There was a big hole in the ground, with a pile of rubble up against the wall on one side. You could see where a room was at the back with a fireplace, and a fireplace above it. It was two rooms with different wallpapers stuck to the wall in layers, separated by a part of the ceiling that had wires dangling down like a jungle. Bricks poked out from the house next door that shared the chimney.

‘Don’t fall in there,’ Connor said. Manus had one foot down the slope into the hole like that was where he could bury the cat. ‘Bury it in the rubble.’

The ground was wet and Manus had to step up twice to get his foot back from the edge where the earth was giving way. ‘I can see that,’ he said, but it sounded like he wasn’t in charge.

‘Put it down,’ Connor said, using his hands to pull some broken bricks out the pile. Manus was standing there with the cat on the shovel and wasn’t moving. Brian put his hands in his pockets and looked away into the hole. Manus was stuck with the cat and wasn’t letting go.

‘What’s the matter?’ I said. ‘Manus?’

‘I say where it goes.’

Connor sat back on the rubble, and wiped the mud off his hands and knees.‘It’s your cat.’

Manus lowered the shovel on to the ground between puddles where it was flat and looked round at the bombsite with his hands empty like he wasn’t sure what to do.

‘Get the shovel,’ Connor said.

Manus looked at him, ‘You get it.’

The cat was sprawled out and no one was moving. I looked back at the fence in case I could get out quick if they had a fight. I could push it with my shoulder, but that would leave Brian.

‘I’ll get it,’ I said.

‘Go on, then.’ It was Connor daring me, he chucked a stone into the hole so it made a splash in the muddy water at the bottom.

I didn’t want to. The cat was looking out its bloody eye. The muddy tail was flopped down by the handle, its hair splashed out like a puddle.

‘See?’ said Connor. ‘I’m the only one you got.’

Manus bent over and put his hand on a chunk of brick, but Brian was already swinging the shovel loose and letting the cat fall over itself backwards into a puddle, its leg clawing up at the air. It came down with its mouth open in water, a look on its face of not wanting the taste, and a hiss of bubbles coming out.

Connor stood back off the rubble like the cat was gonna wake up and shake off being dead over his feet.

‘Gis it here,’ Manus said, grabbing the shovel off Brian, and slid down the slope into the hole and started digging in the side.