Following the other two up the drive, their footsteps seemed too loud in the silence. There wasn’t even a breeze to make the trees rustle, and Kelly found herself holding her breath. Letting the air out, she glanced around, half expecting to see shadows moving between the bushes, watching them. It was too quiet out here, and it felt eerie. It’s a bad place. Shamice’s words didn’t seem too strange now that she was here.

  Don’t be stupid, she told herself, bringing her attention back to Gina whose hands seemed to be shaking as she fiddled with a key in the lock. It’s just your imagination. Nothing’s wrong. But still, a shiver ran down her spine, and she stopped where she was, a few paces away from the front door.

  ?That’s weird. It seems to be stuck.?Gina was bent over the door, now trying to pull the key out. Rob moved closer.

  ?Is it the right key??

  She paused and looked up at him. ?I think I know the keys to my own house. Of course it’s the right one.?

  Her voice was irritated and snappy, but Kelly could understand why coming back here would make Gina anxious. Her mother murdered her father here, and that memory must be awful to relive. What she couldn’t understand was why Rob was so uptight about it.

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  Feeling completely left out, Kelly took another step backwards and almost tripped over a stiff weed growing up through the driveway. Looking behind her, she saw several more running all the way back to the gates, the green shoots distinctive against the gray. How odd. She couldn’t remember seeing them on the way in. Could she have walked through them without noticing? Puzzled, she turned back to Rob and Gina, who were concentrating on trying to get the door open. She was about to speak when movement above distracted her. She gazed upwards and her eyes widened. The weeds didn’t seem so important anymore.

  She could hear Gina cursing under her breath, muttering quietly, and she knew she should say something, warn them, but her vocal cords seemed frozen as her brain tried to work out what it was seeing, because she knew it had to be impossible. Had to be.

  It must have started at the back of the house, because the ivy that was growing so rapidly, reaching round and sucking at the walls, must have come from the neglected vine near the back door of the house that she’d seen yesterday. She almost giggled as she saw the thick green fingers sliding across the roof. This stuff doesn’t need any plant food, it’s doing just fine by itself.

  Her breath was coming in shallow waves, and she gasped as the edges of the front of the house turned green, the plant life covering it whole, no bricks visible, as one by one they succumbed to the hungry onslaught of the snake-like vines. What was going on? Just what the fuck was going on? This couldn’t be real. It couldn’t.

  Her eyes following one thick strand as it slid unnoticed across the bottom of the house, Kelly finally found her voice. ?Rob. Gina. I think we should go now. Something’s happening. Look at the house.? Neither of them moved, and her serene calm of disbelief broke as the ivy sped its way to the front door.

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  ?LOOK AT THE FUCKING HOUSE!?

  Rob started, and looked at Kelly before following her eyes upwards. ?Jesus Christ.?

  Gina screamed and kicked out with one foot. The tendril Kelly had been watching had reached its destination and was now trying to slip its flexible form around Gina’s ankle. Watching as the woman turned this way and that trying to avoid its clutches, still screaming for help, Kelly had the horrible feeling that if the plant gripped her, it would never let go. Never. More ivy was slithering in to join the first shoot, and as if finding confidence in the approach of its allies, the green rope finally made contact with Gina’s jeans.

  Standing on the sidelines, unable to move, Kelly watched as Rob grabbed Gina’s arm, pulling her roughly back, freeing her from the plant that hadn’t quite secured its hold. The house was almost totally green now, as if it were being devoured, absorbed by the ivy, and Kelly was certain she heard a wail of disappointment emanating from the abnormal growth. She probably would have stayed there forever, if Rob hadn’t pulled at her arm.

  ?Come on, Kelly. Run!?

  Turning round, she faltered for a second at the sight ahead of them. Weeds like the one she’d tripped over were springing up everywhere around them and they were growing and growing, some almost knee high. Rob shoved her forward and she began to sprint, trying not to notice the insanely twisted bushes and trees that seemed to reach for her, and the sharp tickling of the weeds nearly strong enough to pull her down.

  Gina was next to her, matching her pace for pace, with Rob urging them on from behind. Twice Kelly thought she would fall as her feet caught on sharp stalks and slippery roots, but her fear kept her upright. They were going to make it. They were going to make it. The gates couldn’t be too far now.

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  ?Run faster! They’re shutting!?

  Bringing her eyes up from the dangerous terrain, Kelly’s stomach went to water. Oh shit. Oh bloody, bloody shit. The weeds and plants had wound their shoots through the railings of the gates and were pulling them shut, and close as they were Kelly thought they should be able to hear that awful rusty creak of the hinges, but this time there was nothing. This time they seemed to be moving all too easily, all too willingly.

  With a grunt of exertion, her legs feeling like lead on fire, she threw herself forward, running at an almost impossible angle. She couldn’t see Gina beside her anymore so she fell through the gap in the gates, turning as she did so to reach for the other woman’s arm, dragging her over the threshold to safety. Her legs kept moving until she hit the hedges lining the other side of the lane. The leaves rustled as Gina and then Rob slammed into it next to her, sending the vibration through her shaking body.

