"Alice, what the fuck." Charlie hissed as she stared at him with a vacant expression. It seemed to take her a few seconds before she realised it was him, and blinked before gasping. It was like she was suddenly awoken from a dream, and everything was sharp and too bright to look at. She could see the red out of the corner of her eye and looked down quickly, seeming to startle herself as she saw what she had done.

Peter Green was lying face down on the floor in a pool of his own blood that was oozing from a large wound on the back of his head where it had split open. There was another impact mark on the back of his neck that was bleeding too, and Alice stared in shock as she felt her stomach turn at the sight of so much blood, it had begun to smell sickly sweet and metallic already and it aggressively clung to her senses. "Oh my god." She gagged, covering her mouth only to snap her hands away as she realised it was on her fingers too. Charlie moved quickly and walked over to her to see what she had done, and cursed aggressively again, pushing her out of the way so he could get to work. "I didn't mean to do that, I didn't- I just came here to talk to him." She tried to explain as Charlie cursed repeatedly and lent down to check if Peter Green was actually dead.

"Fuck. Fuckity. Fuck." Charlie hissed, feeling no pulse and looking at the way the blood was pooling and spreading quickly and grabbed some kitchen towels on the counter next to him and began putting them on the floor to stop it spreading so far. Alice stepped away, looking down at her hands as they trembled. She could feel the blood on her face too and whimpered quietly, turning towards the sink to wash it off. "No!" Charlie snapped, "Go wash off in the lake, you're just spreading the blood."

"What?" Alice gasped, feeling strangely hyper aware of everything she was doing and worried that if she moved too much she would fall apart. She had her hands hovering in front of her, her fingers outspread, and she stared at Charlie in shock as he spoke to her, but it was as if she couldn't hear him. It all seemed muffled as her mind replayed the impact wave radiating through her arm when she had hit Peter Green twice. Once on the back of the neck, and a second time as he fell on the back of the head. She'd felt nothing but pure joy for maybe about 2 seconds when she watched him turn limp then slump to the floor, then noticed Charlie walk through the door. That was when the daze broke.

"Alice!" He snapped, clicking in her face. "Wash off, now! Take off your shoes, put the big boots on that are by the back door. Now, do it now!" He snapped, showing a different side of him as he cursed again and put more paper towels down as the blood climbed over the ones he'd originally put down. Alice began to gasp her breaths quickly as she walked through kitchen door, careful not to touch anything with her hands and made it to the back door, it was open already and she could see the dark green boots next to them by the mat. She slid her shoes off and picked them up, and glanced back behind her to check if she had left a trail of blood but she hadn't.

Her eyes leaked heavy tears but she didn't feel emotional nor did she feel like crying as she slid the boots on and carried her shoes outside. She walked carefully down to the lake across the damp grass, in a tense daze of fear and adrenaline as the fresh morning smell seemed to mix with the metallic stench of blood and assaulted her nose. A rush of nausea took her by surprise as she reached the waters edge and she vomited into the murky water at the edge of a pier, dropping one of her sneakers into the water by accident. Her hands had turned white-blue as she swayed a little on her feet and held her hair back, feeling exhausted suddenly. She could feel an ache in her shoulders as her mind replayed the impact again and again like a broken tape. She could even see her expression, the intense glare and the tightness in her jaw. She didn't recognise herself in her own consciousness eye, and in a daze, stood up, knowing she needed to wash off the blood because Charlie had told her too.

She moved a little up the pier and cupped the water in her hands and washed the blood off. It came away easier than she expected, probably because it hadn't been there for long. Her face was next, and she sat on the edge of the pier quietly before sliding off her coat and dipping it in the water... her leggings seemed clean enough but she splashed water on them too, wiping them down whilst blinking slowly and breathing shallow breaths...

