Danny went to check. Said he might have to ‘do’ Mr Fallon like he did his parents and I shouldn’t come down under any circumstances. The silence made me want to scream and then I heard banging, a shot. When I went downstairs old Mr Fallon was dead for good, a hole right between his eyes like the radio man told us. I wouldn’t have had the guts. Danny was breathing hard, eyes darting, angry. I don’t think he wanted me to see him that way.

Somehow, using nothing more than rope and brute strength, Danny hauled the body into the attic and further up the metal ladder onto the roof. I helped as best as I could, holding Mr Fallon’s legs and pushing when he pulled, but I was pretty useless. Danny put a puffy winter coat on old Mr Fallon, a Halloween mask he’d found somewhere to cover his face, flipped the hood and tied him to the sun lounger, wrapping rope around his waist. He went to work that night, the only time he’d gone out so late, and came back with his father’s replica pistol, something that couldn’t be used against us but might deter a kill party from trying to break in and murder us. Of course, the scarecrow could draw unwanted attention, although it seemed to have worked for now. From what little I could tell, Sykes are pretty cowardly. Danny says they only pick on humans who can’t fight.

I smoke my cigarette and think. I watch street lights and for the thousandth time I wonder when they’ll come on. That’s when we’ll know we’ve truly won. That’s when we’ll know our lives have returned. I wait for that moment every dusk, and though I breathe a sigh of frustration when they stay dark, I can’t help thinking I’m one day closer to the evening they all light up again.

‘Hey! Heeeey!’

I fall, slumping onto the floor, roll on my back and stub the cigarette out in three quick thumps. What was I thinking? Danny will kill me. I’m lying there, breathing in dust, trying not to sneeze or cough.

‘I know you’re up there! I can see smoke!’

I swear; a whispered curse.

‘I’m not gonna hurt you! You’re with the girl, aren’t you? The girl I saw at the shops!’

His voice is raw with shouting. I can barely hear him, wouldn’t be able to if it wasn’t for the silence.

‘I’m just trying to help! I’m alive!’ There’s nothing for a long while, and I’m kneeling, almost getting to my feet when he starts again. I duck even though he can’t see me. ‘Stay away from the Tsois, all right? They’ve got a Syke! She’ll kill them all!’