I walk carefully like that for at least ten minutes, maybe more. The light behind me is no more, with all the twists and turns the cave takes. And always it slopes downwards. I can’t help marvelling at the smooth rock floor and walls. This isn’t natural, they’re honed by years of passage. I’m making sure to marvel so I can’t think what might have caused that.

A scrape of sound behind me and I turn, swinging hard. A hand shoots out and catches the bat.

My torchlight flickers over a sneering face and I’m shoved backwards. It forces me to let go of the bat as I land on my back, all the air leaving me in a rush. By some miracle the torch is still tied to my shirt. It shows Dan Potter standing above me, gloating while he taps my bat against his palm. The wind has been knocked out of me and I lie there, struggling to breathe.

‘Just couldn’t stay away, could ya?’ He squats down beside me, leering while the light casts crazy shapes all over his face. ‘I knew you’d come here for somethin’. Is this where you’ve been hidin’ that thievin’ sister, ay?’

‘How did you …’ I gasp.

‘Heard your car.’ He smirks. ‘Guess ya aren’t as smart as ya thought.’

He reaches out and brushes my fringe off my forehead. The mirror to what Sam did, but where that made me feel safe, this just makes me sick. ‘Maybe if you ask real nice, I’ll let you go after I’m done.’

I scramble away from him on my hands, scraping them over rocks, totally uncaring of the pain. He stays crouching, laughing like this is a fun game. He doesn’t have to chase me, the light tells him exactly where I am. As much as I don’t want to do it, I reach up to turn it off. I see him stand and take his first steps towards me before the light blinks out. It is pitch black now and I force myself to lie still. Waiting for my eyes to adjust.

‘Now, now, Stacey,’ he tuts. ‘Don’t you know I love to hunt?’

A soft footfall tells me he’s moving forwards. If I stay where I am he’ll find me. If I move he’ll hear me. At least my breath is back now. My hands clench on rocks and I resist the urge to peg a heap in his direction. Instead I take just one and carefully slide it over the floor to my right.

‘Hah!’ He leaps in that direction and I slide more rocks harder to the right, picking that second to roll to the left. I’m pulled up short by a pair of legs.