━━ CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE / the monks
episode three, part six.

It was dark, very dark. It bothered Demi a little but she tried not to think about it. All she needed to think about was getting out of here and with Lockwood walking right beside her, it made it easier to deal with. His hand hovered close to hers but he never actually held it. They both needed the hand free in case something happened.

Being able to throw a salt bomb or pull out a rapier was more important than the comfort of holding hands would give them. The group of four walked cautiously down the hallways, shining their torches and taking everything in. Demi kept her hands away from the walls, she didn't want to hear or feel anything more.

Eventually, she would have to but for now, she wanted to keep her thoughts as her own. She deserved that solace especially when the group came across the Red Room. Lockwood twisted the handle of the door open and they stepped inside. Demi was immediately behind him, avoiding any touch of the wall for now as they shone their torches around.

But George's hand pressed against the walls and it confirmed what Demi suspected, "There's bad energy in these walls," He said. Demi glanced back at him, a small frown appeared on her lips and she walked over to him, "A lot of bad energy." Her footsteps were quiet against the wood as she placed her hand above where George had put his. George's touch wasn't as strong as Demi's and she winced against the noise that echoed through her mind.

Screaming, bad energy and dripping. A dripping sound but when Demi's eyes snapped back open, there was nothing that would cause the dripping. It was just the four of them alone in the room but it was certainly the Red Room that Fairfax spoke of.

"There's screaming. Chaos. There's too many voices," Lucy added as she stopped just in front of the doorway. That's how Demi had felt downstairs but it seemed that the noises had subsided completely. It was eerie silent when Demi took her hand off the wall. She then turned around to Lockwood who was looking for death-glows.

"It's not very red though, is it?" George commented. Demi hummed in agreement as she twisted on her heel to take in the enormous room. On the sides of the room, there were two adjacent fireplaces. A giant mirror over the right fireplace while the other lay bare. The room was empty. No windows bar from the odd barn-door-like walls which let some moonlight leak through. It was an eerie room with large panelling and a distinct feeling of unease. Yet there was no red. The walls were swathed in a soft baby blue, There had to be more to this.

Lockwood seemed to have sensed it and he was quick to order everyone around, "Luce, help me with the chain. George, Demi, secure our retreat." They got to work. The chain circle was created in the middle of the room and George spread iron filings along the doorway as Demi placed a heavy weight in front of the door. That meant it should have stayed open. No ghost could move that much weight - or so they thought.

Once the door was secured, George began to walk across the room, mapping it out in hopes of finding the source. Demi walked around on the other side, feeling for anything. Her fingertips were close to the wall but she refused to touch it, wanting to get the tingling feeling she got when they were close to a Source rather than the images that touching the wall would throw her way. Finding the Source was the priority.

"Six degrees and falling," George read out as he continued to pace.

"Whatever's here, it's getting closer," Lockwood commented as he and Lucy secured the iron chain on the floor. It was their safe space if anything went completely awry, "There's no sign of any sources yet though. Strange." Demi nodded her head and she let her hands continue to rest just in front of the walls. There was really nothing. It was odd how senseless she felt. Even the nausea had somewhat subsided since she walked up the stairs. "George, didn't you say you suspect there's hidden rooms?" Lockwood asked. The group all came together to stand within the iron chain circle.

"From the plans, it's highly likely," George responded and Demi glanced around. Her torch shone across the walls. There had to be something.

"We'll look for evidence. Watch our backs," Lockwood ordered as he stepped out of the circle. Demi and Lucy followed behind and Demi decided that rather than simply avoiding touching the walls, she would have to eventually and if there were hidden entrances (or exits) then it wouldn't be something she could find based on a feeling.

Her Touch may be strong but not to that extent. Her fingers ran across the wall as the others continued to talk, discussing the Source. The Source that wasn't in here. Demi would have been able to feel it if it was in the room. It would have been obvious the second that they stepped through the door but it wasn't.

And she seemed to become lost in the voices and images that flashed across her vision as she felt along the walls because suddenly she was being dragged into the iron chain circle right when she had felt something.

