood's shoulder was comfier than my pillow.
"The faster we get this done, the faster I will bake everyone fresh biscuits when we get home," I told everyone.
"The faster we get this done, the faster we pay off our very large debt," Lockwood encouraged.
"The faster we get this done, the faster you can all shut the bloody hell up," George mumbled next to me.
The temperature monitor beeped from the circle. George ran over, "It's dropping. Everyone in the circle."
"I think I've found something," Lucy said, knocking on the canvas covered wall.
"Get in Luce!" I yelled and pulled her in.
"Do you hear that tapping?" Lucy asked us and pointed to her ears.
I knelt down and felt the floor. I nearly felt sick. There was a faint tapping for a second or so and then it was gone.
Blood started pouring down from the walls and onto the floor. Then a drop fell into the circle. Oh no.
"What is that? That's not supposed to be happening," George looked astonished.
"There's a weak spot in the middle, we need to get going," Lockwood sounded panicked.
Lucy jumped back to the canvas wall she was examining. I took some of the salt throwers from the bag and went after Lucy.
She tore at the canvas after one of George's remarks and we fell into a secret room. Lockwood slammed the door and we all leaned against the wall panting.
"I swear, I'm going to kill Fairfax, that bloody prick," I winced. The handle of my rapier had cut open the skin just above my belt. I held the salt throwers in one hand and applied pressure in the other.
"Well, there's only one way to go now," George said, leading us down the hallway.
"I wouldn't be surprised if we got brutally attacked and left here to die right about now," I joked.
"Now's not the time Charlie," Lockwood scolded.
"Well, I'm so sorry Anthony. I didn't realize we were in a haunted mansion formerly owned by an occultist bastard. Forgive me for needing to express my pain in sarcasm, Anthony," I looked at Lockwood with looks that could kill. I rarely used his first name so he was clearly taken back. "Have you got a bandage?" I asked, holding out my bloody hand.
"Good god Char," Lockwood looked at me like he was the one in pain. I just looked at him because he had never called me that before.
But we were stopped by George and Lucy, who had discovered a staircase leading into the darkness below.
"Could this possibly be the real screaming staircase?" Lucy asked.
"Look!" George pointed suddenly. "Sam Pandey."
A ghost, same as the picture in the original Fittes team, looked at us before turning away and walking into the darkness.
"Don't think he wants us going down there and ending up like him," I said, watching the darkness, expecting for something to fly out and kill us.
"There's no other way out," Lockwood sounded stressed.
Lucy stepped on it first with her hand on the railing, trying to sense anything. We all walked down and I also felt the railing. It was soft at first but the negative energy hit me like a DEPRAC van and I felt sick.
"Oh the screaming," Lucy yelled, one hand on the rail, the other over her ear. "There's chanting."
"Everyone off," Lockwood ordered. We ran down the spiraling stairs into a dark pit-like area.
I switched on my torch while George was already shining it around.
Sam Pandey's body was a few steps away from us, covered in dust and mummified, rapier still in the holder on the belt.
"Temperature just dropped five degrees," George held up the temperature monitor.
I turned around just as the ghosts of the monks appeared.
I tossed the salt throwers before they could reach out for Lockwood. They backed away with a shriek and Lockwood whipped out his rapier.
I took mine out and ignored the blood on the handle.
"We'll hold them off, you find the source," Lockwood told George. George nodded and went to search in the ruins.
I waved my rapier in the air and looked back to see Lucy standing on the edge of the well.
"Lucy! She's ghost locked," I dove to pull her back just as she was about to step into it.
Lockwood was next to me in an instant. "What were you thinking?"
"I found the sources," She sighed. "Bottom of the well."
"Well then," Lockwood joked. "Make a wish."
He pulled the bomb flare out of his pocket and threw it down the well. He pulled Lucy and I to the ground and then everything went dark.