Maggie was humming the theme tune to Coronation Street today. Elliott’s grip on her hand tightened. Hospitals made his skin itch. In his other hand was the card he made for Libby. He’d glued pasta and pink glitter around the ‘Get Well Soon’ he’d drawn in yellow pen. But the deeper they got into hospital, the worse he felt. He wrinkled his nose at the smell of cleaning fluid, staring straight ahead. He didn’t know what to say to Libby because he hadn’t spoken up. Now he felt like that time he ate mud in the playground and found something wriggling in the back of his mouth. He smacked his mouth at the memory of the dare. His teacher said that if you saw something bad or scary you should always speak up. But Maggie said that sometimes keeping secrets was a good thing.

This morning, Maggie told him about Libby and he was so happy she was OK that he’d cried. Last night, he’d sensed her lost in darkness so thick that he could barely make her out. Until his mother spoke to him, he couldn’t put his worries into words. Now, he understood. Libby was hidden in a place with no windows or doors. The feeling of insects on his skin … a bad smell. She was trapped in the walls. Not like Angelica though, she was in the other place. The Midnight Game was still being played and it would not stop until it was done. How could Libby have been so silly? Even Elliott knew that you shouldn’t play dangerous games.

‘Are you OK, sweetie?’ Maggie looked at him with the same scared face that all the mummies and daddies in Slayton were wearing now. Most kids were on curfew. The Scouts and Brownies were cancelled, and every pole was decorated with a yellow ribbon. People peeked through their blinds, and whispered in corners. The killer was one of them. Elliott couldn’t explain this aloud because he could barely understand it himself. He nodded in response to his mummy’s question. It was an automatic thing now.

Maggie said that Libby was barely speaking, and that they had to do what they could to help. They had some magazines from a bargain shop near home which Elliott had helped to choose, and grapes. Elliott stood next to Maggie at the elevator, silently watching. It was not good to get in the way of the game. The Midnight Man saw everything. Elliott listened as a trolley rattled past. Heard the squeak of rubber shoes against tiled floors. He had a sudden thought and tugged on his mother’s hand.

‘Can we go and see Daddy?’