"There was something the-" Demi went to say but Lockwood's words interrupted her, "What's making that sound?" Lockwood asked, letting go of Demi's arm as he drew his rapier. It took a moment for Demi to realise that there was a soft rhythmic tapping filling the room. It hadn't been in her head and she drew her rapier, shining the torch around.

"Blood," Lucy suddenly said and Demi turned around to follow Lucy's pointed rapier and her face fell. That wasn't good, "Erin! Can you get up here please!" Lucy suddenly shouted, ignoring George's words. If this was happening here, Lucy began to worry about what was happening to Erin downstairs.

"It's not blood-" George began but in a panic, Demi blurted out, "That's plasm." Which meant that they had to be careful and she looked down at the chains. Shining the torch frantically. The circle was far too big for something like this.

"The circle is too big, step back," Demi said suddenly just as the plasm dripped to the middle of the circle. The four of them fanned out to the edges of the chain and Demi sighed, looking around. The way out was still open at least. That was a bonus.

"Let's get out of here. Leave the kit. Head for the door," Lockwood ordered but before they even had a chance to leave the circle. Erin rushed through the door as it slammed behind her. The weight that Demi had placed did absolutely nothing to stop it from slamming as Erin stood in the room, pale and on the verge of vomiting but alive, "Hampton?" Lockwood asked, raising an eyebrow. Demi stepped closer to the girl.

"Are you okay?" Demi asked softly and Erin nodded slowly. She looked carefully around the room but everything she did seemed sluggish. That worried Demi but she tried to put it to one side as she held her rapier low in one hand and held the other out for Erin to bring her away from the plasm that was dripping dangerously around them.

"Why did you close the door?" George suddenly asked. The annoyance laced his tone as he gestured wildly towards it. Erin's face was blank as Demi tugged her out of the doorway. Lucy grabbed the door handle, rattling but it didn't budge even a little.

"She did nothing. The door is locked! I thought you secured it!" Lucy snapped as she twisted on George. The annoyance now etched across her face as she slammed her rapier back into its holder.

"I did! This isn't possible for a ghost to do that, that's why Erin had to do it," George responded, the panic began to leak into his tone, as he shone his torch across the doorway and then to Demi who nodded in agreement. Well, she didn't agree that Erin had done something but they had secured it. Something had moved the weight like it was nothing but it couldn't have been Erin. And the panic suddenly hit her like a tsunami wave and she swallowed thickly. They were trapped in a room filled with plasm. They were going to die. They were going to kill a Hampton.

"All of us need to calm down. It'll feed off our panic," Lockwood said and Demi scoffed. She had been ignoring her panic since they had stepped into this place.

"It's a bit late for that. I told you this was a bad idea!" Demi snapped as she whirled on Lockwood. He stared at her for a moment. Her sudden shift from calm panic to aggression was disjointing but he tried not to think about it.

"We need to get out of here," He said simply and glanced around the room, "Demi, where was that exit you felt?" He asked as he looked down at her. Demi paused for a moment and looked around the room, trying to remember where she was.

"I don't-" She began but cut herself off. The panic was clear in the way she was moving and so Lockwood grabbed her hand, squeezing it reassuringly.

"I need you to focus right now. You're okay," He promised softly and she squeezed his hand back in response before she looked around. Her heart was thumping against her chest as she tried to remember where she had been standing and within a few seconds, she put it together.

"This way... I think," Demi mumbled as she rushed towards one of the panels. Lucy followed closely behind her and Demi slipped her rapier away. The plasm had spread across the walls now and it was dripping everywhere. They didn't have time for this and so Demi was frantic with her movements as she and Lucy worked to find the exit.

The words spoken between the group were lost as she pushed her hands against the wall, smacking aggressively against it. The voices of her Agency mixed with the voices from the walls as she heard the hollowness. Her fingers dug into the wallpaper and suddenly there was a rip.

"What have you found?" Lockwood said suddenly and Demi's head snapped towards him, "I think something is wrong with Hammy." And then Demi's head moved towards the girl that was kneeling in front of the door. Her eyes were ghost-locked. She wasn't moving and somehow she looked even more ill than a second ago. They had... they... the panic took hold of Demi in seconds and Lucy looked from Erin to Demi frantically.

