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I spend the rest of the week off school Strangely enough, I’d rather go in It’s dull as hell hanging out at the house all the ti to take my mind off Loch’s death and all the other stuff I want to be with et on with life But it’s expected that I take the week off to recover, so I do

I try hard not to think about the folder or the Lambs Like Dervish said, the curse has been in our fa time Some parents kill their own children if they turn, buttheo, the Lambs were formed to deal with that problem The wealthier members of our clan founded and continue to fund theers who’ve turned into olves They also experienetic secrets of the fa it

Dervish doesn’t have much to do with the Lambs He mistrusts them He always planned to kill Bill-E orlike the personal touch But h a lot these last few years He looks as strong as ever, but looks can be deceiving Maybe he doesn’t feel he has the strength to deal with me if I turn

I don’t like the Lambs either I’ve only met one of them, but she was a cold, creepy woers putfills me with distaste Dervish has made it clear in the past that he would put me out of my misery if such a drastic step was ever called for I can understand why hedoesn’t ht seees to coued hard on the phone for a couple of days to persuade Ma and Pa Spleen to let him out of the house He looks shell-shocked Pale and sickly His lazy left eyelid flutters sobeneath the flesh He doesn’t say much, which is unusual for Bill-E Listens numbly while Dervish explains about the cave and e had to move the body Doesn’t seem too bothered by the threat of a de Loch’s house," Bill-E says e’re alone in the TV roo Reni all week but didn’t dare "His father answered," Bill-E continues "I could tell he’d been crying I wanted to say sorry, ask how they were, if there was anything I could do But I couldn’t speak My mouth dried up In the end he put the phone down He didn’t get angry He just sounded sad"

Bill-E’s staring off into space The way this has hit him, you’d think it was his best friend who’d died, not a bully he didn’t like But maybe that’s why it’s harder for hirief I think he’s sorry for all the bad thoughts he had about Loch, the foul names he no doubt called him behind his back, the times he probably wished his tor back to school on Monday," I tell Bill-E "What about you?"

He shakes his head "I don’t know"

"You should It ht help"

"Gran and Grandad don’t wantas I want Said they’d hire a private tutor"

The meddlesome, selfish old buzzards! I probably shouldn’t be too hard on them They’re old and lonely Bill-E’s all they have I can understand why they want him to themselves, locked up safe where they can fuss over him twenty-four seven But they should know better He needs to be out in the real world, getting back to nor me about when yourinto focus "Your gran and grandad kept you indoors for a year You didn’t speak to anybody else You fought with other kids who tried to talk to you"

"Then I got whacked in the jaw by a boy in a shop," Bill-E laughs jerkily

"And that put you straight" I sit beside hi an aro overboard "Don’t cut yourself off from your friends, Bill-E"

"Do I have any?" he asks sadly

"You know you do," I snap "Maybe not as many as you wish, but there are plenty of people who like you and feel sorry for you, who’ll help you through this But they can’t if you shut yourself off, if you let your gran and grandad smother you Come back to school Move on You know it makes sense"

"Loch can’t ree stiffly "He can’t But we didn’t die in that cave We’re alive Loch isn’t and that’s a wretched shao back to school That’s how it has to be"

Bill-E nods slowly "Are you going to the funeral?"

"I don’t want to but I think I need to"

"I can’t," Bill-E whispers "I can go back to school but not

"That’s OK," I sh"

Bill-E returns the smile briefly, then stares off into space "I can still hear his scream," he mutters "And I can see his face His eyes He didn’t knoas going to die There wasn’t terror in his expression, just worry And a bit of anger He should have looked more terrified If he’d known"

We sit there for hours after that, TV off, sniffling occasionally, but otherwise as silent as Loch must be

Friday The funeral It’s horrible And that’s all I’ about it

Monday School Everyone staring and whispering Kids scurry out of side outs behind the cafeteria, sheltering from the rain Talk dries up as I approach When I stop, they stare atis said Then Charlie breaks the silence with, "Lochdown on his funeral-he hated flowers And having to wear a suit as well!"

Everybody laughs

"You’re an ass, Charlie," Frank giggles

"Don’t say anything like that in front of Reni," Shannon warns him

"Please," he huffs "I’hter fades Frank clears his throat "Was it really bad?"

"Crapville," I say tightly

"Did he say anything before he you know?" Mary asks

I nod soberly "His last words I had to strain to hear theh and everyone leans in close to listen "He said his voice a painful croak fighting for breath eyes locked on mine ’Mary Hayes has a face like a cow’s dirty rear’ "

Mary roars with fury and clubs oes and we march into class Back to normal-or as much as it can be

A ruone on sick leave A rief when he heard about Loch, but that’s rubbish-Loch never went to see Misery Apparently he’s been replaced by a woh nobody’s had a good look at her yet-she’s been in Misery’s officelunch He’s with the new counsellor I hope she’s got more of a clue than old Misery Bill-E needs professional help, not soooder I’ll have to check her out,to mess him up even further Grubbs Grady-rooter-out of frauds!

Halfway through geography, a kid from a lower year delivers a note to my teacher The new counsellor wants to see ive her the once-over a bit sooner than I thought

I’ outside the office for a fewby the side of Misery’s desk when I enter, her back to h the floor A slender woht, in her late thirties or early forties Smartly dressed, eous Very little make-up Pure white hair tied back in a pony tail Extremely pale skin Pinkish eyes She’s an albino But that’s not what knocks the wind out of my sails It’s the fact that I know her and last saw her a year ago in Slawter, frying the brains of a demon collaborator called Chuda Sool

"Juni Swan!" I cry

"That’s Miss Swan to you, young man," she says with a little sdown at the top of her pale white orb of a head

Juni was one of filist, it was her job towell treated Dervish fell for her and I think she had a thing for hi hands, but I bet they would have if life hadn’t gone crazy on us all

When hell hit the fan and the deh the barrier which Lord Loss had erected around the town Without that gap, everyone would have perished She was knocked out during the fighting and only recovered when the barrier had closed again, trapping hundreds of members of the cast and crew inside Like the rest of us, she was helpless and had to stand by, watching and listening as the demons tortured and killed them