  Shutting her eyes, feeling her internal heat burning her face, she leaned backwards into the bush, unable to think about anything other than the exhaustion that was flooding through her.

  ?I think I need to start going to the gym.?The words came in panting gasps, and she heard Gina attempt a light laugh beside her.

  ?You’re not the only one.?

  When her breath returned to somewhere near normal, Kelly opened her eyes and sought out Rob. He was standing a little in front of her, staring back through the gates. The gates empty of plant life. The gates with the padlock securely relocked between them. Rob forgotten, she stepped forward, ignoring the ache in her cooling limbs, and stared at the house on the other side of the lane. The drive was free of weeds and the pale yellow of the bricks showed no trace of the ivy that had crawled all over it, suffocating it, only moments ago. This was crazy. Totally

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  crazy. How could the house look as if none of the madness she’d just been through had ever happened? She spoke without looking at either of the people beside her.

  ?I think someone should tell me what’s going on here. This isn’t right. This isn’t normal.?For a moment she thought she would cry, the mixture of overwhelming emotions rising inside her, but she swallowed it down, forcing the feelings away against her own will. She had to be strong for Tabby. Tabby was all that mattered. As she stared at Syracousse in front of her, a chill settled in her stomach. She’d heard Tabby calling for her in that house. She was sure she had. What if Tabby was in there somewhere, lost and alone? After what she’d just seen anything was possible. Anything.

  Rob turned his back almost defiantly on the house. He looked tired and sad, as he took Kelly’s hand.

  ?Let’s get out of here. We can go to my house. I think I need a drink before I share this story. At least after what you’ve just seen it’s going to be easier to believe.?

  Kelly made sure she took the front seat on the drive back to town. This time it was her turn, and there were some things worth fighting for.

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  It had been dark for such a long time that when the bright sunshine hit his eyes, Jason squinted and flinched, as if someone had shone a flashlight in his eyes in the middle of the night. He felt a wave of nausea as he adjusted to the light, and it took him a couple of minutes before he realized where he was. He was back at school, standing in front of the class in Miss Jones’s room, listening to a voice whose words he couldn’t yet make out. The wooden, ink-stained desks in front of him looked small and different, as did the classroom, and he looked down at himself, mild surprise working its way through his system as he saw himself all grown up. All grown up but back in school. How peculiar.

  Examining his tatty leather jacket with the crumpled pack of cigarettes hanging out of the pocket, he had a vague memory of being outside in the cold, his fingers numb. He’d been outside in the dark and he’d been afraid. He frowned a little. That couldn’t be right, because he wasn’t afraid of the dark, and anyway it was summer outside.

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  His mind still dulled with the feeling of having just woken up, he glanced over the kids before him, spotting Carrie’s pretty face looking all pinched and tight, and then settling on Rob, old Rob, Robster, his face pale under the summer tan. For a moment Jason almost smiled, but the way the boy was looking stopped him. Robster was staring at him in horror, his mouth moving slightly, involuntarily.

  He’d seen that look before, once, a very long time ago, and suddenly Jason realized exactly where he was. He wasn’t just back in school. He was back in school on that day. That last day of term in that last happy summer. The voice he could hear was his own, and it continued, almost independently of him, as he glanced at the teacher leaning against the far wall to confirm his thought. It was Mr. Fricker, the P.E. teacher, his eyes shut in the warmth, not really listening to the boy at the front. Miss Jones was off school that day, gone on holiday early. She would have been listening. She would never have let Jason tell his tale. But Miss Jones wasn’t there the first time round, and she wasn’t here now, and Jason stood and spoke uninterrupted, betraying his friend all over again.

  He could hear the words clearly now, like needles stabbing at him, but he seemed unable to stop them. He was supposed to be giving a talk on the most interesting thing that had ever happened to him, a holiday or the birth of a sibling, and that would have been easy. He could have made something up. But that’s not what he did, that’s not what he was doing. He was telling the story of the day in the attic, about The Ministry of Defense, about how he’d found all those crazy pyramids, and about how his friend—no names mentioned, but the sniggering faces around the room showed that they knew exactly whom Jason was talking about—had cried and cried.

  He could hear the venom in his voice and wished he could just shut it up, shut it up once and for all. He didn’t want to relive this day all over again, he’d done that

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  enough times in his dreams, and anyway, what was the point? What was done couldn’t be undone, and he had a niggling feeling that he had bigger problems to be dealing with before it was too late. The strength of the thought made him pause, and he wished he could think straight. What did he mean, ‘too late’? Too late for what? Concentrating hard, he heard another sound beneath that of his treacherous voice. It was like the sound of bellows pumping, regularly sucking in and pushing out air, its beat too even to be anything but mechanical.

  That’s when it’ll be too late. When that sound stops.

  His brain was feeling clearer, and with relief, he managed to stop himself talking long enough to hear the noise outside the classroom. It was a dog barking. He stared at the classroom door for a few seconds, and then everything began to make sense.

  ?I’ll be back in a minute.?He spoke without facing the children, his voice suddenly grown up like the rest of him, and he wondered why he’d said it at all, because he knew he wouldn’t be back. He’d never come back here. This was just a clever distraction. You couldn’t mend the past from the past.

