He peered out, and signalled to Javier to come join him. Together they watched as the demon hunched over the other demon’s corpse in the middle of the road. They watched her crying, watched her throw back her head and scream at the moon. Then she dipped forward again.

“Jesus,” Virgil whispered.

Javier frowned. “What is she doing?”

“I think she’s … eating him.”

“Christ!”

She was talking, too, talking to the corpse. They could hear her sobs. Her words were distressed and muffled by a full mouth, but it appeared that she was apologising. Quite right too.

“If this is what she does to her friends,” Javier whispered, “what do you think she’s going to do to us?”

“She’s not going to get to us,” said Virgil. “We’re going to make a break for it. We get to the car, I take the brake off and put it in neutral, we roll downhill. She won’t even know we’re gone.”

Javier nodded. “You go first.”

“You’re sure? You don’t want to volunteer?”

“It’s your stupid plan.”

Virgil glowered, but there was no time to argue. She was eating pretty damn fast.

Moving as quietly as he could, he crept forward. As he crossed the road, he did his best to keep low, but his back was playing up again. Thankfully, she didn’t look round.

He got to the Sienna, took the keys from his pocket carefully, without jangling them, and turned, gave the signal. Javier nodded and closed the door to the bunker behind him. But instead of creeping, or sneaking, or even moving remotely stealthily, Javier took a slow, slow step. Then another.

And eventually another.

Virgil waved him on, cursing him silently, but Javier didn’t change his tactic. He was maybe six steps away from the car and the demon lady still hadn’t noticed him, but as she tore off another chunk she fell back and turned away from the corpse, weeping. All she had to do was raise her head and she’d be looking straight at Javier.

Virgil felt his heart hammer painfully in his chest. Javier stared at him, ashen-faced and frozen in place.

Virgil waited until his heart stopped trying to leap out through his ribcage, then peeked at the lady demon as she wiped her eyes. She looked over at the bunker, and snarled.

Virgil motioned for Javier to lie down. Javier nodded, and began to sink slowly to the ground.

The lady demon stood and wobbled slightly, like she’d had too much to drink. But if she was drunk then she was an angry drunk. She roared and Javier flinched, but by some miracle her eyes still hadn’t flicked in their direction.

Lying flat on his belly, Javier held out his hands. Virgil reached for them, took a good grip, and, ever so slowly, he pulled Javier behind the car.