"What's going on?" Lucy asked as she pushed her hands against the wall, trying to widen the hole that Demi had discovered but Demi's body was acting as a barrier between progress.

"I'm sorry, Annie," Erin said softly and the stressed look on Lockwood's face made Demi snap back to reality. And she turned back to the wall, tearing at the wallpaper, trying to get some sort of grip. But the panic was making her hands shake and her mind was filled with voices, whisperings as she clawed at the paper.

"She's ghost-locked but she's communicating!" Lockwood said as he knelt up from in front of Hampton and turned around to hold his rapier up.

"That's not possible, Lockwood," George snapped.

"Well, it is!"

"How are we supposed to fight that?!"

And then Demi managed to tear the wallpaper out and there was a door. She was just about able to make out the shape of the old door in the gloom and threw her entire body weight against it but it didn't move. Not straight away.

"I've got it! I've got something. I-" Demi's words were quick, stumbling over each other as she threw herself against the door in hopes of snapping it open. But nothing was working. That was until Lucy joined her and the door snapped open with a shove. The two girls stumbled through and the panic in Demi's chest only seemed to grow as she grabbed onto the wall, turning to get a clear view of the room. It was quickly filling with plasm and Erin wasn't moving.

Her eyes were completely glossed over as Lockwood tried to grab her and pull her up. But it was getting too dangerous. There was nothing he could do but he was trying. He pulled and tugged and Lucy even tried to run back but the plasm dropped right in front of her, forcing her back into the hidden doorway. George grabbed Lucy's arm pulling her back as she shouted for Lockwood to get here now.

The conflict was clear on his features as he looked from Demi to Erin and then Lockwood ran. He just about managed to avoid the plasm before he rushed through the door and slammed it shut behind them. Demi stared at him, turning away from the doorway. Her hands moved to cover her face as Lucy began shouting. Her chest was rising and falling heavily and the more she tried to breathe the harder it got. The world was closing in on her as she tried to hold back the tears.

"Hey, you're okay," Lockwood had his arms around Demi, pulling her hands away from her face. He knew that Demi calming down was the most important thing. The ghosts would only get stronger if she devolved any further.

"You just left her!" Lucy shouted as she threw her hands out and Lockwood looked at her and then down at Demi. The tears trickled down her face as she stared at Lockwood, her breathing ragged. Bordering on a panic attack.

"We just killed a Hampton?" Her words were somewhere between terror, panic and sadness as she looked at Lockwood. Almost seeking his reassurance that they hadn't just done exactly what she had been afraid of since the very beginning.

"I had to," Lockwood said softly as he looked from Demi to Lucy. Demi stared at him, paralysed. There was nothing she could do.

"No, you didn't! You got yourself out, you could've brought Erin. You should've brought Erin!" Lucy shouted but the sadness seemed to overtake the anger. The tears ran down her face, her words bordering on sobs as she covered her hand over her mouth, turning her face away from Lockwood and George. There was nothing that they could do now.

"If I tried to take Hammy with me, I would still be in there too," Lockwood responded. His words were calm and collected but it only served to aggravate Lucy more while the words seemed to go over Demi's head. All she could think about was the fact that they had killed a Hampton. They had killed Erin and they would be ruined for this.

"Her name is Erin Hampton. If she is..." Lucy began but she couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence as Demi turned away. The panic hit her in a renewed sense, no longer silent as her breathing became unstable and ragged and a sob escaped her lips. Her hand pressed against her face as she tried to understand what had just happened.

"A poltergeist could shut a door. Only Changers can manifest as something as weird as blood. But never on that scale! Are we talking about a new kind of Type Two?" Lockwood had a hold of Demi's shoulders, pulling her against his chest as he tried to get her to calm down. The sob hadn't renewed but he could feel the way she was breathing. The panicked pattern as she tried to keep herself from falling over the edge.