Inside the lake house Charlie repeatedly cursed, knowing he needed help to clean this up and out the window he could see that Alice was in no shape to. She was sat there, just staring out into the water as it began to rain and didn't seem to react to it. Charlie watched her for a few seconds, wondering what had happened for her to freak out and kill a guy in his own kitchen so impulsively. She seemed so incapable of it... but it had happened regardless of what Charlie had expected, and it was evident Alice was stronger than she looked.

He turned off his phone, and moved over to the home phone to make a call whilst glancing back at the body and hating moments like this since he always expected them to move. "Magnus?" Charlie said, seeing as he'd answered but said nothing.

"Where the fuck are you?" Magnus spat, "Whose phone is this?"

"You remember the Christmas party right?" Charlie asked, and there was a silence on the end of the phone. "Revisit the memory... uh, quickly. Like now." He continued and a few seconds later the line went dead. Relieved that Magnus had gotten the message, Charlie wiped down the handset then pulled it out at the wall before looking back to where Alice was. She was stood up now, looking back at the house with a vacant expression again and seemed dazed still, just staring at the house with it staring back at her.

It had been half an hour by the time Magnus arrived, he'd parked a distance from the house and walked through the woods so that he wouldn't be seen on the road. When he cleared the line of trees he noticed Alice quickly, and saw the signs and figured out what had happened in less than a second. She was paler than a ghost, surrounded by mist rolling in and around her feet from the lake's waters and was just stood there as if she was frightened to walk any further than the edge of the peer and go back to the house. She hadn't noticed him yet, so he stopped and pulled his phone out to take a picture... it looked like a moment from a gothic horror, with the rainy mist and expression on her face... if she'd been in a mid century dress it would've put the icing on the cake. He smirked at the thought, and lowered his phone to gaze at her for a moment, drinking in the sight for a second or two before carrying on.

"Alice?" He asked, making his way over to her, the wet grass underneath his shoes seeming to squish and give way easily. She glanced at him, feeling her heart jump with stress at the sight of movement. "What are you doing out here?" He asked and Alice swallowed as she showed him her shoes that she'd washed in the lake water... they were dirty and faded now with the muddy water, and Magnus furrowed his eyebrows gently.

"I didn't really see any blood on them but I washed them anyway." She replied quietly with a strange innocence about her words and voice.

"Blood?" Magnus murmured, feeling the void raise its head as the suggestion of violence. A smile tugged at the edge of his lips instinctively, but he forced it away as soon as he felt it, wanting to stay neutral until he saw what she'd done. He noticed she was beginning to shiver, and looked her over as he slid off his coat and put it round her shoulders, whilst wondering how long she had been stood in the rain. "Is Charlie inside?" He asked and Alice nodded a little. "Come on," he said in a quieter voice, reaching for Alice's shoulder to guide her inside but she brushed him off.

"I'm not going back in there." Alice whispered as if she was frightened, her eyes were wide and she stepped back and away from Magnus but she held onto his wrist.

"Why not?" He asked, stepping closer to her.

"Because... that's where the body is." Alice whispered very quietly, her hair beginning to drip into her eyes and slide down over her cheeks. Magnus licked his lips and glanced around them... checking to see if there were any other signs of life apart from the scenery that looked like the season had rewound itself back to fall, with the dampness and closeness of the air. All he could smell was rain and wet earth and looked back at Alice who was staring at the house again.

"Well would you rather freeze?" He asked in a calm voice and Alice nodded. He pursed his lips and stared at her, aware that she was probably in shock and, or, not thinking straight. "Don't be stupid." He muttered quietly, grasping her arm gently and pulling her forwards. He walked her back to the house, and she tried to dig her heels in the closer they got as the house seem to glare and lean over her, but he was stronger and nudged her through the back door and out of the rain. "Charlie?" He called and walked Alice back into the kitchen, keeping her in front of him so that she couldn't turn and run away. "Why the fuck did you leave her outside?" He asked, before he saw Charlie stand up, looking like a deer in the headlights. He relaxed once he saw Magnus, since he'd only heard the sound of the door opening.