  He pulled open the door, already knowing what he’d see, and a warm smile spread all over him, tingling down into his toes. Teacher was sitting there in the corridor in front of him, whole and healthy, that glorious golden coat glossy and full, his brown eyes shining. Whining eagerly as Jason approached, moving his weight from one front paw to the other, Teacher’s tail thumped at the floor. Crouching down beside him, pulling the dog close, Jason was unable to speak, almost unable to feel, the sensations flooding through him, completely overwhelming him. He buried his face in the fur, relishing the musty smell. It was exactly the same. Exactly the same. Teacher was back. And he was perfect.

  ?It’s good to see you, boy. I’ve missed you.?The dog licked his face in reply, and Jason laughed, wiping the

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  wetness away. His hand froze halfway back to stroking the dog, and he stared at it, numbness tickling at him.

  His scars were gone. How could that be? How could his scars be gone? Holding both hands in front of him, he turned them this way and that, examining the perfect skin. His eyes shifted from his hands, to Teacher, who sat panting patiently, and then back again.

  Of course the scars are gone. Teacher’s here and he’s just fine. And if he’s fine, then you never saved him from the fire, did you? Ergo, no scars.

  He shook his head as he played with the dog’s silky ears, ears that had burned to nothing last time he saw them. He looked into the brown eyes that stared solemnly back, and the strangeness of it all washed away from him. They were here for a reason. There was something they had to do, and he had a feeling they were the only ones that could do it.

  ?So, we have to go back then??

  Teacher barked once, loud and confident, and Jason stood.

  ?Well, come on then. Let’s get it done.?

  The house wasn’t happy to know they were back, and it raged to itself, not knowing how they got in. No one could get this far in. They were beyond the rooms, the bricks and mortar, the surface interior. They were far inside, as if in the guts or heart of it.

  Jason kept his hand locked in Teacher’s warm fur. Despite the madness that he could see around him, he knew where they were. They were in Syracousse. He could feel it.

  ?It doesn’t like us being here.?

  Teacher whined as if whispering in agreement, and Jason had never felt happier for having the dog close. Taking a step forward in the gloom, a pain shot through his neck and back like a bolt of lightning, and for a moment he stumbled, his head filling with the image of a white

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  room and the machine that made the sound inside him, but he pushed it away. Those things were far away and unimportant, not real to him now. Steadying himself, he felt Teacher’s tongue on his fingers and the cold nose against the palm of his hand. ?It’s okay, boy. I’m not going anywhere.?I hope, he added silently.

  The air around them was dark and cold, with corridors spreading out far into the distance on all sides. Jason peered to his left and right, unsure of which way to go. Strange, unrecognizable sounds echoed out from the distant blackness, some like inhuman wailing and shrieks; others more subtle, occasional scuttling, scurrying sounds made by creatures with too many legs as they whispered by. None of them were pleasant.

  Jason shivered as he stood and thought, the damp breeze that teased him easily working its way through his clothes. He looked down at the dog that was sniffing the ground intently, working around each of the corridor entrances.

  ?I think we need to find Rob. Can you take me to Robster, Teach??His own voice echoed loudly back at him from a dozen directions, making him jump. Shit, this place was freaky. Freakier than he’d ever imagined.

  The dog sat down and let out a short, adamant bark. Jason knew that bark. It was the same one Teacher used to give whenever a bath was mentioned when he was a puppy. It was a definite ‘no.’

  He sighed, puzzled. He’d been sure they’d been here to help Rob. Looking around again, he felt lost. Lost and confused. Well, maybe they were here to help Robster, but just not directly.

  ?Is there something we need to do here? Something important??

  This time the dog stood up, his tail wagging.

  Jason shook his head and smiled. It seemed that Teacher knew more than he did about whatever the hell was going on, so he may as well just go with the flow.

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  ?Okay, I’ll take your word for it, but you’re going to have to lead the way. Whatever the hell it is you’re looking for, I don’t think this house wants us to find it.?

  Teacher carried on sniffing the ground for several minutes before his ears pricked up at the mouth of one corridor. Turning to Jason, he whined.

  ?So, it’s down that way??

  The dog barked impatiently, and trotted forward, leaving Jason to follow.

  As the darkness swallowed them up, Jason kept his feet in time with the gentle padding of the paws beside him, trying to ignore the sounds reaching his ears from the depths of the house. ?Well, I hope to shit you’re right, Teach,? he muttered under his breath, ?because the sooner we can get out of here, the better I think I’ll feel.?

  Despite the haziness of time inside his head, it seemed to Jason that they’d been walking for hours, Teacher relentlessly seeking out a scent and then following it, only pausing when unsure of which way to turn. The air had grown colder as they ventured farther and farther inside the house, and Jason’s fingers stung inside his jacket pockets, his eyes aching from trying to make out shapes in the total blackness around them. He was no longer really afraid of the sounds around them, no monsters having yet attacked them, and Teacher seemed completely unaware of them, which reassured him. But then Teacher seemed different, too. He seemed as if he’d grown up while he’d been away, just like Jason had, and he sniffed and searched with a serious intentness that he’d never had as a bumbling puppy.