"That was just a regular Changer. No ghost can move that much heavy iron. Someone living did that," Lockwood responded and Demi pulled back. Her breathing was still uneven as she glared at the boy above her.

"That's what I was trying to tell you," She snapped, wiping the tears from her cheeks, "Ellie isn't who she says she is." Demi shook her head and turned away, frustration swarming her system. Everything was hitting her in a dizzying tidal wave and she didn't know what to do anymore.

"Neither of them would dare be back there to do that," Lucy said, finally the whole notion ridiculous. Her sobs had subsided but the anger still lingered in her tone as she looked between the boys.

"Maybe Demi's right. We might be being tested," Lockwood suggested. Demi wiped her face, scrubbing her skin. The frustration made it easier to breathe. The panic was replaced with anger as she took a deep breath.

"What? You can't possibly imagine we're going to get something out of this," Lucy added, sniffling as she rubbed the snot from her nose. It was clear that she was holding back tears and Demi refused to look at her. They had just killed Erin and the tears welled in Demi's eyes all over again. She twisted her face away.

"Oh God," George said, distracting them all from the thoughts of Erin, Fairfax and Ellie, "The temperature just got lower which means the Red Room isn't even the original haunting. There's something else out there." The beep from the thermometer made it easier for Demi to focus and after a moment of silence, she felt it. That tingling in her fingers. So faint that of course, she wouldn't have noticed it.

"I can feel it," Demi mumbled as she reached out and gently pressed her fingers against the stone on the wall. Soft chanting, images of hooded figures and then nothing. The energy was terrifying, off-putting but the Source was near here.

"What if there is no way out?" Lucy asked as they began to walk down the corridor. An exit or the Source would be a perfect way to end the night. Then it would be over with and they could run but Demi knew it wouldn't be that easy. And the longer they walked down the corridor, the more she could feel the Source.

"Well, then we're dead too," George said simply and Demi briefly closed her eyes, trying to fight back that thought. She had only just managed to get her panic under control and his words threatened to send it spiralling all over again.

"Why are ghosts and spiders best friends?" Demi mumbled as they turned the corner right into cobwebs. She scrunched her nose up in response and Lockwood glanced down at her.

"I don't mind them. They're excellent warnings," He responded and it was hard for Demi not to let out a mumble of 'of course, you'd think that'. Lockwood always seemed to see the positive in the most gruesome things, "Case in point," Lockwood added after a moment and when Demi followed his gaze, the ghost of Samaran Pandey was standing there. Clad in Fittes uniform and rapier on his belt. Demi had a feeling she would end up like that soon.

"Shit," Lucy mumbled softly as Demi let out a soft, "Fuck."

"Sam Pandey," George said and Demi nodded. They all watched as the ghost disappeared down the stairs, "Probably wanted to warn us not to go down there." There were no good feelings coming from the staircase. The energy it let off was negative and Demi wasn't even standing on it. There was something so wrong about all of this.

"Wait!" A voice suddenly said before any of them got a chance to step on the stairs and Demi turned around in seconds. Her eyes widened as Erin stood there. Blood ran from her nose, eyes and ears. It was smudged around her mouth and the panic clenched Demi's heart again. There was no way that Erin was alive and they were being haunted already.

"Stay back. How, how did you get out of the Red Room?" Lockwood asked as he suddenly rushed in front of the rest of the group. His body mainly protected Demi whose breathing had begun to speed up again. Her heart thumped harshly against her rib cage as she stared.

"I don't know. I must have passed out when I saw the blood. I had this horrible... dream? I don't know but all I know is that when I woke up you guys had let me," Erin responded simply and the way she spoke was far too coherent to be a ghost. Which meant that she had survived but that didn't seem to quite compute in Demi's mind as she stared, confused and hurt and terrified.

"No. Lockwood tried to bring you with us, Erin. You were ghost-locked," Lucy said softly and Erin's face crumpled in confusion. She glanced from Lucy to Lockwood.

"How did you get out of the Red Room?" Lockwood asked. It was bordering on snapping but he tried to keep his tone under control as he held his rapier lowly. Demi hadn't even noticed that he had drawn it.