"I sent her to wash off." He explained, glancing at Magnus then looking away a little nervously, as Magnus stared at him. "She had blood on her hands and face. There's so much on the floor,"

"Jesus Christ." Magnus spat, pointing for Alice to stay standing where she was. She didn't look up, and stayed looking down at the floor and where she was like he'd ordered. He walked round the counter as Charlie stood to one side to see the damage. "What's that, a hot poker?" He asked casually, seeing the weapon next to the body of Peter Green.

"Yes." Charlie replied, placing his hands on his hips. "He's almost bled out, I've managed to stop it spreading but... this is gonna take some time to clean up. I didn't want it to drip when we moved the body."

"Just string him up." Magnus replied simply as Alice listened and looked up with wide eyes. "Like the pigs in the butchers so he'll drain faster. Alice get a bucket." He said, sounding like he was organising a simple task. He didn't turn, but when he heard no movement he looked over his shoulder to see her staring at him. "Go get a fucking bucket," he snapped but didn't raise his voice, "Don't just stand there." He muttered in a quick, low voice, turning around to face her as she kicked into action and went to get the mop bucket she'd seen by the back door.

"I think she's in shock." Charlie mentioned, having an urge to stick up for Alice until he saw Magnus smiling. Charlie was confused for only a moment until he remembered that this is probably what he'd been waiting for. He seemed happy, as in genuinely happy and pleased with the situation, like his expression had lit itself up from the inside.

"Of course she's in shock." Magnus replied, still smiling. "This is such a fucking mess." He added, folding his arms and staring down at Peter Green then nudging his body with his shoe. "Look at that." He mumbled, staring at the wound Alice had inflicted. "Two hits, that was it. That's a fully grown man."

"She's stronger than she looks apparently." Charlie replied, turning away and opening a draw to see if he could find something to hoist the body up with whilst Magnus crouched down to get a closer look.

"She must've been furious." Magnus murmured, tilting his head slightly. He reached forward to touch the edge of the wound on the back of the neck, staring in an intense way before seeming to snap out of it as the swinging door to the kitchen opened again and Alice came back into the room.

"It's dirty," She murmured, moving some hair out of her face as both the boys looked at her as she neared with the bucket, she was holding it with an outstretched arm, and glanced between them cautiously.

"That doesn't matter." Magnus murmured, motioning for Charlie to take the bucket from her hand. He did so and murmured a thank you, watching Alice carefully as she looked down at the body and stared at it for a moment or two... her lips quivered before she pressed them together.

"Are you sure he's dead?" She whispered as Charlie put the bucket down and began to tie some string he found repeatedly around the body's ankles.

"Dead as a piece of wood, Alice." Charlie replied, and Alice seemed to turn pale. She continued to stare, her eyes reluctantly drinking in the sight of the blueish skin and the deep red blood that looked as thick as tar as it oxidised in the open air. "Rigor mortis will start soon, can you-"

"Sure." Magnus murmured, glancing at Alice again. "Can you watch the front of the house? There's a window there." He said in a calm voice and Alice glanced at him, the little twitches in her face and lips seeming to tell him she was finding this difficult, which wasn't surprising to him. She walked away quietly, and went over to stand by the window... she could see through the sheer curtain easily, and held her own hand with the other, digging her nails into her own skin so hard that it had broken skin... she was so focussed on her task that she didn't notice. In the background the boys managed to hoist Peter's body up and attach it to a beam across the ceiling in the kitchen, they got the bucket underneath his head, letting the last few pints of blood ooze out and into that instead of the floor.

Alice stared in silence, not even hearing the boys cleaning up in the background... even the smell of bleach and the tap turning off an on didn't reach her ears... she had barely blinked in a minute considering her mind was replaying the whole ordeal over and over again in her front of her eyes... Suddenly she blinked rapidly, clocking back in to reality and felt her gaze focus on movement outside... A violent gasp ripped from her throat and both Magnus and Charlie looked up suddenly as Alice panicked and ducked down in front of the window. "Fuck!" She hissed, having seen none other than Harvey Jones walking up the drive casually.

