The Uninvited

Three ways to die. ‘Except there’s lotsmore. You just don’t know about all theothers.’ He grins. ‘Say it Hesketh. Go on.’He pokes me in the ribs with his tinyfinger. He means, say yet. But I don’t wantto. He picks up the little Jonas figure andthen makes the truck run over him again.And again. And again. Nrrr, nrrr, nrrr.Ka-donk! Aaagh! ‘They got scared. Wescared them. It was cool. We made themstop.’ He rummages in the box until hefinds the figure he wants. It’s brown. Heholds it up.Stephanie says, ‘What do you mean, wescared them? Who’s we?’‘And then this one died.’ He licks thecrisp salt around his mouth. It’s burned apink halo on his skin. The colour alarmsme. There’s a tightening in my throat.