"The blood stopped at my feet. The ghost mustn't have seen me as a threat, I was able to get out through the door in the wall," Erin explained and slowly it began to hit Demi. It was okay. They hadn't killed Erin. They hadn't killed a Hampton. They were safe. Completely safe and relief filled her chest.

"How aren't you ghost-locked anymore?" George asked as he watched Erin step forwards towards them, into the light. She was perfectly alive. Any normal person would have been killed in that Red Room and yet, Erin Hampton had survived.

"I don't know. I felt a sense of helplessness, and I couldn't fight it. Then I heard some man talking about an Annie saying lines about Hamlet and I had a nightmare. I was so scared I wanted nothing more than to go into the real world to avoid it. Then I woke up with a pounding headache," Erin attempted to explain. Demi pushed her fingers through her hair and stepped back, getting her footing back.

However, her foot landed on the edge of the staircase and the voices swarmed her mind. Every kind of screaming seemed to swarm her head. Loud, overlapping and debilitating as she let out a cry of pain. Her hands smacked over her ears as she stumbled forward. Lockwood grabbed her, pulling her off the staircase and towards him. His rapier abandoned into its holder as he looked down at her.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly. The panic had returned with a burning vengeance as she shook her head.

"That's the screaming staircase," She responded, the panic echoing in her tone as Lockwood helped her stay on two feet. He nodded his head.

"Wouldn't be a surprise. Fairfax certainly loves surprises. No wonder he did so well in show business," George mumbled as he looked at the staircase before glancing around the group.

"Are you sure you can do this?" Lockwood asked, his words directed at the girl still in his arms. If she was completely honest with herself, Demi knew she couldn't be here. They both knew that she shouldn't. She should have stayed home. This was too close to what had happened once before but Demi nodded her head and feigned the more reassuring smile she could. Lockwood then turned to Erin, "You're not going to die on us again, are you Hampton?" He asked.

"I never planned on it," Erin said simply and Lockwood nodded. The group then headed down the stairs. Well, Erin, Lucy and George headed down the staircase while Demi seemed to hesitate at the top. Though it was for a completely different reason than Lockwood.

Demi watched him as he mouthed 'Show business' to himself and her eyebrows furrowed. And then he looked at Demi and went 'Ellie?' with a small quirk of his head. The fact that he wasn't saying it out loud made Demi slightly confused. But she didn't say anything until the look of realisation spread across his face.

"Wait a minute guys, hold on. I think I might have figured out something," Lockwood began as he grabbed Demi's hand. He then led her onto the staircase and the screams swarmed her mind. She could barely hear the words that were spoken around her. Lucy confirmed it was the staircase and Lockwood ordered them off as he dragged Demi down by her forearm. Her hands pressed against her ears and her eyes squeezed shut as the screams reverberated around her skull.

And it was happening again. Even after they had stepped off the staircase, there were noises in her head. Demi could hear it. The chanting. Chanting in Latin and noises. Not screaming but noises of pain, terror, fear. There was so much going through her mind and she didn't know what to do. Her eyes scanned the room around her.

"Where the hell are we?" She asked, trying to disguise the panic. It was her attempt to push it down but the more she ignored it, the louder the chanting in her ears got.

"What are we gonna do? It's over," George's panic made Demi panic more. It felt like her heart was going to jump out of her chest as she looked around frantically. And everyone seemed to have that same defeated look on their face.

"Don't say that!" She snapped. Her voice was filled with panic and the way that the monks chanted over everything made it hard for her to distinguish reality. And at some point, her flashlight had switched on and she was looking around and she didn't even know what was going on. Her eyes tried to focus but it was morphing.

"What the fuck is going on-? Francis, give me your flashlight!" The voices seemed to morph in her mind as she stepped back. The chanting was getting louder as the tears filled her vision. Everything blurred into one as she lifted up her flashlight from her side, smacking the side of it aggressively.

"The victims. This is where they died." Demi could see that it was Lucy speaking but her voice seemed to morph. Everything was turning upside down and she stepped back again. Her flashlight smacked against her thigh and it flickered briefly back to life but it died again.