"What?" Magnus hissed, as Charlie froze mid movement.

"H-" Alice began but there was a loud knock on the door. Alice's heart raced in her chest and she felt a cold sweat take over her body, she felt light headed and nauseous with fear as Magnus lifted his finger to his lips. They'd managed to clean up the majority of the blood across the tiles on the kitchen floor, and used bleach to scrub in the grooves to stop it staining... but Peter Green was still hung from the ceiling by his feet, dripping the last of his blood into a bucket that was almost full.

The three of them were stood stock still, and carefully Charlie and Magnus lowered themselves to the floor and waited in a tense silence... Alice covered her mouth as the sudden rush of adrenaline and fear took over, she was trembling as she couched on the floor by the window, and knew that if Harvey walked up to it and peered closely to the glass he'd probably be able to see her. There was another knock that startled her, and she released a whimper and closed her eyes. Magnus watched Alice intently, and so did Charlie, both of them wondering if she would be able to hold it together or give them away. The sound of the letter box opening caused Alice to slump and press her back against the wall for support, she still held her eyes closed, and pressed the palms of her hands into the floor to keep herself steady. "Peter?" Harvey's voice called, "Are you there?"

The silence lingered and Magnus glanced at the scrubbing brush in his hand, the place stank of bleach and he wondered if Harvey would be able to smell it. "Peter?" Harvey called again and the sound of a phone ringing in the distance echoed towards them. Harvey stood outside, calling the house phone of the Green's Lake House and wondered where his Uncle could be... his car was in the drive, the garage door was closed... It was eerily quiet, too. He'd noticed a 4x4 parked down the road but it wasn't strange for cars to be parked on this street randomly, considering there were nature walks for dog walkers close by, so the thought to who it might belong to didn't cross his mind even once. In fact, he'd seen another car pull up just in front of it as he'd driven by and get their dogs out of the back.

Harvey furrowed his eyebrows and stood up properly, closing the letter box and waiting. He thought that maybe Peter Green was just in the shower, maybe he was out the back and hadn't heard him... "Shit." Charlie hissed, suddenly crawling on his hands and knees towards the kitchen door that lead to the back door. It was unlocked and left open, and he suddenly got the feeling that if it wasn't closed at that very moment they would all be caught.

Magnus exhaled heavily, having never been in a situation like this before... He wasn't scared, nor did he fear being caught because the solution to that was simple to him... but it was the way Alice was trembling that added a certain sharpness to it that he didn't like. Charlie managed to slide through the door quickly and push the back door closed and lock it as quietly as he could, but not before seeing Alice's sneakers left by where she'd found the bucket. He snatched them inside and only had time to just lock the door and couch down, just as Harvey appeared round the corner. Charlie pressed his back into the door and breathed carefully, hoping not to be seen...

Magnus moved quickly behind the other side of the island, seeing Harvey just out the corner of his eye move past the window. There was nothing they could do about the body, although there was a column in the way to block it slightly from view... "Move." Magnus hissed, motioning for Alice to move behind the arm chair that was just next to her with a wave of his hand so that if Harvey did look inside through the kitchen window he wouldn't be able to see her. She crawled behind it, and took a second to wipe her eyes of the tears just as, on the other side of the house, Harvey approached the back door.

Charlie could hear his footsteps and took in a deep breath, his heart thudded heavily but he forced himself to stay calm.... Harvey tried the handle... seeing that it was still locked and sighed in annoyance, turning away from the house and folding his arms. He tried the house phone again, and could hear it ringing inside the house... and after a few moments he decided to give up and head back home, putting this all down to Peter Green just wasn't home.

The three waited until they were sure Harvey was gone before moving, and Charlie walked back into the kitchen and looked at Magnus who was just standing up. "That was way too close." Charlie said,