"Guys not to add fuel to the fire but this was another drawing of mine. I saw this... They're coming for us! The little boy is coming!" Demi's head snapped and it was running towards her. A boy, probably only the age of five, and they were running. Their face suddenly morphed and the screams escaped her lips as she stumbled backwards.

Demi's head snapped around and George was looking at her. His eyebrows pulled down as he watched her move towards the wall. And then Erin spoke, "I don't know the kid's name, we didn't have a bloody conversation, Karim! I just woke up and had drawn this, then I heard Lucy calling for me and I ran. I didn't stay to figure out what was happening. Where is he? We're in danger!" Her voice seemed to morph into Francis' and Demi's head snapped around. Where was she?

"Dem, what can you hear? Can you feel the Source?" Lockwood's voice brought her back to reality and the smooth walls of the house returned back to the rough stone of the old priory. Her head snapped from where she had been staring, where Francis had just stood back to Lockwood and the chanting. It was so loud.

"I can just hear the chanting," was all Demi could get out in her panicked state and then there was a scream. A scream from Peter further in the room. It was blood-curdling and Demi looked at Francis. It was a defeated look and Demi could feel the panic. Her chest closed up, her throat closed up and Demi turned again and Erin was looking at her.

"Is the Source in here?!" Lockwood suddenly snapped. His entire body turned on Demi as he looked at her. His words were harsh and Demi's throat had completely closed up. But she could feel it. She could feel something. The Source was somewhere. She nodded her head as she stepped backwards. Her whole body retracted into the wall as tears blurred her vision further.

"You idiot, we mapped out this room!" Erin's voice morphed again and Demi slowly began to sink to the floor. Her mind seized up as she pulled her hands over the top of her head, "The Source is somewhere here." All Demi could see was darkness as she squeezed her eyes shut against the feelings, the sounds, the images. Francis wasn't here. Francis was dead. She couldn't.

"We need to find the Source! Demi! Tell us!" The voice was so loud and she squeezed her head into her lap, trying to ignore it, ignore all of it. She didn't know what to do and all of it was hitting her. Suddenly she was running, her footsteps echoing on the wooden floors as she sprinted for her life. Every breath was ragged and fast, her heart thumped and the world seemed to close in around her. The wooden floor shifted beneath her feet as she tried to run. Every second felt like her last.

"Demi," The voice of Erin was so clear in her mind and she felt her hands being moved. That wasn't her moving them and when she looked up, she didn't know who it was. Erin's features morphed into Francis'. Erin's braids morphed into Francis' afro and Demi didn't know what to think. Tears spilt as Francis spoke, "You're okay. We're gonna be okay. I just need you right now, Demi. It's okay. Please, come back to me". It was begging and Demi wasn't even sure who was doing it anymore. Her eyes weren't able to focus but she could feel her grip on Erin's hands.

The way her lungs weren't able to get enough oxygen in and as Erin's head shot to the side, she wasn't sure if she shouted 'Luce' or 'Teagan'. The words morphed together into an odd mix as Demi watched the panic on Erin's face.

Then Erin looked back at Demi and Demi's hands moved from holding Erin's hand to her face and apologies seemed to spill from her lips but they were mumbled, unclear as Erin grabbed Demi's hands.

"Demi, I know you're not fully here right now but please, for the love of God please, help me. We need to move away or we will be ghost-touched." The words were so clearly Erin and between the uneven breaths, Demi seemed to comprehend something. Francis grabbed Demi and they were both shoved against the well. Her back was pressed against the stone as Demi moved her hands from Erin's face to her jacket, frantically searching.

"I found the source It's in the well. Their bodies!" Lucy explained as she watched them. Erin still sat in front of Demi as the brunette looked around, seemingly coming back to reality despite the way the world still felt like it was closing in on her. The floor seemed to shift under her as she looked at Erin and then at Lockwood, Lucy.

"It's too late. There's too many!" George's voice morphed into Teagan's as he panicked, "They should have listened to us." Teagan snapped as she held her rapier in front of her. The annoyance was etched across her features as she stepped back. Demi didn't know what to think and her rapier was held shakily in her hand.

"Where is it?1 Lockwood!" Lucy's voice was panicked and Demi shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket. Her hands were shaking as she reached for the biscuit packet. The bomb flare. The same device that had saved her the last time. And she managed to get it out and shoved it into Erin's hands who stared at it for a moment.

Before she realised and then it was thrown. Demi grabbed a hold of Francis' body, pulling her under her as the bomb exploded. And then there was darkness. And then black.

-

Demi's eyes snapped open and the pain instantly snapped through her entire body. She let out a soft whimper as she rolled onto her side. Her head throbbed and then she felt two hands grabbing onto her. He pulled her up into his chest, holding her closely as Demi buried her face in his neck. It only took her a minute to realise that it was Lockwood. The way he held her was familiar.

And then he whispered softly, "Are you okay?" which made Demi shake her head vehemently. It was a stupid question. A completely stupid question but it was Lockwood so he asked it anyway.

"Not really," She mumbled softly. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, cupping her cheeks as he pulled back slightly.

"I'm sorry. I was an idiot," He said. She stared at him, not entirely sure what to say. He was so close to her. Their faces were inches apart and she moved her stiff arms to wrap around his neck as she pulled him down. All she wanted was to be close to him. They had barely survived, "What did you want to tell me earlier?" He asked.

"Fairfax set us up. Ellie was the one who broke in," Demi mumbled. Her voice was ragged and her throat was sore but any traces of her panic attack had vanished. Though being knocked out would do that, she assumed.

"How did you know?" Lockwood asked as Demi pulled away from him. Her back ached and she had to grit her teeth against it.

"Perfume," She said simply. And Lockwood let out a soft 'ah'. Demi nodded and then he pulled back from her completely. He looked to the rest of the group who were all just about surviving and met George's gaze. He had a frown on his lips.

"Are you all okay?" Lockwood asked. Lucy nodded and Erin looked alive - which was a good enough response for Lockwood.

"How powerful was that flare?" George asked as he pushed himself away from the well that was certainly destroyed. There was no way that the Sources that lay at the bottom survived that strong of a blast.

"It had to break DEPRAC regulations," Lucy mumbled as she slowly pushed herself to her feet. Demi chuckled softly.

"It did." It was the honest answer and Lockwood couldn't help the proud smile that appeared across his lips. He then shoved his hand into the pocket of his coat and he pulled out a picture. A picture of Annabel and Demi saw Fairfax, in the back of the picture. She had been right.

"And we figured something out," Lockwood said after a moment. Everyone seemed to come over to the pair as he turned the photo around, "Fairfax wasn't just into casinos. He was the most connected man in Soho before he moved into iron." It didn't take long for the others to put it together and it all began to make sense.

"Fairfax knew Annabel?" George asked. Demi nodded as she let her head rest on Lockwood's shoulder.

"He sent Ellie to get the ring, the intruder and Ellie had the same perfume." Her voice was soft, quiet but there was a sense of confidence to it. Demi knew that Ellie had to be the same person. The perfume, the wound, Fairfax. It all made sense.

"And the hallmark on the ring? There's gonna be a record of him commissioning it," Lockwood explained, which was why Fairfax wanted them dead. They knew his secret. They could put him in prison if they wanted to. That was dangerous.

"I'm sorry, are you guys saying that John Fairfax killed Annabel Ward?" Erin asked, looking between them all, completely confused. Demi nodded her head, pushing her fingers through her hair and taking a deep breath.

"Yeah," Lockwood said simply, "And I think he brought us here for the house to kill us. It wouldn't have even been suspicious, just more agents dying on the job." Demi stared down at the floor. It was exactly what she had assumed was happening but she hadn't said anything. She should have said something. It would have saved them from all of this. Saved her from all of that.

"If he brought you guys here to kill you, then why did he bother to hire my agency? We aren't investigating this case," Erin asked curiously and Demi's eyebrows furrowed. That was true which was why Demi was so confused by Chase at the station. He shouldn't have been there and yet he was and it was infuriating.

"I don't know that yet," Lockwood said simply as he looked at Erin. A soft sigh escaped Lockwood's lips as he pulled back from Demi who slumped slightly. Her body wasn't prepared to take the weight of itself back.

"It doesn't matter. Let's get out of here, leave before they realise we're still alive" Lucy said simply as she pushed herself to her feet. The smoke was slowly beginning to clear in the room now. The dust that the rubble had brought up seemed to settle again as they stood up.

"Well if we go out via the Red Room, we won't be," George mumbled. His tone was somewhat defeated but Demi couldn't blame him. She looked around the room slowly but with how injured her back was, she wasn't much help.

"Don't worry about that, there's light, there," Erin said before she stepped towards it, "All the smoke from the flare is leaving the room, and that light must be our way out too." The whole group turned to see where she was looking and she was right. The blast must have created some holes in the wall and so, they all climbed out.

It was particularly painful for Demi but she managed to get out, hobbling along behind the group until suddenly, Fairfax walked out. And it made all the panic and worry flood back into Demi as he held the gun towards the five.

"Don't move!" Fairfax ordered and it was too late. Demi moved to hide behind one of the tables, her breathing becoming quickly uneven again as the tears swarmed her vision. George had followed close behind her and he glanced at Lockwood, half-listening to the conversation as he moved closer to Demi. He knew that there was nothing that he could do.

"Hey, Dem," George's voice was quiet and she lifted her face up, tears spilling down her cheeks. His smile was soft, attempting to be reassuring but it came off a little awkward as she looked at him. He could see the way her chest rose and fell rapidly. The tears spilt down her cheeks without her really wanting them to, "Are you okay?" He asked. It was a stupid question. The second time she had been asked it and when she shook her head, George frowned.

He glanced over at Lockwood, only half-listening as he challenged Fairfax. George shuffled closer to Demi and took her hand carefully in his own. He was never all that good at comforting people but he wanted to help Demi.

"Do you want a hug?" He asked. Demi nodded slowly, unable to say anything. Her words would be too panicked, loud and uneven. Everything in her told her to squeeze onto something so when George pulled her into a hug, she gripped onto him. Her arms tightened around him and she buried her face in his chest, "You're gonna be fine," He whispered. And then his head lifted when he heard Lockwood challenging Fairfax to shoot him.

He knew Demi heard it too and felt her shaking against him. A silent sob seemed to wrack through her body as he held her tighter. Demi couldn't move, she couldn't breathe but being close to someone made it better. She tried to ignore what was happening. Ignore how reckless Lockwood was being as she gripped George's coat.

"Lucy, what have you done?" George suddenly asked as he looked up from where he was hiding with Demi. When George pulled away, Demi stayed hidden behind the chairs and then she could hear noises, Annabel's joyful laughter and then the pain and then screaming. She covered her ears with her hands and George wrapped his arms around the top of Demi's head as Annabel attacked Fairfax from within.

And then, he dropped dead to the floor and George pulled away from Demi to exclaim about how he was "working with maniacs." If Demi wasn't so distraught, she would have laughed but she didn't laugh. And when DEPRAC arrived and when Barnes told them they were under arrest, she was numb to it all.

They were led to the van and then Kipps was stood there. And something in Demi snapped as he looked at them with that look. The look of arrogance and Demi wasn't even sure what he had said to Lockwood but she had suddenly swung for him. Her fist landed squarely on his face and she felt the impact on his nose before she was shoved into the van by someone else.

She didn't know who it was and she didn't really notice the pain in her hand. Her back hurt enough, it all morphed into one as Lockwood tried to speak to her. But it went over her head. None of it really went in as she stared at the floor. And the more she thought about it, the more she realised she hated the Fittes uniform. And she hated that Kipps was wearing it.

When they signed the NDA, Demi did it without a thought. There was nothing she felt like she could say and none of it mattered anyway. If she was forced to never speak about it again, she was glad. And so, she was the first to sign it and pass it back to Lockwood. And as they were driven home, she sat silently in the corner. There was nothing she wanted to say.

-

NOTE

so... how we feeling?